Mary Jo Bane is the Thornton Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy and Management at the Harvard Kennedy School, where she has been on the faculty since 1981. From 1993 to 1996 she was Assistant Secretary for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. From 1992 to 1993 she was Commissioner of the New York State Department of Social Services, where she previously served as Executive Deputy Commissioner from 1984 to 1986. From 1987 to 1992, at the Kennedy School, she was Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy and Director of the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy. From 2006 to 2011 she was Academic Dean at ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø. She is the author of a number of books and articles on poverty, welfare, families, and the role of churches in civic life. She is on the boards of MDRC, the Pine Street Inn, Project Hope and the Community Builders.