Dr. Liliokanaio Peaslee received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Vermont, a M.A. in Social Policy from Brandeis University, and a joint Ph.D. in Politics & Social Policy from Brandeis University, where she specialized in Child, Youth, and Family Policy and American Political Development. Dr. Peaslee’s teaching and scholarship center on issues of poverty and inequality, particularly for at-risk youth. She teaches in both the undergraduate Public Administration program and the Masters in Public Administration program, offering classes on policy analysis, social welfare, and education policy. Her research includes work on mentoring and youth development, criminal justice policy, and university-community collaborations. Dr. Peaslee frequently consults with community-based organizations and local government to assist them with research and evaluation, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Club, and the United Way. She has served as a principle investigator on two major Mentoring Best Practice Research grants from the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and as a lead researcher revising Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s national outcome assessments.