August 3, 2021
Contact: Camilla Jenkins, cjenkins@childrensrights.org
(New York, NY) – Today, national child advocacy organization Children’s Rights announced Shereen A. White as their new Director of Advocacy and Policy. White will lead Children’s Rights’ growing policy team to advocate for policy changes at the federal and state levels to improve children’s well-being.
White is currently a Senior Staff Attorney at Children’s Rights, where she has already significantly grown the organization’s policy footprint. White led the publication of the May 2021 report Fighting Institutional Racism at the Front End of Child Welfare Systems, which details nine strategies to disrupt institutional racism in child welfare and end the unnecessary surveillance, investigation, and separation of Black families.
“In her time at Children’s Rights, Shereen has demonstrated her keen understanding of what it takes to effect systemic change and an ability to build broad coalitions. Her prior experience as a child advocate attorney gave her critical insight into the issues at the core of Children’s Rights’ advocacy campaigns: the need for effective mental health services in child welfare, pervasive racial injustice in systems, the unique needs of LGBTQ+ youth and, because she was a public defender, the intricacies of a broken juvenile justice system,” said Sandy Santana, Executive Director of Children’s Rights. “We look forward to leveraging Shereen’s expertise in this new role as we work to effect meaningful policy and practice changes in areas of high need for vulnerable children.”
”There is no feeling like knowing you are where you are supposed to be, doing the work you were intended to do, alongside people you were meant to do it with. I am overjoyed to continue learning from and partnering with child welfare, juvenile justice, racial justice, and mental health experts across our nation. There is a lot to be done and I am both honored and energized to get to work as CR’s new Director of Advocacy & Policy,” said White.
Prior to joining Children’s Rights in 2019, White served as an Assistant General Counsel for The School District of Philadelphia, primarily representing the District in special education matters. White also worked as a Child Advocate Attorney in the Child Advocacy Unit of the Defender Association of Philadelphia, where she provided direct representation to children involved in the child welfare system. Before her work in the nonprofit sphere, she was a Commercial Litigation and Family Law Associate at Fox Rothschild, LLP.
White earned a J.D. from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law in 2009 and her B.A. in political science with a minor in history from Duke University.
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ABOUT CHILDREN’S RIGHTS
Every day, children are harmed in America’s broken child welfare, juvenile justice, education, and healthcare systems. Through relentless strategic advocacy and legal action, we hold governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy. Children’s Rights, a national non-profit organization, has made a lasting impact for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children. For more information, please visit www.childrensrights.org.