Elisabeth Wright Burak
Senior Program Director
Elisabeth Wright Burak joined the Center for Children and Families as Senior Program Director in November 2011, bringing a range of experience in public policy for children and families at the national and state levels. She previously served as Director of Health Policy and Legislative Affairs for Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families (AACF), where she led successful coalition efforts to expand access to ARKids First, Medicaid and CHIP for Arkansas children. In addition to improvements in the state Medicaid program, Elisabeth helped achieve other legislative victories for families, including increased access to school-based health, substance abuse, and afterschool programs and tax relief for families living in poverty.
In the past, Elisabeth was Director of Policy and Planning for the Arkansas Department of Human Services, and also worked with states on afterschool and early childhood programs at the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices and The Finance Project in Washington, D.C. Elisabeth received Master of Public Policy (MPP) and Master of Social Work (MSW) degrees from the University of Michigan and an A.B. in social psychology with honors from Smith College.