Summary:
A message from the Deputy Director of the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).
I am the daughter of immigrants from Sri Lanka who came to the United States in their twenties to pursue their doctorate degrees in biophysics and engineering. They instilled in me a love of learning and influenced my path toward a career in the service of others. For my parents, this meant careers in academia, where they could work to build scientific knowledge, answer questions to solve critical problems, and contribute to the education of young people. In many ways, I followed in their footsteps, first by studying chemical engineering, then by pivoting to a field that aligned more with my interests and values of learning and service: public health.
Upon completing my doctorate in public health, I began a post-doctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute, whose mission is to advance health and health equity, in Baltimore, Maryland. This role provided an outlet for me to continue my research, focused on preventing intimate partner violence and HIV risk, and work on several community engagement research efforts. I loved the work of connecting with people in the East Baltimore community to identify what was important to them when it came to their own health and wellbeing. I followed my post doctorate work with a short stint in a research faculty position at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, but I yearned to apply my research skills more directly to inform policy and practice. ACF provided the perfect opportunity to combine my passion and skillset.
At ACF, our research and evaluation work are guided by the ACF Evaluation Policy, which affirms our commitment to conducting rigorous, relevant evaluations and using evidence to inform policy and practice. The principles of rigor, relevance, transparency, independence, and ethics underlie the Evaluation Policy and OPRE’s work to gather evidence with the goal of making ACF’s services as effective, efficient, and equitable as possible. We are also leveraging and uplifting data across ACF through our inaugural data strategy to advance our mission.
My journey at OPRE began on a team that partnered with ACF’s Office of Family Assistance and Office of Family Violence Prevention Services to build evidence around healthy relationships, fatherhood, and family violence prevention programs. Now, in my role as OPRE’s Deputy Director, I work closely with ACF’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning, Research, and Evaluation to provide executive leadership and set strategic direction for OPRE’s research, evaluation, data, and other learning activities across ACF programs.
“It is an honor to contribute to the diversity of an organization that is dedicated to improving the wellbeing of children, families, and communities.”
For the past decade, I have had the privilege of serving at the Department of Health and Human Services, where my background, experience, and expertise have directly contributed to advancing our vital mission to promote the economic and social well-being of children, families, and communities. It is an honor to contribute to the diversity of an organization that is dedicated to improving the wellbeing of all by building evidence, promoting learning, and advancing equity for the people we serve.
Samantha Illangasekare, PhD, MPH
Deputy Director of the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation
Administration for Children and Families
Department of Health and Human Services
Continuing our DEIA journey
The DEIA journey is a continuous process of learning and improvement. Committing to DEIA is not just the right thing to do—it is the smart thing to do. It makes HHS a stronger federal agency, a more effective leader and partner in advancing the health of the nation, and an attractive home for the nation’s best and brightest talent.
Leadership change stories will evolve as we collaborate across HHS and make shared progress. We will move forward with a focus on continuous improvement and addressing existing and emerging leadership needs.
For questions, resources, or additional information, please email DEIAStrategicPlan@hhs.gov.
