Dr. Ali Caliendo How do we build systems that work better for the people they serve?

I work to improve outcomes for children and families by helping organizations and public systems turn good ideas into effective practice. My work draws on experience leading direct services, conducting research, building organizations, evaluating programs, and working alongside policymakers, practitioners, and families. I am particularly interested in how systems respond to complex human problems, why well-intentioned policies often produce unexpected results, and what it takes to create lasting change at scale.

My research and teaching focus on the ways public policies, organizational systems, and implementation decisions shape outcomes for children and families. I am particularly interested in the translation of evidence into practice, the design of effective family support systems, and the unintended consequences that can emerge when research, policy, practice, and family realities become disconnected.

I am most interested in one question: how do we build systems that work better for the people they are intended to serve?

In addition to my nonprofit leadership experience, I serve as Assistant Professor-in-Residence and Graduate Coordinator in the School of Public Policy and Leadership at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where I have taught in the Doctor of Public Policy program since 2020. I teach graduate courses in policy alternatives, implementation, strategic planning, program evaluation, and applied policy analysis, and mentor doctoral and master’s students in evidence-informed decision making and public systems leadership.

My scholarship examines how public systems translate policy into practice and how implementation influences outcomes for children and families. Current areas of inquiry include kinship and nonparental care, hidden foster care and diversion, decision-centered public policy, child welfare implementation, organizational learning and performance, and systems design for vulnerable populations.

Through Kinship Policy Lab, the research, policy, and implementation practice I founded in 2026, I partner with government agencies, nonprofits, foundations, and national initiatives to translate evidence into policy, implementation strategy, and organizational improvements that strengthen systems serving children and families.

My perspective is shaped not only by professional experience but also by lived experience as a kinship caregiver, foster parent, adoptive parent, and parent of a child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). These experiences continue to inform my commitment to building policies and systems that are both evidence-informed and responsive to the realities families face every day.

Whether working with policymakers, researchers, nonprofit leaders, or practitioners, my goal remains the same: understanding systems, improving outcomes, and helping turn ideas into action.

At the center of all of it is the same commitment that started this journey: building systems that honor the dignity of children and families. I remain committed to advancing evidence-based, compassionate solutions in child welfare and to shaping leaders who can carry this work forward.

Current roles

• Assistant Professor-in-Residence and Graduate Coordinator School of Public Policy and Leadership, University of Nevada, Las Vegas · since 2026
• Founder and Principal Kinship Policy Lab · since 2026
• Strategic Advisor Foster Kinship · since 2026
• Co-Founder Nevada Children’s Lobby · since 2026

Education

• Ph.D., Public Affairs University of Nevada, Las Vegas · 2019
  Dissertation: State Law and Child Welfare Policy Role in Nonparental Family Composition
• M.A., Organizational Systems Renewal Seattle University · 2009
  Thesis: A Biopsychosocial Perspective of Early Childhood Trauma and Implications for Systemic Healing
• B.A., Psychology University of Chicago · 2004