Cohort 2

Jeff is completing his PhD with the School of Social Work at McMaster University. Previously, Jeff has completed a Masters of Social Work and Bachelor Degrees in Social Work and Labour Studies. Jeff continues to work in the field of Child Welfare on the Emergency Services Team completing forensic investigations, while continuing working as a Course Developer and Teaching Assistant with McMaster. In the past 13 years of working in the Social Work field, Jeff has worked on the front line in specialized treatment group homes with youth, with families in the housing and homelessness sector and was the Executive Director of a community-based youth serving agency. While Jeff is passionate about front-line practice, he believes that change occurs at the point where practice, policy & research intersect. Jeff has worked with Spark: A Centre for Social Research Innovation as well as McMaster’s Community Research Platform supporting various health and social service organizations with research, program design and program evaluation projects, with special focus on harm-reduction. Jeff continues to engage in harm reduction advocacy and policy groups in Hamilton as well as supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ advocacy projects in Hamilton. Jeff’s current research focuses on the intersection of policy and practice, exploring the integration of harm reduction in child welfare policies with the goal of better supporting youth and families involved with the child welfare system in Ontario.