Beginning July 1, 2022, Dr. Andrea Hetling will be joining the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development as Associate Director.  In this role, Andrea will advance the mission of the Heldrich Center through research and scholarship and collaborate with Center Director Carl Van Horn and Center Executive Director Kathy Krepcio on the Center’s organizational and strategic planning. 

Dr. Hetling is a Professor of Public Policy at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and Co-Principal Investor of the New Jersey State Policy Lab. She is also a Senior Faculty Fellow at the Heldrich Center and a Faculty Affiliate of the Rutgers Center for Research on Ending Violence. Previously, Andrea directed the Bloustein School’s Graduate Public Policy Program.

Andrea is a highly regarded scholar, teacher, and mentor whose research focuses on assessing how public programs and policies support economic well-being and financial stability among vulnerable populations, including families living in poverty and survivors of intimate partner violence. In 2019, Andrea was one of only five scholars nationwide selected as a “Family Self-Sufficiency and Stability Research Network (FSSRN) Scholars” and awarded a five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Before receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, Andrea was a program administrator at an agency assisting survivors of domestic violence.