Sara McLanahan is a professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University. She is a faculty associate of the Office of Population Research and is the founder and directory of the Bendheim-Thoman Center for Research on Child Wellbeing. She currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Future of Children, a journal dedicated to providing research and analysis to promote effective policies and programs for children. She is the past president of the Population Association of America, and has served on the National Academy of Sciences - Institute of Medicine Board on Children, Youth and Families and the boards of the American Sociological Association and the Populations Association of America. she currently serves on the Advisory board for the National Poverty Center and the Board of Trustees for the William T. Grant Foundation. Dr. McLanahan is the author of many articles and books and has received numerous awards and honors. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1979.