Dr. Lenette Azzi-Lessing is a clinical professor of social work at Boston University School of Social Work. Her work focuses on improving the well-being and life chances of vulnerable, young children, and their families, particularly those living in poverty and those involved in the child protective system.<\/p>\n
As a senior fellow and national racial equity scholar in-residence at the Child Welfare League of America, she has promoted the well-being of vulnerable children and families through reform of the child welfare system. She is a co-editor of \u201cChild Neglect, Inequity, and Poverty\u201d and the author of \u201cBehind from the Start: How America\u2019s War on the Poor is Harming Our Most Vulnerable Children,\u201d as well as numerous other publications.<\/p>\n
Prior to joining the BU faculty, she was professor of social work at Wheelock College, the founding director of Wheelock\u2019s Graduate Certificate Program in Early Childhood Mental Health, and faculty leader of its Partnership for Early Childhood Development in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Azzi-Lessing was named a fulbright specialist by the U.S. State Department in 2017.<\/p>\n
She has developed and taught a broad range of courses and provided training and consultation throughout the United States, in South Africa, and in other countries. In addition to her academic work, Azzi-Lessing has more than 25 years\u2019 experience as a social worker, agency leader, and policy advocate.<\/p>\n