Our Team
Congressional Research Institute for Social Work & Policy (CRISP)
CRISP Leadership Team
Charles E. Lewis, Jr., MSW, PhD
Dr. Lewis is responsible for overseeing the overall operations of CRISP and setting the agenda for the activities and products generated by its’ talented team members.
Dr. Charles E. Lewis, Jr. is the Director of the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy (CRISP). During his time on the Hill, serving as deputy chief of staff and communications director for former Congressman Edolphus “Ed” Towns, he was instrumental in creating the Congressional Social Work Caucus with the idea it would be a platform that would allow social workers to have more of a voice in Congress. While on the Hill as the staff coordinator for the Social Work Caucus, Dr. Lewis organized briefings for the National Association of Social Work (NASW), the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), and the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR).
In 2012, he founded CRISP as a 501(c) 4 nonprofit, nonpartisan organization to complement the mission of the Social Work Caucus and to ensure its presence on the Hill as Congressional Member Organizations such as the Social Work Caucus must be recertified every two years prior to the start of the new Congress. Following Mr. Towns’ retirement in 2013, CRISP, under his leadership continues its work of encouraging and assisting social workers to engage with their Congressional representatives.
Dr. Charles E. Lewis, Jr. is the Director of the Congressional Research Institute for Dr. Lewis was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Social Work and Welfare in recognition of his contribution to the emerging field of political social work. Since March 2016, Dr. Lewis has coordinated a Social Work Day on the Hill where social workers from all walks of life gather to celebrate the many contributions our profession has made to Congress and the federal government. Each year CRISP brings hundreds of social work students to the Hill for our Student Advocacy Day on the Hill when learning how to engage with congressional staff and advocate for legislation relevant to social work and the populations we serve.
Dr. Lewis is an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of Social Work and supervises students in the MSW policy concentration. He was also an adjunct professor at the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California where he taught communications courses in the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) program. He was on the faculty of Howard University School of Social Work prior to going to the Hill to work with Mr. Towns.
A professional social worker, Dr. Lewis received his M.S.W. degree in clinical counseling at the Whitney M. Young, Jr. School of Social Work at Clark Atlanta University. He earned his Ph.D. in social policy analysis at the Columbia University School of Social Work in 2002. He strongly believes that social workers have much to bring to the policy discussion because of their hands-on knowledge about the real-world experiences of people from all walks of life. Dr. Lewis has been a strong advocate for children’s mental health as president of the Mental Health Association of the District of Columbia and has published extensively about the need for early detection and treatment as a means to reduce the overrepresentation of African Americans and Latinos in the criminal justice system.
Dr. Lewis co-edited a book in 2011 with former Philadelphia Mayor Dr. W. Wilson Goode and Howard School of Divinity professor Dr. Harold Dean Trulear entitled, Ministry with Prisoners and Families: The Way Forward, presenting ideas to reduce the constant flow of young people of color into the criminal justice system by addressing their psychological and behavioral needs at an early age. He is a strong proponent for increased mental health services in schools. Speaking at a forum at the Center for American Progress titled: “Everyone Isn’t Obama: Black Men and Social Policy,” Dr. Lewis stated the over-representation of young people of color in the criminal justice system is the number one civil rights issue today for African Americans because of the economic and relational penalties incurred by individuals, families, and communities.
The work and productivity of the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy
is spearheaded by our amazing team of researchers, innovators, and visionaries.
Angelique Day
Legislative Director
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Angelique is responsible for setting CRISP’s legislative priorities and the legislation we promote and support of which child welfare is the organization’s top priority.
Angelique Day received her PhD in interdisciplinary health science in 2011 from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. She earned an MSW from Michigan State University in 2005 and a BS summa cum laude in sociology/psychology from Central Michigan University. Much of her research focuses on foster care youth, including examining the differences in college retention rates between foster care youth and other low-income first-generation college students, and examining “youth voice” and its impact on child welfare, education and health policy reform.
From 2011–2016, she was an assistant professor of social work at Wayne State University, where she taught both undergraduate and graduate classes. She’s been an evaluator, principal investigator or project coordinator on major studies funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and McGregor Fund, among others.
Day has received many awards and honors, including a year-long congressional fellowship awarded during the 2016–2017 academic year by the Society for Research on Child Development and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was assigned to the office of Congressman Danny K. Davis where she helped develop the congressman’s child welfare and higher education legislative portfolios.
Justin Hodge
Academic Director
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Justin is responsible for overseeing the development and production of information and materials made available to faculty and students at schools of social work.
Justin Hodge is a clinical assistant professor of social work at the University of Michigan. He is the co-lead for the Policy & Political Social Work Pathway and the director of the Online Certificate in Political Social Work. Hodge is committed to increasing the presence of social workers in policy and political spaces. He teaches courses that provide students with the tools to engage in politics and approach policy work from a social justice perspective.
Hodge was elected to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners in November 2020. As a county commissioner, he brings his social work perspective to addressing the most pressing problems facing Washtenaw County. Hodge has a particular focus on addressing inequities in the county and promoting economic opportunity. In 2021, Hodge was appointed by Governor Whitmer to the Commission on Community Action & Economic Opportunity, where he can lend his expertise at the state level.
Nationally, Hodge serves as board president of the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy, which works to expand the participation of social workers in federal legislative and policy processes. He is also a founding board member of the Social Work Democracy Project, a charitable organization focused on providing resources to Schools of Social Work to advance knowledge of government and democracy.
Jason Ostrander
Research Director
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Jason is responsible for overseeing CRISP’s research agenda and creating the knowledge base that is vital to achieving the organization’s mission and goals.
Jason Ostrander, Ph.D., MSW, is an Assistant Professor at Sacred Heart University’s Department of Social Work and Director of the Congressional Policy Practice Internship. He currently serves on the Research Committee and Advisory Board for the Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work and Director of Research for the CRISP.
Dr. Ostrander’s practice experience comprises political social work and served as a congressional aid to a former U.S. Congressman. He is an experienced Investigator with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Government, Politics, Program Evaluation, Quantitative and Qualitative Research, Event Management, and Volunteer Management.
He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Social Work from UCONN School of Social Work with a focus on political social work, political participation, and engaging oppressed and marginalized populations in policy development and politics.