Ms. Straka supports and promotes the Institute for Child and Family Policy's mission to provide nonpartisan, research-based information to policymakers and agency staff. She helps develop policy briefs and implement community support programs in conjunction with other Institute staff, faculty affiliates, and student interns. Ms. Straka has completed training in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), creating maps for spatial analysis of demographics and trends for social service agencies. She was recently designated as a Certified Family Life Educator by the National Council on Family Relations.