Gary Parker, PhD

Gary Parker has spent more than two decades engaged in policy practice. First as a government employee and then as a university-based policy analyst and researcher, he has partnered with policymakers on the local, state and federal levels to develop, implement and evaluate policies aimed at improving the health and mental health of children and families. As the former deputy director of the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research, he led several community-based participatory research projects and collaborated with community and government partners to connect evidence-based solutions to policy decision-making. 

As director of the Clark-Fox Policy Institute, Gary leads a programmatic agenda driven by a commitment to advancing social and economic justice for children and the adults who care for them. Through the institute, he leverages a vast network of transdisciplinary scholarship and community knowledge to inform critical policy issues. 

As the Associate Dean for External Affairs at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, he oversees the school’s communications and professional development offerings.

Gary brings a passion for social justice and racial equity to all of his work and continually seeks to put theory, his academic training, and his commitment to stakeholder collaboration into practice to affect positive social change. He serves on the board of Forward Through Ferguson, an organization charged with advancing racial equity in the St. Louis region. Gary completed his doctoral studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem earning a PhD in social work.