Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D. in sociology from Johns Hopkins University, is director of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships and the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS); principal research scientist; and research professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University. She has written more than 100 publications on school, family, and community connections. She is author of a text for college courses for future teachers and administrators, School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Improving Schools (Westview Press, 2001) and coauthor of Family Reading Night (Eye on Education, 2008). In 1995, she established NNPS, which continues to guide schools, districts, and state leaders to develop research-based programs of family and community involvement. Among her awards, are the 2005 American Orthopsychiatric Association’s Blanche F. Ittleson Award for scholarship and service to strengthen school and family connections. Her current research focuses on how district leaders assist schools to develop partnership programs that reach all families and increase student success. In all of her work, she is interested in the connections of research, policy, and practice.