B.A., Brandeis University; M.S.W., University of Hawaii. Ms. Stern is a social worker by training, now specializing in macro level practice related to child and family well-being. Her work integrates research and extension activities and focuses on assessing and evaluating the conditions of children and families in Hawai‘i through the use of program data and social indicators for policy and program development efforts. Her work also focuses on family resiliency, especially in the presence of economic strain, and on promoting the practices that strengthen families and foster their well-being.

• M.S.W., University of Hawai‘i

• Tracking trends and changes to family composition
• Family strengthening research and outreach education to support families.   
  

• Hawaii KIDS COUNT. Ongoing, funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. A national and state-by-state initiative that tracks the status of children through the use of social indicator data for policy and program development that supports children and their families.
• Hawaii Youth Opportunities Initiative Data Analysis. April 2011 – January 2013, funded by EPIC Ohana, Inc. Barbara DeBaryshe is a co-investigator. Assist the Hawaii Youth Opportunities Initiative – whose mission it is to assist youth leaving foster care and former foster youth make successful transitions to adulthood – in its use of program data for measuring impact, making better data-driven decisions, influencing and institutionalizing practice and policy, and increasing public will.
• Evaluation of Socioeconomic Impacts of the Hamakua Hydroeletric Project on Families and Communities. October 2010 – September 2012, funded by the US Department of Energy. Andrew Hashimoto is the principal investigator and Barbara DeBaryshe is a co-team leader. Conduct an evaluation of the socioeconomic impacts on families and communities affected by renewable energy – a hydroelectric plant – in Hamakua on the Island of Hawaii.
• Community Stabilization Initiative Indicators Project. April 2010 – March 2012, funded by the Hawaii Community Foundation. Sarah Yuan is a co-investigator. Assist the Hawaii Community Foundation assess and track the impact of the economic recession on Hawaii’s individuals and families – both to monitor improvements and to identify possible areas for programming direction – through the use of indicator data.
• Family Financial Challenges and their Implications for the Quality of Family Relationships and Individual Adjustment. October 2009 – September 2012. Ji-Yeon Kim is the principal investigator of this project and Barbara DeBaryshe is a co-investigator. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Hatch program, this project explores personal, family, and social network factors that support resiliency in low-income Asian American and Pacific Islander adolescents.

• Yuen, S., He, S.J., Ripke, M., Stern, I., Kadir, A., & Yuan M.Y. (2006). Excellence in Extension Award from the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai‘i.
• Yuen, S., He, S.J., Kadir, A., Stern, I., Kim, S.Y., & Ripke, M. (2004). Association for Communication Excellence Silver Award for Center on the Family Web site.