NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ – August 25, 2026 – Prevent Child Abuse-New Jersey has named Dr. Lauren Supplee as its new CEO/Executive Director effective September 8.
PCA-NJ Board President Harvey Lermack stated, “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Supplee who brings a wealth of experience and expertise that make her the ideal choice to lead us in our next chapter. The Board also thanks Gina Hernandez for 20+ years of exemplary service. We’re grateful that Gina will remain with us for a short term to ensure a smooth transition.”
Dr. Supplee previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning, Research and Evaluation at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the federal Department of Health and Human Services. In this role, she led the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation whose mission is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of human services.
Dr. Supplee has also served as a senior program officer at the William T. Grant Foundation, leading the foundation’s initiatives on improving the use of research evidence in policy and practice and its institutional challenge grants program and as Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Senior Scholar in early childhood research at Child Trends, a nonpartisan research center focused on children and their families. While at Child Trends her research focused on evidence-based policy, early childhood home visiting and other parenting programs, prevention science and implementation research. Prior to joining Child Trends, she worked for ten years in OPRE, including four years as the Director of the Division of Family Strengthening. During that time, she led research with ACF’s Office of Head Start including the Head Start CARES evaluation, a national evaluation of social-emotional curricula in Head Start classrooms. She also led the initiation and roll-out of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program (MIECHV), in partnership with the Health Resources and Services Administration, including designing and executing many of the research and evaluation efforts in that program.
Dr. Supplee received her PhD in educational psychology with a specialization in family-focused early intervention services from Indiana University. She was raised in Sussex County, NJ and now resides in Monmouth County, NJ where she loves to garden and paddleboard.
_______________________________________________________
Founded in 1979, Prevent Child Abuse-New Jersey builds a brighter future for children by promoting family wellness, positive parenting, healthy child development and nurturing communities. We help transform homes and schools into nurturing, trauma-informed environments. PCA-NJ is the New Jersey State Chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America, a network of chapters in all 50 states.
Founded in 2019, the Child Wellness Institute (ChildWIN®) builds resilience in children and social-emotional health in children and families. ChildWIN® is a subsidiary of Prevent Child Abuse-New Jersey.
