About MDRC
Wharton-Fields, a Senior Operations Associate, has more than 15 years of experience in community development and urban planning. Her current work is focused on the Opportunity NYC project, a new demonstration program designed to reduce inter-generational poverty in New York City. She has also worked on the Neighborhood Jobs Initiative and Jobs-Plus, two neighborhood-based employment projects, and the Work Advancement and Support Centers demonstration, where she has had a lead role in providing technical assistance to the sites. Her career began as a city planner for Boston’s public housing and regional transportation authority and economic development agency. She was also employed by the architectural and planning firm of Carr, Lynch, Hack and Sandell, where she assisted with the resident-engagement aspects of large-scale, mixed-use redevelopment projects. In New York City, Wharton-Fields served as Director of Development for the New York City Housing Partnership and as a project manager at the New York State Urban Development Corporation. She also led a regional consensus-building project, called “One New Jersey,” for New Jersey Future, the statewide planning organization. As a consultant to the Conservation Company and Community Development Associates, she led strategic planning, organizational assessment and development, and research projects. She currently serves on the Board of the National Housing Institute/Shelterforce Magazine. Wharton-Fields holds a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from Williams College and a Master of City Planning degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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MDRC Publications
Issue FocusJune, 2020Here are MDRC’s Top Five Tips for social service and educational programs adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic. They focus on ensuring staff members’ and participants’ personal safety so that agencies can continue providing high-quality services and support while working remotely. They also include guidance on protecting participant confidentiality.
Issue FocusPractical Advice from Richard Guare and Colin Guare
June, 2020This Issue Focus offers guidance to social service programs seeking to help participants progress toward their goals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Techniques are described for alleviating social isolation, communicating remotely, setting and achieving goals, getting medication, assessing workplace safety, applying for public benefits, working from home, and managing grief.
Issue FocusTips to Keep Participants Coming Back for More
September, 2019In just seven seconds, most people form a first impression. For program participants, this initial encounter can mean the difference between signing up for services – or walking away. The September 2019 In Practice blog post offers tips for programs seeking to have an impact from the get-go.
Issue FocusUsing Data to Analyze Enrollment Drop-Off
August, 2019The August 2019 In Practice blog post offers tips for programs to ensure that the participants they recruit, actually enroll. In this post, we examine some key lessons from MDRC’s evaluation of the WorkAdvance project to help turn program recruits into program success stories.
Issue FocusEight Steps to Full Enrollment
June, 2019The June post for MDRC’s operations web series, In Practice: Lessons for and from Practitioners, features eight steps to recruiting new participants in community improvement programs. MDRC field liaisons highlight tailored tips and practical advice to help staff members enroll new participants and maximize the full capacity of their programs.
ReportA Guide for Practitioners Based on the Jobs-Plus Demonstration
December, 2008This guide contains practical advice on implementing a program model — known as the Jobs-Plus Community Initiative for Public Housing Families (Jobs-Plus) — aimed at helping public housing residents find and keep jobs.
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Other Publications
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Projects
Dina A. R. Israel, Frieda Molina, Donna Wharton-Fields, Samantha Wulfsohn, Stephanie Rubino, Diego QuezadaSince 2005, the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood ( HMRF ) programs have received funding from the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance ( OFA ), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to support services, as well as research and evaluation activities. These programs contribute to OFA ’s larger goal of...
Charles Michalopoulos, Dina A. R. Israel, Michelle S. Manno, Emily Brennan, Emily Marano, Oscar Cerna, Donna Wharton-Fields, Erika Lundquist, Ann Bickerton, Rekha Balu, Rebecca Behrmann, Kureem Nugent, Yana Kusayeva, Diego QuezadaSince 2006, Responsible Fatherhood programs across the country have received federal funding administered by the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These programs aim to promote positive father-child interactions, improve parents’ relationship with each other and their capacity...
In 2007, New York City officials launched three related initiatives testing distinct strategies for promoting employment and economic well-being among recipients of housing assistance, particularly those receiving rent subsidies through Housing Choice Vouchers (also known as “Section 8” assistance, after Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937). Called the Work Rewards...
James A. Riccio, Cynthia Miller, Nandita Verma, Edith Yang, Jared Smith, Gilda Azurdia, Donna Wharton-Fields, Anne Warren, M. Victoria Quiroz BecerraFamily Rewards was an innovative approach to poverty reduction in the United States that was modeled on the conditional cash transfer ( CCT ) programs common in lower- and middle-income countries. The program offered cash assistance to poor families, contingent on their meeting certain criteria related to family health care, children’s education, and parents’ work, in...
James A. Riccio, Donna Wharton-Fields, Nina Castells, Stephanie Rubino, Keith Olejniczak, Joshua Vermette, Hannah Dalporto, Gloriela Iguina-Colón, Annie Utterback, Henry KanengiserMyGoals for Employment Success is a new workforce program intended to help recipients of federal housing subsidies who are not employed find work, build careers, and advance toward greater self-sufficiency. The program incorporates an innovative employment coaching model that is informed by current literature in behavioral psychology on executive functioning skills and...
Barbara S. Goldman, Frieda Molina, Donna Wharton-Fields, Stephen Freedman, Richard Hendra, David Navarro, Susan Scrivener, Betsy L. Tessler, Jonathan Bigelow, Keith Olejniczak, Kelsey Schaberg, Gloriela Iguina-Colón, Annie Utterback, Alexandra Pennington, Brandon HawkinsThe Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ( SNAP ) — formerly the food stamp program —is a critical work support for low-income people and families. Although SNAP has included various employment and training requirements for adult recipients to maintain their eligibility since the 1970s, the SNAP Employment and Training ( SNAP E&T ) program was established as...
Nandita Verma, James A. Riccio, Donna Wharton-Fields, Stephen Freedman, Betsy L. Tessler, Stephanie Rubino, David Navarro, Michelle Ware, Joshua Vermette, Nicole MorrisThe Family Self-Sufficiency ( FSS ) program is the main federal program for increasing employment and earnings and reducing reliance on government subsidies among recipients of housing subsidies. Created in 1990, FSS is administered by state and local public housing agencies with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ( HUD ). In 2014, HUD...
James A. Riccio, Gilda Azurdia, Edith Yang, Donna Wharton-Fields, Nandita Verma, Caroline Schultz, Jocelyn Page, Frieda Molina, Cynthia Miller, Richard Hendra, Barbara S. Goldman, Stephen Freedman, Jared Smith, Mark van Dok, Natasha Piatnitskaia, Betsy L. Tessler, Stephanie Rubino, Sharon RowserThe Social Innovation Fund ( SIF ) , an initiative enacted under the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, deploys millions of dollars in public-private funds to expand effective solutions in three issue areas: economic opportunity, healthy futures, and youth development and school support. This work seeks to create a catalog of proven approaches that can be replicated...
James A. Riccio, Gilda Azurdia, Nandita Verma, Donna Wharton-Fields, Cynthia Miller, Jared Smith, Edith Yang, Betsy L. Tessler, Nikki OrtolaniIn March 2007, former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced his intention to test a set of antipoverty initiatives, called Opportunity NYC , that would use temporary cash payments to poor families to boost their income in the short term, while building their ability to avoid longer-term and second-generation poverty. Such payments are known internationally...
Nandita Verma, James A. Riccio, Donna Wharton-Fields, Betsy L. Tessler, Nikki Ortolani, Jonathan Bigelow, M. Victoria Quiroz Becerra, Edith Yang, Henry KanengiserPublic housing developments are among the most economically challenged neighborhoods in the United States. In fact, many public housing residents face obstacles to employment even beyond those normally experienced by other low-income people. To address this problem, Jobs-Plus was conceived in the mid-1990s by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ( HUD...