About the Council on Contemporary Families
The Council on Contemporary Families is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to providing the press and public with the latest research and best-practice findings about American families. Our members include demographers, economists, family therapists, historians, political scientists, psychologists, social workers, sociologists, communication scholars, as well as other family social scientists and practitioners.
Founded in 1996 and based at the University of Texas at Austin, the Council’s mission is to enhance the national understanding of how and why contemporary families are changing, what needs and challenges they face, and how these needs can best be met. To fulfill that mission, the Council holds annual conferences, open to the public, and issues periodic briefing papers and fact sheets, which journalists can sign up to receive by writing to Stephanie Coontz, Director of Research and Public Education, at coontzs@msn.com.
Membership is open only to professionals in the field, so that we can send out confidential inquiries from journalists researching new stories. Our weekly news briefing is an outstanding resource for professionals in the family field, and non-professionals can receive this, along with our periodic news releases, by registering as Friends of CCF. CCF’s College Internship Program accepts applications from undergraduate and graduate students who are invited to apply and be supervised by current members of CCF’s Board of Directors.
2020-2021 Board of Directors
CCF Officers
Maureen Perry-Jenkins, Co-Chair
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Jenifer Bratter, Co-Chair
Rice University
Kristi Williams, President, Board of Directors
The Ohio State University
Stephanie Coontz, Director of Research and Public Education
The Evergreen State College
Jennifer Glass, Executive Director
University of Texas at Austin
Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan, Secretary
The Ohio State University
Dan Carlson, Treasurer
University of Utah
CCF Board of Directors
Fenaba Addo
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Christia Spears Brown
University of Kentucky
Jessica Calarco
Indiana University
Marilyn Coleman
University of Missouri
Shauna Cooper
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Frank Furstenberg
University of Pennsylvania
Lawrence Ganong
University of Missouri
Noni Gaylord-Harden
Loyola University Chicago
Arielle Kuperberg
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Barbara Risman
University of Illinois at Chicago
Stephen Russell
University of Texas at Austin
Sharon Sassler
Cornell University
Ellen Wartella
Northwestern University
Elizabeth Wildsmith
Child Trends
CCF Staff
Michael Garcia
Graduate Student Coordinator
University of Texas at Austin
CCF Contact Information
Mary De La Garza
Administrative Officer
Council on Contemporary Families
305 E. 23rd Street, G1800
Austin, TX 78712
Phone: 512-471-8339