Deborah E. Ward received her Ph.D., M. Phil, M.P.A., and B.A. from Columbia University. She is founder of Ward Consulting which specializes in arts education and education evaluation and research; data system development; and evaluation capacity building. Her current clients include Arts Ed Newark, Bloomfield College, Count Basie Theater, Foundation for Educational Administration/NJPSA, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and PRISM Quartet Institute. Over the last 14 years she has served as the external evaluator on a variety of federal grants from the USDOL, USDOE and NSF. She was Associate Research Professor and Director of the Economic Development Research Group at Rutgers University and on Graduate Faculty at Columbia University before leaving academia to focus on her consulting business. She is active in the American Political Science Association, the Latin American Studies Association, and the Urban Affairs Association. She is the recipient of several awards, including the Norton Long Scholar award, in recognition of her contribution to applied urban policy research. She has published extensively and her manuscript The White Welfare State- The Racialization of U.S. Welfare Policy was published by the University of Michigan Press.