Laurie DeRose is a senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, and has been serving as the Director of Research for their World Family Map project that investigates both the determinants of family strength and the outcomes stemming from family strength across the globe. She holds a PhD in Sociology from Brown University and has taught at the University of Maryland, Brown University, and Georgetown University. Her early research on sub-Saharan African demography laid the foundation for her current focus on global family studies. Dr. DeRose pushes the limits of developing country data to expand knowledge in comparative family sociology, and teaches students how to develop a path of inquiry and to think like sociologists.