Chapin Hall Launches New Chief Strategy Officer Position
Miranda Lynch-Smith to bring decades of experience to role
Chapin Hall has established a new leadership position, the Chief Strategy Officer, which will focus on developing actionable policy solutions, building strategic partnerships, advancing interdisciplinary research, and driving cross-sector collaborations. Miranda Lynch-Smith is rejoining Chapin Hall as its inaugural chief strategy officer.
Lynch-Smith served in multiple senior leadership roles in the Department of Health and Human Services and as a senior advisor to the White House Domestic Policy Council. She will play a key role in shaping Chapin Hall’s policy agenda by translating research into impact and identifying new opportunities to address pressing challenges across the organization’s impact areas.
“I am so pleased to return to Chapin Hall,” said Lynch-Smith. “It feels like coming home and I’m thrilled to continue what’s been my life’s work: to help improve functionality within child welfare systems and across other care service systems for the benefit of all children and families. Chapin Hall has a strong reputation as a leader in the field, and I’m excited to help shape its path forward.”
Lynch-Smith has more than 25 years of experience working in the federal government. She consistently used evidence to guide federal policy changes that support prevention and well-being, advance public investments in early childhood education, and connect families to economic supports. In between government positions, she was a policy fellow at Chapin Hall.
“Miranda is one of the most dedicated people I’ve ever worked with in the child welfare field,” said Chapin Hall Executive Director Bryan Samuels. “The addition of Miranda, alongside our excellent new board of directors, strengthens our organization as we envision how best to support our clients and effect real change in the coming decades. And, truly, there’s no one more qualified to help steer our strategy than Miranda. She brings deep knowledge, extensive experience, and a passion for making a difference for children and families.”
Throughout her career, Lynch-Smith has worked alongside government and nonprofit leaders to turn evidence into action, enhance continuous quality improvement processes, and align policies, systems, and funding streams to advance well-being for children and families. She also created widely adopted tools, resources, and frameworks that have helped child welfare leaders and their partners across sectors capitalize on policy opportunities—such as the Family First Prevention Services Act—to drive meaningful reform and system transformation.
At the Children’s Bureau within the Department of Health and Human Services, Lynch-Smith led the Child and Family Service Review process, helping states prioritize outcomes and evidence in their work, and played a central role in creating a federal framework for continuous quality improvement in child welfare. She was also instrumental in shaping and evaluating federal and state legislation, regulations, and policies related to child welfare and broader human services programs.
Lynch-Smith received her Bachelor of Arts from Douglass College and Master of Science from the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, both at Rutgers University.
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