Chapin Hall

LaShaun Brooks is a Project Associate at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. Some of his responsibilities include data collection, specifically qualitative interviewing and focus group facilitation, as well as program observation and assessment. In addition to his data collection work, Brooks has also been responsible for the training and management of field staff on multiple projects. He is currently involved in a research effort examining how African American fathers and mentors communicate with their sons and mentees about education, community, and violence. His previous research efforts include program evaluations on Becoming a Man (BAM), Get in Chicago, One Summer Chicago, Elev8 and TPP. He also conducted data collection on, among other projects, the Palm Beach County Family Study, IB3, AB12, JRI, Relational Permanence Among Young Adults, and the Comprehensive Family Assessment study.

Prior to joining Chapin Hall, Brooks worked for Rush University’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center as a Research Assistant on a longitudinal aging study. He also worked for Harvard University on the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, a large-scale, interdisciplinary study of how families, schools, and neighborhoods affect child and adolescent development. His work on the Harvard study included data collection, data management, and training and management of field staff.

Brooks studied business at the Illinois Institute of Technology before discovering his passion for and embracing social policy research. His goal is to contribute to the greater knowledge and understanding of how youth and families, especially vulnerable populations, can best benefit from public and private organizations that serve them.