Dr. Charles E. Lewis, Jr. is President of the Board of Directors of the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy. He served as deputy chief of staff and communications director for former Congressman Edolphus “Ed” Towns and was the staff coordinator for the Congressional Social Work Caucus. He was a full-time faculty member at Howard University School of Social Work prior to joining Rep. Towns’ staff and now is an adjunct associate professor. As staff coordinator for the Social Work Caucus, Dr. Lewis helped to plan and to coordinate numerous briefings and events on the Hill and in the 10th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York. A professional social worker, Dr. Lewis received his M.S.W. degree in clinical counseling at the Whitney M. Young, Jr. School of Social Work at Clark Atlanta University. He earned his Ph.D. in social policy analysis at the Columbia University School of Social Work in 2002. He strongly believes that social workers have much to bring to the policy discussion because of their hands-on knowledge about the real-world experiences of people in all walks of life.