Debra Lancaster is the Executive Director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

She previously served as Chief Program Officer for the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF), where she led efforts to modernise the agency’s services. At DCF, Lancaster focused on integrating evidence-supported programming to support women, children, and families challenged by trauma, poverty, intimate partner violence, and mental health and substance use disorders. Her work to improve the well-being of children in foster care received national attention. She holds degrees in Women’s Studies and Labor and Industrial Relations, both from Rutgers.