Laura Burney Nissen

Laura Burney Nissen, M.S.W., Ph.D.
NATIONAL PROGRAM DIRECTOR, RECLAIMING FUTURES
Laura Burney Nissen specializes in innovating dynamic community and cross-agency partnerships. She has led the Reclaiming Futures initiative through conceptualization, demonstration and dissemination. As national program director, Laura has written extensively about the lessons of the initiative, and is a regular speaker at national meetings on juvenile justice reform. Laura has worked with state and federal agencies to encourage system-wide recognition and use of strength-based methods for youth. She is an associate professor at Portland State University’s School of Social Work. Her research focuses on qualitative research methods, system reform issues, and communication tools for social change.