Center for Children and Families

Joan Alker

Deputy Executive Director

Joan Alker is deputy executive director at the Center for Children and Families and a senior researcher at the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute. Her work focuses on health coverage for low-income children and families, with an emphasis on premium assistance policies, immigrant issues, cost-sharing, and state Medicaid initiatives. Some of her recent publications include Premium Assistance Programs: How are they Financed and do States Save Money?, Immigrants and Health Care: A Primer, and state-specific analyses of Medicaid changes in Florida, Connecticut, and Georgia. 

Her previous positions include associate director of government affairs at Families USA and assistant director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. She holds a Master of Philosophy in politics from St. Antony's College, Oxford University and a Bachelor of Arts with honors in political science from Bryn Mawr College.