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Craig Garfield

Professor of Pediatrics and of Medical Social Sciences

Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago/ Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine

Aspen Institute Ascend Fellow Alumni 2021 Cohort 5

Chicago, Illinois

Craig Garfield is a professor at Northwestern University and a practicing pediatrician at the Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. In 2020, he became the founder and director of the Family and Child Health Innovations Program, which focuses on the notion that “Children thrive when families thrive” and how to support families in all their diversity. Dr. Garfield received his medical degree at Rush Medical College in Chicago, completed his pediatric training at Harvard Medical School’s Massachusetts General Hospital, and obtained a Masters in the Art of Public Policy from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy as a Harris Child and Family Scholar. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, his research focuses on improving the health of children and families by understanding the role parents play in the health and well-being of children (in particular the role of fathers) as well as how technology can support parenting. He has partnered with the CDC to pilot and scale the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System for Dads, a unique public health surveillance tool for new fathers. His work has been published in such peer-reviewed journals as JAMA, JAMA Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Academic Pediatrics, and AJPH and been featured in the New York Times, USA Today, Good Morning America, The Today Show, and the Katie Couric Show.

Stories Featuring Craig Garfield
May 25, 2023
Announcing Ascend Fellowship Impact Fund Awardees for the Class of 2021
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May 2, 2023
Discovering Ubuntu in South Africa
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January 21, 2022
Aspen Institute Announces 2021 Ascend Fellows
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June 26, 2020
Seeing Fathers’ Roles in Family Prosperity Clearly in 2020: Equitable Family Leave and Research for Improved Outcomes
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May 4, 2020
Ascend’s Response to CARES Act Offset for Child Support Arrears
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Ascend Fellows are a community of values-driven leaders who share an unwavering commitment to our shared goal of intergenerational family prosperity and well-being.