Rob Woronoff, MS
Director, Putting Pride into Practice Project

Rob Woronoff has worked with and on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and families for more than 20 years and is a nationally-recognized expert and leader in efforts to address their needs. Rob joined the Family Builders staff with the inception of the Putting Pride into Practice Project, a state-wide initiative designed to assist California counties implement the recommendations contained in the CWLA Best Practice Guidelines: Serving LGBT Youth in Out-of-Home Care, in July of 2010. He spent several years as Director of LGBTQ Services with the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) in Washington, DC, where coordinated a national initiative, in conjunction with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, to strengthen the capacity of America’s child welfare system to deal equitably and competently with LGBTQ youth and families. His work at CWLA, the nation's largest association of child welfare providers, included the coordination of a National LGBTQ Advisory Network, comprised of child welfare policy makers and practitioners from nearly every state in the country. Rob contributed to policy development, legislation and court judgements concerning LGBTQ youth and families in many states, including the delivery of testimony before several state legislatures. He also planned and convened the first national child welfare conference dedicated entirely to addressing the needs of LGBTQ youth and families. This 3-day conference, entitled Finding Better Ways, drew hundreds of participants from nearly every state in the country. Prior to working with CWLA, he was Director of LGBT Services and Peer Programs at The Home for Little Wanderers in Boston where he developed and coordinated several adolescent programs addressing issues of HIV disease, tobacco use and pregnancy prevention. He also coordinated the development of New England’s first residential group home for LGBTQ youth. Rob also worked for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health where he oversaw the state's HIV prevention programming for gay men. He managed the contracts of programs supported by Massachusetts Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth which included a state-wide network of community-based social/support groups and an annual statewide, three-day LGBTQ youth conference for which he served as co-chair. He was a founding member and co-chair of Massachusetts’ statewide LGBT youth coalition. He also spent several years as a trainer for the Hetrick-Martin Institute in New York City, addressing LGBTQ issues with students throughout the New York City school system.

Rob was a principal author of Out of the Margins: A Report on Regional Listening Forums Highlighting the Experiences of LGBTQ Youth in Care, served as co-editor of the first LGBTQ special edition of the journal Child Welfare, and has authored numerous published articles on supportive care for LGBTQ youth. His work on behalf of LGBTQ youth and families has been featured in Time, The Advocate, CNN.com, USA Today, the Boston Globe, the Miami Herald and other newspapers and publications throughout the country. He has contributed to reports on various LGBTQ youth issues by organizations such as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Human Rights Watch and the ACLU. He has also appeared as a featured guest on National Public Radio’s On Point and Talk of the Nation. Rob has delivered presentations, speeches and trainings at more than 100 conferences throughout the country. He has served on numerous LGBT boards of directors, task forces and advisory committees for organizations such as the American Bar Association, HRC, the Tides Foundation and the National CASA Association.

A member of the Screen Actors’ Guild and Actor’s Equity Association, Rob was a professional actor and singer, appearing in numerous theatrical productions in New York and in theaters throughout the country. Rob holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Drama School at Carnegie-Mellon University and a Master of Science degree in Human Services Program Development from the University of Massachusetts where he also taught Program Performance Monitoring and Evaluation at the university’s Graduate School of Community and Public Service. Rob was a licensed foster parent through Child and Family Services Agency in Washington, DC.

He now lives in Los Angeles where he is developing a new TV series based on the experiences of foster youth and families. More information about Rob’s work with and on behalf of LGBTQ youth and families can be found on his website at www.robworonoff.com