Kira Silk, MSW

Kira Silk currently serves as Director of Grand Challenges for Social Work at the University of Maryland.

Prior to her current position, Kira was the Assistant Director for Program Services at the Maryland CASA Association and a Program Associate with the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Child Welfare Strategy Group. She also served as a Stoneleigh Emerging Leader Fellow at Wordsworth Academy from 2014-2015, where she conducted survey research on the challenges faced by foster, kinship, and pre-adoptive parents. She developed the Philadelphia Resource Parent Association to give these parents opportunities to network with, learn from, and support each other, as well as advocate for broader systems change. Previously, Kira held social work internships at Wordsworth and Episcopal Community Services. She also worked as a Benefits Specialist with AmeriCorps, helping uninsured clients complete applications and determine their eligibility. She began her career as a child care worker at the Board of Child Care of the United Methodist Church.

Kira holds a BA in psychology from Goucher College and an MSW from the University of Pennsylvania.