Her areas of professional interest include family structure and relationship stability, assets and wealth, social welfare policy, intervention research, and program evaluation. She has written on couple relationships, assets and low-income homeownership, and intimate partner violence. Her current research focuses on couple stability among low-income, new parents, as well as the relationship between marital status and homeownership among disadvantaged households. Dr. Charles received her M.S.W. and M.P.A. degrees from Columbia University and her Ph.D. in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work. [back to top]