SONDRA BEVERLY, PhD, is a Senior Scholar at the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis. She is interested in social policy that supports financial and material wellbeing of families. Sondra has been involved in asset research for approximately two decades, including studies on saving at tax time and child development accounts. She earned her MSW and PhD at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis and an MA in Economics from the University of Missouri St. Louis.
Projects
American Dream Policy Demonstration (ADD)
Asset Building
This is the first large-scale demonstration of Individual Development Accounts, with approximately 2,400 accounts opened at 13 sites across the country.
SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK)
Asset Building
The SEED OK experiment, which began in 2007, is a large-scale policy test of universal, automatic, and progressive Child Development Accounts. The CDA uses the Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan platform.
College Success: Increasing Access through Inclusion in 529 Plans
Asset Building
CSD seeks to inform and put in place an inclusive 529 platform for educational savings to increase postsecondary degree success among lower-income children, youth, and non-traditional students.
Inclusion in 529 Savings Plans: Evidence from Maine
Asset Building
The first statewide Child Development Account (CDA) in the U.S., Maine’s Harold Alfond College Challenge, stands as a shining example of universal and progressive accounts at birth. We study the College Challenge and document this CDA’s evolution.