New
Practice
Lab

2024 IMPACT REPORT

The New Practice Lab is a team of designers, researchers, policy experts, data scientists and technologists building a tighter link between policymakers and the families they serve.

This year, we went deep with more than 100 Americans to understand what families really need in order to thrive.

75

civil servants and frontline workers

58

families

31

1-on-1 interviews

589

diary study messages

Happiness is... when your children come to you and say ‘Mommy, I want this.’ You are able to give it to them… especially when it comes to basic needs, like food, clothing.
— Hope, Mother of 4
Listen
A perfect morning, in my opinion, for my household, would be...me wake up in the morning before the kids, kind of get the house settled and open for the day. I like to try to open the blinds and, you know, make the whole house filled with sunlight and kind of get myself mentally prepared...Kids are an amazing blessing in our lives. However, as a stay-at-home mom, a lot of us stay-at-home moms don’t have a break...
— Ava, Mother of 3
Listen
We don’t have a big family here, just my husband, and my kids...and we always like to go to the park to do some barbecue.... The kids love this, and we enjoy, all of us, this time because it is the only time in the week we can spend together...
— Jamilah, Mother of 2
Listen

We used that learning to help public agencies shape critical new programs and improve existing ones.

4

pieces of legislation or regulation influenced

12

government partners

9

states

9

public programs worked on

We shared what families taught us with as many people as we could, in print and at public events.

12

speaking engagements

8

op-eds

15

public citations

The result?

The work we did this year will improve access to cash, childcare, and time with loved ones for more than

1.7M Americans,

nearly 40% of whom belong to economically excluded families with young children.

A message from our founder

We have never had a greater need for leaders and institutions that can listen. 

Our team at the New Practice Lab is building a new discipline of delivering by listening to what families need to thrive. When we really listen to families, we can use what we hear to move from pain points to real fixes. This listening is an essential ingredient for building institutions that can actually deliver. 

Our team helps government leaders across the country serve families better by engaging with them directly to understand the realities of their lives. We’ve heard that families need money in their pockets and time to care for their loved ones. We also learned how much strength families find in connection to others, and how it matters to be seen and understood.

It is only through listening and connecting with those we aim to serve that we can begin to imagine policies that will enable us all to thrive.

— Tara Dawson McGuinness
Executive Director,
New Practice Lab

Explore our work

Our team

  • Tara Dawson McGuinness

    Tara Dawson McGuinness

    Founder and Executive Director

  • Amira Choueiki Boland

    Amira Choueiki Boland

    Chief of Staff

  • Ayushi Roy

    Ayushi Roy

    Chief Program Officer

  • Vontisha Fludd

    Vontisha Fludd

    Financial Analyst & Account Manager

  • Sarah Gilliland

    Sarah Gilliland

    Senior Policy Analyst

  • Nikki Lee

    Nikki Lee

    Director of Product

  • Erica Meade

    Erica Meade

    Director of Policy

  • Nhi Nguyễn

    Nhi Nguyễn

    Social Policy Analyst

  • Jacklynn Pham

    Jacklynn Pham

    UX Design Lead

  • Devyani Singh

    Devyani Singh

    Data and Strategic Impact Lead

  • Soren Spicknall

    Soren Spicknall

    Data Engineering Lead

  • Jessica Weeden

    Jessica Weeden

    Senior Design Lead

  • Simone Brody

    Simone Brody

    Special Project Fellow

  • Elizabeth Garlow

    Elizabeth Garlow

    Fellow

  • Marina Nitze

    Marina Nitze

    Fellow

  • Cecilia Muñoz

    Senior Advisor

  • Jake Maguire

    Advisor


Our Partners

We are thankful to our partners, who continue to contribute to this work as investors, thought partners, advocates, and co-strategists.