Karen Seccombe, M.S.W, Ph.D .is a Professor of Community Health at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.nbsp; She received her Masterrsquo;s Degree in Social Work from the University of Washington focusing on health and social welfare policy.nbsp; She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Washington State University, where she continued to develop her public policy interests in inequality, families, and health.nbsp; She is the author ofFamilies and their Social Worlds(Pearson Allyn & Bacon),Families in Poverty(Pearson Allyn & Bacon), nbsp;Just Donrsquo;t Get Sick: Access to Health Care in the Aftermath of Welfare Reform, with Kim Hoffman (Rutgers University Press), andMarriage and… Families: Relationships in Social Context, with Rebecca Warner (Wadsworth).nbsp; She is a Fellow in the National Council on Family Relations, and a member of the American Sociological Association and the Pacific Sociological Association.nbsp;nbsp; Her current research explores the health care needs of families after they leave welfare. She resides in Portland, Oregon with her husband Richard and her young daughters, Natalie Rose and Olivia Lin, where they enjoy hiking, kayaking, and sampling all the kid-friendly local attractions.nbsp;