Noor Toraif is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice (SP2). She received her PhD from the School of Social Work at Boston University, and is a 2022-2023 Ford Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Fellow. She earned her MA in Child Development at Tufts University, specializing in children and families’ programs and policies.

Her research draws from developmental and sociolegal theories to understand youth and young adults’ experiences in the United States child welfare, juvenile, and criminal legal systems. She is specifically interested in the experiences of youth transitioning into, out of, and between state agencies such as the child welfare system and the juvenile legal system, and how these transitions shape youths’ development and future life trajectories.

Noor’s work has been recognized and funded by the Society for Social Work and Research Doctoral Fellow Award, the Ford Foundation Dissertation Award, the Boston University Initiative on Cities Early Stage Urban Research Awards, and the Boston University Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future.