PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania’s Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research will host its inaugural “Field of Dreams” luncheon, Friday, Sept. 23, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the College of Physicians, 19 S. 22nd St., Philadelphia.  WPVI-TV anchor Monica Malpass will be the event’s master of ceremonies.

The Field Center is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the School of Social Policy & Practice, Law School and Perelman School of Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Benjamin Lerner from the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas will be the featured speaker.

The luncheon is dedicated to the late Alan M. Lerner, Field Center faculty director and professor at Penn Law.  Two awards in his name, including a fellowship, will be announced during the luncheon.

This year’s recipient of the Alan Lerner Child Advocacy Award is Cindy Christian, a professor of pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine, the holder of an endowed chair in child-abuse prevention at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the first medical director for the Philadelphia Department of Human Services.  She is also the chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Child Abuse and Neglect Committee.

“The Field Center is thrilled for this opportunity to honor the legacy and teachings of Alan Lerner, a committed child advocate and mentor to a generation of students,” Debra Schilling Wolfe, executive director of the Field Center, said.  “Professor Lerner established the Child Advocacy Clinic at Penn’s Law School and served as the legal expert for the Field Center, addressing issues ranging from confidentiality and information sharing to training and best practice for legal counsel in dependency proceedings.  His work lives on through the new fellowship established in his name.”

The Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice and Research works to improve the lives of victims of child abuse and neglect by reforming the systems that are responsible for protecting them through innovative and critical change.