She received her Ph.D. in family science and her masters in marriage and family therapy at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Hrapczynski specializes in human services and clinical interventions aimed at fostering resilience in individuals, families, and communities. Her research currently focuses on two populations, transracial adoptive families and military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and their families. An emphasis of this work has been developing the cultural competence of human service providers and community-based services to appreciate the experiences and strengths of these families and to address their unique needs.