Basically, I'm an enthusiast of development, drawn to better understand how we develop, experience the world, and make meaning from our experiences. I’m passionate about bridging research and practice—making theory and research findings understandable and useable in the daily lives of individuals and families.
In particular, I’m interested in how people navigate times of change and transition in their lives and how their beliefs about those changes affect their experiences. This has led me to research and work with a range of people in unique transitions, including refugee families in the Middle East, teen mothers and fathers in the transition to parenthood, families of premature infants, and college-age students navigating the changes of early adulthood in their lives.
I believe in the richness of people’s stories and the value of qualitative research in getting to the heart and complexity of lived experiences. (After all, at heart I’m an English major who went on to do developmental psychology graduate degrees!)
EDUCATION
PhD, Tufts University, Child Study and Human Development
MA, Tufts University, Child Development
Graduate coursework in Public Administration, University of Utah
BA, Utah State University, English
FELLOWSHIPS
Zero to Three Leaders for the 21st Century National Fellowship
Connected Beginnings Doctoral Fellowship
Teaching & Research in Academia
New York University Abu Dhabi: Research Scientist researching Sesame Street and International Rescue Committee interventions for Syrian refugee children and their families in the Middle East
Southern Virginia University: Assistant Professor of Family and Human Development
Boston University: Lecturer in Graduate School of Social Work
Tufts University: Teaching Fellow and Research Assistant
RESEARCH & INTERESTS
Parenting
Meaning making & parenting
Transition to parenthood
Adolescent parents
Meta-parenting mindset: Implicit beliefs about parenting
Engagement in parenting interventions
Parenthood in human development
Interventions
Home visiting programs for at-risk parents
Premature infant developmental intervention
Mindset & retention in home visiting programs
Program evaluation
Child Development
Infant development
Social and emotional development
Qualitative Research Methods
Committee and Community SERvice
Institutional Effectiveness Committee Member, SVU, 2017-2018
President’s Council, SVU, 2017-2018
Communications Chair, Academy of ZERO TO THREE Fellows, 2017-2019
College of Humanities and Social Science Advancement Board Member, Utah State University, 2011-2012
PhD Student Committee Founding Member, Tufts University, 2007-2008
Families First Parent Advisory Committee & Education Summit Committee Member, 2006-2009
Massachusetts Children's Trust Fund Proposal Reviewer, 2004
CONSULTATION & APPLIED WORK
- ARACY (Australian Research Alliance for Children & Youth)
- Asociacion Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro (Guatemala)
- Brazelton Institute
- Connected Beginnings
- Curriculum Associates
- Families First
- Families and Work Institute/Mind in the Making
- Fletcher School (Cultural Change Institute)
- Global TIES for Children
- Horizons for Homeless Children
- Jumpstart for Children
- Massachusetts Children's Trust Fund
- Ounce of Prevention Fund
- Room to Grow NYC
affiliations and certifications
- Brazelton Newborn Behavioral Observation (NBO)
- Mind in the Making certified facilitator
- Trained in lobbying, advocacy, and strategic frame analysis
- Member: World Association of Infant Mental Health, Society for Research in Child Development, Zero to Three
