Our People
- All NCCF People
- Administrative Associate
- Administrative Director
- Graduate Fellows
- Research Assistants
- Research Scientists
- Visiting Scholars
- Former Students & Postdoctoral Fellows
- Current Research Collaborators
Courtney Parent
Courtney Parent
Courtney Parent is serving as the Administrative Associate to NCCF Co-Director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. She graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University with a master’s degree in Developmental Psychology in 2022, and in 2019, graduated with a bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of New England (UNE). During graduate school, Courtney served as a Clinical Research Study Coordinator in UNE’s Center for Excellence in Aging and Health. While studying at UNE, she worked as a Research Assistant in the Reading Comprehension and Cognition lab while also serving as a Teaching Assistant. Prior to coming to NCCF, Courtney worked at UNE as an Adjunct Assistant Teaching Professor, teaching Introductory Psychology.
EmailDr. Rebecca Distefano
Dr. Rebecca Distefano
Rebecca Distefano is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the National Center for Children and Families. Her research focuses on risk and protective processes in the lives of families experiencing homelessness and high mobility. She is particularly interested in the implications of instability on children’s development and the ways that housing policies can best support highly mobile families. In her current position, Rebecca works closely with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development to examine the impacts of affordable housing on child and family well-being. She is also involved in the most recent implementation of the NYC Housing and Vacancy Survey, a representative survey that characterizes the housing stock and population of NYC. Rebecca received her PhD in Developmental Psychology from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 2019.
Hanna Junus
Hanna Junus
Hanna Junus is the Research Assistant for NCCF Co-Director Sharon Lynn Kagan. Hanna earned her B.S. in Applied Psychology at New York University, during which she primarily focused on education psychology and educational interventions. She earned her M.A. in Education Policy and Social Analysis, with a specialization in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), at Teachers College, Columbia University. Between degrees, Hanna worked inside an early childhood classroom before joining the NYC Division of Early Childhood Education’s Performance Team to support diverse UPK and 3-K programs’ growth towards high-quality pedagogy. Now, Hanna’s primary research interests include supporting equity and quality in existing ECEC services, building holistic and resilient ECEC systems, and promoting racial equity across policy structures.
EmailRashel Reizin
Rashel Reizin
Rashel Reizin served as the Administrative Associate to NCCF Co-Director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn from 2020 until 2022. Currently, she is attending Kean University to pursue a PsyD in School and Clinical Psychology. Throughout her time at Kean, she will be completing a Doctoral Assistantship position. She graduated with her master’s degree in Developmental Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University in May of 2022. Previously, she served as a teacher and administrator at the Preschool of the Arts in Gramercy. Before coming to NCCF, Rashel conducted research on conceptual development and social cognition at Yale’s Infant Cognition Center and New York University’s Conceptual Development and Social Cognition Lab.
EmailSamantha Kearney
Samantha Kearney
Samantha Kearney is a doctoral student in Education Policy. Prior to NCCF, Samantha was the Director of Professional Learning, Policy, and Implementation at the New York City Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood Education. Samantha earned a Master’s degree in Urban Education, Policy, and Administration from Loyola Marymount University and a Master’s degree in School Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education. Samantha’s current research interests include national and international early childhood education policy and early childhood workforce development, with a focus on leadership development and its impacts on early childhood program quality.
EmailDesi Desmond
Desi Desmond
Desi Desmond is an Ed.D. student in Early Childhood Education Policy at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research focuses on the impact of teacher training on equity and access to developmentally appropriate programs in urban pre-kindergarten classrooms. Desi has taught across the early childhood continuum and most recently acts as an Instructional Coordinator in the New York City Department of Education’s Division of Early Childhood Education where she provides in-depth, on-site coaching and support to administrators and teachers aimed at capacity building and ensuring high-quality instruction. Desi received her Masters in Early Childhood Teaching from the University of Virginia Curry School of Education and Human Development.
EmailDr. Elsie Spencer
Dr. Elsie Spencer
Dr. Elsie Spencer is the Administrative Director to NCCF Co-Director Sharon Lynn Kagan. She received her Ed.D. in Higher Education Management from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania and her MPA from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University. Previously, Elsie worked as the institute administrator for the Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine. Her current research focuses on international higher education, specifically international branch campuses.
EmailBilly Powers
Billy Powers
Billy Powers is a Doctoral student in Education Policy at Teachers College, where he has a strong interest in how Early Childhood systems foster (or hinder) innovation and meaningful community engagement. Prior to coming to TC, Billy was a Senior Associate at Sorenson Impact at the University of Utah, where he managed several feasibility studies examining the potential for using outcomes-based financing to expand access to early childhood services. Before Sorenson Impact, Billy taught preschool in a Head Start on the South Side of Chicago, and received his Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
EmailJ. David Nugent
J. David Nugent
J. David Nugent is a doctoral student in Developmental Psychology. He earned his B.A. at Brandeis University with a major in Philosophy and a minor in Chemistry. He received his M.A. in Developmental Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University with a focus on Risk, Resilience and Prevention. Before joining NCCF, he was the project manager at New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University Medical School in the Safe Passage Study – a multi-site project looking at factors that impact behavioral, physiological and cognitive development. His research interests include environmental influences on developmental outcomes for children and families.
EmailAndrea Kent
Andrea Kent
Andrea Kent is an incoming doctoral student studying developmental psychology in the context of early childhood. She received her Bachelor’s in Psychology from Rutgers University, and her Master’s in Early Childhood Education from the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University. Upon graduating with both degrees, Andrea taught preschool at a private school in New Jersey for 2 years, after which she took a job as a Project Coordinator coordinating research studies at the National Institute for Early Education Research, something she continues to do and enjoy.
EmailSarah Kim
Sarah Kim
Sarah is a doctoral student in Developmental Psychology. She earned her master’s degree in Applied Developmental & Educational Psychology with a focus in Community & Social Justice while attaining a Certificate in International Human Rights & International Social Justice from Boston College and a bachelor’s degree in Human Development (with a minor in Theology and Philosophy) from Boston College. Before coming to NCCF, she has gained diverse experiences in research and program evaluation in the youth development field from direct service to research as well as the field of early education and care. She has most recently worked at Education Development Center on the Child Care Collaboration Study funded by an Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation’s Child Care Research Partnership grant. Before joining EDC, Sarah was Research Project Manager at the Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP), where she led the statewide effort to collect data for a biennial census report on the current state of the youth mentoring field in Massachusetts and also served two years as an AmeriCorps member. For three years, Sarah worked as a tutor for the MATCH Charter Public High School in Boston. Her current research interests include studying holistic interventions and comprehensive services that are sensitive to the individual’s cultures to address and extricate traumatic sociopolitical circumstances like poverty.
EmailTiana Moore
Tiana Moore
Tiana Moore is a doctoral student in Developmental Psychology. Before coming to NCCF, she attended Stanford University, where she earned her B.A. in Human Biology with a concentration in Children’s Health and Education in Undeserved Communities, and her M.A. in Sociology with a concentration in Poverty and Inequality. While at Stanford, she also served as a Research Assistant in a developmental psycholinguistics lab, conducting research both on-campus and abroad. Her current research interests include examining features of neighborhoods that contribute to health and education disparities and dual-generation interventions that improve outcomes for both children and their parents.
EmailDr. Sari Mullola
Dr. Sari Mullola
Dr. Sari Mullola, a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (The Academy of Finland) at NCCF, earned her doctoral degree (Teacher-perceived student temperament and educational competence predicting student school achievement) in Educational Sciences at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Her past research has focused on the associations of individual (e.g., personality, motivation and daily habits) and work related environmental factors (e.g., perceived stress, work load, work engagement and organizational justice) with lifelong learning and well-being over different developmental trajectories. At NCCF, her research focus is to look at the genetic data on dopamine and serotonin as interacting with environments including school, neighborhood and family variation predicting student temperament-based behavior. Dr. Mullola leads the FTProWell Study at the University of Helsinki (i.e., Finnish Novice Teachers’ Professional Wellbeing and Continuance in the Occupation: Developmental Pathways and Underlying Mechanisms with Individual and Environmental Resources). She has also worked in the Finnish Health Care Professionals’ Study led by Professor Marko Elovainio and in the Light Study (i.e., Parents, Teachers, and Children’s Learning: Who Impacts Whom?) led by Professor Kaisa Aunola.
Selected PublicationsEmailSamantha Melvin
Samantha Melvin
Samantha Melvin is a doctoral student in Education Policy, focusing on early childhood and family policy. She earned her B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in Cognitive Science from Wesleyan University. Prior to NCCF, she was the Lab Manager at the Neurocognition, Early Experience, and Development Lab at TC, where she researched the influences of early home and school environments on language and neurocognitive development. Her current research interests include policies surrounding early childhood workforce development and infant/toddler care and education.
Sarah Lazzeroni
Sarah Lazzeroni
Sarah Lazzeroni was the Administrative Manager/Research Associate to NCCF Co-Director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn from 2015 to 2020. She received her BA in Sociology and Political Science from the University of Oregon. She also earned two MS degrees from Portland State University, one in Criminology and Criminal Justice and another in Educational Leadership and Policy. Previously, she worked in student services at both the University of Oregon and Portland State. Her current research focuses on housing assistance programs, the effects of poverty and inequality, and early childhood education.
EmailDr. Marisa Morin
Dr. Marisa Morin
Dr. Marisa Morin, is a Research Scientist at NCCF with expertise in family contexts, parenting, and parent-based interventions. She earned her M.S. in Applied Statistics and Ph.D in Developmental Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University with Dr. Brooks-Gunn as her dissertation sponsor. As part of NCCF and in partnership with MDRC, she evaluated the quality of parent-child play interactions for a national evaluation of home visiting programs and an evaluation of responsible fatherhood programs (Building Bridges and Bonds study). Currently, Dr. Morin is serving as an SRCD Congressional Branch Fellow in the Senate Finance Committee and Ranking Member Senator Ron Wyden’s office.
EmailDr. Jeanne L. Reid
Dr. Jeanne L. Reid
Dr. Jeanne L. Reid is a Research Scientist at NCCF. She earned her doctoral degree in Early Childhood Policy from Teachers College at Columbia University, and her Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School at Harvard University. Her research interests focus on issues of both equity and excellence in preschool settings. Her doctoral work examined the relationship between the socio-economic composition of preschool classrooms and children’s learning during a year of Pre-K. Additional interests include studying the efforts at different levels of government to create systemic supports for high-quality early care and education, and she is working on several studies at NCCF to analyze the alignment and quality of early learning standards and the implications for policy and practice.
Selected PublicationsEmailDr. Margo Gardner
Dr. Margo Gardner
Dr. Margo Gardner, a Research Scientist at NCCF, earned her doctoral degree in developmental psychology at Temple University, and her B.A. in psychology at Duquesne University. Her past research has focused on risk-taking among adolescents and the development of juvenile offending. Her current research interests include the roles of peer, parent, and community processes in adolescent social development. Additional interests include studying factors that facilitate and prevent the development of problem/risk behavior among both normal and at-risk youth. Dr. Gardner leads the Mothers’ Gains in Postsecondary Education and Children’s Development study. She has also worked on the Parenting and Adolescent Risk Behavior in Context and the Neighborhood Context and Adolescent Psychological and Behavioral Health projects.
Selected PublicationsEmailThe effectiveness of the training provided to NCCF researchers is borne out by the positions they obtain in academic and research institutions after leaving our Center at Teachers College. Many choose to maintain “affiliate” relationships with our Center, and continue to contribute to ongoing research projects. Following is a list of former NCCF students and postdoctural fellows.
Andrea Bastiani Archibald, Ph.D., Senior Researcher & Developmental Psychologist, Girl Scout Research Institute, Girl Scouts of the USA; Program and Evaluation Director, Uniquely ME! (sponsored by GSUSA & Dove Campaign for Real Beauty).
R. Gabriela Barajas, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor at NYU Child Study Center.
Nazli Baydar, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Family and Child Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle; Psychology & Sociology, Koc University, Rumelifeneri Yolu, Istanbul, Turkey.
Katherine A. Beckmann, Ph.D., M.P.H. Senior Policy Analyst for Early Childhood Health and Development. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Administration for Children and Families.
Lisa J. Berlin, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Sanford Institute of Public Policy, Duke University.
Christina Borbely, Ph.D., Research Consultant, California Dept. of Alcohol and Drug Programs (Managed by the Center for Applied Research Solutions, or CARS).
Christy Brady-Smith, Ph.D., Consultant.
Erin Bumgarner, Ph.D., Project Director, Tufts Interdisciplinary Evaluation Research.
Pia Rebello-Britto, Ph.D., Associate Research Scientist, Child Study Center, Yale University.
Jondou Chen, Ph.D., Post-doctoral Fellow, Teachers College.
Laura Mielcarek DeRose, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Adelphi University.
Rebecca Fauth, Ph.D., Principal Research Officer, National Children’s Bureau, London UK.
Jocelyn Friedlander, a former Research Assistant to NCCF Co-Director Sharon Lynn Kagan, is currently pursuing graduate studies at Havard University’s Graduate School of Education.
Holly Foster, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Texas A&M University.
Allison Sidle Fuligni, Ph.D., Associate Research Scientist, Center for Improving Child Care Quality, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, UCLA.
Christina Gibson-Davis, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Public Policy Studies, Center for Child and Family Policy, The Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, Duke University.
Rachel A. Gordon, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Institute of Government and Public Affairs, University of Illinois at Chicago.
Julia Graber, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Area Director of Developmental Psychology, and Associate Chair, Department of Psychology, University of Florida.
Phyllis Gyamfi, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Macro International, a division of Opinion Research Corporation, Atlanta, GA.
Veronica Holly, M.A., Senior Program Associate, Institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME), Teachers College, Columbia University.
Kimberly Howard, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychology, Marymount Manhattan College.
Anna D. Johnson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Georgetown University, Department of Psychology.
Kristie Kauerz, Ed.D., Research Assistant Professor of P-3 Policy and Leadership at the University of Washington.
Dafna Kohen, Ph.D., Sr. Research Analyst, Health Analysis and Measurement Group, Statistics Canada Ottawa, Ontario Canada ; Adjunct Professor, Dept. Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa; and Affiliate Scientist, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa.
Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo, Ph.D., Associate Behavioral Scientist, RAND Corp., Santa Monica, CA.
Kyunghee Lee, Ed.D., Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Michigan State University.
Tama Leventhal, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Eliot-Pearson Dept. of Child Development, Tufts University.
Miriam Linver, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Child Studies, Montclair State University.
Lizabeth M. Malone, Ph.D., Survey Researcher, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Lisa Anne McCabe, Ph.D., Extension Associate, Early Care and Education/Early Childhood Program, Dept. of Human Development, Cornell University.
Marla McDaniel, Ph.D., Research Affiliate, The Urban Institute, Center on Labor, Human Services, & Population, Washington, D.C.
Rachel McKinnon, doctoral student, NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
Daphne Koinis Mitchell, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown Medical School; Staff Psychologist, Rhode Island Hospital.
Jodi Herbst Roth, Ph.D., Consultant.
Michelle J. Neuman, Ph.D., Senior Early Childhood Development Specialist, Africa Region, Human Development, The World Bank.
Denise Newman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Tulane University.
Tracy Nichols, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Public Health Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Lisa O’Connor, Ph.D., Research Associate, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), Columbia University.
Colleen R. O’Neal, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Maryland College of Education.
Rachel Razza, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Child and Family Studies, College of Human Services and Health Professions, Syracuse University.
Elizabeth Rigby, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, George Washington University.
Rebecca Ryan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Georgetown University.
Sara Schley, Ed.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Research, Rochester Institute of Technology, National Technical Institute for the Deaf.
Marc Scullin, M.A., Research Coordinator, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical Center.
Arjumand Siddiqi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Judith Smith, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Graduate School of Social Service at Fordham University.
Kate Tarrant, Ph.D., Consultant.
Nitika Tolani-Brown, Ph.D., Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor, Education Global Initiative, Save the Children.
Audrey R. Tyrka, Ph.D., M.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University.
A. Jordan Wright, Ph.D., Independent Practitioner.
Yange Xue, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Following is a list of individuals with whom we regularly collaborate on research projects.
Within Columbia University
Yumiko Aratani, Ph.D., Acting Director, Child Health and Mental Health, National Center for Children in Poverty.
Trey Avery III, M.S., Lab Manager, Neurocognition of Language Lab, Teachers College.
Anne Conway, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Social Work, Columbia University School of Social Work.
Helena Duch, Psy.D., Assistant Professor of Population and Family Health, Columbia University Medical Center.
Pam R. Factor-Litvak, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Columbia University Medical Center.
William Fifer, Ph.D., Associate Director, Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology.
Karen Froud, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Speech & Language Pathology, Teachers College.
Irv Garfinkel, Ph.D., Mitchell I. Ginsberg Professor of Contemporary Urban Problems, Columbia University School of Social Work.
Michael Hanson, Ph.D., Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology and Education, Teachers College.
Michael MacKenzie, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Columbia University School of Social Work.
Ron Mincy, Ph.D., Maurice V. Russell Professor of Social Policy and Social Work Practice, Columbia University School of Social Work.
Kim Noble, M.D., Ph.D., Resident, Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center.
Natasha Pilkauskas, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Associate, Columbia Population Research Center.
Andrew G. Rundle, Dr.PH., Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Elliott D. Sclar, Ph.D., Professor of Urban Planning and Director, Center for Sustainable Urban Development, The Earth Institute at Columbia University.
Ezra S. Susser, M.D., Dr.PH., Professor of Epidemiology and Psychiatry, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Jane Waldfogel, Ph.D., Professor of Social Work and Public Affairs, Columbia University School of Social Work.
Outside Columbia University
Lawrence M. Berger, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Social Work/Faculty Affiliate, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Christopher R. Browning, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University.
Marcia J. Carlson, Ph.D., Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, Ph.D., Professor of Developmental Psychology, Northwestern University.
Felton Earls, M.D., Professor of Child Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School.
Holly Foster, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Dept. of Sociology, Texas A&M University.
Julia Graber, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Area Director of Developmental Psychology, and Associate Chair, Department of Psychology, University of Florida.
Lauren Hale, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine, SUNY Stony Brook.
Wen-Jui Han, Ph.D., Professor of Social Work, Silver School of Social Work, NYU.
Jennifer L. Hill, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Steinhardt School of Education, Culture, and Human Development, NYU.
John Love, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Katherine Magnuson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Marie McCormick, M.D., Sc.D., Sumner and Esther Feldberg Professor of Maternal and Child Health, Harvard School of Public Health.
Sara McLanahan, Ph.D., William S. Tod Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, Princeton University.
Jane Mendel, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Cornell University.
Colter Mitchell, Ph.D., Faculty Research Fellow, University of Michigan.
Yoko Nomura, Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY; Assistant Professor, Queens College/CUNY, Department of Psychology (Neurosciences), Flushing, NY.
Rachel Razza, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Child and Family Studies, College of Human Services and Health Professions, Syracuse University.
Pia Rebello-Britto, Ph.D., Associate Research Scientist, Child Study Center, Yale University.