The Foundation for Child Development’s Young Scholars Program (YSP) continues its tradition of developing the next generation of researchers whose scholarship has the potential to improve children’s well-being and make a positive impact on policy and practice. The Foundation believes that a deeper understanding of the role of early care and education (ECE) professionals in enhancing young children’s early learning experiences can ultimately improve the chances for all children to reach their full potential. Currently, YSP supports implementation research that is policy and practice-relevant and that examines the preparation, competency, compensation, well-being, and ongoing professional learning of the ECE workforce. Previously, the focus of YSP concentrated on the learning and development needs of children within immigrant families (YSP Cohorts 1-12).
The Foundation is proud to support the research of all the Young Scholars. To learn more about their important work, please see the profiles below of previous and current Young Scholars.
2023 Young Scholars (Cohort 19)

Anna Lees, Ed.D.
Associate Professor
Woodring College of Education
Western Washington University
Project Title: Land and Culture Based Indigenous Language Curriculum: Teacher Development and Child Assessment in a Coast Salish Tribal Nation Early Learning Program

Morgan Faison, Ph.D.
Clinical Associate Professor
College of Education
University of Georgia
Project Title: “Growing Our Own”: A Mixed Methods Study of Black Youths in High School Early Childhood Education Career Pathway Programs

Cristina Medellin-Paz, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Straus Center for Young Children & Families
Bank Street College of Education
Project Title: Lifting the Voices of Latina Family Child Care Providers: Using Mixed Methods to Learn How They Navigate Higher Education in their Pursuit of a Child Development Associate Credential
2022 Young Scholars (Cohort 18)

Ingrid Anderson, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Practice, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education
Portland State University
Project Title: Indigenous First Steps: Students, Family, Culture, Community (IFS-FCC)

Evandra Catherine, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Early Childhood Education Department, Teacher Preparation Division
Arizona State University
Project Title: A Mixed-Methods Approach to Describe the Implementation of Cultural Approaches During Classroom-Focused Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation

Zoelene Hill, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
New York Academy of Medicine
Project Title: Having Their Say: What Programs and Policies Do Unlisted Home-Based Child Care Workers Want to Support Their Work With Young Children?

Jayanti Owens, Ph.D.
Assistant Prof of Organizational Behavior
Yale School of Management
Yale University
Project Title: What Drives Racial/Ethnic Disparities in School Discipline? Understanding Mechanisms to Inform Policy and Program Solutions
2021 Young Scholars (Cohort 17)

Alexandra Figueras-Daniel, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Straus Center for Young Children & Families
Bank Street College of Education
Project Title: Improving Dual Language Teaching for Spanish Speakers: Evaluating a Professional Learning System That Elevates Latina Teacher Voices

Thomas Goldring, Ph.D.
Director of Research, Georgia Policy Labs
Georgia State University
Project Title: Pathways Into the Early Care and Education Workforce: The Role of Various Credentials in Facilitating the Supply and Placement of Early Care and Education Professionals

Shana E. Rochester, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Child Trends
Project Title: The Diverse Books Project 2.0: Supporting Early Care and Education Teachers’ Use of Multicultural Books through University-Based Research-Practice Partnerships
2020 Young Scholars (Cohort 16)

Vanessa Rodriguez, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Population Health
New York University School of Medicine
Project Title: Using Mixed Methods to Explore Teacher Social and Emotional Learning, its Relationship to Classroom Practice, and the Implementation of Pre-K Professional Development

Bonnie Solomon, Ph.D.
Research Scientist, Education Research Program
Child Trends
Project Title: Examining Implementation of a Statewide Ban on Suspension and Expulsion in Early Childhood: Implications for Early Care and Education Workforce Supports

Angie Zapata, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Learning, Teaching and Curriculum
University of Missouri-Columbia
Project Title: Teacher and Researcher Collaborative Inquiry as Ongoing Professional Development: Improving Early Childhood Experiences In Racially, Linguistically, and Ethnically Complex Missouri Classrooms
2018 Young Scholars (Cohort 15)

R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Population Health
New York University School of Medicine
Project Title: Navigating Uncertainty: Understanding the Impact of Immigration-Related Stressors on the Well-being and Work of Pre-K-3rd Grade Teachers and Social Workers Working with Immigrant Families

Jennifer Wallace Jacoby, Ed.D.
Class of 1929 Dr. Virginia Apgar Assistant Professor of Education
Mount Holyoke College
Project Title: The Other Teachers in the Room: Foregrounding the Roles and Contributions of Assistant Teachers in Early Childhood Classrooms

Kelly Purtell, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Human Sciences
The Ohio State University
Project Title: The Role of Center Directors in Producing High Quality Preschool Experiences for Young Children
2017 Young Scholars (Cohort 14)

Anna Johnson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Georgetown University
Project Title: Understanding Publicly Funded Early Care and Education Workforce Supports and Well-being: Implications for Vulnerable Children’s School Readiness

Michelle Maier, Ph.D.
Research Associate
MDRC
Project Title: What Matters Most for Teachers and Young Children? An Examination of Teacher Practices, Child Outcomes, and Teacher Professional Development in Low-income Preschool Programs

Jaime Puccioni, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Literacy Teaching & Learning
University at Albany, State University of New York
Project Title: Estimating the Differential Impact of Preschool Teachers’ Outreach Efforts on Measures of School Readiness for Children from Economically Disadvantaged Backgrounds: The Mediating Role of Parental Involvement
2016 Young Scholars (Cohort 13)

North Cooc, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Special Education
The University of Texas at Austin
Project Title: The Role of Early Childhood Teacher Qualifications and Kindergarten Transition Practices in the Developmental Trajectories of Young Children with Disabilities

Michael Gottfried, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education
University of California, Santa Barbara
Project Title: The Role of Full-Day Kindergarten for Children with Disabilities: Effects on Achievement and Socioemotional Development

Carola Oliva-Olson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Early Childhood Studies
California State University, Channel Islands
Project Title: Early Childhood Classroom Quality Assessment for Dual Language Learners: Implications for Improving Teaching Practices

Holly Schindler, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, College of Education
University of Washington
Project Title: Filming Interactions to Nurture Development: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Strength-Based Video-Coaching Program for Mexican American Fathers
2014 Young Scholars (Cohort 12)

Justin Denney, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Sociology
Washington State University
Project Title: Food Insecurity in Neighborhood Context: Investigating Disparities Among a Racially Diverse Sample of Young Children

Kevin Gee, Ed.D.
Associate Professor, School of Education
University of California, Davis
Project Title: The Impact of Food Security Status on Children’s Developmental Outcomes: Examining Differences Across Diverse Racial/Ethnic and Income Groups

Ramón A. Martínez, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, School of Education
Stanford University
Project Title: Exploring and Expanding Multilingual Students’ Linguistic Repertoires

Kristine M. Molina, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Psychology
University of Illinois at Chicago
Project Title: The Effects of Discrimination on Social, Academic, and Mental Health Outcomes of Puerto Rican Children: An Inter-Generational and Multi-Wave Study

Kristin Turney, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
University of California, Irvine
Project Title: The Developmental Trajectories of Children with Incarcerated Fathers: The Role of Families, Schools, and Neighborhoods
2013 Young Scholars (Cohort 11)

Cecilia Ayón, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Public Policy
University of California, Riverside
Project Title: ¿Tú de Donde Eres?: Latino Immigrant Families’ Efforts to Resist Discrimination

Kalina Brabeck, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Counseling, Educational Leadership, and School Psychology
Rhode Island College
Project Title: An Exploratory Study of the Experiences of US-Born Children in Latino Immigrant Families

Catherine DeCarlo Santiago, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Clinical Psychology
Loyola University Chicago
Project Title: Protective Processes Among Immigrant Families: The Impact of Family Coping on Mexican-Origin Children

Amy L. Non, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Anthropology
University of California, San Diego
Project Title: Biological Embedding of Stress in Children of Mexican Immigrants

Amanda Sullivan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, School Psychology
University of Minnesota
Project Title: Special Needs Among Young Children of Immigrants: Prevalence, Risk and Protective Factors, and Educational Experiences
2012 Young Scholars (Cohort 10)

Jennifer Keys Adair, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
University of Texas at Austin
Project Title: Towards a Culturally Relevant Continuity of Development for Latino Children of Immigrants in PK-3 Educational Settings

Tiffany Green, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Behavior and Policy
Virginia Commonwealth University
Project Title: Prenatal Insurance, Prenatal Care and Early Life Health Among the Children of Black Immigrants

Jessica Zacher Pandya, Ph.D
Professor, Departments of Teacher Education and Liberal Studies
California State University, Long Beach
Project Title: Multimodal Digital Composition with English Language Learners

Lisseth Rojas-Flores, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Marriage & Family Therapy
Fuller Theological Seminary
Project Title: Parental Detention and Deportation and the Adjustment of Latino Citizen Children

Kevin J.A. Thomas, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Sociology, Demography & African Studies
Pennsylvania State University
Project Title: Parental Education — Occupation Mismatch Status and Child Poverty in Black Immigrant Families
2011 Young Scholars (Cohort 9)

Maricela Correa-Chávez, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Clark University
Project Title: The Cultural Organization of Learning in Mexican Immigrant Families

Eric Dearing, Ph.D.
Professor, Applied Developmental & Educational Psychology
Boston College
Project Title: Student Support in High-Poverty Elementary Schools and the Achievement of English Language Learners

Lenna Nepomnyaschy, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, School of Social Work
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Project Title: Nonresident Father Involvement in Immigrant Families

Andrew Rasmussen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
Fordham University
Project Title: Child Health-Seeking Networks Among West African Refugees
2010 Young Scholars (Cohort 8)

Erin Todd Bronchetti, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Economics
Swarthmore College
Project Title: Public Insurance and the Health of Immigrant Children

Rachel Kimbro, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Sociology
Rice University
Project Title: Safe to Play? Immigrant Children’s Neighborhood Environments and Opportunities for Physical Activity

Tama Leventhal, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Child Study and Human Development
Tufts University
Project Title: Neighborhood Context and Immigrant Young Children’s Development

Eric E. Seiber, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Public Health
The Ohio State University
Project Title: New Immigration Destination States — Is It Harder For Eligible Immigrant Children To Enroll In Medicaid?

Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Psychology
University of Pittsburgh
Project Title: Early Education and Care Experiences and School Readiness of Children of Immigrants
2009 Young Scholars (Cohort 7)

Christia Spears Brown, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Psychology
University of Kentucky
Project Title: Children Succeeding During Demographic Shifts: How Discrimination and Ethnic Identity Predict the Academic Attitudes and Performance of Latino Children in a White Community

Joanna Dreby, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
University at Albany, State University of New York
Project Title: The Daily Lives of Children in Mexican Immigrant Households

Anna Gassman-Pines, Ph.D.
WLF Bass Connections Associate Professor, Sanford School of Public Policy
Duke University
Project Title: Paternal Employment, Family Functioning and Young Child Well-Being: A Daily Diary Study of Mexican Immigrant Families
2008 Young Scholars (Cohort 6)

Danielle A. Crosby, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Studies
University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Project Title: Immigrants’ Access to Public Benefits and Services Post-Reform: Missed Opportunities to Invest in Young American Children?

Steve E. Knotek, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, School Psychology
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Project Title: The Madres Para Ninos Program

Jin Sook Lee, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Education
University of California, Santa Barbara
Project Title: Building Language Capacity: Dual Language Development in Korean and Mexican Immigrant Children

Hanako Yoshida, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
University of Houston
Project Title: Cognitive Consequence of Exposure to Multiple Languages
2007 Young Scholars (Cohort 5)

Dylan Conger, Ph.D.
Professor, Public Policy and Public Administration
The George Washington University
Project Title: Time to English Proficiency Among Young English Learners

Micere Keels, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Comparative Human Development
The University of Chicago
Project Title: Children’s Developing Environments

Sarah Enos Watamura, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
University of Denver
Project Title: Physiologic Stress Reactivity Among Mexican-Origin Families

Qing Zhou, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
University of California Berkeley
Project Title: The Risk and Protective Factors for Mental Health Adjustment in 1st- and 2nd-generation Chinese American Immigrant Children
2006 Young Scholars (Cohort 4)

Charissa Cheah, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Psychology
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Project Title: Social Skills of Young Children of Chinese Immigrants: The Role of Sociocultural Context, Parents’ Adaptation, and Parenting

Jin Li, Ed.D.
Professor, Education and Human Development
Brown University
Project Title: Chinese Immigrant Children’s Learning Beliefs and Related Socialization at Home

Selcuk R. Sirin, Ph.D.
Professor, Applied Psychology
New York University
Project Title: Muslim Immigrant Parents Negotiating with Schools: Implications for Children
2005 Young Scholars (Cohort 3)

Ariel Kalil, Ph.D.
Professor, Public Policy
The University of Chicago
Project Title: Parental Labor Market Experiences, Investments in Children, and the Educational, Behavioral, and Physical Health Status of Immigrant Children

Yuuko Uchikoshi, Ed.D.
Professor, Education
University of California, Davis
Project Title: Early Literacy Study of Immigrant Children

Jennifer Van Hook, Ph.D.
Roy C. Buck Professor of Sociology and Demography
Pennsylvania State University
Project Title: Obesity Among Young Children of Immigrants
2004 Young Scholars (Cohort 2)

Neeraj Kaushal, Ph.D.
Professor of Social Policy
Columbia University
Project Title: Welfare Reform and Health of Children in Immigrant Families

Iliana Reyes, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Early Childhood, Education and Immigration Studies; Center for Latin American Studies
University of Arizona
Project Title: Emergent Literacy and Immigrant Children: Using Parent-Child Interactions to Foster Literacy in Spanish-Speaking Children
2003 Young Scholars (Cohort 1)

Robert L. Crosnoe, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Sociology
University of Texas at Austin
Project Title: The Developmental Trajectories of Immigrant Children: Education, Health, Parenting, and School Context

Elena L. Grigorenko, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology, University of Houston
Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics and Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine
Project Title: Risk and Protective Factors for the Development of Socio-emotional and Learning Difficulties in Children Adopted from Russia: A Multi-Group Comparison

Wen-Jui Han, Ph.D.
Professor, Silver School of Social Work
New York University
Project Title: Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Outcomes of Children of Immigrants

Krista Perreira, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Social Medicine
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Project Title: Immigrants, Parenting, and Infant/Toddler Well-Being