Professional Experience

Working toward the goal of integrating research, education, and children's digital media to support healthy development

August 2017 to Present

Shannon Graduate Fellow in Early Childhood Development
University of Wisconsin-Madison | Madison, WI

• Description: Fellowship awarded to a graduate student to fulfill the role of Project Assistant managing concurrent research projects in Dr. Heather Kirkorian's Cognitive Development and Media Lab and the School of Human Ecology Child Development Preschool Laboratory ​

• Responsibilities:​

  • Coordinate, lead, and motivate interdisciplinary teams of researchers, undergraduate assistants, and educators toward the goal of evaluating the educational impact of children's digital media

  • Develop strong knowledge of modern literature about young children's media use, cognitive development, and learning

  • Oversee recruitment and data collection for seven research studies both within UW-Madison and in partnership with outside organizations including area preschools, home childcare centers, and the Madison Children’s Museum

  • Train, supervise, and mentor a rotating team of 10 undergraduate students on protocols for all studies in the lab

  • Manage data organization and analysis for large research projects

  • Disseminate science knowledge through academic conferences as well as through outreach to educators, community members, and parents of young children

• Outcomes:

  • Awarded a Steenbock Independent Research Scholarship for a personal summer research endeavor

  • Presented with the Scannell Trent Professional Development Award for research dissemination

  • Leadership role in:

    • 5 conference posters

    • 3 conference presentations

    • 2 peer reviewed publications​

    • 2 outreach workshops

    • 1 invited publication

    • 1 mentored grant application

August 2016 to August 2017

Graduate Assistant
University of Wisconsin-Madison | Madison, WI

• Description: Funding award for first-year graduate student working with Dr. Heather Kirkorian, gaining diverse teaching experience in the general area of early cognitive development as related to digital media use

• Responsibilities:

  • Attend weekly lab meetings to discuss new empirical research in the field and organize current data collection and analysis

  • Collaborate with Dr. Kirkorian on HDFS 362 Early Childhood Development and HDFS 616 Mass Media and Youth as the Teaching Assistant, responsible for planning weekly activities, attending class, and holding office hours, as well as designing and grading assignments and exams

• Outcomes:

  • Received Human Development and Family Studies Outstanding Early-Stage Researcher Award

  • Nominated for participation in Guest Coaching program through University of Wisconsin-Madison athletics department to foster athletic-academic partnerships​​

January 2016 to January 2018

Senior Research Assistant in Education  and Data Development
Child Trends, Bethesda, MD

• Description: Senior research assistant in the Education and Data Development program area, supporting research and policy evaluation (through both federal and philanthropic funding) of educational programs and structures that create positive conditions for learning, promote safe and supportive schools, and enable youth to flourish

• Responsibilities:

  • Conduct literature reviews to prepare data presentations and develop area expertise in early education.

  • Participate in qualitative and quantitative methodology design to measure educational impact

  • Develop measurements, coordinate and host focus groups, implement data collection procedures, and take the lead on data analysis

  • Manage strategic planning for grant work scopes and project timelines

  • Coordinate interaction between grant officers, researchers, grantees, stakeholders, and school districts

  • Directly oversee budget management and grant allocation

  • Write annual grantee summaries and performance reports for large federal grants

• Outcomes:

  • ​Disseminated findings through a first-authored presentation at both the Society for Research on Adolescence Meeting and the Society for Research in Child Development Special Topics Meeting in 2016​

  • Successful budget management and grant officer relations coordination for over $4 million in grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and National Institute for Justice

July 2014 to January 2016

Clinical Research Assistant
Children's National Health System | Washington, D.C.

• Description: Full-time research assistant and study coordinator for one school-based study, one clinical trial, two retrospective database studies, one qualitative interview study, and two investigator-initiated studies in the Pediatric Sleep Clinic

• Responsibilities:

  • Maintain sole responsibility for management, organization, implementation, and data security for all research conducted in the Pediatric Sleep Clinic including participant recruitment, scheduling, and data collection

  • Direct all external study communication with study participants, contracting agencies, grant officers, study sponsors, school district personnel, and regulatory agencies 

  • ​Lead grant and research proposal writing for future projects

  • Participate in creation of survey instruments

  • Analyze survey and actigraphy data from over 2,500 participants​

• Outcomes:

  • Received Children's National Health System Excellence in Community-Based Research Award​

  • Created and maintained of Smart School Start digital media dissemination channels including Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress 

  • Leadership role in:

    • ​8 peer-reviewed journal articles​

    • 3 conference posters

July 2013 to July 2014

AmeriCorps Volunteer 
SMART Tutoring Program | Chicago, IL

• Description: Served as an AmeriCorps Volunteer through the program Amate House.  Lived in an intentional community with 10 other volunteers in the Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago, received a simple living stipend, volunteered over 40 hours per week at Catholic Charities, and attended weekly formation nights about current issues and events facing children and families in Chicago. 

• Responsibilities:

  • ​Maintain direct responsibility for administration of the SMART (Students Making a Real Transition) Homework Assistance After-School Program for disadvantaged elementary school students, including developing expertise in early elementary curriculum, creating and implementing educational lesson plans, overseeing volunteer tutors, implementing a classroom discipline system, and mentoring student participants

  • Host workshops to assist recently immigrated parents in understanding the American education system

  • Develop and implement curriculum for a free English class in the community for Spanish-speaking adults

  • Provide support as necessary to a number of Catholic Charities programs in the Western Region of Chicago, such as the Commodity Supplemental Food Program/ Mother and Child (MAC) Program, New Hope Housing Program, Bishop Goedert Senior Residence, The Emergency Assistance Clothing Room, and Casa Catalina Food Pantry

• Outcomes:

  • Aided 17 at-risk elementary school students in advancing one grade level through mentoring and tutoring​

  • Advanced English proficiency for 21 adult English language learners

  • Developed and documented curriculum for a literacy-focused tutoring program and English and a Second Language classes   

  • Oversaw the distribution of resources to over 600 disadvantaged families in the Western Chicago Region