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Over the years, I have worked on projects or researched a variety of topics related to early childhood development, from the role of the father, urban planning for young children to impact bonds for ECD; therefore, I consider myself a generalist with no specific specialty in early childhood development.  However, I have spent a considerable amount of time devoted to several areas.
Research Interests:​
  • Measurement of early child development, especially for children from birth to three. My interest in the measurement of early childhood development is grounded in the belief that data is necessary to guide responsible policy, practice, and investment; however, there is a lack of tools that are free, easy to use and can easily be adapted to geographic and cultural contexts. Initiatives like PRIDI and GSED are essential to understand how young children are developing and promote policies and programs to support development, both locally and globally, that support the development of the youngest children.
  • Programs and policies that engage families. At the Bernard van Leer Foundation, I was tasked with reviewing the parenting programs from the eight country portfolios. From this work came two products: 1) my passion for programs working with the child and the family; and 2) the Foundation’s Parents+ strategy to promote child development through program components that supported the overall family well-being. Through a partnership with the Ascend at the Aspen Institute, I was introduced to the concept of two-generation programs and I have been able to explore more in my work at Educare Lincoln to understand how child development centers can engage the family to support the development of the child and address the needs of the family.
  • ​Early childhood workforce. In the future, I would like to pursue more work on the individuals that serve young children and the families of young children, including but not limited to community health workers, childcare workers, preschool educators, etc. At the Bernard van Leer Foundation, I managed a seed grant and worked alongside the International Step by Step Association and Results for Development to create the Early Childhood Workforce Initiative. Additionally, before beginning a doctoral program, I dedicated two years to working directly with parents of young children to better understand the challenges they face as well as the perspective of the individuals delivering services to these families. 
The desire to give more attention to the early childhood workforce and my current focus on engagement with the family stem from theoretical foundations that promote the importance of the parents and the broader environment as critical actors in the development of the child.
Theories that Influence My Research:
  • Attachment Theory​. The work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth emphasized the importance of the parent/caregiver-child relationship and the way that different types of relationships can affect child behavior and development. Bowlby recognized the importance of the parent in the development of the child and the need for the community to support the parent to fulfill the needs of the child.
  • ​Bioecological Model of Human Development. Bronfenbrenner's model articulates the influence of different systems on the development of the child. While my research mainly concentrates on the microsystem, the interactions between the child and actors in their life, and the mesosystem, the interactions between different actors in the child’s life, it is critical to understand how external settings and wider cultural contexts can indirectly influence the child.
In terms of research design and methodology, I prefer to choose the best design and method to answer my research questions.
Research Methodologies
  • Experience with Quantitative and Qualitative designs.
  • Knowledge of SPSS, STATA, MPlus and MAXQDA.
Above all, my responsibility in research is to design and conduct ethical studies that contribute actionable knowledge to the field.  All research should have a clear purpose to inform practice and policy. Like many other fields of research, there are limited are resources and space to fund research and promote results in early childhood development. I strongly encourage collaboration as a means to pool resources, include multiple perspectives, and promote the impact of research. My end goal is to help children and families; therefore, I would prefer to collaborate as a more effective means of doing that. Most importantly, my view of my responsibility to my research is to put my participants front and center when designing projects and communicating results from the projects. My participants are living the experiences I am interested in capturing and therefore, it is central to regard them as the experts on their children and their lives and also believe that their perspectives come from a place of wanting what is best for their children and their family. Considering how my reality contributes to bias and assumptions within my research is an ongoing process to consider, especially with regards to recruitment, data collection activities, and dissemination strategies that best resonate with the population I want to work with and promote action based on the results of the research.

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