Colleen K. Vesely, Ph.D. completed her M.A. at UConn in HDFS in 2006. She then earned a doctorate in Family Science at the University of Maryland. At UConn, Colleen worked closely with Sara Harkness and Charlie Super on the Baby Study. She gained hands-on experience conducting research with families with young children and developed a depth of knowledge regarding the role of culture in families’ experiences and children’s development. A favorite memory from her time at UConn is traveling with the entire Baby Study lab led by Drs. Harkness and Super to The Netherlands to present findings.
Colleen draws upon what she learned at UConn regarding working with families across cultures in her current work with students and families. Colleen is an Associate Professor and the Graduate Academic Program Coordinator in the Inclusive Early Childhood Education program at George Mason University. Colleen’s work is grounded in a critical, ecosystemic, antiracist perspective, focused on the intersection of two contexts, family and early childhood systems and considers how macro-level systemic and structural forces shape these contexts. She uses Community-based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) and other emancipatory approaches to examine and center the experiences and roles of primary caretakers and teachers in young children’s lives. In addition, Colleen teaches courses on families and family partnership and qualitative methods.
Over the last 10 years, using CBPAR approaches, Colleen has worked with families and child- and family-serving institutions across northern Virginia to understand and center families who experience marginalization to co-create knowledge that informs attuned, aligned, and responsive programs, policies, and practices. Much of this work is conducted using Community Advisory Boards or Family Councils, a hallmark of CBPAR work, to shift power back to communities—especially communities where systems were not built. Most recently, Colleen and collaborators were awarded a Spencer Foundation Vision Grant focused on early childhood systems change for educational equity.
Colleen continues to remain connected to UConn HDFS . Specifically, in support of the Administration for Children and Families and the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation Child Care and Early Education Policy and Research Consortium, Colleen is facilitating a national research collaborative focused on reimagining family partnership in early education and child care. Vanessa Esquivel, a current HDFS doctoral student is co-facilitating this collaborative, and faculty member, Kevin Ferreira van Leer is a key member of this collaborative. Colleen and Kevin also led a webinar for the National Council on Family Relations focused on immigrant families and immigration policy. Colleen would love to connect and collaborate with other UConn faculty and students whose work focuses on participatory approaches with immigrant families who have young children. She is always looking to engage and learn with other scholars, family leaders, and community leaders regarding the big visions and the nitty gritty details/logistics of reimagining family partnership vis-a-vis family-centered systems change.
Colleen has three children, ages 14, 11, and 7, who keep her very busy with their swim, marching band, art and cross-country schedules. To relax and rejuvenate her spirit, Colleen likes to spend time outside with her husband, children, and their family’s black Lab named Puma.