Author: Janice Berriault

Blake Brandes, HDFS Alumni Spotlight, October 2023

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Blake BrandesBlake Brandes graduated from UConn in 2016 with a B.A. in Human Development and Family Studies and a concentration in Early Childhood Development and Education. Upon completion of the early childhood program, supervised practicum, and student teaching placements in the UConn Child Labs, Blake earned the State of Connecticut Early Childhood Teacher Credential (ECTC) through the Office of Early Childhood.

During her time at UConn, Blake devoted 300 hours of service to local preschoolers through the Jumpstart program as an AmeriCorps Member. She also was involved with UConn Hillel, serving as the Vice President of Tzedek (Social Justice) in 2015. In addition, Blake was a student worker at the Child Labs after completing her student teaching practicum course.

After graduating from UConn, Blake began her career with a private child care program as a Lead Infant Teacher for one year, and then became a Preschool Teacher at Stony Brook University’s child care center, Stony Brook Child Care Services (SBCC), for two years. Her education and hands-on experiences from the HDFS and early childhood programs greatly influenced her teaching philosophy and prepared her to be an effective early childhood teacher. Blake completed her M.A. in Liberal Studies at Stony Brook University with specializations in Child Development and Leadership Studies in 2021.

During her time at SBCC, Blake developed an unexpected enthusiasm for mentoring young adults, as SBCC serves as a practicum site for an undergraduate psychology internship course at Stony Brook University. Blake assisted in leading a seminar course for the interns and supervised their placement hours in the classroom she co-led.

Blake’s new interest in mentoring young adults led her back to Jumpstart, the program that ignited her passion for early childhood care and education. She has been working with Jumpstart since January 2020 as the Site Manager at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). Jumpstart’s mission is to ensure every child enters kindergarten prepared to succeed, and specifically focuses their efforts to benefit children who come from underserved communities. In her role at Jumpstart, Blake recruits, trains, and coaches 35-40 SCSU students each year to implement high-quality supplemental curricula in preschool classrooms in the New Haven community. Her education and experiences in the HDFS and ECDE programs are still relevant and valuable in this work, as she is able to share her knowledge of child development and early education best practices with the college students she supervises and coaches in Jumpstart.

Blake lives with her boyfriend of 6 years, Dan, and their cat, Lexi, in Newington, Connecticut. Outside of work, she enjoys reality television, musical theater, and spending time with loved ones. She is extremely grateful for her undergraduate experience in the HDFS program and with the UConn Child Labs!

Malina Her, HDFS Faculty Spotlight, October 2023

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Malina HerMalina Her is part of the CLAS Research and Teaching Scholars 2023 incoming cohort. Prior to her arrival at UConn, she completed her doctorate in Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests are in situating families within the context of culture and learning how families navigate transitions. She is particularly interested in how divorce impacts parenting practices, relationships, and dynamics within immigrant and refugee groups. Through her work she aims to center the voices of marginalized individuals and document the experiences of those often left out in research and history. She is a proud Hmong American, a Southeast Asian refugee group that has been in the US for about 50 years.

During her time at the University of Minnesota, Malina collaborated and worked closely with the local Hmong community to develop and launch the Divorced Hmong Parents Project (DHPP). Minnesota has a thriving immigrant population that allowed her to coordinate and collaborate with other Hmong scholars and members to develop this project. To her knowledge, this is one of the first times in written history that the stories of Hmong parents and their experiences with divorce, parenting, and navigating the US culture has been collected. Through this project and continued conversations with Hmong community members in Minnesota, Malina’s research program led her to seek how to adapt and evaluate resources targeting immigrant and refugee families. Now at UConn, she aims to continue this work by working closely with Dr. Beth Russell, the Director of the Center for Applied Research in Human Development (CARHD) in learning how to evaluate community-based programs.

Outside of work, Malina enjoys reading (particularly sci-fi and fantasy novels), spending time with her partner and family, visiting new restaurants, and cooking.

Nikole Babcock, HDFS Graduate Student Spotlight, October 2023

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Nikole BabcockNikole is a first year PhD student who joined the HDFS program in the fall of 2023 to work with Lisa Eaton. Nikole graduated from California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) with a B.A. in Psychology in 2022. While at CSUMB, Nikole worked as a research assistant in Dr. Shannon Snapp’s Support Young People Project Lab, researching topics such as bias-based bullying, LGBTQ+ inclusive curricula, and human sexuality with a focus on LGBTQ+ adolescents/ young adults. Additionally, she worked as a peer-mentor, writing fellow, and ambassador for an undergraduate research program. Nikole is also a Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholar, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Scholar, and earned a Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Honorable Mention.

Nikole’s research interests broadly include human sexuality and health disparities in LGBTQ+ communities, queering relationship science, and positive and resilience factors in LGBTQ+ youth/ young adult development. She is also interested in exploring how health care accessibility impacts physical, sexual, and mental well-being in SGM adolescents and emerging adults. Currently, Nikole is excited to engage in research centered on HIV prevention and PrEP usage with Lisa Eaton. She is also eager to pursue projects with other faculty while at UConn, such as Ryan Watson and his team in the SHINE Lab.

When Nikole is not nerding out over research you can find her chasing after her five-year old, playing board games (ultra-competitively), and binge-watching shows from the 2000s.

Naomi Inman, HDFS Graduate Student Spotlight, October 2023

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Naomi InmanNaomi is a first-year PhD student working with Dr. Eva Lefkowitz. Previously, Naomi graduated with honors from Brigham Young University (BYU), earning a B.S. in Psychology, with minors in Sociology and Family Science. While studying at BYU, she worked as a research assistant for the Couple Relationship and Transition Experiences (CREATE) Project, a longitudinal study following newlywed couples over each year of marriage. Naomi was also the lab manager of Dr. Melissa Alcaraz’s Young Adults Prospective Tied Migration (YAPTM) Project, a qualitative interview project seeking to understand how emerging adults make goals and decisions about work and moving within the context of their romantic relationships. At BYU, she also worked in Dr. Chelom Leavitt’s Sexual Mindfulness research lab, which led to her research interests in sexuality, sexual health, and sexual education.

Naomi is currently working with Dr. Eva Lefkowitz in the Developmental Aspects of Sexual Health (DASH) lab. She looks forward to starting her master’s thesis soon, and plans to examine the association between religiosity, sex education, sexual health, and sexual anxiety. Naomi greatly values how research can improve the lives of individuals and families, therapy practices, and policy. After earning her Ph.D., Naomi hopes to become a university professor, as she loves teaching and research equally.

When she finds time away from work, Naomi enjoys reading, playing video games, hammocking, traveling, caring for her plants, and spending time with loved ones. Naomi is also a passionate environmentalist and worked for a solar company designing solar systems for customers’ homes for four years.