Professors Ryan Watson and Lisa Eaton’s research featured in UConn Today demonstrating the importance of taking a holistic approach to HIV risk factors. Read the article here https://today.uconn.edu/2024/09/new-study-reveals-relationship-between-hiv-risk-factors-for-lgbtq-youth/
Congratulations to Samantha Lawrence (PhD ’22), who recently started a new role as Assistant Research Professor in the UConn School of Social Work. She will continue to serve as the Director of Research and Evaluation for the state of Connecticut’s Office of Early Childhood – UConn Partnership.
Check out the new website for the UConn Drag Queen (DQ) Research Project: https://dragqueenresearch.hdfs.uconn.edu/ led by Brian Chapman and Laura Donorfio, with collaboration from Alaina Brenick and others. The team especially wants to acknowledge the efforts of Emma Chamberlin (HDFS BS ’24), who was integral in designing the website!
Professor Marlene Schwartz co-authored a new op-ed in Health Affairs titled, “Sodium Reduction Is A Proven Strategy That Saves Lives—More Work Is Needed To Hold Industry Accountable”
Check out the recent UConn Today article on the regional campuses, which highlights the addition of the Early Childhood Specializations at UConn Waterbury! Read the article here https://today.uconn.edu/2024/08/uconns-regional-campuses-gear-up-for-exciting-new-academic-year/
Professor Rebecca Puhl’s work on reducing weight stigma was recently featured in a research brief by the Collabatory on School and Child Health. Read the article here https://csch.media.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2206/2024/08/Rudd-CSCH-Brief-Reducing-Weight-Stigma-Families-August-2024.pdf
Paige Desjardins graduated from UConn in 2013 with a B.A. in HDFS with a focus on Early Childhood Education. Learning through first-hand experiences at the university’s Child Labs, Paige left school with a deep understanding of Child Development and the importance of instilling positive values in the lives of young children. She went on to work at Natural Learning Children’s Community School in Simsbury, Connecticut where she was head teacher of their preschool room, breaking the typical four walls of the classroom by taking her students out onto hiking trails and into the school’s gardens and composting units. Paige started sharing her curriculums online under the handle Natural Learning Kids, which slowly gained a following as she was promoted to Curriculum Coordinator at NLCCS.
After four years and 20,000+ followers, Paige decided to quit her teaching job and move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in children’s media. While nannying for high profile families and obtaining her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, Paige volunteered with the Children’s Media Association, a networking group whose purpose is to connect people within the industry. She ran their social media pages and eventually became their Director of Marketing while starting to get freelance education consulting work on animated preschool scripts. Paige landed her first real role in the industry as a Coordinator on Disney Junior’s Educational Resource Group, providing educational notes for outlines and scripts on all of Disney Junior’s properties as well as testing shows in the form of storybooks at schools around Los Angeles.
Paige used this script coverage experience as fuel to take screenwriting classes and pursue a career in children’s animation writing. She moved into a production role on Disney Junior’s Alice’s Wonderland Bakery and worked her way into an Associate Writer role by its second season. Paige is currently a staff writer on Disney Junior’s Mickey Mouse Funhouse and spends her free time volunteering on the board of Black Thumb Farm, a nonprofit brining gardening opportunities to kids around East Los Angeles as well as playing flag football with her friends.
Dr. Sarah Rendón García joined the HDFS faculty as an Assistant Professor in August 2023 and began teaching in HDFS in fall 2024. Born in Venezuela to Colombian parents, migration has been an integral part of her story from the very beginning. Her childhood unfolded across three countries, each contributing to her multicultural lens. At age 9, she and her family settled in Norwalk, Connecticut—a place she now calls home.
Growing up as an undocumented young person profoundly shaped Sarah’s perspective. It fueled her unwavering commitment to working with immigrant communities. Her journey led her to delve into developmental psychology through diverse avenues: children’s television media, youth development, youth organizing, and early childhood intervention. Before pursuing her Ph.D. at Harvard University, Sarah worked with Child First—an evidence-based program focused on buffering toxic stress through positive caregiver-child relationships. Her educational journey includes an Ed.M. in Prevention Science and Practice from HGSE and a BA in Psychology and French from the College of the Holy Cross.
Sarah’s research focuses on mixed-status immigrant families originating from Latin America. She explores how both children and adults grapple with the implications of being undocumented in the United States. Caregivers and kids alike contribute to her empirical insights—whether independently, within caregiver-child dyads, or as a family unit. Generously funded by the NSF, Ford Foundation, and NAEd/Spencer Foundation Fellowships, her work sheds light on these complex, often overlooked experiences. Her approach is interdisciplinary, practical, and community-centered. She seeks to amplify voices, consider geographical contexts, and navigate sociopolitical ecologies—all while advancing our understanding of these individuals’ lives.
After the academic cap comes off, Sarah spends her days balancing family life, taking care of her two little ones and a sizable Bernedoodle with her husband. In her elusive free time, Sarah enjoys watercolor painting, tackling DIY projects, and watching TV series that make her shriek and laugh.
Elise is a first-year PhD student working with Dr. Eva Lefkowitz. She grew up in Seattle, but moved to Utah to attend Brigham Young University (BYU). At BYU, Elise graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and minor in Global Women’s Studies. At BYU, she worked as a head teaching assistant for several courses, including human development and gender development, where she developed a love for studying gender and sexuality across childhood and adolescence. Working with Dr. Adam Rogers and his research team on Project ADEPT (Advancing the Development of Emotional Proficiencies in Teens), Elise completed her minor capstone studying the relationship dynamics of parents and their sexual-minority teens. She presented this project and two other projects focused on gender issues at the Mary Lou Fulton Conference held by BYU. Through her teaching and research experience at BYU, she developed a passion for both practices that fueled her desire to pursue further education and eventually become a professor.
At UConn, Elise aims to further study how children and adolescents understand and express gender and sexuality throughout their development. Specifically, she wants to investigate the influence that parents and families have on their children’s understanding of these concepts. She is fascinated by the intersection of family life and social development: how parents and families help shape their kids’ perceptions of social norms and roles. Through studying these topics, Elise hopes to translate research into practice by providing parents with guidance on how to better communicate about gender and sexuality with their kids in a healthy, inclusive, and accepting manner.
Although she aims to teach at the university level, Elise loves working directly with infants and children. For two years, she volunteered at Family Haven in the crisis nursery and helped provide children of all ages with respite care. Over the summer, she also worked at a childcare center as a teacher with infants aged 6-12 months. While she loved learning about child development in the classroom, she found it even more insightful to witness the immense growth and personality development made at this age in such a short time.
Congratulations to Rong Huang, recent HDFS postdoctoral scholar working with Rachel Chazan Cohen, who just started a position as assistant professor in the Department of Psychological Science and Counseling at Austin Peay State University!