Kelsey Hammerman grew up in Windsor, Connecticut, and completed her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History, with a minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies here at UConn in 2017. During her time here as an undergrad, she worked in Dining Services, in ResLife as a Resident Assistant, Game Room Monitor, and Student Supervising Assistant, and as a Public Programs Facilitator at the New England Air Museum. It was this latter experience, combined with classroom volunteering and mentoring, that inspired her to pursue education as a career.
In 2018, Kelsey joined Teach for America, an AmeriCorps program that places prospective educators in hard to staff positions. After a brief summer of training in Houston, Kelsey was placed in Payette, Idaho. For two years, she had the privilege of teaching first grade in a small, rural community. And while she knows Idaho is home to the famous potatoes (it is, after all, on the state license plate) the most surprising thing about Idaho was that the region she was in instead had a plethora of onions and beets, many of which ended up on the roadside when trucks would turn.
After the completion of her commitment with Teach for America, and in the middle of the global pandemic, Kelsey made the decision to move back to Connecticut in 2020 to be closer to family. She started work as a first grade math and science teacher and greatly enjoyed her time with her students. At the same time, many of the people she went to college with started working in Higher Education and Student Affairs, a field that Kelsey had never considered as a career possibility but aligned with her interests and strengths. So, seeking a different work environment, Kelsey made the leap from teaching to college admissions at Goodwin University in East Hartford. She most enjoyed getting to know many of the students she enrolled.
While she enjoyed and excelled in admissions, she continued looking for a long term career that better aligned with her interests. So, when the position to work for HDFS at UConn opened up, she jumped at the opportunity to apply. When Kelsey isn’t at work, she is completing course work toward her M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from Boise State University–and is expected to graduate May 2023 after many long years– meeting up with friends over reality television, or pampering her two cats, Lewis and Clark.
Professor Kim Gans is Co-PI on a 6-month grant funded by the Partnership for A Healthy Mississippi, State of Mississippi Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) to pilot the feasibility and acceptability of adding a social isolation prevention intervention to Meals on Wheels deliveries in Mississippi.
Roni Lang, HDFS adjunct professor at the UConn Stamford campus, was recently selected as the National Association of Social Workers- Connecticut Chapter- as Social Worker of the Year for 2022. Roni shared the following Maya Angelou quote which she said guides her professional life: “success is liking yourself, liking what you do and liking how you do it.” Sounds like Roni is really living her motto – Congratulations Roni!
Ashley Dyer graduated from UConn in 2019 with a B.A. in Human Development and Family Studies with a concentration in Early Childhood Development. While at UConn, she was very fortunate to be involved in many club organizations and mentorship programs such as the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP), Preparing African American Students to Sustain Success (PASS) Program, Sisters Inspiring Sisters, and volunteer work through her sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho Inc. Her participation in these activities fueled her passion for working with children and families. She started at UConn wanting to be a sports medicine doctor and was on the pre-kinesiology track. As she went through her college career she quickly realized that that was not her true calling and ended up switching her major a few times. It was only when she took her first intro class in HDFS that she was hooked on a major. It was the HDFS 1070 course (Individual and Family Development) that really sealed the deal for her! It not only helped her learn a lot about herself but also led to her passion of finding a way to make an impact in families’ lives outside of the classroom.
Sabrina Uva earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Development and Family Sciences from UConn in 2022 with a double minor in Psychology and Gerontology. She graduated Summa Cum Laude and was a member of various honors societies including Phi Beta Kapa, Psi Chi, and Alpha Lambda Delta. In addition, she served as the President of the Student Government Association at the UConn Stamford Campus. She was awarded the Cohen Scholarship for enhancing community due to her leadership accomplishments. Specifically, she worked in a coalition of legislators to pass a bill on menstrual equity and led an initiative that provided free menstrual products to the campus community. Sabrina is passionate about creating inclusive communities and plans to continue her efforts through policy and research in the Human Development and Family Sciences doctoral program.
Dilara Yaya-Bryson is an early childhood education (ECE) scholar. In the Fall of 2022, she moved to Connecticut to join the UConn HDFS department as an Assistant Research Professor (i.e., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Research and Teaching Scholar). She has been in academia for nearly fifteen years. Prior to coming to UConn, she worked as a graduate research assistant and lecturer in different universities in the United States and her home country, Turkey.
Joshua Miller received his Ph.D. from HDFS in 1997. He had previously earned an MSW and worked as a social worker for 20 years with individuals, families, and communities in Seattle, London, Dublin, and Western Massachusetts before entering the UConn HDFS program. He was also an assistant professor at Smith College School for Social Work while studying at UConn. Josh was a full-time professor at Smith College for 30 years before retiring as a full professor in July 2022. At Smith, he taught courses in social policy, community activism, anti-racism, psychosocial responses to disasters, and positive psychology. Josh also co-facilitated an ongoing seminar for faculty to deepen their competency with issues of oppression and social identity in the classroom called “Pedagogy and Diversity.” He taught about responding to disasters at Beijing Normal University and Fudan University between 2008-2016 after responding to the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008.
Alex Del Farno is a first-year Ph.D. student who joined the HDFS department in 2022 to work with Dr. Lisa Eaton. He earned his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Rhode Island in 2020. Alex’s research interests focus broadly on the well-being of sexual and gender minorities (SGM), primarily involving individuals with transgender experience. Specifically, Alex is interested in how SGM embrace sexuality in the form of sex positivity, sexual safety, and health, and the role these factors play in their identity. Alex intends to collaborate on projects in the SHINE lab under Dr. Ryan Watson.
Cora’s career in early childhood development and education began at UConn 15 years ago. After starting her college career as a music major at the Hartt School of Music, she felt compelled to transition into a field that could leave more of an impact. Because she always had a special interest in babies and toddlers, she was drawn to the HDFS program at UConn and completed the early childhood specialization in 2010. This program connected her with some incredible mentors who have helped shape her professional career in the years since.