Eliza grew up in the Quiet Corner of Connecticut, surrounded by UConn sports fans and sledding on Horsebarn Hill as a child. While completing her degree, she served as her university’s Vice President of Habitat for Humanity, helping to build houses in West Virginia and rebuilding NOLA after Hurricane Katrina. She focused her studies on socio-economic barriers to women and children, helping her Department Chair census our local homeless population and then open the No Freeze shelter in Willimantic. Many of her family members were nurses at the Mansfield Training School, and at 19 she began her State Service working for the CT Department of Developmental Services’ newly established group homes in the UConn area. Throughout college she also interned at the Willimantic Juvenile Court, managed a Naturopathic Physician’s office and volunteered frequently with local social service agencies.
Eliza first joined the UConn community as a staff member at SHaW, before relocating to Northern Arizona, where she supported their local university until her children had graduated high school. At Northern Arizona University she served as a CLAS graduate advisor, helped create, test, and implement their Business Center model and also worked in Student Accounts & Financial Aid. As beautiful as the red rocks may be, Eliza was not made for land locked life and is very happy to be home in New England again. When not at HDFS, she can be found gardening, baking, or walking her dog.
Graduate student Michelle Miller recently received El Instituto’s 2024-2025 Predoctoral Fellowship from the University of Connecticut’s Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean and Latin American Studies to support her dissertation titled: “A Mixed Methods Investigation of Acculturative Stress, Cultural Values and Well-being among Latine University Students”.
Lisa (Villamana) Kilcourse earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies and minored in Psychology at the University of Connecticut, Storrs campus. Shortly after she graduated in 2005, she earned her Master of Science in Counselor Education: School Counseling at Western Connecticut State University as well as her certification as a Connecticut School Counselor (2009).
Andrea (Bouchard) Corcoran earned her Bachelor of Arts in (HDFS) with minors in Gerontology and Sociology from UConn in 2013. Growing up, Andrea had a close relationship with her grandparents, who were a big influence in her life. Since graduating, Andrea has built a career advocating for the rights and wellbeing of older adults.
Graduate student Rui Wu received the 2025 Arnold and Sandra Dashefsky Student Award for Excellence. This award is given to a student who demonstrates outstanding academic achievement in one of the following topics: American Jewry, prejudice discrimination, racism, or anti-semitism. Congratulations Rui!
Eva was awarded the 2025 Academic Leadership Award from CLAS! This award “recognizes exemplary work in leadership by an individual who oversees a CLAS department, school, center, institute, or program.” You can find more information about the award 
