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).

After working for several years in Weston Public Schools as a Paraprofessional, Intern, Permanent Building Substitute, and School Counselor, as well as a Bethel Public Schools Summer’s Best Program Teacher, Lisa Kilcourse is currently an elementary school counselor at Head O’Meadow Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut and has been there since December 2015. She has earned accolades such as 2021 CT School Counselor of the Year Runner Up and 2018-2019 Newtown Board of Education Profiles in Professionalism Award. Lisa was an American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Elementary School Counselor Affinity Group Leader (2021-2023) and has written several publications for the association, most recently, From the Chair: Making Magic at School (ASCA). She is also the current Chairman of the Connecticut School Counselor Association and has remained connected to school counselors across the state by serving in several roles such as VP Fairfield County, Director, Conference Planning Committee, and National School Counseling Week Workgroups in this association, beginning in 2018 and has been an active member of the association since graduate school. In August 2024, Lisa also became a Certified Yoga Teacher which has provided her with the opportunity to utilize yoga and mindfulness with students in a variety of ways.

Lisa enjoys giving back to the profession. She has been supervising school counselor practicum students and school counselor interns in her school building. In 2025, Lisa will begin teaching as an Adjunct Professor at Western Connecticut State University. Lisa is grateful for the connections and support from the many different avenues of her work in CT education and looks forward to continuing her work in helping others grow in their journey as lifelong learners.

Lisa enjoys finding balance by staying active, whether it be on a recumbent bike or through her own yoga practice. She also enjoys attending performances in Hartford, New Haven, and NYC and trying new restaurants in the area. She has been married since July 2010 to her UConn college sweetheart and Human Development and Family Studies Alum, Gregory Kilcourse (2004). They currently reside in Connecticut and enjoy cheering on the Huskies each year!

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.

While earning her undergraduate degree, Andrea completed an internship at the Mansfield Senior Center, an experience that would play a pivotal role in shaping her professional journey. This internship provided her with invaluable hands-on experience and laid the foundation for her future careers in the municipal sector.

After graduation, Andrea worked part-time in senior activity roles at both the Glastonbury and Vernon Senior Centers. In 2015, Andrea’s career advanced when she was hired by the Town of Farmington as their Community & Recreation Program Assistant. In 2018, Andrea expanded her knowledge by earning a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management & Philanthropy from Bay Path University. This advanced degree equipped her with the tools to further her leadership abilities and strengthen her contributions to the local community. After five years of impactful work, Andrea was promoted to Senior Center Coordinator, where she continued to make a difference in the lives of seniors in the Farmington area.

In January 2023, Andrea accepted a new role as the Director of Senior Services for the Town of Southbury.

In May 2024, Andrea and her husband Chris, along with their cat Olivia, relocated to Watertown, CT. In addition to her professional work, Andrea is a proud member of the Tribury Rotary Club, where she actively participates in community service projects.

Congratulations to alumni Luke Russell (BA ’10), newly elected Chair-elect of the NCFR Research and Theory Section.

After scrambling to find three credits to fill his first semester schedule, David Schless convinced a professor to allow him to enroll in an upper-level sociology of aging class and was ultimately introduced to an undergraduate program he would have never otherwise contemplated. At a certain point, he was introduced to Dr. Nancy Sheehan, who agreed to become his undergraduate advisor and ultimately played a significant role helping him create a unique, robust undergraduate program that was heavy on gerontology and policy with exposure to many of the outstanding HDFR faculty at UConn in the mid-1980s. It was in a policy-oriented class with Dr. Steven Wisensale his junior year that he met Susan Martino, who he subsequently dated (post-UConn) and married in 1991. With much encouragement from Dr. Sheehan and adjunct professor Dr. Rikke Wassenberg, David become the first HDFR student to go through the relatively new UConn Honors program.  

 After graduating from UConn, David attended the University of North Texas, which at the time had the nation’s premier graduate program for professionals working in long-term care. The program, created by the Administration on Aging in 1968, had a significant business focus (accounting, finance, management) and both a thesis and an extensive internship requirement for graduation. With his older brother working in the Pentagon for the Department of Defense, David accepted a research-oriented internship in nearby Annapolis, MD with the National Association for Senior Living Industries (NASLI), a 501c3 trade association comprised of executives from a wide variety of businesses serving older adults. After receiving his MS from North Texas in 1989, David accepted a research position with NASLI, where he met several professionals involved in the fledgling seniors housing business. 

 In 1991, when David was 25, the Washington, DC-based National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) offered him an opportunity to launch a Seniors Housing Committee, which in 1995 became the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA). ASHA was a 501c6 which lobbied on Capitol Hill on behalf of owners and operators of seniors housing (including both for-profit and not-for-profit entities involved in independent living, assisted living, memory care, and life plan/continuing care retirement communities). The Association also began conducting a variety of research studies to better understand the needs and desires of older adults and their families, and to better understand the underlying business and investment case for senior living. In 2001, ASHA spun-off from NMHC and has continued to represent owners and operators, conduct and/or sponsor a multitude of research projects, and help older adults and their families navigate the complexities of senior living on the Association’s www.WhereYouLiveMatters.org website. David has served as the American Seniors Housing Association’s president & CEO since its inception 33 years ago. 

 David and Susan have lived in Rockville, MD since the early 1990s where they raised two grown children and numerous cats. David has been actively involved with the Alzheimer’s Association for much of his professional career and has helped raise more than $60 million to fund research for a cure. He has also served on the Advisory Board of the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures and the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living at Washington State University. 

Congratulations to Tracy Walters (PhD ’23) who recently accepted a new position as Teaching Assistant Professor and Director of the Applied Psychology Data Analytics Master’s program at Marquette University to start this Fall!

Jennifer Dealy (PhD ’19) was recently promoted and tenured as associate professor of Psychology at Albertus Magnus College. Congratulations Jen!

Sebastian Perumbilly (PhD ’11) was recently promoted to full professor of Marriage and Family Therapy at Southern Connecticut State University. Congratulations Seb!

Alexander Reid (PhD ’18) was recently promoted and tenured as associate professor of Child, Adolescent, and Family Studies at Cal State Bakersfield. Congratulations Alex!

HDFS Alum Ciara Collins (PhD ’23) is now a research scientist at the Institute for Policy and Governance at Virginia Tech. Congratulations Ciara!

Qianxia Jiang (PhD ’22) was recently highlighted in an article by her university, University of Central Florida, about her work on healthy lifestyles. https://www.ucf.edu/news/ucf-health-sciences-researcher-embraces-florida-as-her-living-lab/