Kate Dibble (PhD ’20), recent finished her postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins and started a position as a Research Fellow in Medical Breast Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She also will be working at UConn teaching HDFS 2200. Welcome Kate!

Hilal Kuscul (who successfully defended her dissertation this summer!) started her position as Visiting Assistant Professor at SUNY Oswego – you can see her in this photo of new faculty on their campus

Constanza Cabello (BA ’08) just celebrated her one year anniversary as VP of Equity Programs at State Street, a financial services provider.

Dr. Nicholas Koberstein (PhD ’16), founding associate professor of Child and Family Studies at Keuka College, was named the college’s 2022 Professor of the Year! Congratulations!

Dr. Tatiana Melendez-Rhodes came to the United States as a Fulbright Scholar to pursue a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of Connecticut in 2003. She continued her doctoral studies in Marriage and Family Therapy and graduated in 2010 from UConn. During graduate school Dr. Melendez-Rhodes gained professional experience as a researcher, teaching assistant, and clinician. In 2019, she pursued advanced training and received a Program Evaluation Graduate Certificate from UConn.

Through the years, Dr. Melendez-Rhodes has maintained a professional collaboration with Dr. Ronald Rohner on different projects related to Interpersonal Acceptance-Rejection Theory (IPARTheory). She became a participating member of UConn’s Ronald and Nancy Rohner Center for the Study of Interpersonal Acceptance and Rejection.

Dr. Melendez-Rhodes had previous professional experience as a psychologist in her native country of Peru. She taught graduate courses on marriage, family therapy, and supervision in universities in the United States, and has taught undergraduate courses in psychology and family and marriage therapy at universities in Peru. Dr. Melendez-Rhodes has worked in public hospitals, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, in private practice, and in outpatient mental health organizations in Connecticut, Oregon, Washington, and Peru. She has gained extensive clinical experience as a psychologist and marriage and family therapist and applies her knowledge and experience to her teaching and research.

Currently, Dr. Melendez-Rhodes is an Associate Tenured Professor and the Program Coordinator of the Marriage and Family Therapy Master’s Program in the Department of Counselor Education at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). She previously served as a Clinical Coordinator at CCSU. She is very passionate about teaching, mentoring, and interacting with her students. Dr. Melendez-Rhodes has organized and developed international study abroad courses in her native country, Peru, for her CCSU students. As a faculty member, one of her primary goals is to train competitive and sensitive clinicians who will serve diverse communities to the best of their capacities.

In addition, Dr. Melendez-Rhodes is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Connecticut, a Clinical Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), and an AAMFT Approved Supervisor. She serves on the Board of the Connecticut Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (CTAMFT). Previously, she served as the Chair of the Ethics Committee and as a Minority Fellowship Program Mentor at AAMFT. She has presented her research in national and international conferences and published scholarly work in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Melendez-Rhodes resides in Simsbury with her husband and her son. She enjoys traveling abroad and knowing new people and cultures.  She is very grateful for the strong education and support from her professors at UConn.

HDFS and Early Childhood alum Wheeler DeAngelis (2015), Infant/toddler mentor teacher at Boston University Children’s Center, worked with colleagues to vote to unionize the BU Children’s Center teachers. Learn more about these efforts here.

Dr. Jill Popp earned her doctorate in Human Development and Family Studies from UConn in 2010. Her research during this time focused on young children with chronic illness and their representations of family functioning. To address this topic, she interviewed parents to understand their reaction to the diagnosis and how their feelings about the illness had changed over time. This work led to new findings about how young children’s narratives mirror their parents’ reaction to diagnosis and parental coping. During her time as a student, Jill was actively involved in several research projects at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) that focused on family centered care for children with complex medical issues. This work led to a full-time position after graduation as a Research Scientist where she continued her doctoral research and expand her research to other illness groups.

During her five years at CCMC, Jill served on the scientific review committee to ensure quality and rigor to all human subjects research and was an active member of the hospital’s Institutional Review Board. While these activities were rewarding, it was her work on topics related to chronic illness and family functioning that she found incredibly meaningful. In particular, it was quite inspiring to hear how families were able to find hope in such challenging circumstances.

Jill’s experience from this work and her child development background proved valuable in the next chapter of her career. She applied and successfully received a position as a researcher at the LEGO Foundation in Denmark, the headquarters of the LEGO Group, in 2015.

Working at the LEGO Foundation, Jill has had the opportunity to lead several large-scale initiatives including management of internal and external stakeholders from all over the world. This work has included co-constructing rigorous proposals with partners to deepen our understanding of the science of play and children’s learning and to further realize the impact of the LEGO Foundation investments. In addition, she has designed formative evaluations that directly influenced the implementation of interventions to maximize impact for children. Jill is also a co-investigator on a cross-cultural study that uses novel methodologies to investigate children’s perceptions of play and learning. Throughout all this work, she has been involved in translating research findings in relatable ways across the organization and to broader audiences ranging from key messages for advocacy purposes to presentations at international conferences.

One significant project that Jill led at the LEGO Foundation was the development of an ambitious 10-year research agenda on playful learning and children’s development. This work involved the management of several key stakeholders, including members of the board of directors and a cross disciplinary group of researchers from all over the world. She collaborated with colleagues to build a research agenda that included not only what the Foundation would fund, but how they would support research through innovative funding mechanisms, a fellowship program, and a competitive open call process. She is currently using her knowledge from this experience to support the development of a research and learning agenda for a large NGO to amplify the work they are doing in the field of early childhood education.

Jill continues to enjoy living in Denmark and continues to travel throughout Europe while developing her LEGO brick building skills!

Aimee Roberge grew up in Connecticut, attended UConn from 2010-2014 and graduated with a double major in Human Development and Family Studies and Human Rights. During her time at UConn, she volunteered and participated in many clubs and activities including Habitat for Humanity, Love 146, Alzheimer’s Association and Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society. She also studied abroad in Cape Town, South Africa. One of her favorite HDFS memories is assisting a professor with coding therapy session recordings using the Rapid Marital Interaction Coding Manual for clinical observation data.

Upon graduation, Aimee participated in a summer program called LeaderworX, where she helped to facilitate community service projects for middle and high school students and planned group discussions and activities to educate youth about community service and social justice. After taking some time to reflect on her time at UConn and spending time with some little kiddos at her neighbor’s day care, Aimee made a big move to the Big Apple for a volunteer program with Covenant House, a shelter for youth experiencing homelessness, where she worked with mothers and children. She worked at Covenant House for another year before returning to school at Baruch College to receive her Master of Public Administration degree. Her capstone project focused on an analysis of policies, practices, and nonprofit programs that impact children and their incarcerated mothers in New York State prison and city jail facilities. Aimee spent time in Washington D.C. during one of her semesters taking classes and interning, so decided to move there upon graduation.

In D.C, Aimee worked with the National Community Action Partnership for three years as a Program Associate with the Learning Communities Resource Center team and then as a Senior Associate for Learning and Dissemination. She helped to write multiple grant applications and manage virtual and in-person learning cohorts to provide training and technical assistance to a network of over 1000 Community Action Agencies in areas such as comprehensive services for children and families, equity, trauma-informed care, financial empowerment, and homelessness intervention.

Aimee recently transitioned to a new position with the Council for Exceptional Children as a Professional Development and Resources Coordinator. She enjoys living in Virginia and in her free time likes to spend time by the water, go on hikes, or curl up with a good movie or book. While life can get busy and there are so many opportunities and options available, Aimee tries to embody one of her new mantras: “people over plans:” don’t live life only by your to-do list or you will miss a lot right in front of you. Make time for a few things that are really important, then let life’s beauty and adventure unfold!

HDFS Alum Rona Karasik (MA, ’89), Professor at St. Cloud State University, is the recipient of the Hiram J. Friedsam Mentorship Award, which recognizes individuals who have contributed to gerontological and/or geriatrics education through excellence in mentorship to students, faculty, and administrators.

Diondra Brown graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies and Psychology in 2015. She desired to merge her academic areas of interest and pursued a master’s degree in Clinical Social Work at the University of Pennsylvania. While there, she studied evidenced-based therapy for children and families, in addition to conducting child-welfare policy research. During her time in graduate school, Diondra expanded her knowledge about family dynamics, trauma-informed treatment, and child development. Her field placements provided her with a wealth of experiences as she had opportunities to work in an early childhood learning academy, infant and child laboratory, residential treatment program, and outpatient mental health center.

Upon graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 2017, Diondra worked as a child and family psychotherapist for several years with the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Her clinical work focused on play therapy, trauma therapy, and family therapy. Her clients’ diagnoses ranged from anxiety to attachment disorder. In addition to her clinical work, she pioneered the creation of a therapeutic preschool for 3- to 5-year-old children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder or early childhood trauma and co-facilitated a maternal stress group for mothers and their infants. Given her passion for learning, Diondra mentored several graduate students during her time as a therapist and served as an adjunct professor at Thomas Jefferson University in 2020.

During the same year, she began to transfer her knowledge and skills into the world of children’s media, by serving as a consultant for global children’s media companies. She also took on a part-time role with Common Sense Media, as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion reviewer for children’s picture books and television shows. She is currently the Child Development & Education Manager at Twin Cities PBS. She leads content creation and curriculum development for the station’s newest Ready to Learn grant project, which aims to enhance executive functioning skills and career readiness for children in kindergarten through second grade. In her spare time, she volunteers as an officer for the Children’s Media Association. Diondra believes that her academic pursuits at UConn provided her with the foundation she needed for future success, and the ability to pursue various career pathways.