BA ’96 Psychology, MS ’89 HDFS

Rona J. Karasik, Ph.D., FAGHE, FGSA is a Professor and Director of the Gerontology Program at St. Cloud State University. Rona, daughter of UConn alumni Gail Zieky Karasik (BS ’58 Pharmacy) and Sheldon Karasik (BS ’57 Pharmacy), graduated from UConn with a BA in Psychology (1986) and an MS in Family Studies with an emphasis in Gerontology (1989). Using the skills she learned from her Family Studies mentors (Dr. Nancy Sheehan, Dr. Tom Blank, Dr. Steve Wisensale, and Dr. Lucille Nahemow), Rona went on to earn her doctorate in Individual and Family Studies from the University of Delaware in 1993. That same year, Rona joined the faculty at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud MN (where hockey, not basketball, reigns). She has taught Gerontology and conducted research there ever since.

Over the years, Rona’s research focus turned from family caregiving and senior housing to experiential learning and gerontological pedagogy. She is the author of numerous publications and presentations on gerontology internships, service-learning, classroom- and community-based activities, and incorporating anti-racist pedagogy into the gerontological curriculum. Teaching has become a passion for Rona – a fact that may surprise her Family Studies classmates who knew her to have a fear of public speaking.

Rona holds fellow status in both the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) and the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and is the recipient of local and national teaching awards, including AGHE’s “Distinguished Faculty” award. Currently, Rona is working with colleagues, including UConn HDFS Professor Dr. Laura Donorfio, on a textbook for gerontology interns. Most recently, Rona was appointed editor-in-chief of Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, the official journal of the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education. 

As for her greatest accomplishments, Rona points to the two daughters she and husband, UConn alum Laurin Hafner, Ph.D., have raised. Their eldest is currently a doctoral candidate at Cornell University and their youngest will be graduating this spring as a 3^rd generation UConn Husky!

Governor Ned Lamont recently nominated Scott M. Jones (BA ’88 HDFS) as one of 22 nominations for judgeships in Connecticut. Jones currently lives in Hamden, CT, earned his Law degree from UConn, and is a public defender in New Haven. Read more about all of the nominations here.

Congratulations to Luke Russell (BA ’10 HDFS and Political Science, and our February alumni spotlight), who recently received Illinois State University’s Research Initiative Award, which recognizes new faculty members (within their first five years) who have initiated a promising research agenda early in their academic careers.

Alumni Elise (Berman) Siegel, BA ’89, was featured in UConn Today in an article about eight couples who met at UConn more than 30 years ago, and are still married. You can learn more about Elise and the other couples, here: Read the article here.   Also note that Elise is Eva Lefkowitz’s cousin, and when Eva first told her about becoming the HDFS department head at UConn, Elise mentioned that she remembered taking HDFS 1070 in the 1980’s from a young new professor, Ron Sabatelli.

Alumni Emily Simpson, PhD 19, recently started a position as an assistant professor of Psychology at East Central University in Oklahoma.

Alumni Ellen Pudney (PhD 2021), who recently accepted a position as assistant professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School in the Division of Pediatric Community Health and Research! Congratulations!

BA ’10 HDFS and Political Science

Luke T. Russell attended UConn from 2006-2010. He entered the University initially as a political science major, with an interest in international relationships and the process of brokering peace between nations. On the advice of a friend, he took a course during his sophomore year on family dynamics taught by then department head Dr. Ron Sabatelli. Fascinated by the theoretical insights of family systems theory and the practical bend of Human Development and Family Studies, Luke added HDFS as a second major, and subsequently completed an honors thesis in HDFS. As an honors student, Luke took a graduate seminar on Divorce, Remarriage, and Stepfamilies taught by Dr. Shannon Weaver, which drew him into the study of brokering peace within divorced and separated households. Under the mentorship of Dr. Weaver, he received research support from the Summer Undergraduate Research Fund Gary Karp Award to complete a grounded theory study with emerging adult stepchildren about how they built, formed, and experienced meaningful relationships with their stepparents. Largely because of this experience, he went on to complete both an MS and PhD in Human Development and Family Science at the University of Missouri.

Since 2018, Luke has been an assistant professor of Human Development and Family Science at Illinois State University, where he has received both a University Teaching Initiative Award and University Research Initiative Award for his accomplishments in the classroom and broader publication record as a pre-tenure faculty member. In his research he continues to investigate how individuals living in diverse family structures (e.g., post-divorce families, remarried/stepfamilies, cohabiting families, single-parent families, etc.) organize their relationships, engage in strategies that promote resilience, and maintain family-members’ health and well-being. He also studies how broader social institutions (e.g., health care systems, schools, and government agencies) can function as supportive resources for individuals living in structurally diverse families. He currently serves on five editorial boards: Journal of Family Theory & Review, Journal of Family Nursing, Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, and Personal Relationships; is a founding member of the Divorce Education Assessment Collaborative based out of Kansas State University, and in 2021 gained full certification as a Certified Family Life Educator. At Illinois State University he teaches courses in communication and helping skills, family policy, families in later life, and enduring issues for couples and families. His work both in the classroom and outside of it has been (and continues to be) greatly shaped by his experiences as an undergraduate at the University of Connecticut.

Kristina Sluzewski-Soderholm graduated from UConn in 2013 with a double major in Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) and Psychology. After graduation, Kristina completed her M.Ed in Family and Consumer Sciences Education at North Dakota State University and soon after began her professional career as a high school teacher and preschool program director. In 2015, Kristina began a position at Wilton High School to run their Child and Lifespan Development program, where she oversees their collaborative high school-preschool program.

Over the past seven years, Kristina has taken her passions for early childhood development and secondary education to create an environment for her high school students where they can build connections and gain hands-on experience working with preschool aged children. Her preschool program, Helping Hands Preschool, is located inside the high school building and allows her students to work daily with the preschool class. Her main goal as an educator is to inspire her students and create a safe space for them to explore, learn, and grow without judgement.

Kristina’s passion for child development has led her to run several groups at her school, aiming to show her students the importance of volunteer work and giving back to the community. Some of the groups’ accomplishments include running a supply drive for requested items in the foster care system, raising awareness within the community of childhood cancers, and collecting funds to send children with serious illnesses to summer camp free of charge. Within the past seven years, she and her Wilton students have raised thousands of dollars to donate to childhood causes in their community.

Kristina has remained closely connected to UConn since graduating. In 2019, she was recognized at the 2018-2019 UConn ECE Professional Development Awards as the Rookie of the Year for Excellence in First-Year Course Instruction for successfully introducing the UConn Individual and Family Development course into the Wilton High School curriculum. To continue to connect her high school students to the university, Kristina often takes her high school students on field trips to the Storrs campus to show them all the opportunities that the HDFS department has to offer for students interested in the field. Kristina credits the UConn HDFS department for opening her eyes up to a career path that makes her excited to come to work every day.

The Greater Hartford Association of REALTORS (GHAR) has named Cheryl Hilton (BA 1991) of eXp Realty LLC, a veteran in the real estate industry for 15 years, as its 2021 Realtor of the year. Learn More Here.

Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez earned her first degree from UConn, a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Relations, in 1997. Three years later, she also received her Master of Social Work degree from UConn. While attending UConn, she gained a knowledge of human development, how people grow and develop, and the interdependencies of different systems, including families, schools, and communities.

During her time as a student, Torres-Rodriguez held various leadership roles at San Juan Tutoring Program, Inc., a non-profit community-based agency that provided academic and enrichment services to Hartford students, as well as parenting skills training and support to families. In 2000, after earning her MSW, she served students and families at Goodwin Technical High School as a School Social Worker. During that time, she earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Central Connecticut State University while teaching Social and Behavioral Sciences at Capital Community College.

An education leader in the Greater Hartford area for more than two decades, Dr. Torres-Rodriguez has held various school leadership positions, including Assistant Principal and Principal. She also designed and facilitated professional learning for the LEAD CT Turnaround Principal Program, a collaboration among Connecticut and national organizations committed to helping school and district leaders reach new levels of success improving student learning.

A proud graduate of Hartford Public schools, Dr. Torres-Rodriguez returned home to the district to serve and lead it, first as Assistant Superintendent and Acting Superintendent before she was appointed Superintendent in 2017. She strongly believes that schools exist within, and at times are a reflection of, their communities. Her learnings at UConn SSW, rooted in social justice, serve as a foundation as she continues to apply an equity lens to all aspects of her leadership journey. That manifests in the district’s approach to seek stakeholder voice to inform decisions; to use data to target resources equitably by student need and school need; and to co-design and deploy strategies that deliberately target disrupting historical patterns of inequity.

Her ongoing relationship with UConn extends to partnerships between Hartford Public Schools and the University. For example, an initiative called HPS Heals brought UConn School of Social Work students into Hartford Public Schools to help respond to the trauma experienced by students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She is a proud resident of Hartford, where she lives with her husband and two sons.