John Oliver recently cited a study that Professor Marlene Schwartz co-authored on the “Last Week Tonight” segment about school lunches. Watch the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YypArYDcjA

Kyla is HDFS Assistant Professor in Residence and Coordinator of the Early Childhood Specialization (ECS) at UConn Stamford. Her graduate background includes both research and teaching, with a particular focus on how young children develop the crucial socioemotional skill of self-regulation and how teachers and families can promote this ability. She recently joined UConn in pursuit of a translational position where she could bridge research and practice by making evidence-based information accessible to the early childhood educators of tomorrow. In her dual role as assistant professor and program coordinator, she teaches undergraduate HDFS courses, promotes the ECS to interested students, and works closely with the Community Child Development Center (CCDC) in Westport to bring her students into high-quality preschool classrooms and guide their work.

Kyla’s journey to UConn began with her neuroscience major at UMass Amherst, where she became interested in executive function in both animals and children. After college, she obtained a full-time position as a research project manager at Michigan State University’s Early Language and Literacy Investigations Lab, which led her to sharpen her focus toward self-regulation in preschoolers. She was invited to apply to graduate school in the MSU HDFS program, where she completed her Masters and PhD degrees while serving as a research assistant across four grants, a teaching assistant, and an instructor. For the final two years of her PhD, Kyla also worked as a full-time Associate Teacher in the NAEYC-accredited MSU Child Development Lab preschools, where she used best practice approaches, developed curriculum plans, and guided undergraduate students during their practicum hours. Kyla has conducted professional development workshops for in-service and pre-service teachers and has published both research and practitioner papers on early childhood development, most notably for NAEYC’s major practitioner journal Young Children.

Alongside her faculty work, Kyla is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and Certified Control Unleashed Instructor specializing in working with families who have recently acquired puppies. Kyla has been training dogs professionally for over 15 years and uses force-free, science-based approaches such as clicker training in private sessions and group classes, as well as raising and training dogs for service organizations like Paws with a Cause and Leader Dogs for the Blind.

When she is not teaching students or training dogs, Kyla enjoys hiking on local trails with her Golden Retriever, Jahi. She also likes psychological thrillers (books or movies), the outdoors, parenting podcasts or audiobooks, coffee/tea with friends, and spending time with her family on summer boating adventures.

Congratulations to Jolaade Kalinowski, who recently received a 5-year K01 Mentored Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health for a project titled Proof of Concept Trial of a Mindful Walking Intervention for Black Women with Hypertension!

Kari Adamsons and Beth Russell received the 2024 Best Research Paper on Men in Families award from the National Council on Family Relations, Men in Families Focus Group, for their paper “Longitudinal transmission of risk behaviors between mothers, fathers, and adolescents,” published in March 2023, in the Journal of Family Psychology. The award will be presented at the 2024 NCFR Men in Families Focus Group meeting in Seattle in November.

Professors Ryan Watson and Lisa Eaton’s research featured in UConn Today demonstrating the importance of taking a holistic approach to HIV risk factors.  Read the article here https://today.uconn.edu/2024/09/new-study-reveals-relationship-between-hiv-risk-factors-for-lgbtq-youth/

Professor Marlene Schwartz co-authored a new op-ed in Health Affairs titled, “Sodium Reduction Is A Proven Strategy That Saves Lives—More Work Is Needed To Hold Industry Accountable”

Professor Rebecca Puhl’s work on reducing weight stigma was recently featured in a research brief by the Collabatory on School and Child Health. Read the article here https://csch.media.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2206/2024/08/Rudd-CSCH-Brief-Reducing-Weight-Stigma-Families-August-2024.pdf

Dr. Sarah Rendón García joined the HDFS faculty as an Assistant Professor in August 2023 and began teaching in HDFS in fall 2024. Born in Venezuela to Colombian parents, migration has been an integral part of her story from the very beginning. Her childhood unfolded across three countries, each contributing to her multicultural lens. At age 9, she and her family settled in Norwalk, Connecticut—a place she now calls home.

Growing up as an undocumented young person profoundly shaped Sarah’s perspective. It fueled her unwavering commitment to working with immigrant communities. Her journey led her to delve into developmental psychology through diverse avenues: children’s television media, youth development, youth organizing, and early childhood intervention. Before pursuing her Ph.D. at Harvard University, Sarah worked with Child First—an evidence-based program focused on buffering toxic stress through positive caregiver-child relationships. Her educational journey includes an Ed.M. in Prevention Science and Practice from HGSE and a BA in Psychology and French from the College of the Holy Cross.

Sarah’s research focuses on mixed-status immigrant families originating from Latin America. She explores how both children and adults grapple with the implications of being undocumented in the United States. Caregivers and kids alike contribute to her empirical insights—whether independently, within caregiver-child dyads, or as a family unit. Generously funded by the NSF, Ford Foundation, and NAEd/Spencer Foundation Fellowships, her work sheds light on these complex, often overlooked experiences. Her approach is interdisciplinary, practical, and community-centered. She seeks to amplify voices, consider geographical contexts, and navigate sociopolitical ecologies—all while advancing our understanding of these individuals’ lives.

After the academic cap comes off, Sarah spends her days balancing family life, taking care of her two little ones and a sizable Bernedoodle with her husband. In her elusive free time, Sarah enjoys watercolor painting, tackling DIY projects, and watching TV series that make her shriek and laugh.