We are a diverse team of teachers, students, and scientists united in our mission to advocate for
​Black children and their communities through policy informing research. 

The research team

STEPHANIE M. CURENTON, PH.D.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
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Stephanie M. Curenton, Ph.D. is a tenured associate professor in the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Her research focuses on positive child growth and development and dismantling health and education inequities for racially marginalized children and families.

Stephanie studies the social, cognitive, and language development of children within various ecological contexts, such as parent-child interactions, early childhood education programs, early childhood workforce programs, and related state and federal policies. Her topical areas of expertise are language and literacy development, particularly among African American children and dual language learners, and measurement development. She has created two measures, the Conversation Compass Communication Screener-Revised measure of children’s classroom conversation skills, and the Assessing Classroom Sociocultural Equity Scale, a measure of classroom quality for racially marginalized students.

​She has authored numerous empirical manuscripts as well as books and edited volumes targeted toward practitioners or policy makers. She is a leader in the field of early childhood policy and child development. She has served as past associate editor for the two top journals in early childhood, Early Childhood Research Quarterly and Early Education and Development. She has also been awarded two research policy fellowships, one from the Society for Research on Child Development (SRCD)/American Association for the Advancement of Science(AAAS) where she worked in Office of Child Care and the other from National Child Development Institute (NBCDI). She has served on education non-profit boards for National Association for the Education of Young Children(NAEYC) and local Head Start programs.

Her research has been funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of Program Research and Evaluation (OPRE), the National Academy of Science Ford Predoctoral Fellowship, American Education Research Association (AERA), Foundation for Child Development, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Stephanie earned her Ph.D. in Developmental and Community Psychology from the University of Virginia. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys yoga, reading, spending time with her family, and playing with her new dog.
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Sherrell Hicklen ​​House, PH.D.

DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH
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Sherrell Hicklen House is the Director of Research in the Center on the Ecology of Early Development (CEED) within Wheelock College of Education and Human Development at Boston University. Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Howard University, a Master of Science degree in Psychology in Education with a concentration in Applied Developmental Psychology from University of Pittsburgh, and a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Michigan State University. Prior to joining the CEED research team, she held a position as an Assistant Professor in Child Development and Family Studies at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT) for five years.
 
Her research broadly focuses on cultural parenting practices and culturally and racially related development while promoting racial justice and equity for African American children and families. Her work further explores how racial socialization and racialized identity construction serve as protective mechanisms, in addition to how they foster healthy developmental and educational outcomes in African American children navigating educational contexts. She is interested in conducting research that impacts the efficiency and effectiveness of programs used to enhance the wellbeing of African American children and families. Moreover, she is strongly committed to using a strengths-based approach to develop and inform effective programs and policies that benefit children and families living in ethnically and economically diverse communities.
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ANU RAYAMAJHI

GRANTS & FINANCE ADMINISTRATOR 
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Anu Rayamajhi is the Grants and Finance Administrator for CEED. Anu has always had a passion for supporting non-profits and has an extensive background working in finance for non-profits. Anu earned her bachelor’s in communication at the University of New Hampshire and is currently working on her MBA at Questrom School of Business at Boston University.
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MARIAH CONTRERAS, PH.D.

RESEARCH SCIENTIST
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Mariah Contreras, Ph.D., is a Research Scientist at CEED and serves as a Project Director for the ACSES Project. Her research documents adaptive socialization processes of racially marginalized families throughout the period of early childhood and has been supported by the Boston Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation. 
 
Mariah earned her Ph.D. in Child Study and Human Development from Tufts University. She was a postdoctoral scholar at Tufts Interdisciplinary Evaluation Research where she was a RWJF New Connections for Increasing Diversity Scholar. She currently serves as co-chair for the Ethnic and Racial Issues Committee of the Society for Research in Child Development. 
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JACQUELINE SIMS, PH.D.

RESEARCH SCIENTIST ​
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Jacqueline Sims, Ph.D., is a Research Scientist in the Center on the Ecology of Early Development. Her work focuses on identifying and understanding contexts and practices that support the optimal development of minoritized youth, with a particular focus on how these supports can disrupt the health and educational impacts of racism and poverty.  

Jacqueline earned her Ph.D. with distinction in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology from the Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development. In her undergraduate studies at Duke University, Jacqueline was a Scholar with the Robertson Scholars Leadership Program. 

NNEKA IBEKWE-OKAFOR, PH.D.

POST-DOCTORAL ASSOCIATE
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Nneka Ibekwe-Okafor, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Wheelock College of Education and Human Development at Boston University and a graduate Teaching Fellow at Harvard University. Her research sits at the intersection of developmental science, early childhood education and social policy.

Nneka investigates the social and environmental determinants of children’s academic development by examining how poverty, racial discrimination, structural inequalities, and educational inequities influence access to quality early care and education and the developmental outcomes of racially marginalized learners from birth to kindergarten. Her research has a particular focus on identifying protective factors across various ecological levels in efforts to promote the optimal developmental outcomes of Black children and families developing in low-income environments. The goal of her research is to inform social policies and practitioner-led interventions through the science of human development.

As a former Society for Research in Child Development Predoctoral State Policy Fellow for the Delaware Department of Education, Nneka evaluated state level early learning initiatives, developed policy briefs and worked with legislators to improve policies affecting children from low-income families. In the Center for the Ecology of Early Development, she is the Postdoctoral Fellow for the Researchers Investigating Sociocultural Equity and Race (RISER) Network, which is a network of scholars committed to unpacking how racism is an environmental context that erodes health and education opportunities.

CRISTINA GRANDA, m.a.

DOCTORAL CANDIDATE
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Cristina Granda (she/her) is a doctoral student in Learning Sciences and Human Development at the University of Washington. She holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology from University of California Los Angeles and a master’s degree in Child Study and Human Development from Tufts University. Her work experiences center on infants and toddlers, from being an early childhood educator to facilitating parent support groups. Her main research interests are how parents and caregivers learn to raise children, particularly prenatally through toddlerhood, and the systems that offer them support to do so.

​During her time as a Research Scientist CEED, she focused on language environments in early childhood caregiving and classroom settings. In her doctoral studies, she has been providing technical assistance to community-based organizations participating in the Best Starts for Kids Prenatal to 5 Innovation Fund in King County, Washington. Recently, she has been working with the RISER network on a qualitative analysis of Black parents and caregivers' responses to the RAPID-EC survey.
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KAELEIGH HERNANDEZ, M.S.W.​

RESEARCH FELLOW
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Kaeleigh is a Research Fellow at the Center on the Ecology of Early Development. Prior to joining, she served as the Assistant Director of Early Education Policy for a statewide advocacy nonprofit in Texas. At CEED, she conducts research on sociocultural classroom interactions and explores ways to embed equity measures across various early care and education systems. In addition, she is interested in identifying ways to promote equity in access to quality resources in efforts to promote the health and educational wellbeing of racially marginalized learners. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, she moved to Texas after completing her graduate degree in Social Work. In her free time, you can find her reading and spending time outside with her dog, Olive.
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EMILY STOLZ, M.Ed.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT
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Emily is a Research Assistant the Center on the Ecology of Early Development. Prior to joining CEED, she completed her Master's in Education in the Human Development and Education program at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. She previously worked as an elementary school teacher and is interested in the sociocultural factors that influence the quality of interactions between teachers and students. In her free time, she enjoys being outside, reading, and playing with her cat, Franklin.
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BEVERLY BRUNO

RESEARCH ASSISTANT
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Beverly is a senior at Boston University, studying Health Science with a minor in Biology.

In the future, she plans to pursue a Master’s of Public Health and hopes to work in healthcare policy and research. Her research interests include structural inequalities that disproportionately compromise minority communities’ access to healthcare, the consequent health outcomes, and how public health measures can work to better serve such populations.

In her free time, she enjoys calligraphy and weightlifting!
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CECILIA JARQUIN TAPIA

RESEARCH ASSISTANT
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Cecilia Jarquin Tapia was born in Nicaragua and raised in Hyattsville, Maryland. She is currently a senior pursuing a dual degree: a B.S. in Health Science with a minor in Public Policy Analysis and a Master of Public Health degree. In the future, Cecilia hopes to take part in addressing the health disparities among minority and low-income communities. In her free time, you can find her exploring the beautiful city of Boston or drinking coffee and reading a good book.

Alexi man

RESEARCH ASSISTANT
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With the CEED lab since September 2018, Alexi is a senior at Boston University pursuing a B.S. in Science Education, with a concentration in General Sciences.
 
In the Summer of 2021, she completed an Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) project on Science Talk, more specifically, Disciplinary Talk and Spatial Talk, in preschool classrooms.
 
In the future, she plans to pursue a Master’s of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. She is particularly interested in the adolescent health and development of secondary school students, as well as its impact on education. In her free time, she enjoys dancing and cooking!
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Olivia Nazaire

RESEARCH ASSISTANT
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Olivia recently graduated summa cum laude from the University of Massachusetts Lowell with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Education. She has research interests in addressing racial/ethnic disparities in youth mental health services and school-based interventions, as well as the implementation of evidence-based practices for minoritized youth and families. 
  
In the summer of 2021, she participated in a NSF Undergraduate Research Experience at Ohio University where she investigated racial discrepancies in teachers’ perceptions of ADHD-related behaviors, and later won the ADHD Special Interest Group Undergraduate Poster Award at the 2021 annual ABCT Convention.  
  
Olivia continues to engage in research at the University of Massachusetts Lowell as a lab manager, and plans to pursue a graduate degree in child psychology in the future. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music and traveling! 
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CHRISTINE HUANG

RESEARCH ASSISTANT
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Christine is a sophomore from New York City. She is currently pursuing a major in Health Science with an entrepreneurship concentration. In the future, she hopes to become a genetic counselor. At CEED, she is particularly interested in studying the various teaching methods have on children's psychological and educational development. In her free time, she enjoys exercising and learning new languages.
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MAYA ROSE

RESEARCH ASSISTANT
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Maya Rose is a sophomore from West Hartford, Connecticut studying Early Childhood Education on a licensure track at the Boston University Wheelock College. She is a Dean’s Host for the Wheelock College of Education and represents the college in the Academic Affairs department of BU Student Government. She also works in operations for Camp Kesem Boston University, a non-profit providing support and free summer camp programming for children impacted by a parent’s cancer. Maya loves working with children and families and hopes her career will allow her to contribute positively to the lives of students and be an active member in the communities she will teach in. In her free time, she loves to explore new parts of Boston and give endless cuddles to her rescue puppy, Moose.

KYLIE TANG

RESEARCH ASSISTANT
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Kylie is a sophomore from New Jersey and is currently majoring in neuroscience. She is conducting research in Parkinson's Disease at a systems neuroscience lab and aims to go to medical school in the future. In her free time, she enjoys playing the flute and gardening.
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Aisha Ray is a Professor Emerita of Child Development at Erikson Institute and a Distinguished Fellow in the BUILD Initiative. 

Dr. Ray has participated in the fields of child development and early education for 48 years.  Beginning as a Head Start teacher, she has taught learners from preschool to graduate school; supported the development of community-based programs serving culturally, racially and linguistically diverse children, families and practitioners; and led professional development efforts for the early childhood workforce serving infants through elementary school learners. Her areas of research, speaking and writing include racial equity, policy, and professional development systems in early childhood; multigenerational Black family child rearing; and the role of fathers in child rearing in low-income Black communities. At BUILD she helps to lead the Equity Leaders Action Network.  

Dr. Ray stepped down in 2015 from the position of Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty at Erikson Institute. Dr. Ray also serves as a senior advisor to the president of the National Black Child Development Institute and the NBCDI Policy Leadership Fellowship program.  In addition, she has a long history of community activism and is currently working with others on issues related to the relationship of the Black community to early education, police violence, and racial justice. 
 
Dr. Ray has a Doctor of Philosophy degree and Master’s degree in developmental psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; a Master’s in Early Childhood Education, Loyola University of Chicago/Erikson Institute; and a Bachelor’s degree in history, Grinnell College, Iowa.
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Amy O’Leary is director of Early Education for All: A Campaign of Strategies for Children, an advocacy and policy organization that works to ensure that Massachusetts invests the resources needed for all children, from birth to age five, to access high-quality early education programs. Amy joined SFC in 2002 as the early childhood field director and has also served as the Campaign’s deputy director.

Prior to joining SFC, Amy worked as a preschool teacher and program director at Ellis Memorial in the South End of Boston.

In March 2017 Amy was elected President-elect of the governing board of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Her four-year term started in June of 2017 serving as President from June 2018-2020. She serves on the adjunct faculty at Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development and Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester.

In July 2020, Amy was appointed an Alumna Trustee for a four year team to serve on both the Skidmore College Board of Trustees and Alumni Board of Directors.

​Amy is a member of the Massachusetts Kids Count Advisory Council and the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care Advisory Committee. Amy also serves on the Board of Directors of the Children’s Investment Fund in Boston. In addition, Amy presents at national, state and local conferences and provides technical assistance to advocates and elected officials in other states.
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Dr. Mary Churchill is the Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Community Engagement at Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development.

Before joining Wheelock Dr. Churchill was a part of the leadership team at Salem State University.

Born in Flint, Michigan, Dr. Churchill was the first in her family to attend college, graduating from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Sociology at Northeastern.

Dr. Churchill has worked with faculty to develop graduate programs in Nonprofit Management, Human Services, TESOL, Criminal Justice, and Global Studies. 

Dr. Churchill is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in higher education working specifically to promote women and people of color. ​
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Over the past 48years, Joan has made significant contributions in the areas of child and family policy as an innovative leader and policy advisor to national and international organizations and foundations and as a public servant.

Joan directs Early Opportunities LLC,a strategic advisement service focused on the development of young children, families and the communities that support them. In this role she serves as an advisor to the Buffett Early Childhood Fund and the Pritzker Children’s Initiative, among others, and is a strategic partner with the Center for the Study of Social Policy. In addition she is a Senior Scholar at the Center for Child and Human Development at Georgetown University where she focuses on global early childhood initaitives.

Joan served in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as the first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development (2009-2011) and as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and External Affairs in Administration for Children and Families and the first Commissioner of the Child CareBureau among other positions (l993-1998).

​She is the author of numerous publications including Time to Care: Redesigning Child Care to Promote Education, Support Families and Build Communities and Co-Author of Beacon of Hope: The Promise of Early Head Start for America’s Youngest Children.
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Walter S. Gilliam is the Elizabeth Mears & House Jameson Professor of Child Psychiatry and Psychology at the Yale Child Study Center and the Director of Yale’s Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy.

He is the current board president of Child Care Aware of America; a member of the board of directors for ZERO TO THREE, the Irving Harris Foundation, First Children’s Finance, and All Our Kin; a research fellow of the National Institute for Early Education Research; and former Senior Advisor to the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Dr. Gilliam is co-recipient of the prestigious 2008 Grawemeyer Award in Education for the coauthored book, A Vision for Universal Preschool Education. His scholarly writing addresses early childhood care and education programs, school readiness, and developmental assessment of young children.

​His work has frequently been covered in major national and international news outlets, and he actively provides consultation to state and federal decision-makers in the U.S. and other countries.
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Gigliana Melzi is Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology, Affiliated Faculty of Latinx Studies and of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University.

Dr. Melzi's scholarship focuses on the intersection of cultural and linguistic practices and their relation to children’s early development and learning, in particular that of dual-language learners from immigrant Latine/x communities. Using mixed-methodology and emic approaches, she investigates how Latine/x immigrant parents nurture their children, what role language plays in that process, and how the educational system can leverage these practices to support children’s school-based learning. Her work adopts a collaborative research stance, working in partnership with Latine/x communities and educational centers serving Latino families.

In addition, as part of a cross-university effort to enhance the Development and Research in Early Math Education (DREME network), Dr. Melzi is investigating the everyday math-related activities and math talk in Spanish-speaking and Spanish-English bilingual immigrant homes of preschool aged children.

​Dr. Melzi’s research has been funded by National Institute of Child Health & Development (NICHD), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; The Spencer Foundation, Brooke Astor Foundation, Brady Education Foundation, and the Heising-Simons Foundation.
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Dr. Pryce is currently the Executive Director of the Florida Institute for Child Welfare at Florida State University. For over 10 years, she has been involved at multiple angles of child welfare (direct practice; teaching, training & policy; and research). She has published on child welfare related topics, such as training and education, racial disparity, and anti-poverty practices.

Dr. Pryce has presented her research at 30+ conferences both nationally and internationally. She is the author of several op-eds focused on racial disparity and effective strategies to impact racial disproportionality within child welfare. Her TED Talk on Implicit Racial Bias in Decision Making has since been viewed over 1.2 million times.

Dr. Pryce has worked on the frontlines of child welfare, conducted primary research, been a policy advisor to Florida’s legislature, and taught graduate level courses in child welfare. Previously holding the positions of Child Protective Caseworker with the Department of Children and Families, and the Deputy Director of the University at Albany's New York State Education Consortium.

In 2019, she received a 5-year appointment to the Advisory Board of the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute, where she consults and advises on leadership and workforce interventions around the country.

She currently sits on the Florida Dependency Court Improvement Panel, alongside judges and advocates who are working towards a more trauma informed approach within the judicial system. She has maintained and cultivated a commitment to the wellbeing of vulnerable children and families, the sustainability of the child welfare workforce, and effectively addressing inequity.

​Dr. Pryce's paramount goal includes rebuilding and leading a child welfare system that focuses on strengthening families instead of pulling them apart.
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Iheoma U. Iruka, Ph.D.,is a Research Professor in the Department of Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Iruka is also a Fellow at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG), and the Director of the Early Childhood Health and Racial Equity Program at FPG.

Dr. Iruka is engaged in projects and initiatives focused on how evidence-informed policies, systems, and practices in early education can support the optimal development and experiences of children from low-income and ethnic minority households, such as through family engagement and support, quality rating and improvement systems, and early care and education systems and programs. She has been engaged in addressing how best to ensure excellence for young diverse learners, especially Black children, such as through development of a classroom observation measure, examination of non-traditional pedagogical approaches, public policies, and publications geared towards early education practitioners and policymakers.

Dr. Iruka has served or serves on numerous national boards and committee, including the Brady Education Foundation and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committees on Supporting Parents of Young Children, and Applying Neurobiological and Socio-behavioral Sciences from Prenatal through Early Childhood Development: A Health Equity Approach.

Dr. Iruka has a B.A. in psychology from Temple University, M.A. in psychology from Boston University, and Ph.D. in applied developmental psychology from the University of Miami, Florida.
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​Dr. Jason Sachs is the Executive Director of Early Childhood Education, Boston Public Schools (BPS). Dr. Sachs joined Boston Public Schools as Director of Early Childhood in 2005 to oversee the expansion of Kindergarten 1 (K1) classes and coordinate kindergarten and pre-school programs for three, four, and five-year-olds. In 2017 he was promoted to Executive Director of the Preschool to 2nd grade office. Since the inception of Early Childhood Department, Dr. Sachs has led an effort to deliver a universal high-quality system of early childhood programs for BPS including the successful implementation of the PreK-2nd grade curriculum, professional development system for teachers and principals, expansion of NAEYC accredited classrooms in Boston which all helps prepares students for successful transition into the elementary grades, and a comprehensive evaluation system of both classroom quality and child outcomes.
 
Previously, Dr. Sachs has worked in the Massachusetts Department of Education’s Early Learning Services division for six years as a research and policy consultant and was a former board member of National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). He graduated from the Los Angeles Unified School District and received his Master’s in Applied Child Development from Tufts University and obtained his doctorate from the Harvard School of Education. Dr. Sachs currently lives in Somerville with his wife Elif and co-owns Moe Fencing in Somerville, where they have successful coached national and High State Champions.
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Dr. Sanchez earned her B.A., M.Ed. and Ed.D. at Boston College. She began her career as a founding Math and Science teacher at Epiphany School in 1998. Epiphany is an independent, tuition free school for children from economically disadvantaged families.

In 2010, Dr. Sanchez completed her doctorate at Boston College in Educational Administration with a focus on strengthening the family and school partnership; this sparked her interest in serving children as early as possible. To make a greater impact on the community at large, she spearheaded the opening of the Early Learning and Family Support Center. This center begins working with families prenatally and will serve the children and their families until the age of 5 in the center. It will continue to support the students and families throughout their schooling.

Dr. Sanchez has developed many successful partnerships such as with Boston College where teaching fellows committed to a future in urban education earn their Masters’ Degree, and with Neighborhood villages and Bunker Hill to offer free courses to become certified early education teachers.

Outside of Epiphany, Michelle has served as an adjunct professor at Boston College, and for the Urban Catholic Teacher Corp. She partnered with a team of educators and community leaders to write the successful charter for the Bridge Boston Charter School, a school based on the Epiphany model that serves Pre-K to 8th graders. She is a board member at Fessenden School, Bridge Boston, ABCD, The Possible Project, and the Boston College AHANA Alumni Council, and she served as part of the 2020 The Partnership’s NGE Program.

Dr. Sanchez is married and lives with her husband, Lino Sanchez, and two sons.
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Jeanne R. Paratore, Ed.D, is a Professor Emerita with the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Prior to Emerita status, Dr. Paratore served as Professor of Education and Coordinator of the Reading Education and Literacy Education programs at Boston University. She also directed the university-based reading and writing clinic that provides year-round academic support to school-aged children who are experiencing learning difficulties and she served as advisor to the Intergenerational Literacy Program, a family literacy program she founded in 1989 to support the English literacy learning of immigrant parents and their children. She is a former classroom teacher, reading specialist, and Title I director. She has conducted research and written widely on issues related to family literacy, classroom grouping practices, and interventions for struggling readers, and she is currently studying preparing teachers to use educational media and technology in ways that substantially advance children’s opportunities to learn. She served as co-curriculum director of the award-winning children’s television series, Between the Lions.

Dr. Paratore is the recipient of the International Reading Association’s Celebrate Literacy Award and of the New England Reading Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She is a former member of the International Reading Association’s Board of Directors, and she is active in professional associations, presently as a member of the International Reading Association’s Response to Intervention Commission. She is a frequent speaker on literacy instruction and has presented at local, national, and international conferences as well as in school districts throughout the United States.
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Stephanie J. Rowley, PhD, is the Provost, Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is also a professor of Psychology and Education. Dr. Rowley received a PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Virginia in 1997 and joined the faculty at the University of North Carolina that year. In 2000 she moved to the University of Michigan’s Department of Psychology. In 2008 she added an appointment in the School of Education.

​Dr. Rowley’s research focuses on the influence of race- and gender-related attitudes and beliefs on the development of children’s academic self-concept with a strong emphasis on parents’ roles in the development of these attitudes. 
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