About

As a developmental psychologist, I always like hearing people's "origin stories." Here's mine: As an undergraduate at Pomona College, I worked with Drs. Pat Smiley and Jessica Borelli to develop novel ways to measure a key emotional process in parent-child relationships — parental empathy, or how much parents understood their children's emotional experiences. Empathy, we discovered, was a critical (but underappreciated) ingredient that supported children's secure attachment and emotional development. This idea motivated my doctoral work with Dr. Jude Cassidy at University of Maryland, examining the development of attachment, empathy and prosocial behavior, with a focus on African American mothers and young children's positive social development.

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Today, as a research fellow at the University of Virginia, I teach, research, speak, advocate, and write about close relationships as a foundation for mental health, brain development, and physical health from infancy through adulthood. I work collaboratively with Drs. Tobias Grossmann, Amrisha Vaish, and Joe Allen's research teams. Among the most exciting parts of this work are forging interdisciplinary research partnerships, connecting with my brilliant students, and working on a new line of community-based research on how parents shape children's emerging environmental awareness.
 

*Note: I will be starting a new position as an Assistant Professor
of Psychological Science at Pomona College in Fall 2024