2023 Workshop
The FF Data Workshop was held June 14-16, 2023, at Columbia University in New York City.
| Tiwaloluwa AjibewaTiwaloluwa Ajibewa is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine. His primary research interest focuses on understanding the cardiometabolic consequences of increased psychosocial stress. His work also seeks to examine positive health-promoting factors within the social and built environment that can be used or otherwise leveraged to buffer stress and promote resilience |
| Lauren AltenburgerLauren Altenburger is an assistant professor of Human Development and Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University (Shenango campus). Dr. Altenburger’s research applies family systems theory to examine the underpinnings of effective coparenting and father-child relationships, including how parents negotiate their new roles during the transition to parenthood. She also studies longitudinal links between aspects of parenting, coparenting, and child adjustment. Across both lines of research, she is interested in how context (e.g., household income, chaos) and parent characteristics (e.g., well-being, self-efficacy, residential status) shape family processes. In addition, Dr. Altenburger is committed to translating research into action and has collaborated with Social Creatures, an applied research nonprofit, to develop a virtual parenting education program for new parents. |
| Dr. Deon BrownDr. Deon Brown recently completed his doctoral studies in Developmental Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University working with Dr. Fantasy Lozada in the School, Home, and Internet contexts of Emotional Development (S.H.I.E.L.D.) Lab. He is currently a postdoctoral research associate at Texas A&M University in the Youth Rising Lab led by Dr. Noni Gaylord-Harden. His research focuses on parental emotion socialization and youths' emotional development among African American families. More specifically, he is interested in the role of fathers in African American family contexts, and how Black men’s racialized experiences and gender identity may shape their emotion-related behaviors with their children. His most recent work focused on African American fathers' beliefs about and experiences with their own and their toddlers' negative emotions. Dr. Brown has published peer-reviewed manuscripts in Developmental Psychobiology, the Journal of Research on Adolescence, and Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. Additionally, he has experience submitting research grants to the NIMHD and Society for Research on Child Development. His career goal is to become a tenure-track assistant professor of Developmental Science (R1 University) and launch a research program that engages Black families and children in work dedicated to their health and well-being. |
| Natasha ChakuThe adolescent transition is characterized by dramatic biological, cognitive, and social changes that are detrimental for some, but not all, youth. Natasha Chaku's research emphasizes that adolescent outcomes are multidetermined, person-specific, and the manifestation of their unique biopsychosocial context. Thus, the aim of Chaku's research is to understand “what works when and for whom,” by developing and using increasingly personalized methods to study adolescent behavior. Chaku's core research interests involve understanding cognitive development in adolescence, its correlates, and the implications of its development for different populations, especially as related to puberty, psychopathology, and positive development. To investigate these questions, Chaku uses intensive longitudinal assessments (e.g., daily diary), physiological data collection (e.g., saliva), and behavioral assessments (e.g., neurocognitive testing) alongside secondary data analyses and community-oriented data collection (e.g., youth participatory action research) to better understand youth’s lived experiences. |
| Candace CoatesCandace Coates is currently in her third year of study as a Ph.D. student in Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research interests focus on housing, health disparities, and poverty, emphasizing understanding how social policies and programs can be improved to better address these complex social issues. She is a current fellow at the Institute of Research on Poverty, where she has worked with other leading scholars to conduct research on a wide range of topics related to poverty and inequality. In addition to her academic pursuits, Candace is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over fifteen years of experience in the field. Before starting her Ph.D. program, she worked as a Social Worker in Milwaukee County Housing Division, providing clinical support to supportive housing models within the county. Her work in this capacity helped to inform her research interests and contributed to her deep understanding of the challenges faced by vulnerable populations in accessing safe and stable housing. Candace is committed to using her research to inform policies and practices that can lead to more equitable and just outcomes for marginalized communities. |
| Tia DickersonTia Dickerson is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Howard University. Her research interests include social inequality, mass incarceration, mental health, and sociology of the family. Dickerson’s research focuses on the role of structural racism on the health and efficacy of Black families. Her current projects examine how marital status impacts mental health of Black couples, and the relationship between exposure to racism and mental health. She has previously presented work on the association between race, incarceration and termination of mother’s parental rights, the effect of COVID-19 on families, and the association between mental health outcomes of race-related stress and COVID-19 on Black married individuals. |
| Rebecca Fix, PhDRebecca Fix, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Fix is a licensed clinical psychologist, with training specific to working with forensic populations. Their primary research foci include interrupting pathways from childhood violence exposure to use of violence during adolescence and young adulthood and on promoting mental health equity in the juvenile legal system. Dr. Fix primarily applied for the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Data Workshop because they were recently awarded an NIJ grant to partner with Drs. Edin and Geller (National Institute of Justice (15PNIJ-21-GG-00094-MUMU)) on a project that will run through May 2026 using the FFCWS database. In their work on this project, Dr. Fix will develop and carry out analyses of early juvenile legal system involvement, its interaction with other childhood trauma, and its implications for outcomes in early adulthood. |
| Kamille GreeneKamille Greene is currently a graduate student at Kansas State University in the Marriage and Family Therapy doctoral program. She received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Central Missouri and her Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Oklahoma State University. In addition to being a full-time graduate student, Ms. Greene also works at a local community mental health agency where she provides therapy services to adults, children, and families. |
| Dr. Danielle R. HarrellDr. Danielle R. Harrell (formerly Eugene) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Louisiana and Texas. Dr. Harrell conducts research at the intersection of social work and education, and employ s quantitative, qualitative, and community-based participatory research methods to understand social-ecological influences associated with adolescent mental health (e.g., depression and suicidal behaviors) and academic functioning among economically disadvantaged Black and Hispanic youth. Her research program strives to elucidate patterns, processes, and factors within the family and school context that are drivers or eliminators of mental health and educational disparities confronting minoritized youth, with the aim of developing culturally relevant and responsive models of mental health and well-being in K-12 |
| J’Mauri JacksonJ’Mauri Jackson, MA (she/her) is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. She holds a Master of Arts in Sociology from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from The Ohio State University. Her research broadly focuses on the social and structural determinants of racial health inequities. In particular, she is interested in the relationship between the criminal justice system and health outcomes and the social factors implicated in the utilization of physical and mental healthcare services. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation and recently received the 2023 Student Paper Competition and Outstanding Scholarship Award (Educational Problems Division) from the Society for the Study of Social Problems. |
| Linghua JiangLinghua Jiang is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at Syracuse University. She earned her master from University of Wisconsin-Madison educational Psychology. Her research focuses on understanding how contextual risk and protective factors affect the scio-emotional development, problem behavior and mental health in children and adolescents. In particular, she is interested in exploring the trajectories of adverse childhood experiences and positive childhood experiences and adolescent depression. |
| Dr. Natasha JohnsonDr. Natasha Johnson is a personality psychologist and social work scholar who utilizes quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods to assess culturally-relevant developmental processes that facilitate resilience for Black youth. Her three research foci are: (1) social identities, (2) vulnerability and resilience in the context of racial discrimination, and (3) racism awareness. She aims to reduce mental health disparities by developing and evaluating sustainable interventions that promote Black youth’s wellness. Dr. Johnson’s current work examines racism awareness development, a phenomenon defined as the cognitive process through which a person knows about, makes meaning of, and understands racial inequality. Her goal is to build empirical evidence for racism awareness influence on Black youths’ development and experiences. She is also developing a psychometric tool, using qualitative and quantitative methods, that will capture youths’ understanding of racial inequality across historical, individual, interpersonal, and institutional contexts. This multidimensional scale of racism awareness will advance scientific knowledge on the developmental process of racism awareness and support intervention programs that address race-related stress. Dr. Johnson is a Detroit native and Spelman alumna, who earned her MSW and joint PhD in Social Work and Psychology at the University of Michigan. |
| Sabrina LavertySabrina Laverty is currently a Research Analyst at FairVote, where she researches city, state, and nationwide RCV efforts. Additionally, she serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Advanced Research Methods and Statistics course at the School of Social work. In her prior work, she has focused on the Epidemiological Paradox, Bargaining Theory, and child health policy. Sabrina has experience in conducting qualitative and quantitative research, community organizing, counseling children and teens, and providing services to immigrants and refugees. Sabrina received a Master’s of Science in Social Work at Columbia University and a Bachelor’s in International Studies at American University. She currently resides in NJ. |
| Charles H. Lea IIICharles H. Lea III. Dr. Lea’s research and scholarship investigate the intersectionality of race/ethnicity, class, and gender in educational, correctional, and neighborhood contexts, and the impact these issues have on the health and well-being of young Black men and boys at risk and involved in the juvenile and criminal punishment systems. The overarching aim of this work is to develop knowledge and build theory that informs policies, practices, and interventions that can promote resilience and healthy development among young Black men and boys’, as well as lessen their risk for health-compromising behaviors, arrest, incarceration, and recidivism. |
| Hun LeeHun Lee. I hold a BS in statistics from UC Davis and a MS in biostatistics from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. My research and academic interests lie at the intersection of causal inference, semi-parametric inference, and Bayesian inference. In previous research I worked on the data integration and multiple imputation method for misclassification correction and stratified bootstrap inference using national survey systems. My current research project is about Bayesian sensitivity analysis for unmeasured confounding in causal analysis. I am an inquisitive person motivated by faith, hope, love, and insight. I am also interested in soccer, baseball, cooking, mathematics, Fyodor Dostoyevsky books, and the books of the Bible. |
| Hyunji LeeHyunji Lee is a postdoctoral fellow at the Florida Institute for Child Welfare at Florida State University School of Social Work. She has recently conducted policy-mandated evaluations of permanency outcomes and independent life skills development among youth in Florida’s foster care system. Her research interests include identifying multi-level protective factors that reduce disparities in a variety of life domains among children and youth with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Additionally, she is particularly interested in investigating mechanisms by which the protective factors buffer the negative impacts of ACEs on outcomes across multiple life domains. Her goal is to conduct research that guides the development of policies and interventions, specifically focusing on protective factors at individual, family/interpersonal, community, and societal levels. |
| Dr. Tenesha LittletonDr. Tenesha Littleton is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama School of Social Work. She earned a BA in psychology from Tulane University and a MSW and PhD in social work from the University of Georgia. Dr. Littleton’s research focuses on how socio-structural factors impact parenting behaviors and experiences, including the risk of contact with child protective services. Dr. Littleton is also interested in the role of social policy in mitigating or exacerbating the risk of child maltreatment. Dr. Littleton’s research is informed by 10 years of experience providing social work services to children and families within the educational, mental health, and child welfare systems. |
| Hung-Peng LinHung-Peng Lin is a doctoral candidate in the School of Social Work at the University of Washington. His research interest lies in the intersection of adverse childhood experiences, system involvement (e.g. child welfare), and health disparities in emerging adulthood (e.g. social determinants of sleep health disparities). In particular, he is interested in how evidence-informed interventions and policies can mitigate the stress embodiment of health disparities in populations with ACEs, as well as enhance their well-being. |
| Hexuan LiuHexuan Liu is an assistant professor in the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati. He received his Ph.D in sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research focuses on (1) the integration of social science with biology and genomics to understand the complex mechanisms underlying criminal behavior, and social and health outcomes, and (2) quantitative methodology, particularly statistical and computational methods analyzing big data. He has published in peer-reviewed journals including American Sociological Review, Social Forces, Demography, the Journal of Marriage and Family, the American Journal of Public Health, and PLoS One. |
| Dr. MishraDr. Mishra is a Biosocial postdoctoral trainee at the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She will be transitioning to a Tenure Track position at North Carolina State University in August 2023. Dr. Mishra’s research examines the interplay between exposure to adversity and violence, and biopsychosocial contexts and mechanisms of health and behavior in marginalized and health disparate populations. |
| Chelsea MooreChelsea Moore, MSN, APRN, is a doctoral student at the University of Michigan School of Nursing. She earned her Bachelor and Master of Science in Nursing degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, is a Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, and has clinical nursing experience in diverse pediatric settings. She is currently a National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) T32 Predoctoral Fellow (in the training program on Complexity: Innovations in Promoting Health through Team Science) and has received an NINR Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F31) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship. Her research interests broadly center around childhood adversity and adolescent outcomes. Her doctoral work specifically addresses the complex relationship among Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), childhood poverty, and adolescent depression and anxiety symptoms. |
| Shourya NegiShourya Negi is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Human Development and Family Studies Department at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Currently, Shourya is working on the Infant Growth and Development Study, which focuses on several key biological, psychological, and social factors during pregnancy and the first 2 years of life to examine the early development of the risk of obesity. Shourya’s research focuses on how sociodemographic disadvantage affects parents’ mental health, parenting behaviors, and children’s socioemotional development. In addition, she also examines |
| Victoria O. NguyenVictoria O. Nguyen is a Ph.D. student and researcher at Columbia University studying disparities in child and adolescent behavioral/mental health as it relates to genetics, social, environmental, and biological risk factors. She holds a Master of Science from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. |
| Daniela KaiserDaniela Kaiser is a fourth year graduate student at the Criminology, Law and Society Department at the University of California, Irvine. Her research explores how contact with criminal justice and child welfare systems shapes the wellbeing of families and children, as well as a wide array of collateral effects brought about by the involvement with these systems. |
| Abbey PotterAbbey Potter a second year PhD student in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland. |
| Ulisha Fraser ReeseUlisha Fraser Reese is a second-year Ph.D. candidate in Counseling Education and Supervision at North Carolina A&T State University. Her primary research interests are in health disparities, child development, and mental health services. In particular, she is interested in how socioeconomic disparities impact adults and indirectly influence children and adolescents' well-being. After she completes her Ph.D. program at NC A&T, she hopes to make a significant impact by increasing clinical awareness, developing strategies and programs, and informing public health policies, and eventually. Contributing to better health outcomes among low-come and ethnic-racial minority communities. |
| Isaac RodriguezIsaac Rodriguez is a licensed master social worker and second-year Population Heath Ph.D. student at Stony Brook University's Program in Public Health. He is actively pursuing research interests in child and adolescent mental health, including the impact of screen use and digital media use on mental health, parent-child relationships, and the association between a child's and adolescent's disability status and mental health. Isaac is excited to take part in the Fragile Families Summer Data Workshop. He plans to use his newfound longitudinal data analysis, epidemiological, and data management skills and apply them to the Future of Families data contents to investigate the long-term impact of the caregiver-child relationship and home environment on the child's mental well-being. |
| Savitha SambandamoorthySavitha Sambandamoorthy is a research scientist at the New York State Department of Health. She works on several quality initiative projects evaluating the performance of healthcare facilities across New York to improve the quality of care provided to residents. She is a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, at the University at Albany. She earned her Master’s in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology from Tamilnadu Dr.M.G.R. Medical University, India. She also earned a Master’s in Cell Biology and Cancer Research from Albany Medical College, New York. Her research interests are in understanding the longitudinal impact of family socioeconomic factors and neighborhood contextual factors throughout childhood on adolescents’ mental health and comorbidities. She is also interested in investigating the influence of racial disparities on health outcomes with the aim of identifying and eliminating disparities, and achieving health equity. |
| Kristine SchmitzKristine Schmitz MD, FAAP, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She is an academic general pediatrician with experience in clinical services and program development for socially complex families. Dr. Schmitz’s research interests focus on promoting child health and well-being through understanding social and systemic factors impacting the health of families and communities. She is particularly interested in the intersection of parental mental health and childhood experiences of adverse childhood events (ACEs) with an emphasis on the mitigating impact of positive childhood experiences (PCEs) and other resilience-drive protective factors. Dr Schmitz was recently awarded Institutional KL2 Career Development Award to investigate associations between father’s mental health and their children’s health and behavioral outcomes in the FFCWS under the mentorship of Dr. Nancy Reichman. |
| Fei ShenDr. Fei Shen is an Assistant Professor at School of Psychology of Kean University. Her research focuses on understanding the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in marginalized communities, as well as identifying mediating and moderating factors that can prevent survivors from the negative effects of ACEs. Dr. Shen received her Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Texas Tech University in 2018. After completing her pre-doctoral and post-doctoral training as a visiting faculty at University of Oregon, she worked as a clinical therapist and adjunct professor at Syracuse University. Dr. Shen is a licensed marriage and family therapist. |
| Xinyi SituXinyi Situ is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland, College Park, with a research focus on juvenile delinquency, routine activities, neighborhood influences, and policing. He has earned an MA in Applied Quantitative Research from New York University, an MSSA/MSW from Case Western Reserve University, and an LL.M. degree from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Currently, Xinyi's research centers on investigating how racial/ethnic identity and residential status interact with one another to impact the relationship between paternal involvement and adolescent delinquency. Additionally, he is involved in a collaborative project that aims to explore how adolescents' experiences with law enforcement, specifically being stopped by the police, can result in social exclusion or legal cynicism, and how these experiences may be influenced by social contexts and environments. |
| Olivenne D. SkinnerOlivenne D. Skinner is an assistant professor at the Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child & Family Development, and the Department of Psychology at Wayne State University. She received her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed her post-doctoral work at Penn State University in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. Her research interests include gender socialization in African American families and the ways in race and gender are associated with Black youth’s developmental outcomes. |
| Amanda StroimanAmanda Stroiman is a Ph.D candidate at Rutgers University in the School of Social Work. Her dissertation will focus on the role of social support in buffering the effects of economic instability on child social and emotional development. Prior to her doctorate, Amanda completed an MSW and MA in Mental Health Counseling. |
| Destiny TolliverDestiny Tolliver is a pediatrician and health services researcher at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center. She attended Yale as an undergraduate, where she majored in Linguistics. She then completed medical school at the Morehouse School of Medicine, and then completed residency and chief residency in the Boston Combined Residency program in Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center and Boston Children’s Hospital. Following chief residency, she completed a health services research fellowship at the National Clinician Scholars Program at Yale School of Medicine, where she obtained her Master’s of Health Sciences. Dr. Tolliver then returned to Boston as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, where she serves as a primary care pediatrician in the Pediatric Primary Care Clinic in addition to her research. Dr. Tolliver’s research is focused on how criminal legal system involvement impacts children and families, and what policies and practices work to improve health outcomes for these children. |
| Nicholas ViettoNicholas Vietto is a PhD Student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. His research interests are biopsychosocial criminology, sociogenomics, quantitative methodology, and experimental criminology. |
| Linda ZhangLinda Zhang is a doctoral student in the Developmental Psychology program at the University of Michigan working primarily with Dr. Christopher Monk. She received a Sc.B. in Cognitive Neuroscience from Brown University. Her research interests center on the impact of early life experiences on neural functioning and development. She is also interested in how behavior and mental health outcomes are impacted. |