Sharmistha Chakrabarti is a doctoral student in the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service and received a 4-year IES-PIRT fellowship in 2023. She completed an M.A. in Economics from New York University in 2023 and a B.A. in Economics from UC San Diego in 2019. Her research interests involve inequality in education regarding gender and racial minorities, LGBTQ+ populations, and low-income students.
Shana DeVlieger (she/her) is an IES-PIRT fellow and PhD candidate in the department of Teaching and Learning at NYU Steinhardt, where she concentrates in Urban and Early Childhood Education. Her research examines how policy and structural change shape the health and well-being of early childhood caregivers and the children they support. Framed by critical ecological theories, her dissertation integrates structural equation modeling and critical discourse analysis to study perinatal mental health and early childhood equity advocacy in the wake of consequential U.S. policy shifts. She holds an Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard, an M.A.T. in Urban Education from USC, and an M.Phil. in Teaching and Learning from NYU.
Emily Franchett is a doctoral student in the Psychology and Social Intervention program at NYU Steinhardt. She is interested in designing and evaluating interventions, including multigenerational approaches, to promote early childhood development and reduce inequities in human development across the life course. Prior to joining NYU, Emily worked in community-based health, education, and youth development programming with Peace Corps Albania and supported evaluations of early childhood and youth development programs in Rwanda and Pakistan. She received her BA in Political Science from the University of Michigan and SM in Global Health and Population Studies from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
Silvana Freire is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Psychology and Social Intervention program at NYU Steinhardt. She received a four-year IES-PIRT fellowship in 2022. Silvana is interested in studying early childhood development and family engagement with a special focus on promoting quality interactions and supporting well-being among Latinx and immigrant communities. Before joining the Psychology and Social Intervention (PSI) program, Silvana worked as an early childhood and education consultant at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C., and as a research analyst at the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. She holds a B.A. in psychology from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru and an M.A. in international education policy analysis from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education.
Lissete Gimenez is a doctoral student in the Developmental Psychology program. She received a B.A. and M.A. in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College. Her previous research examined language access in bilinguals utilizing ERP. Her current research interests include identifying how individual and societal factors affect the cognitive and linguistic functioning of bilinguals.
Haja Kamara is a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program at NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. She received a four-year IES-PIRT fellowship in 2023. Haja is interested in conducting interdisciplinary, community-based research that addresses mental health disparities among youth of color, particularly those who have experienced trauma. Further, Haja aims to study and develop empowering, school-based mental health interventions for marginalized students. Haja received her BS in Psychology from Yale and her MPH with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Sciences from the Yale School of Public Health.
Kristy Lai (she/her) is a first-year doctoral student in the Developmental Psychology program. In graduate school, she aims to explore how sociocultural variables and early life experiences influence development and learning from birth through early childhood across domains (social, emotional, language, cognition), especially among dual language learners. She is particularly interested in developing and validating culturally sensitive methodologies that examine the dynamics of processes involved in children’s learning and development. Kristy received her B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Education from UC Berkeley. Prior to attending NYU, she worked as a researcher at WestEd, an education non-profit, where she supported several local and state projects in California on improving programs and policies for children, youth, and their families.
Lauren Lewallen is a third-year doctoral candidate in the Higher Education PhD program at NYU Steinhardt. Her research interests center on how institutional selectivity shapes retention, persistence, and degree completion for undergraduate women in STEM fields. During her time at NYU, Lauren has worked in the Office of the Provost and the Center for Faculty Advancement (CFA), where she supports initiatives including the Early Career Faculty Institute (ECFI), the Mid-Career Faculty Initiative (MCFI), and the International Faculty Forum (IFF). Before moving to New York, Lauren earned her M.A. in Higher Education Administration with a concentration in Management and Organizations from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in Spring 2023, where she also served as a Graduate Student Instructor for the Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences (QMSS) program. She holds a B.S.Ed. in K-8 Education from Central Michigan University, where she graduated in 2020 before teaching eighth-grade U.S. History. Her professional experience in higher education spans Fraternity and Sorority Life, Residential Life, curriculum development, and student organization advising.
Emily Myers (she/her) is a third-year doctoral student in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program. She is studying the role of school leaders when it comes to navigating and implementing policy in a politically polarized environment. Other research projects include looking at the effects of mid-year teacher turnover on family engagement, along with examining the transition of paraprofessionals into teaching roles. She previously served as adjunct faculty at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, and currently teaches as adjunct faculty at NYU Wagner. Emily previously served as a public school special education teacher and principal, working in both New York City and Philadelphia. She received her B.A. from the University of Rochester and her Master's from Fordham University.
Michele Ocana (they/them/elle) is a doctoral student in the Cognition and Perception program at the NYU Graduate School of Arts and Science. Their research interests cut across cognitive, developmental, and educational psychology. They are particularly interested in the cognitive and social mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of academic stereotypes and how they may potentially shape Latine/a/o children's academic identities, pursuits, and success. They aim to (1) explore the mechanisms driving children's social stereotypes and STEM identity development and (2) develop evidence-based interventions that have lasting and positive impacts on underrepresented, underserved communities.
Christine Park is a doctoral student and IES-PIRT fellow in the Psychology and Social Intervention program at NYU Steinhardt. She is interested in using communication science and social network approaches to increase educators’ buy-in and implementation of social, emotional, and behavioral learning (SEBL) practices in schools. Currently, she works on a number of school-based projects that aim to support elementary and middle school educators’ use of SEBL practices through varied approaches (e.g., training, consultation, peer coaching, self-paced learning platforms, social media, etc.)Prior to joining the program, Christine worked as a research coordinator at Harvard Graduate School of Education on projects related to improving the implementation and accessibility of SEL programs in US-based elementary schools. She received a B.A. in Psychology and Communication from Boston College, and an M.Ed. in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Aashna Poddar is a doctoral student in the Psychology Ph.D. program at the NYU Graduate School of Arts and Science. She received a four-year IES-PIRT fellowship in 2022. Aashna is interested in studying how stereotypes and status differences (for example, those based on gender and social class) shape children’s academic and career interests. Prior to joining NYU, Aashna earned a B.A. in Marketing and Psychology from Singapore Management University, and an M.Ed. in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
Abby Richburg (they/them) is a doctoral student in the Psychology and Social Intervention program. They are interested in how trans and gender nonconforming (TGNC) adolescents resist and thrive amid rising national anti-trans sentiment and legislation, and how high schools can support them. Some current and recent projects include: 1) a qualitative study documenting how educational content restriction policies in Florida influence students, teachers, parents, and the public education system; 2) a quantitative study examining the effects of anti-trans legislation on TGNC youth mental health; 3) focus groups with gender-sexuality alliance clubs in NYC high schools to develop curricula and activities. Prior to joining the program, Abigail received their MA in psychology from NYU GSAS and BA in psychology and cognitive science from the University of Michigan.
Jenna Shaw is a sociology PhD student at NYU’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Her research broadly focuses on quantitative approaches to assessing how individuals, communities, and institutions are impacted by and respond to environmental risks and hazards. One of her current projects utilizes FEMA data to reveal how disaster preparedness is spatially organized across the United States and how those patterns intersect with existing inequalities. Her work aims to contribute to our understanding of how increasing environmental risks are perceived and managed on various scales in order to develop more effective policies for managing those risks. In addition to being an IES-PIRT Fellow, Jenna is also an Urban Doctoral Fellow through the Urban Initiative at NYU. Prior to joining her graduate program, Jenna received her BA from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and worked at an environmental justice non-profit in Trenton, NJ.
