Announcing the Newly Elected 2025 SECC Representatives to SRCD Committees

Yan Jiang is a Ph.D. Candidate in Education Studies with a specialization in Computational Social Science at the University of California, San Diego. Her research focuses on promoting equitable access to high-quality early childhood education, with special attention to diverse sociocultural contexts and historically underrepresented groups. Her dissertation has been honored with the 2024 SECC Dissertation Funding Award from SRCD. Her research has been published in journals including Early Education and Development, Educational Researcher, and Review of Educational Research. As the representative to the Student and Early Career Council and the Development Committee, she will continue to advocate for programs that empower graduate students and early career scholars. Her goal is to ensure that graduate students and early career scholars have the resources, guidance, and sense of community they need to excel in their academic and professional journeys. 

I am a postdoctoral scholar at San Diego State University and earned my PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst specializing in Clinical Child and Family Psychology. I study the impact of racial/economic disparities on the family system and early child socioemotional development, and interventions designed to reduce these disparate effects. I received an NIH F31 which funded my dissertation: a mixed-methods investigation of stress in multiracial families during early parenthood. I merge my experiences as a teen mother with low-SES and child of a Mexican immigrant with my research/service experiences to advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice in various levels of the academy. I am an active member of the Latinx Caucus and participated in the NSF-SRCD Mentee-Mentor Emerging Scholars Program. As an SECC representative, I hope to promote scholarship on equity and justice with an eye on the heterogeneity of marginalized experiences. 

I am a PhD candidate in Education at Johns Hopkins University. My work focuses on early childhood education, exploring the interactions of language, culture, identity, and well-being. I’m particularly interested in the role of linguistic environments in children’s educational opportunities, academic success, and overall well-being. I also engage in research and research-practice collaborations that focus on supporting well-being and professional development of early educators, advancing quality of early childhood settings, and the effectiveness of school-based interventions. I am honored to serve as an SECC representative and look forward to contributing to the meaningful work of the Ethnic & Racial Issues Committee. 

I am a Clinical Postdoctoral Fellow at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, with a Ph.D. in School Psychology from Michigan State University. In my clinical work, I specialize in providing Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (ECMHC) in early care settings, where I collaborate with caregivers and educators to foster young children's social-emotional success both at home and in school. My research and clinical interests intersect in exploring how to support parents and caregivers from marginalized backgrounds in promoting the social-emotional development of children from birth to age 6. I am particularly focused on the role of racial/ethnic identity and emotional socialization within Black families. With diverse training across schools, hospitals, and community settings, I am deeply committed to understanding how interdisciplinary approaches can best support children and their families. I am honored to serve as an SECC representative on the Interdisciplinary Committee! 

I am a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine, specializing in Human Development in Context. I earned a B.S. in Psychology from Drexel University, an M.S. in Developmental Psychology from Lehigh University, and an M.A. in Education from UC Irvine. My research explores how family dynamics, parenting, ethnic socialization, and cultural mechanisms influence the well-being and positive development of Latine youth, with a focus on the cultural factors that foster prosocial behaviors in children and adolescents. This line of work is of great scientific significance to counter the predominance of pathology and deficit-oriented research on U.S. Latine youth in the social behavioral sciences. Across several ongoing research projects at UCI, I explore the roles of parents, family, and cultural values such as bien educado (being well-mannered) and familism (affinity, support, and duty to the family) and how they foster youth social wellbeing and resilience. I am honored to serve on the SECC Membership Committee, where I look forward to representing students and early career members, fostering connections, and advocating for their needs. 

I’m a PhD candidate in the Human Development and Family Studies Program at The Pennsylvania State University. I earned my Masters in Applied Family Science from Kansas State University and a Bachelors in Family and Consumer Sciences (Family and Child Studies major) from the University of Ghana, Legon. 
My work currently focuses on the linkages between relational (coparenting, parenting) and environmental (household chaos, access to digital media) family context, and child outcomes such as sleep and socio-emotional development in the early years. Additionally, I am interested translating research into practice through mediums such as parent education programs and policy advocacy. I am excited to serve as the SECC representative on the International Committee and look forward to contributing meaningfully to the team. 

I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa’s Early Childhood Education Institute (ECEI). I earned my Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences from the University of Delaware where I specialized in early care and education. My research focuses on early care and education programs and policies that impact young children’s development. My scholarship addresses questions about the indicators of early care and education programs that promote children’s development, policies that impact these programs, and types of early relationships that are associated with children’s short- and long-term outcomes. I approach research from a developmental perspective, with the ultimate goal of producing research for policy and program development so policies can best support children and families. As an SECC representative, I hope to contribute my knowledge and experience toward identifying and implementing changes that benefit graduate students and early career scholars. 

I am a sixth-year developmental psychology graduate student at the University of Georgia and an incoming Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech. My research examines how cultural processes buffer the effects of discrimination in Black and Latinx families, with a focus on ethnic-racial socialization and the role of non-parental agents in promoting youth well-being. As an Afro-Latina scholar, I am passionate about fostering inclusive academic spaces and supporting emerging scholars. 
 
At UGA, I founded mentoring programs for underrepresented minority undergraduates and secured funding to support these initiatives, benefiting over 100 students. Within SRCD, I have served as the graduate student representative for the Latinx Caucus and have contributed to organizing professional development programming and events, including for the 2025 Biennial. My dedication to inclusion and community-building continues as an incoming SECC representative on the Program Committee, where I aim to enhance opportunities for students and early career scholars. 

I am currently a doctoral candidate in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University, and I will soon begin my postdoctoral research at the University of Minnesota. My research focuses on the experiences of ethnic-racial minoritized adolescents and young adults, with particular attention to the roles of discrimination and ethnic-racial socialization in shaping mental health outcomes. I am also dedicated to understanding the experiences of international students, who often navigate complex, intersectional identities influenced by their ethnic and racial backgrounds. I am eager to contribute to the Publications Committee by supporting the dissemination of high-quality, inclusive research that advances the field of developmental science and fosters a broader understanding of these critical issues. 

Lina holds a Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in Human Development from the University of California Irvine (UCI); an M.A. in Educational Psychology concentrating in Early Childhood Education from California State University Northridge (CSUN); a second M.A. in Education from UCI; and a B.S. in Fine Art from the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC). Her research includes topics around child development, socioemotional development, empathy, and prosocial behavior. Drawing on her expertise in child and adolescent development, she has explored how factors such as ascription of social responsibility (accountability for ones' behavior in society), perspective-taking, and emotional regulation influence sympathy and kindness. Lina is extremely passionate about teaching, mentorship, and fostering a positive classroom climate that is sustainable for both faculty and students. She consistently advocates for disabled community members and illuminates the ways in which universal design is universally beneficial.