OUR TEAM

Our team is comprised of doctoral and master‘s-level students from various psychology-related fields, including developmental, educational, and school psychology, social intervention, mental health and school counseling, as well as undergraduates in applied psychology and other related majors. A unique characteristic of the team is its diversity in national, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds. A partnership-based model is key to all research activities conducted in our team. As such, all team members provide service to the communities we work with on a regular basis, including volunteering in local preschool classrooms as aides.

Dr. Gigliana Melzi, Principal Investigator

I am a professor in the Developmental Program at  NYU’s Department of Applied Psychology.  I am also an affiliated faculty member of Latinx Studies and of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at NYU. Born and raised in Lima Peru, I came to the US to pursue my undergraduate and doctoral studies. I am interested in the relation between cultural and linguistic practices in the context of family interactions, and how these family interactions shape young children’s early development and learning. My work focuses on Spanish-speaking and Spanish-English families, largely from immigrant communities in the United States. I rely on mixed-methods approaches to address how Latine parents support their children's learning, the role language plays in that process, and how the educational system might leverage culturally grounded family practices to enhance children’s school-based learning. While the bulk of my work has focused on language and literacy development, my most recent work investigates everyday family STEM practices in Spanish-speaking and Spanish-English speaking homes of preschool-aged children.

Nydia Prishker, PhD, Senior Research Affiliate /Collaborator

I am an Assistant Professor of Childhood Education at the NYU partner university, St. Thomas Aquinas College. I am a Bilingual Educator and an advocate for quality and equity in the early care and education of children from diverse cultural, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds. I have experience working with different bilingual programs, both as an early childhood and elementary school teacher and as a teacher trainer/mentor. I have been a member and collaborator of the CFD Lab since 2018. In partnership with the CFD team, I investigate the rich language and education practices that are embedded in Latine families’ everyday lives. Learning from and with Latine families, I also work in developing new resources for early childhood education teachers, providers, and parents to enhance the practices of teachers and families that support the school readiness of young children in a culturally responsive and relevant way. The aim of my work is to strengthen partnerships between educators and parents to share knowledge and strategies that can improve the education and well-being of ALL young children.

Andrea C. Bühler-Wassmann (she/they), PhD, Collaborator

I am an Assistant Professor of Human Development & Family Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I earned my PhD in human development and MA in child development from the University of California, Davis, and my BA in psychology and economics from Barnard College. I am an interdisciplinary feminist scholar exploring how early social and
cultural environments support well-being, particularly within Latine/x communities and
in contexts of stress. My work takes a strength-based approach to highlight how caregivers, especially mothers, nurture their children’s emotional and physiological health, and the systemic, interpersonal, and intrinsic factors that support or challenge them. I am passionate about Earth, interconnectedness, and storytelling.

Jessica Huancacuri, Doctoral Student

I am a doctoral student in the developmental psychology program, Department of Applied Psychology at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. I received both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Psychology from The City College of New York. My work examines how the Quechua Runa, the ancestral people of the Andean highlands, socialize their children, and how their children's early STEM learning is developed and supported in the home, the community, and through children's media.

Paola Montufar, Doctoral Student

I am a doctoral student in the Developmental Psychology program at NYU Steinhardt. My research focuses on bilingual Latine children’s and families’ early STEM experiences; I am particularly interested in the family practices as well as individual cognitive processes that support early math learning for bilingual Latine children.

I hold a B.A. with Honors in Psychology with a minor in Biology from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA); my thesis was titled “Two times four” equals “Dos por cuatro”: A study of memory for arithmetic in bilinguals.

Ana Ramírez Rojas, Doctoral Student

I’m a doctoral student in the Developmental Psychology program in the Department of Applied Psychology at NYU Steinhardt. I am also a lawyer and researcher with 15+ years of experience spanning public policy, nonprofit leadership, and developmental research. I began my career in Argentina, leading urban development and social integration initiatives in informal settlements and advancing fair housing rights. After earning an M.A. in Human Development, Research, and Policy at NYU, I transitioned into early childhood research, focusing on how Latine families and caregivers support young children’s learning—particularly in early math. My research interests include peer-to-peer learning among children ages 3 to 5, Spanish–English bilingualism in early childhood, and understanding how Latine caregivers’ confidence, past experiences, and beliefs about the importance of early math shape their engagement and support of their children’s learning. More broadly, I work towards bridging research, practice, and policy to promote equity and culturally responsive approaches to child development.

RESEARCH ASSISTANTS

Jocelyn Espinoza

I am a master’s student in the Clinical Psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. I hold a bachelor’s degree in Education and Social Transformation from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). My academic and professional interests focus on improving educational and mental health outcomes for students from marginalized communities. Before beginning graduate school, I worked in various schools across Southern California, where I witnessed the effects of cultural disconnects between educators and students, as well as the lack of effective, supportive programs tailored to students’ needs. I joined the CFD Lab to help develop culturally responsive, evidence-based interventions that foster student success. My long-term goal is to become a clinical psychologist specializing in child development, with a commitment to creating programs that uplift and empower the communities I serve.

Anjali Devgan

I am currently an undergraduate student majoring in Social Work, driven by a passion for supporting children and families through research and advocacy. My goal is to pursue an MSW and become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). At the CFD Lab, I’m interested in examining how culture and family practices influence children’s learning experiences, especially for those from marginalized communities who often face systemic barriers in education.

Jimmena Orrego

I am a student at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Psychology with a minor in Communicative Sciences and Disorders. I have previously interned at The BELLE Project/The Video Interaction Project, a research project at the NYU School of Medicine designed to enhance parent-child interactions and school readiness for low-income children. I joined the CFD in the Fall of 2023 to grow my research experience and engage myself with communities that have been historically ignored and downplayed in psychology research. As a part of the team, I help transcribe video recordings from data collection and volunteer once a week at a Head Start. My interests include multicultural counseling for marginalized communities, immigrant and refugee mental health, child development, and looking at child-parent interactions, particularly in Latine families.

Zonia Dias

I am a senior at NYU’s College of Arts and Sciences. I am currently studying Psychology with a minor in CAMS and Public Health. I joined CFD because I’m really passionate about child development and learning how cultural/family contexts shape early learning experiences. I want to have an in-depth understanding of the various ways Latine children learn so that one day, I can help strengthen their early experiences. I really believe that when children have positive, affirming learning experiences early on, it shapes how they approach learning for the rest of their lives, which is a mission of this lab. Another reason I joined this lab is because it uses a positive and strengths-based approach in its research, which I love because it highlights resilience and cultural knowledge in Latine communities! I am hoping to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology. I hope to have a career that focuses on supporting children and families from underrepresented communities, specifically through research, clinical work, and community-based interventions. A fun fact about me is that I can speak some Quechua, an Andean indigenous language!

Marta Muñoz-Rojas

I am currently a student at NYU College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Psychology and Journalism. I am very interested in Developmental Psychology, specifically the impact education and the tools we use for teaching has on child development. For this reason, I joined the CFD lab to broaden my understanding about the different methods through which we could support early learning.

Rani Kumar

I am currently a student at NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, pursuing a degree in Global Public Health and Applied Psychology. I joined the CFD team to deepen my understanding of Developmental Psychology, particularly the influence of family practices on early human development, while improving my Spanish fluency. Additionally, I am passionate about health policy and management and committed to reducing inequalities and barriers to healthcare access as part of my study of Global Public Health.

Julianna Tellas

I am a recent New York University graduate where I received my bachelor's degree in Psychology. I have experience working with bilingual and immigrant families as a behavior technician and bilingual paraprofessional. As a daughter of Argentinean immigrants, I joined the Culture, Families, and Early Development (CFD) Lab to explore how cultural and familial contexts influence early childhood development. within the educational setting I plan to pursue a PsyD in School-Clinical Psychology to work with neurodivergent children and those experiencing anxiety and depression in underserved communities. Outside of research, I enjoy quiet weekends exploring small towns around Upstate New York.