CHILD - Key Persons
Chris has been at the Child Labs since 1999. She is a graduate of University of Connecticut, graduating in 1989 with a degree in Human Development and Family Relations with a concentration in Child Development and Early Childhood Education. Chris is a devoted teacher who promotes independence and encourages the children to learn through hands on exploration. She looks forward to all the hugs, smooches and loving squeezes from the children. The toddler friends make her laugh each and every day. Chris loves working with children of all ages, but she thinks that, "Toddlers Rock" as they are full of energy and curiosity and excited to explore. Toddlers are continuously growing in self-help skills every day and are so proud and excited with their accomplishments.
While Chris loves being with the Toddlers, she also enjoys working with the college students. Being their mentor and helping them find the love of working with young children is another rewarding aspect of being a Teacher at Child Labs. They genuinely enjoy and look forward to being with the children.
Chris enjoys reading in her free time. She also loves taking her dog, Chloe, for long walks. Having two teenage children is always interesting. Playing games with her family, especially cards, is a fun and good time for all. A career in teaching young children is truly rewarding. Chris is always looking for ways to enhance her skills and provide new experiences for the children. She stays current and informed by attending conferences and reading informative articles. She develops and offers opportunities by creating new classroom spaces and rich learning environments that make the children's faces light up with eagerness to explore, construct, and deconstruct.
Debbie has been with us at the Child Development Labs since October of 2006 and has offered her nurturing and respectful presence in the classroom ever since! She received her bachelor's degree from Boston University in Art History and went on to receive her Masters in Elementary Education from the University of Connecticut. Her love of art shows in many ways, as she openly invites exploration of all mediums, from mud and sand to paint and blocks. Debbie helps children unlock the wonder and delight of the most common objects, with her own joy shining through. Debbie is dedicated in her teaching of college students and spends time guiding and instructing them to be the best they can be in the classroom.
In her free time Debbie enjoys gardening, relaxing her mind and body with yoga, reading a good book and playing with her two young grandsons. Debbie looks forward to continuing to foster the Bingham Skills of Kindness, Respect, Emotions, Self-regulation and Cooperation in the classroom as well as learning different tools to help children relax, self-regulate and build the self-confidence they will need throughout their lives.
Elena graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2022 majoring in Human Development and Family Studies. Her passion for working with young children started as a fieldwork student, working in the Infant room. Elena continued her student teaching in Preschool and soon after started working in the Toddler Room as an Assistant Teacher.
Elena finds working with young children to be a very special and rewarding job where so much growth and independence occurs. She enjoys working with her co-teachers to create an environment in the classroom that is safe and comfortable to best meet the needs of each child. Elena also enjoys working with college students. She feels as though she can relate to them since she also went through the program. She strives to make meaningful connections and is there to support them in any way she can.
In her free time, Elena enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors as well as with family and friends. She enjoyed forming connections and enhancing her learning day by day!
Heather Leeman is a Master Teacher in Preschool 2. She graduated from the University of Phoenix (Phoenix, AZ) with a degree in Education. She began teaching at the CDL in January 2005. Heather creates a classroom that is welcoming and exciting for preschool children. She is thoughtful about creating a classroom environment that feels homelike by adding color, texture, lighting and music. She brings her love and appreciation of art to the classroom, introducing the preschoolers to famous artists and supporting their early love of creating and enjoying art by teaching techniques used by artists in a developmentally appropriate way.
Heather is excited to work with young children and share their sense of wonder of the world around them. She loves hearing the stories they share and getting a peek at the preschoolers' unique interpretation of the world around them. She enjoys the energy that the college students bring to the preschool classroom each semester and the challenges that come with supporting preschool and adult learners.
When Heather is not teaching at the CDL, she enjoys spending time with her family, listening to music, reading and spending time outdoors.
Heather earned her B.A in Child Study and minored in Psychology at St. Joseph College in 1996. For over a decade Heather has worked as an Infant/Toddler teacher for an Early Head Start Program. Heather joined the UConn Child Labs as an Infant teacher in 2022.
Heather enjoys working with infants/young toddlers and finds it to be extremely rewarding and fulfilling. Working alongside them and seeing how much they grow and develop new skills every day is a humbling experience for Heather. She feels honored to be a part of shaping our future generation. In the classroom, Heather finds importance in providing an environment where children can form secure relationships with caring and responsive adults as well as feel safe and have the freedom to explore and learn. Heather is excited to be working at the child labs where her personal career goals can be achieved by mentoring and instructing college students. A goal of hers is to provide opportunity for students to become the best caregivers they can be and to value the importance of Early Childhood Education.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Coordinator
- Temporary University Specialist
As the Administrative Coordinator at the Child Labs, Janice strives to create an office that is neat, efficient and welcoming. She is highly organized and regularly prioritizes among the immediate needs of the center and long term goals for our unit. Janice's flexibility and quick-thinking are often put to use as she helps problem-solve a myriad of issues ranging from contacting facilities to supporting classroom scheduling. A life-long learner, Janice is participating in professional development to become proficient in a variety of software programs that will support the financial side of her job responsibilities.
Janice enjoys the opportunity to work with young children and appreciates the zest for life and curiosity that they come with each day. Janice maintains the CDL library and is a favorite visitor in the classroom as she shares her love of children's books. She also enjoys working with UConn students and seeing their commitment to the field of Early Childhood develop over multiple semesters at the Child Labs.
In her free time, Janice is an avid reader. She is on the Library Board in her town and is an active member of her community. She is taking her love of books and learning into the world as she pursues involvement in adult literacy programs. Janice also enjoys repurposing/refinishing furniture, decorating and spending time with her family.
Janice received her degree in General Studies/Human Services from UConn.
Julianna graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2023 with a Bachelor's of Arts in Human Development and Family Studies and specializing in Early Childhood Education and Development. Her passion for working with young children stems from being the oldest of four children and progressed through her experiences in the classrooms here at the Child Labs. Julianna worked in the Child Labs as a student laborer as well as being a HDFS credit student. She completed fieldwork in the toddler room and student teaching in preschool. Julianna began working in the Infant Room as an Assistant Teacher in August 2023.
Julianna enjoys finding new and creative ways to engage young children with familiar and unfamiliar materials to create novel experiences. She loves engaging in social interactions with the children, facilitating group time, exploring creative art experiences like painting, sensory exploration, or making and listening to music. Julianna finds working with infants to be extremely rewarding and fulfilling and her favorite part is seeing how much they grow and develop new skills every day. She feels excited to enter the classroom every morning and honored to be working with our future generation. She believes that it is crucial to make connections with the children and their families to support growth and development in the classroom and at home. Julianna also enjoys working with the college students in the classroom and supporting them in navigating their courses, their individual goals, and their goals while working with young children.
In her free time, Julianna enjoys reading, traveling, being outside and spending time with family and friends. She is also excited to become a mother in March 2024 and looking forward to creating exciting experiences for herself and her son.
Kelly began teaching in the Child Labs Infant Program in 1996, after receiving a B.S. in Human Development and Family Relations from University of Connecticut. Kelly loves working with infants and young toddlers because they are uninhibited, free spirited, and have so much passion and excitement when learning about the world around them.
She strives to create a close-knit classroom environment that is comfortable, warm, and welcoming to all. She looks forward to greeting the children and being received by them with smiles, hugs and snuggles each day, and she enjoys formulating strong relationships with the families and helping them feel at ease.
Kelly also relishes the opportunity to help our college students learn about child development. She enjoys seeing their growth over time as they deepen their ability to bond and work with the children, gain more confidence, and work as part of a team. Kelly looks forward to continuing to offer the highest quality of care and education to the children, their families and the college students.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Executive Director of the UConn
Marianne was a student in the HDFS Early Childhood concentration in the late 90's. As an undergraduate at UConn she discovered the Child Development Labs and found her calling as a teacher of very young children. While an undergraduate student at the Child Labs, she worked with infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their families under the guidance and supervision of the professional teaching staff. Marianne had found her place at UConn and her home away from home.
Marianne worked for Early Head Start and the Manchester Early Learning Center in the beginning of her career before finding her way back to the UConn Child Labs in 2004 as a member of the Professional Teaching Staff in the Infant Program. While working, Marianne earned an M.S. in Early Childhood Education from Eastern Connecticut State University.
Marianne continued working as a Master Teacher in the Preschool program at the Child Labs. As a classroom teacher Marianne focused on community and relationship building. Marianne and her family moved to Mansfield to continue to develop stronger ties to the community where Marianne's children attended the Child Labs. As a member of both the UConn Child Labs and Storrs/Mansfield communities, Marianne found her rhythm in community engagement, taking part in school and town groups with the goal of supporting children and families.
In summer 2022, Marianne became the Executive Director of the UConn Child Labs. In this role Marianne plans to continue building community within the Child Labs and the broader UConn and Storrs/Mansfield communities. Marianne continues building ties between the Child Labs and other departments within the university community as well as the town of Storrs/Mansfield. Marianne plans to focus on social justice, anti-bias and anti-racist work with the professional staff, college students, children and families at the Child Labs. Marianne is a member of a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee within the public school system working to support anti-racist, anti-biased, welcoming policies and practices within the local school district.
Marianne and her husband Allen, their two children Ben and Amelia, and their dog Truffle have made Storrs/Mansfield their home. The children have gone through the local school system, starting at CDL as young infants and rising into the local middle and high schools. The entire family is engaged with the community through youth sports, school leadership and social justice movements. Marianne's hope for her children as well as all the children and college students at the Child Labs is that they know their worth and value to the community and work to build and live in a society that is just, and supportive of all its members.
Mikayla graduated from UConn in 2021 with a Bachelors in Human Development and Family Sciences. She will be entering her second year teaching in the infant center. Her love for working with children began as a student in the CDL program after being placed in the toddler classroom. After graduation, Mikayla became a head toddler teacher at a different child care center but knew the infant age group was her calling.
Mikayla values the relationships she makes with the children, families, and college students. She is looking forward to being a mentor to college students interested in early childhood and strives to make connections and support them in the infant center. Mikayla fosters a welcoming and enjoyable environment while also maintaining an upbeat and approachable demeanor.
In her free time, Mikayla enjoys taking nature walks and exploring different hiking trails. One of her passions is waterskiing which she teaches to children and adults of all ages.