CRANE - Key Persons

Adriana Martinez

Job Titles:

Graduate Research Associate

Adriana Martinez's program of study is Educational Psychology and works on Crane's The Digital Civic Learning Project. Martinez's research interests are in motivation of early adolescents and culturally relevant and responsive education.

Alex Bonus

Job Titles:

Assistant Professor, School of Communication

Amanda Grady

Job Titles:

Project Coordinator, KTP

Amanda currently co-coordinates the Kindergarten Transition Practices Project, which explores how to support children as they transition from preschool to kindergarten. Amanda is a former k-12 administrator and teacher, and is also a doctoral student in the college of Education and Human Ecology. Her research interests include the educational impacts of migration, and learning about possible avenues for updating best practice, from conversations with newcomer families.

Amber Fridley

fr..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Teacher, Room 130

Amber graduated with her BA in child and youth studies from The Ohio State University. She has been working in the field of Early Childhood Education since 2006 with a focus on infant and toddlers. She has attended early childhood conferences and plans to continue her growth and understanding of education in child development.

Amy Nathanson

Job Titles:

Professor, School of Communication

Andrea Gillenwater

gi..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Continuing Education Specialist, Ready 4 Success

Andrea has maintained passion for the field of early childhood for twenty years. Her undergraduate work focused on Psychology with an emphasis in Child Development and she holds her Early Childhood teaching credentials from the American Montessori Society. Andrea's graduate work in Foundations of Applied Behavior Analysis prepared her with knowledge relevant to the coaching field. Andrea works on the Ready for Success team as an instructional coach, guiding early childhood educators primarily in the areas of literacy curriculum and child assessment tools.

Anneliese Johnson

jo..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Principal

Anneliese began her career in early childhood education as a preschool teacher at the A. Sophie Rogers School for Early Learning at its former location in Campbell Hall on OSU's campus. She earned her bachelor's degree from Miami University and completed her master's degree in early childhood education and development from OSU's College of Education and Human Ecology. She was an instrumental part of the team that transitioned the School for Early Learning to its current location in Weinland Park, helping to design and staff the building in 2007 as the preschool program coordinator. She has been the principal of the School for Early Learning since 2010. Anneliese taught early childhood education courses for several years at OSU and has presented locally and nationally on topics such as play, guidance and discipline with young children, and emergent literacy in the classroom.

Arya Ansari

an..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Faculty Associate
Assistant Professor, Human Sciences

Dr. Ansari's research is focused on understanding how contextual factors influence the early development of children from disadvantaged backgrounds, with the aim of informing policies and intervention programs that can benefit such children. Dr. Ansari has previously worked on projects examining: 1) the utilization and benefits of early care and education programs for low-income and minority children; 2) the importance of parent engagement in early childhood programs; and 3) the role of children in shaping their own home and school experiences.

Ashley Keener

Job Titles:

Teacher, Room 128

Ashley received her bachelor's degree in Music Education in 2006 from Ashland University and taught music for several years. In 2009 she started working with preschool children. Since then, she's worked in several preschool programs, including Head Start. Ashley completed her Early Childhood Education and Administration Certificate from Columbus State in 2021 and recently took the prekindergarten licensure exam. In the future she hopes to pursue a master's degree in education. She is passionate about working with children and families and believe that all children have the right to a quality early childhood education.

Autumn Kintner

ki..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Member of the Data Management Team
Research Associate

Autumn Kintner works with researchers and the rest of the Data Management Core to put together measures for every project. She builds surveys in Qualtrics and Teleform, making sure that research data is taken in, and is useable by the projects. She is currently working towards her MPH in Health Behavior and Health Promotion, but is always happy to use her English degree from Otterbein University to proofread papers around the office.

Becky Hsuanhua Huang

hu..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Faculty Associate
Professor, Teaching & Learning

Dr. Huang's research program focuses on two interrelated areas that address the goal of promoting language and education outcomes for multilingual students: language/literacy development and assessment of multilingual students.

Britt Singletary

si..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Senior Research Specialist

Britt is a Biological Anthropologist interested in the evolutionary interplay between uniquely human traits like cooperative child-rearing, complex cognition, and language. She investigates how supplemental care provided to infants from individuals other than the mother (or allomaternal care) impacts early child cognitive and language outcomes. Britt is a Senior Research Specialist at the Crane Center. She serves as the Scientific Advisor to the Data Management Core and the Project Director of the SMALL Talk Project.

Busra Ceviren

Job Titles:

Graduate Research Associate

Busra Ceviren studies Quantitative Research Evaluation and Measurement in the College of Education and Human Ecology's department of Educational Studies and works on the Crane project ProPELL. Ceviren's research interests are in latent change score modeling, multilevel modeling, and research data management.

Cameron Lindsey

li..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Member of the Executive Team
Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Associate Director, Business Operations

Cameron oversees day-to-day and long-term operations as well as strategic planning for the Schoenbaum Family Center and the Crane Center. Her responsibilities include organizational and budgetary oversight as well as space and personnel management. Cameron started her career with OSU 14 years ago, in the College of Engineering. She gained experience in the COE Service Center in Fiscal and HR responsibilities, and moved to the College of Medicine as a Business Manager before coming to Schoenbaum Family Center and Crane Center.

Carolyn Gunther

Job Titles:

Associate Professor

Cathy Kupsky

ku..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Communications and Events Coordinator

Cathy furthers the strategic objectives of the Schoenbaum Family Center and Crane Center through marketing, communications, and event support. Her undergraduate studies focused on graphic design and studio art. She previously spent time overseas teaching English to students ranging from preschoolers to adult before combining her passions into marketing and communications for early childhood education in the nonprofit sector.

Cindy Molnar

Job Titles:

Teacher, Room 142

Building equitable opportunities for all young children to learn and thrive through policy, practice, research, and evaluation.

Claudia Ellerbrock

el..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Teacher, Room 138

Claudia worked as an intern at the Schoenbaum Family Center before becoming a full-time assistant teacher. She holds a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential for infants/toddlers.

David Morelli

mo..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Building Coordinator

David oversees maintenance and operational issues for the entire building. This includes physical space and asset management, inventory and supply systems. He serves as liaison with external vendors providing building repairs, cleaning and inspections. David has been with the university for 25 plus years and brings extensive experience in financial, payroll, customer services, building project plans, and budget allocations. Prior to joining Ohio State, David served four years in the United States Marine Corps.

Dilshad Tolliver

to..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Team Lead Teacher, Room 134

Dilshad earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education from The Ohio State University in 2002. She has 18 years of experience working with infants and toddlers in a mixed-age setting. Dilshad presents at local and national conferences on topics including creating home-like environments, social-emotional development and guidance and discipline strategies. She is committed to provide high-quality education and care to young children while promoting diversity and inclusion.

Dorian Harrison

Job Titles:

Assistant Professor, Teaching and Learning, OSU Newark Campus

Dr. Jing Sun

su..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Research Specialist

At CCEC, Dr. Jing Sun is a research specialist and the project director for the Speech-Therapy Experiences in the Public Schools-2 project, a longitudinal study designed to improve our understanding of how speech-language therapy in the public schools influences language growth among students with language impairment. She is also involved in the Early Learning Ohio/Early Learning Network and the Kindergarten Transition Practice projects. With a background of applied linguistics and second/foreign language education, Dr. Jing Sun's research interests include education, language and literacy, psychology, and their intersections.

Dr. Rebecca Dore

do..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Director of Research
Member of the Senior Leadership Team

Eileen Donnally

do..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Project Coordinator for the PEACh Project
Project Coordinator, PEACh

Eileen Donnally is the project coordinator for the PEACh Project, which explores classroom ecology, activities, and experiences and their impact on preschoolers. Eileen has worked in the early childhood field for over 15 years, primarily as an infant and toddler teacher. She began her early childhood teaching career at the A. Sophie Rogers School in the Schoenbaum Family Center when it opened in 2007. She graduated from Ohio State with both her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Human Development and Family Science. During graduate school, she assisted on the New Parents Project (NPP). Her personal research interests are the interrelations of Motor and Cognitive development of young children. When not at work, Eileen is most often attending an extracurricular activity of one of her children. She also enjoys fitness activities, musical theater, and spending time with family and friends.

Elizabeth Cooksey

Job Titles:

Professor and Director of CHRR, Department of Sociology

Elsa Alvarado

al..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Research Assistant, SMALL Talk

Emily Byron

by..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Research Assistant for the SMALL Talk
Research Assistant, SMALL Talk

Emily works as a research assistant for the SMALL Talk project, studying language development in children from low-income households. She has also worked with the University of Pittsburgh's Learning Research and Development Center on projects studying teacher discourse and student discussions in middles school and high school classrooms. Emily received her BA in Linguistics, Japanese, and Quechua from the University of Pittsburgh, and hopes to return to graduate school to continue studying language acquisition and language education.

Eric Anderman

Job Titles:

Professor, Department of Educational Studies

Eric Schwendeman

Job Titles:

Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Grants Specialist

Erin Woodson

wo..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Data & Project Coordinator, Early Head Start

Erin manages the Early Head Start Partnership Program database, ChildPlus, while providing training and ongoing support for staff, providers, and partners. Erin also supports the overall program operations. She started working at The Ohio State University Medical Center in 2012 as an Administrative Assistant for the Davis Heart & Lung Research Institute and the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology. Erin has been with the Early Head Start program since 2015. Prior to joining the University, Erin received her degree in education from Miami University.

Eshelle Yarborough

Job Titles:

Teacher, Room 130

Eugenia Costa-Giomi

Job Titles:

Professor and Interim Director of the School of Music, Music Education

Farah Arifeen

ar..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Research Assistant
Research Assistant, Kindergarten Transition Practices

Farah Arifeen is serving as a research assistant on the Kindergarten Transition Practices (KTP) project. Arifeen helps prepare data for manipulation, analysis, and visualizations in statistical software.

Hannah Rogers

ro..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Project Coordinator for FLIP Recess

Hannah is the project coordinator for FLIP Recess. She graduated from Ohio State with her degree in Special Education and has been an intervention specialist in the Columbus area for 3 years prior. Hannah is working towards her master's degree in special education, and is passionate about disability advocacy, teacher and paraprofessional training, and AAC.

Hui Jiang

ji..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Senior Research Specialist

Dr. Jiang's research focuses on quantitative methodology in educational research, including statistical modeling, educational measurement, database management and program evaluation. She is particularly interested in the connecting new statistical techniques with data-driven practice to advance the field of education. With more than nine years of experience working with various statistical models such as multilevel models, generalized linear models, and structural equation models, much of her theoretical work involves identifying and resolving challenges in applying statistical models in the applied fields, and she has multiple papers presented at national methodological conferences on topics such as missing data treatments, multilevel modeling, and SEM. Over the years working in CCEC, Dr. Jiang has conducted data analyses and program evaluation for several large-scale CCEC projects, including Language and Reading Research Consortium, Reading in Special Education, and Classroom Ecology to Children's Learning.

Jackie Goodway

Job Titles:

Professor, Department of Human Sciences

Jamie Davies O'Leary

ol..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Member of the Executive Team
Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Associate Director of Policy
Associate Director of Policy & External Affairs

Jamie is the Associate Director of Policy for the Crane Center and Schoenbaum Family Center. In this role, she leads policy research and analysis as well as translation for policy leaders, including elected officials, city groups, and other decisions makers and advocates. Jamie has worked in education policy and advocacy for over a decade and has developed and managed large-scale communications campaigns for schools and other clients. She started her career as a public school teacher in Camden, New Jersey after studying politics and international relations. She earned her master's degree in public affairs (MPA) from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs in 2009. Jamie is a former Teach For America corps member, a Truman Fellow (2005), and is a first-generation college graduate committed to equity for all children.

Janelle Williamson

wi..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Strategic Coordinator
Strategic Coordinator for the Schoenbaum Family Center

Janelle is the strategic coordinator for the Schoenbaum Family Center and Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy. In this role, she orchestrates the strategic planning process for the Schoenbaum and Crane centers. Janelle administers special projects on behalf of the Executive Director and Associate Directors; convenes and leads meetings for the Executive Team, Senior Managers, and OSU EHE Centers' Directors; onboards new research employees; and implements the GRA and Faculty Associate programs. She also authors monthly research translation summaries for the Crane newsletter. Janelle has previous experience as a project director for Crane's ECE landscape study, and program assistant on Early Learning Ohio. Janelle has a B.S. in Human Development and Family Sciences from The Ohio State University.

Jason Flowers

fl..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Member of the Data Management Team
Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Technical Coordinator

Jason joined Ohio State and the CCEC in 2009. In his role he helps to ensure that all data collected meets the highest academic and ethical standards. His other responsibilities include management of the Data Management Core team and oversight of the Crane Center's use of technology in the fields of data collection, processing, and dissemination. Jason earned his Bachelor's Degree in History and Music from Middle Tennessee State University. Before joining Ohio State, Jason spent four years at the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University.

Jenna Hurlburt

Job Titles:

Graduate Research Associate

Jenna Hurlburt studies Special Education in the College of Education and Human Ecology's department of Educational Studies and works on the Crane projects LEADERS and FLIP. Hurlburt's research interests are in communication, adapting/coping, and social skills for individuals with severe disabilities.

Jennifer Bostic

bo..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Project Director
Project Director, Read It Again

Jennifer Bostic is an outstanding project director who has been with The Ohio State University since 2007 and the CCEC since 2010. She currently leads a one-year $4 million grant to scale Crane's high-quality literacy program statewide. Read It Again! is a curriculum supplement for early childhood educators that is designed to strengthen young children's early foundations in literacy and language and pave the way for enhanced kindergarten readiness. Previously, Bostic was the project director for the Early Learning Ohio (ELO) project, a five-year, 4.5 million-dollar IES funded study on early learning policies and programs and the Language and Reading Research Consortium (LARRC), a five-year, 20 million-dollar IES funded study on language and literacy. Jennifer is motivated by work that focuses on improving the lives of children and families. She has expertise in project oversite including longitudinal and cross-sectional data collection. She uses her leadership, organization and administrative expertise to achieve project deliverables. Jennifer has a master's degree in Counselor Education from The Ohio State University and maintains her Professional Counselor licensure in the state of Ohio. Prior to coming to OSU, Jennifer was a school-based clinician for elementary students and families at Southeast, Inc in Columbus, Ohio. When not at work, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family, practicing karate, and watching her son play soccer.

Jessica Junk

ju..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Team Lead Teacher, Room 138

Jessica received her BS in Human Development from Ohio State and previously worked at the Schoenbaum Family Center from 2007 to 2009 before returning in 2016. She has experience working in several college affiliated settings including The Sophia Bremer Child Development Center in Washington State, Columbus State Child Development Center, and the Ohio State Childcare Program. As the master teacher in room 138 Jessica works with her teaching team to create a quality learning environment for infants and toddlers while mentoring student teachers and other staff. Jessica is currently interested in bringing more research about brain development to birth to three age level. She plans to further her education in the field of infant mental health sometime in the near future.

Ji-Young Choi

ch..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Faculty Associate
Associate Professor, Human Sciences

Dr. Choi's research focuses on early childhood development and education. She is interested in understanding why individual differences in development emerge and how we can better support school readiness for children from linguistically and economically diverse backgrounds.

Joe Westbrook

Building equitable opportunities for all young children to learn and thrive through policy, practice, research, and evaluation.

Julie Fitz

Job Titles:

Graduate Research Associate

Julie Fitz studies Education Policy in the College of Education and Human Ecology's department of Educational Studies and works on Crane's program analysis of Ohio's publicly funded child care. Fitz's research interest is in processes of marketization within the American public education system.

Julie Kennel

Job Titles:

Assistant Professor - Clinical, Department of Human Sciences

Julie Parrott

Job Titles:

Graduate Research Associate

Julie Parrott studies Educational Psychology in the College of Education and Human Ecology's department of Educational Studies and works on Crane's The Digital Civic Learning Project. Parrott's research interests are in academic motivation, social studies, and discourse in classrooms.

Julie Planke

Job Titles:

Graduate Research Associate

Julie Planke studies Educational Psychology in the College of Education and Human Ecology's department of Educational Studies and works on the Crane project Kindergarten Transition Practices. Planke's research interests are in the critical role of the teacher-child relationship in young children's academic and socioemotional outcomes.

Kaha Abdi

Job Titles:

Graduate Research Associate

Kaha Abdi is studying reading and literacy in early and middle childhood. Abdi's research interests include employing a decolonial lens in the exploration of the language and literacy practices of multilingual children. She is also interested in translanguaging and dialogism as ways for (re)conceptualizing the meaning making processes of culturally and linguistically diverse children.

Kaitlyn Viera

Job Titles:

Graduate Research Associate

Kaitlyn Viera studies Special Education in the College of Education and Human Ecology's department of Educational Studies and works on Crane projects LEADERS and FLIP. Viera's research interests are in early childhood special education and autism spectrum disorder.

Kammi Schmeer

Job Titles:

Department of Sociology

Kate Anderson

Job Titles:

Graduate Research Associate

Kate Anderson studies Special Education in the College of Education and Human Ecology's department of Educational Studies and works on the Crane projects LEADERS and FLIP. Anderson's research interests are in severe disabilities in early childhood special education and early intervention.

Kathryn Zimmermann

Job Titles:

Graduate Research Associate

Kathryn Zimmermann studies Human Development and Family Sciences in the College of Education and Human Ecology's department of Human Sciences and works on the Crane project ProPELL. Zimmermann has research interests in short and long-term benefits of early childhood education, and the classroom and school experiences that contribute to creating high-quality early educational experiences.

Katie Filibeck

Job Titles:

Data Manager
Member of the Data Management Team

Katie Filibeck has been at the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy since 2014 where she was a program assistant on two different projects before moving to the Data Management Core as the new Data Manager. She is the liaison between the DMC and different research projects to provide ongoing data support and updates. She also assists in data processing, collecting, and the creation of training materials and protocols that are used at the Crane Center. Katie also serves as the editorial office for the journal Early Childhood Research Quarterly with editor-in-chief Dr. Laura Justice. She has worked on the journal since 2016 managing the journal email account and submissions.

Katie Vinopal

Job Titles:

Assistant Professor, John Glenn College of Public Affairs

Keeley Pratt

Job Titles:

Associate Professor, Pediatrics Associate Professor, Department of Human Sciences EDGE Faculty in Residence, Equity and Diversity

Kelly Purtell

pu..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Faculty Associate
Associate Professor, Human Sciences

Dr. Purtell's research centers on understanding how contextual factors shape health and development among low-income children and adolescents, and on how policies and programs can enhance the developmental trajectories of these youth.

Kevin Passino

Job Titles:

Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Kiera Jones

Job Titles:

Communications Assistant

Kiera promotes content to audiences across social media, email, and websites as well as offers general support to the policy, communications, and events team. Her undergraduate studies included new media and technology communication and studio art.

Kim Davis

da..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Team Lead Teacher, Room 124

Kim has thirty years of experience in working with young children and families in the central Ohio area. Previously, Kim worked for the YMCA of Central Ohio, and in this role, she helped to bring a licensed preschool program to the Hilliard Ray Patch Family YMCA serving children ages three to five. Her passion is to make sure that all children have an experience in high quality preschool environments that will increase their future success in education. Kim earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Family Relations and Human Development in 1989. When not at work, Kim enjoys spending time with her husband, and catching up with what is going on in the lives of her two college aged daughters.

Kimberlee Nathan

na..@osu.edu

Job Titles:

Coach
Coach for Ready 4 Success

As an instructional coach for Ready 4 Success, Kimberlee works with early childhood teachers around the city of Columbus, providing instructional support to teachers in both literacy and math. Kim is a nationally board certified teacher. She served as a Language Arts teacher for 8 years and elementary school media specialist for 2 years before becoming an instructional coach. She has worked as an instructional coach with Ready 4 Success for the last 3 years. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her husband and children, and cheering on the Buckeyes!