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Faculty and Community Partners

The Executive Committee consists of faculty in both the School of Education’s Early Childhood Education program faculty with expertise in early childhood education and the School of Social Work’s Child & Family Studies program. faculty with expertise in child development. The faculty are actively engaged in both the academic preparation of teacher educators and care providers (birth to age eight) and a robust research program in early childhood education and child development.

Name Title Institution Department Email
Cynthia DiCarlo Executive Director LSU Education cdicar2@lsu.edu
Nick Fears Member-at-Large LSU Kinesiology nfears@lsu.edu
Gene Geist Member-at-large LSU Education genegeist@lsu.edu 
Member-at-large Weber State ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø Child & Family Studies carrieota@weber.edu

The Louisiana ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø Members consist of faculty from multiple disciplines across the state who work with young children. These faculty have research and academic focus on the early childhood population.

Name Institution Department Email
Jennifer Baumgartner LSU Education jbaum@lsu.edu
Alica Benton LSU Education abento9@lsu.edu 
Northwestern State ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø  Early Childhood Education faziom@nsula.edu
LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center Pediatric Obesity and Health Behavior Priyanka.Chaudhary@pbrc.edu 
Katie Cherry LSU Psychology pskatie@lsu.edu
Chien-Jen Chiang LSU Human Sciences & Education chiang@lsu.edu
LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center Developmental Physiology Emily.Flanagan@pbrc.edu 

Eileen Haebig

LSU Communication Sciences & Disorders ehaebig1@lsu.edu

Ryan M. Hulteen

LSU Kinesiology rhulteen@lsu.edu
LSU Agriculture Nutrition & Food Sciences jmyhand@agcenter.lsu.edu
Southern ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø and A&M Family and Consumer Sciences kenyetta_nelson@subr.edu
Janna Oetting LSU Communication Sciences & Disorders cdjanna@lsu.edu 
Laura Piestryznski LSU Education lpiestrzynski@lsu.edu
LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center Reproductive Endocrinology & Women’s Health Leanne.Redman@pbrc.edu
Elia Soto  LSU Psychology esoto@lsu.edu 
LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center Pediatric Obesity and Health Behavior Katie.Spring@pbrc.edu
LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center Pediatric Obesity and Health Behavior amanda.staiano@pbrc.edu
LSU  Kinesiology wanchunsu@lsu.edu
Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell LSU Literacy Leadership & Urban Education sdowell@lsu.edu 
Tulane ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø Early Childhood Policy lweixler@tulane.edu

Community partnership is available to partners in the community from a variety of disciplines whose work focuses on young children. Community-affiliated partners must be nominated by LSU faculty. 

Institution Name Department Email
Louisiana Board of Regents Early Childhood Michelle.Demeulenaere@laregents.edu
Louisiana Policy Institute for Children Community Non-Profit lsonnier@policyinstitutela.org 
Louisiana Policy Institute for Children Community Non-Profit cweber@policyinstitutela.org 
Pointe Coupee Early Childhood Coalition Community Non-Profit executivedirector@pcearlystart.org
Ready Start EBR   Division of Early Childhood & Literacy abarnes1@ebrschools.org 
The Center for Literacy & Learning
Experience
Community Non-Profit  Pheriche@mycll.org 

External membership is available to faculty outside of Louisiana from a variety of disciplines whose work focuses on young children. External Affiliated members must be nominated by LSU faculty.

Name Institution Department Email
¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø of Houston-Clear Lake Education BeaversEA@UHCL.edu
¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø of Houston Clear Lake Education browna@uhcl.edu
Minnesota State ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø Education aaron.deris@mnsu.edu
Sean Durham Auburn ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø Education rsd0007@auburn.edu
Rutgers ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø National Institute for Early Education Research eharmeyer@nieer.org
Penn State Music dsi5035@psu.edu
Tulane ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø Psychology wjung@tulane.edu
Emily C. Marcinowski Marcinowski Behavioral Sciences   ecmarcinowski@gmail.com
Purdue ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø Human Development & Family Studies meganpurcell@purdue.edu
Julie Schneider ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø of California Los Angeles Neuroscience, Diversity & Learning julieschneider@g.ucla.edu
Penn State Music AMStanley@psu.edu
Marcella Terrusi ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø of Bologna  Life Quality Studies  marcellaterrusi@hotmail.com
Alicia Westbrook ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø of Southern Mississippi The Mississippi Early Childhood Inclusion Center alicia.westbrook@usm.edu
¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø of St. Augustine  College of Rehabilitative Sciences ameaux@usa.edu
Brittany Wittenberg Phoenix Children's Hospital Adaptive Care Team Program bmwitt@gmail.com
Michelle Brunson Northwestern State ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø Gallaspy Family College of Education and Human Development faziom@nsula.edu

Are you an early childhood researcher looking for community and collaboration?

Thank you for your interest in becoming an affiliated member of the Early Childhood Education Institute at Louisiana State ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø. The ECE Institute is an umbrella organization created to promote research and dissemination of recommended practices in early childhood care and education.

We hope you will consider joining us. If you are a researcher who is interested in being involved in the ECE Institute,  please send your CV to eceinstitute@lsu.edu

Are you a doctoral student looking for a research mentor?

We strive to offer collaborative opportunities for doctoral students by connecting them with highly-regarded researchers in their field. If you are a student who is interested, please reach out to eceinstitute@lsu.edu