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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| LSU | Communication Sciences & Disorders | ehaebig1@lsu.edu | |
| 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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.