UNCG Department of Human Development and Family Studies

Celebrating two of our May 2026 graduates, A'Niyah Choice and Dr. Yu Chen, both mentored by Dr. Esther Leerkes. A'Niyah earned her MS in HDFS and will begin a position as a Family Resource Partner at Family Solutions, Greensboro. Yu, the HDFS Outstanding PhD Graduate, just accepted a Postdoctoral Fellow position at the Yale Child Study Center to work with Dr. Helena Rutherford. Congratulations A'Niyah and Dr. Chen!

HDFS@UNCG proud!

Congratulations to Dr. Jocelyn R Smith Lee on being awarded the 2026 UNCG School of Health and Human Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award!

See the link below to read about Dr. Smith Lee's impactful approaches to creating inclusive and stimulating classroom environments for students.

HHS announces faculty and staff awards | School of Health and Human Sciences The School of Health and Human Sciences announces the winners of our 2025-26 faculty and staff awards.

Last week the HDFS Graduate Student Colloquium Committee hosted Dr. Shourya Negi, the 2025 Vira Kivett Publication Award recipient, who presented her award winning publication “Indirect Pathways from Sociodemographic Risk to Mothers’ Supportive Emotion Socialization via Psychological Distress and Social Cognition” published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-024-02969-x).

Dr. Negi, HDFS@UNCG ’25 PhD Alum, is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Thrive Center for Children, Families, and Communities in the Georgetown University School of Medicine.

HDFS@UNCG proud!

HDFS PhD Student Morgan Gilmer has been named an MDRC Gueron Scholar! The Gueron Scholars Program offers paid internships and doctoral fellowships to introduce students to the field of education and social policy research. As a Gueron Scholar, Morgan will spend their summer in NYC working at MDRC as their Evidence-to-Practice Intern. Congratulations Morgan!

HDFS@UNCG Proud!

MDRC Welcomes Seven Summer Gueron Scholars | MDRC This summer, MDRC is pleased to welcome four undergraduate interns, one master’s-level Evidence-to-Practice intern, and two doctoral fellows in the Gueron Scholars Program. The Gueron Scholars Program (GSP), which runs this year from June 8 to July 31, offers paid internships and doctoral fellowsh...

Congratulations to HDFS@UNCG PhD student A'Niyah Choice on the successful defense of her thesis, "Exploring the moderating role of child temperament, age, and s*x on the association between black mothers' suppressive emotion socialization and child behavior problems." A'Niyah is pictured with committee members Drs. Jocelyn Smith Lee and Andy Supple and her advisor, Dr. Esther Leerkes.

HDFS@UNCG proud!

Help us celebrate HDFS@UNCG PhD student Tiquan Goode who was recognized as a MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences) "40 Under 40" Honoree at the MANRRS 40th Annual Training Conference & Career Expo in Dallas, Texas last week! As shared by MANRRS, honorees are leaders that "represent vision, resilience, and the power of purpose-driven impact. Together, all 40 recipients embody what it means to lead with excellence and create lasting change across agriculture, STEM, and natural resources."

Congratulations Tiquan! We are HDFS@UNCG proud!

Help us celebrate HDFS@UNCG PhD student Favour Omondi who has been selected to participate in the 2026 Graduate Student Research Workshop on Poverty and Economic Mobility, organized by the Center on Race and Wealth (CRW) at Howard University and the Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Held in May at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and funded by DHHS as part of the IRP, this workshop offers intensive training to expand attendees' skills, knowledge, and resources needed to prepare an effective dissertation proposal centered on policy-relevant, actionable research that will inform human services and economic mobility policies. Selected workshop participants are also eligible to receive an award to support their dissertation research.

Congratulations, Favour! HDFS@UNCG proud!

Please join us in congratulating Morgan Gilmer on the successful defense of their master's thesis, titled “Public Place, Neighborhood Cohesion, and Adolescent Well-being by Rurality.” Special thanks to Chair, Dr. Kierra Sattler, and committee members Drs. Esther Leerkes and Danielle Crosby.

HDFS@UNCG proud!

We have so much to celebrate! First up, congratulations to A'Niyah Choice, Hateya Foxx, and Maha Issa who presented their research at UNCG's 14th Annual Graduate Research and Creativity Showcase: “Scholarship That Matters.” A special shout out to Hateya Foxx who was a 2026 Showcase Winner for the Social Sciences, Education, and Business section!

HDFS@UNCG proud!

Last week the HDFS Graduate Student Colloquium Committee hosted Dr. Indya Walker, the 2024 Vira Kivett Publication Award recipient, who presented her award winning publication “‘Resilience Looks Like Me’: Community Stakeholder Perspectives on Resilience in Black Boys and Young Men Exposed to Community Violence.'” Part of a 2024 special issue on “Rethinking Resilience and Post-traumatic Growth: The Promise of Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Understanding Adaptive Responses to Adversity” in the American Psychologist (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39531709/).

Dr. Walker, HDFS@UNCG ’25 PhD Alum and a ‘23 Harvard University Injury Control Research Center (HICRC) Fellow (funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and affiliated with Harvard's T. H. Chan School of Public Health), is a Visiting Assistant Professor in HDFS@UNCG.

HDFS@UNCG proud!