Our team of leading researchers and staff are working collaboratively with teachers, state agencies and organizations to improve long-term outcomes for children, families and communities.
If you're interested in joining our growing team, send us a letter of interest and your CV.
Matt Irvin, Director of USC's Child Development Research Center, is an Assistant Professor in Educational Psychology and Research in the Department of Educational and Developmental Science at the College of Education. His research focuses on the academic, social, and behavioral development of adolescents from rural communities. This includes students' risk and resilience, motivation and engagement, learning in online courses, youth with disabilities, and peer relations.
Vasanthi Rao is the assistant director at the USC Child Development Research Center. Her current work with the South Carolina Child Care Resource & Referral Network involves analyses of large scale administrative databases related to early childhood in the state. Her past and present research interests include assessment, special education, measurement, comparative international education and big data.
Heather Googe is a Research Associate at the Yvonne & Schuyler Moore Child Development Research Center at USC and Director of the South Carolina Child Care Inclusion Collaborative. She has more than 15 years experience in early childhood special education, and holds a Ph.D. in Special Education from the USC College of Education.
Kerri Kannengieser is the Program Coordinator for South Carolina Partnerships for Inclusion. She holds an M.Ed. in Special Education and has 15 years of experience in the field.
Carrie Trivedi is the Program Coordinator for the South Carolina Child Care Inclusion Collaborative. Previously, Carrie served as an Inclusion Specialist, providing assistance and support to child care providers across the state of South Carolina. Carrie received her Bachelors in Experimental Psychology and Masters of Arts in Teaching in Early Childhood Education from the University of South Carolina.
Christine DiStefano is a Professor in the Educational and Developmental Science department at the USC College of Education. Her research interests include structural equation modeling, survey design and latent class clustering/cluster analysis. She is also involved with the application of advanced statistics and measurement methods to issues related to school psychology.
Jan Yow is an Associate Professor in the Instruction and Teacher Education department at the USC College of Education. Her research and teaching focus on mathematics teacher education and leadership. She views teacher education as a process that begins with pre-service teachers and continues throughout a teacher's career. Her research investigates how teachers develop as teacher leaders in mathematics education.
Ali S. Brian is an Assistant Professor of Physical Education at the USC College of Education. Her research focuses on fundamental motor skill competence in disadvantaged, young children, including interventions that change motor competence in historically developmentally delayed children, and exploring the relationship between motor competence, perceived motor competence and physical activity within the context of preventing childhood obesity.
Ryan Carlson is an Assistant Professor in Counselor Education in the Department of Educational and Developmental Science at the USC College of Education and a licensed mental health counselor. He has worked in private practice and community mental health. He is published in the areas of outcomes for low-income couples and individuals who received relationship education; efficacious recruitment/retention of low-income participants into research; and intimate partner violence typologies & implications for counseling.
Fred Greer is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational and Developmental Science at the USC College of Education. His expertise and research involves early childhood assessment, social-emotional behavior assessment, and early intervention.
Bridget Miller is an Assistant Professor in science education in the Instruction and Teacher Education department at the USC College of Education. Her research investigates the integration of commercial technologies such as tablet computers and their use in the STEM classroom to support instructional objectives in authentic and meaningful ways.
David Stodden is a Professor in the Department of Educational and Developmental Science at the College of Education. His research agenda focuses on promoting the acquisition and development of fundamental motor skills and the association of motor skill competence with physical activity, health-related physical fitness, perceived competence and obesity across the lifespan.
Kate Ascetta is an assistant professor of Early Childhood Special Education in the Department of Educational and Developmental Science. Her research interests include the development and assessment of effective instructional practices, specifically online, that promotes professional growth in teachers and leads to increased language and communication skills in young children. Ascetta also had an interest in developing equitable education practices aimed to close the opportunity to gap experienced by some young children.
Robbie Ross investigates factors that influence the link between cognitive control skills and learning among young children, including peer effects, teaching practices, and children’s self-perceptions of skill. Her research is also focused on discovering the ways in which understanding these factors might shape how educators can best support the development of cognitive control skills in the classroom.
Strompolis is Director of Research and Evaluation at the Children's Trust of South Carolina. She also serves as the leader for KIDS COUNT South Carolina, collecting and sharing data that informs decisions on child well-being. Her advocacy and policy work has been published in multiple professional publications and outlets, and she is chair of the national policy committee of the Society for Community Research and Action, Division 27 of the American Psychological Association.
Katie Wolfe is an Assistant Professor of Special Education in the Department of Educational and Developmental Science at the USC College of Education. Her research includes the development and implementation of interventions to promote language and communication skills in young children with autism, the synthesis of single-subject research to identify empirically-supported treatments, and the use of technology in training individuals to analyze single-subject data.
Megan Irwin is a postdoctoral fellow at the Yvonne & Schuyler Moore Child Development Research Center at USC. She received her Ph.D. in Kinesiology with a specialization in Motor Behavior from Auburn University. Her research focuses on improving motor skill competency and increasing physical activity in children and youth with and without disabilities.
