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Team

Director

Nonie K. Lesaux

Director
Juliana W. and William Foss Thompson Professor of Education and Society

Nonie K. Lesaux is the Juliana W. and William Foss Thompson Professor of Education and Society at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  She leads a research program that focuses on promoting the language and literacy skills of today’s children and youth from diverse linguistic, cultural and economic backgrounds.

Faculty Profile

Research Staff

Julie Russ Harris

Julie Russ Harris manages a diverse portfolio of initiatives and projects guided by the goal of increasing the quality of culturally diverse children’s learning environments.  Most recently, her work has focused on the development of literacy curricula and interventions, the design and implementation of innovative professional development programs and materials for early educators, and project management for the the study of Cognitive, Social-Emotional, and Reading Development. 

julie_harris@gse.harvard.edu

Robin Kane

Robin Kane leads program implementation for the group’s school- and center-based initiatives. A former early childhood educator and director, Robin founded a child development center in 1991, where she taught children and mentored teachers for over 23 years, and remains an active member of that community today.

robin_kane@gse.harvard.edu

Joan Kelley

Joan Kelley has been part of the Language Diversity and Literacy Development Research Group at HGSE for a decade. With expertise in applying research findings to instructional decisions, her work includes curriculum development, teacher professional development, and workshops to educators and parents across the country outlining how to build language and pre-reading skills from the earliest years.

joangkelley@gmail.com

Doctoral Students

Gladys Aguilar

Gladys Aguilar is a PhD student in the Human Development, Teaching and Learning concentration. Her research focus involves Latino children’s first and second language acquisition and its relation to early literacy.

gaguilar@g.harvard.edu

Sonia Alves

Sonia Alves is a doctoral student in the Human Development and Education concentration at HGSE. Prior to coming to HGSE, Sonia served as a clinical research coordinator for the Stress and Development Laboratory at Boston Children’s Hospital.

soa934@mail.harvard.edu

Rebecca Lebowitz

Rebecca Lebowitz is a doctoral student in the Human Development and Education concentration at HGSE. Prior to coming to HGSE, Rebecca taught third grade and special education at a bilingual school in Washington, DC.

rbl113@mail.harvard.edu

Kristia Wantchekon

Kristia Wantchekon is a second year doctoral student in the Human Development, Learning and Teaching concentration. Prior to beginning her doctoral work at Harvard, Kristia taught 4th and 5th grade English in New Orleans, Louisiana.

kwantchekon@g.harvard.edu