Background Dr. Jean S. Coffey Ph.D., APRN, CPNP, FAAN is a Clinical Professor in the UConn School of Nursing and has worked in the clinical setting for over 40 years

Background Preeti Sandhu PsyD, is a pediatric psychologist in the division of Pain and Palliative Medicine at Connecticut Children’s Hospital. Her main research interest is in chronic pediatric pain management and she has past experience in providing education on the utilization of trauma-based therapy.

Background Ran Xu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences and is interested in using statistics to address various social science problems. After earning his bachelor’s degree in mathematics, Dr. Xu became interested in how math and statistics can be applied to model human behavior and improve public outcomes.

Background Marlene Schwartz is Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences. She studies how food policy can be used to improve the nutrition environment, especially for children.

Our profile of Deborah Cornman was originally written in 2018. In celebration of her 2022 retirement we have added the final section, Future Plans.

Background Jennifer McGarry is Professor in and Head of the Department of Educational Leadership at UConn’s Neag School of Education. She has been an athlete and coach and has studied sport throughout her professional career

Background Alice Forrester is the Chief Executive Officer of Clifford Beers Clinic in New Haven, CT. She graduated with a BA in Art History and was a performance artist in the East Village of New York City before her interest in drama and group work led her to get a Masters Degree in Drama Therapy

Background Kathryn Libal is an anthropologist who has a joint appointment between the UConn School of Social Work and Human Rights Institute (HRI) and directs HRI. Her early love for learning language and travel led her to anthropology

Background Lindsay DiStefano is the Athletic Training Program Director and an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at UConn. With a background in athletic training and sports medicine and an appreciation of working with children, DiStefano found that “working to prevent sport-related injury in a youth athlete population was a natural fit.”

Background Lisa Sanetti is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology within the Neag School of Education. Her primary area of research relates to implementation science, specifically how interventions are implemented in schools

Background Kerri Raissian is an Assistant Professor in the UConn Department of Public Policy who studies policies that relate to kids and the family. She has a particular interest in policies designed to reduce family violence, either between parents/adults or directed towards children

Our profile of Carol Polifroni was originally written in 2017. In celebration of her 2022 retirement we have added the final section, Future Plans.