Anthony Burrow, PhD
Dr. Anthony Burrow is co-director of PRYDE, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development, and director of the Purpose and Identity Processes Laboratory. He is also a Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research (BCTR) faculty affiliate. Anthony’s research focuses on topics related to youth purpose, identity processes, and race-related experiences encountered by ethnic minority adolescents and young adults. He studies the role of purpose in the lives of young people and how and to what extent a sense of purpose can promote positive adjustment outcomes.
Karl Pillemer, PhD
Dr. Karl Pillemer is co-director of PRYDE and the director of Cornell’s Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research. He is also the Hazel E. Reed Professor in the Department of Human Development and professor of gerontology in medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College. His research interests center on human development over the life course, with a special emphasis on family and social relationships in middle age and beyond. He has created and tested many intervention programs, particularly in long-term care and in active aging.
Elaine Wethington, PhD
Dr. Elaine Wethington is a co-investigator in PRYDE, co-director of Cornell’s Translational Research Institute for Pain in Later Life, and she is a professor in the Department of Human Development and the Department of Sociology at Cornell University. Dr. Wethington is a medical sociologist and her research interests include stress, protective mechanisms of social support, aging, and translational research methods.
Jane Mendle, PhD
Dr. Jane Mendle is a co-investigator in PRYDE, an assistant professor of human development in the College of Human Ecology (CHE), and director of the Adolescent Transition Lab. Jane is also a BCTR faculty affiliate. She joined the CHE faculty in Fall 2011, following three years as an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Oregon. Her research focuses on adolescence – primarily how different aspects of puberty lay the groundwork for future adjustment or maladjustment.
Andrew Turner, PhD
Dr. Andrew Turner is the state leader for the 4-H Youth Development Program. Turner began his tenure at Cornell in 2012 as an assistant director for Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE), after a 23-year career with CCE as an educator in 4-H Youth Development, natural resources and as executive director in Greene and Columbia Counties. As the state 4-H leader, Andy works with a team of seven specialist and support staff located in the BCTR and in close partnership with the director of Cooperative Extension in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Kristen Elmore, PhD
Kristen Elmore is a postdoctoral associate in PRYDE. She completed her doctoral training in Social Psychology and Social Work at the University of Michigan. Kristen’s research examines the self, identity processes, and motivation in the domains of health and education. Much of her work studies how social contextual factors shape adolescents’ identity development.
Rachel Sumner, PhD
Rachel Sumner is a postdoctoral associate in PRYDE. She received her BA in psychology from William Smith College, then completed her PhD in developmental psychology in Cornell’s College of Human Ecology. Rachel’s research explores topics related to purpose in life, identity, and diversity. As part of PRYDE, she is excited about collaborating with practitioners to conduct research that is rigorous and also relevant to real world positive youth development contexts.
Jennifer Agans, PhD
Dr. Jennifer Agans is PRYDE’s assistant director. Before coming to Cornell University, she received her PhD and MA in child study and human development from Tufts University and her BA in psychology from Macalester College. Dr. Agans’ research focuses on youth development within out-of-school time contexts, and her work with PRYDE builds on her interest in bridging youth research and practice.
Marie Cope, MPH, MSW
Marie Cope is a research support specialist in the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research (BCTR). Her background is in public health and social work, and she’s interested in health and well-being across the lifespan. She received her MPH and MSW from the University of Michigan, and her BA from Earlham College. She assists with research, evaluation, and dissemination efforts for PRYDE and the Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging.
Esther Kim, BS
Esther Kim is PRYDE’s program assistant. She received her BS in psychology with minors in law and society and creative writing from Cornell in May 2017. As an undergrad, Esther was a research assistant with the Behavioral Analysis of the Beginning Years Lab, helping with projects relating to early infant language acquisition in a social context. She also conducted independent research projects on female minority experiences in the public education system and the psycho-social impacts of sibling relationships as a research scholar under the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives. She is interested in positive youth development research and hopes to attend graduate school in the future.
4-H WORK TEAM
Heidi Feltz is the Lead 4-H program educator in Niagara County. She holds a Master’s of Professional Studies from Cornell University and is a permanently certified NYS Agriculture Teacher. Heidi has a broad range of experience with formal and informal youth development programming from being a Future Farmers of America (FFA) advisor to being part of a family operated agri-tourism business. She comes from a multi-generational 4-H family, as her grandparents, parents, and siblings have also been actively involved in 4-H for decades.
With 15 years of experience in youth development, Melanie Forstrom has worked with a varied cross section of youth and adults ranging from homeless teens in DC to overage, under-credited youth in NYC. She has been in her current role of 4-H Program Leader in Ulster County just over 5 years. In this role she has conducted 4-H practitioner inquiry studies about the subjectivity of 4-H Public Presentation Evaluators with the goal of making them more objective; recommended staffing ratios for county 4-H programming; and led initiatives to regionalize programs and work more efficiently across county, regional, and state lines. Melanie feels strongly about the need for academic and practitioner staff to work more closely together to meet community needs and plan and evaluate programs.
June Mead is the state project director for New York 4-H Youth CAN (Community Action Network), a federally funded afterschool program serving high need, at-risk youth in Albany and Buffalo; and state program manager for the 4-H National Mentoring Program, operating in New York City, and in Broome, Erie, Franklin, Suffolk, Tompkins, and Ulster Counties. June co-facilitates the Extended Learning Network of Broome and Tioga, a regional chapter of the NYS Network for Youth Success. Her work has been supported by Cornell Cooperative Extension, Ford Foundation, New York State Dept. of Education, National 4-H Council, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture – National Institute for Food and Agriculture, U. S. Dept. of Education, U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, and the United Way of Broome County.
Melissa C. Shroeder is the Youth and Family Development Program Director at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Schuyler County. Sheis interested in fostering positive youth development and the engaging in the practitioner side of research. In the past Melissa has participated in the Research Navigator Program, helped pilot the New York State PROSPER (PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience) project, and hosted a College of Human Ecology student intern as part of PROSPER. She serves as co-chair, with Jutta Dotterweich (Act for Youth), of the Risk and Thriving in Adolescence Program Work Team (PWT) and is a member of the New York State Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H Educators Association (NYSACCE4-HE).
Jessica Spence is the 4-H Team Coordinator at Wayne County Cornell Cooperative Extension. She is responsible for providing leadership for the coordination, development, and implementation of the 4-H Youth Development program, including training and supervision of educators and volunteers. Jessica is a member of the state-wide 4-H Diversity and Inclusivity Cohort, the State-Wide 4-H Action Group, the Risk and Thriving in Adolescence Program Work Team, and the Healthy Eating, Active Living Program Work Team.
Barb Stevens is the 4-H Issue Leader for Cornell Cooperative Extension Albany County. She has been a part of the staff there for more than 30 years and is currently working with the Master Gardener Program as well. Barb enjoys watching youth grow into productive young adults and helping people understand just how important youth are in our world today.
Megan Tifft’s career in the Cooperative Extension 4-H Program began shortly after she graduated from the University of Vermont (UVM). At age 21 she began her 4-H career in two counties in southern Vermont. After receiving her graduate degree from UVM, she moved across the country to accept a position as a 4-H agent in Colorado. She later moved back east to be closer to family. She has been the 4-H Youth, Family, and Community Development issue leader for Cornell Cooperative Extension in Tompkins County for 13 years. In 2016 she received her Doctorate in Education from St. John Fisher College.
PRYDE SCHOLARS
Vanessa Chicas is a junior Human Development major with a concentration in social and personality development and a minor in Latino Studies. Her future academic aspirations involve attending medical school with the hopes of going into pediatrics. Vanessa works with Dr. Elaine Wethington’s PRYDE theme project focusing on the use of social media by adolescents.
Saige Connor is a junior in the College of Human Ecology studying Human Development with concentrations in both education and global health. She is working on Dr. Elaine Wethington’s PRYDE research project “Productive Use of Social Media by Youth.”
Julia Lesnick is working under Professor Jane Mendle on the Expressive Writing Project. She is a junior in Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology where she majors in human development and minors in feminist, gender and sexuality studies (expected year of graduation 2018). Her specific research interests are on the underlying processes involved in child and adolescent trauma, and how better understanding these factors can translate into caring and effective real world therapies for this population and their communities. She hopes to pursue a career in academic research designing and evaluating evidence-based treatments and interventions for maltreated and high-risk youth.
Rosario Majano is junior majoring in Global and Public Health Sciences. As a PRYDE scholar, she is working under the mentorship of Professor Anthony Burrow in the Purpose and Identity Process Laboratory. Her interests lie in the public health implications associated with connecting to a sense of purpose through 4-H programs. She is interested in learning more about how research is transformed into practice and used to create positive outcomes for youth. After Cornell, she hopes to attend graduate school and continue research.
Emily Rosenthal is a junior with a major in Human Development. Her interests focus around child and adolescent psychopathology and how it is expressed, in addition to how the expression and prevalence changes over the course of youth and early adolescence. She is also interested in how knowledge of these problems can be applied to create effective interventions at a program or public policy level. She is working on the Expressive Writing Project with Professor Jane Mendle.
Greta Sloan is a junior majoring in Human Development and minoring in Global Health. As a PRYDE Scholar she is working with Professor Burrow in the Purpose and Identity Processes Laboratory. She is interested in psychological outcomes that result from program structures, with a main focus on strength-based approaches. She hopes to one day focus on designing programs to benefit kids and teens, with a main focus on agency and empowerment.
Monica Wassel is a junior in the Department of Nutritional Sciences. As a PRYDE Scholar she will be working on the Intergenerational Programs project with Dr. Karl Pillemer. She plans to attend medical school after graduating from Cornell.
