Who We Are
CDI Staff
Tricia Hanley
Director, Child Development Institute
Director, Graduate Program in Child Devlopment
BA, Columbia University. MSEd, MA, Sarah Lawrence College. Tricia came to CDI in 2018. She is a graduate of both the Art of Teaching and Child Development Masters Programs. Tricia was also a member of the Early Childhood Center faculty from 2007-2012. Prior to joining CDI, Tricia was a Twos teacher, administrator, supervisor, parent advisor, and regular attendee of CDI professional development programs and events. Tricia is personally and professionally dedicated to the goals and principles of CDI and is thrilled to be a part of the group of programs that have been so instrumental in forming her perspective as a teacher, parent, and person.
Joshua Leonard
Coordinator, Child Development InstituteBFA, Brooklyn College. MFA, Sarah Lawrence College. Before joining CDI in 2024, Joshua served as the Interim Assistant Director for The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College and the Administrative Assistant for ChatterboxNYC. Joshua has a background in educational administration from academic counseling to hosting program events. In addition to his administrative experience, Joshua is also a speculative fiction writer and instructor, and he formerly worked in the fashion industry.
CDI Advisory Group
The CDI Advisory Group is a collaborative group made up of faculty, staff and alum who meet regularly. Together, they design and plan the research, programming, and community outreach projects produced by CDI.
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BA, Bard College. MSEd, Sarah Lawrence College. Director, Art of Teaching Program, 2023-present. Former 2nd/3rd grade and 4th/5th grade teacher, The Ella Baker School (a New York City public school). Former infant and 3-5-year-olds teacher, Basic Trust Childcare Center. Leader of teacher inquiry groups, professional development workshops and conference presentations for teachers, students of education and education scholars in a wide variety of settings, including the Art of Teaching Saturday Seminars. Prospect Archives Practitioner Fellow, 2013. Professional interests include literacy, identity and equity in early childhood education, observation and description of children and their work, emergent curriculum, and self-chosen, open-ended making and doing in the classroom.
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BA, SUNY Buffalo. MSEd, Bank Street College of Education. Director, Sarah Lawrence College Early Childhood Center, 2003-present. Former early childhood teacher. Former adjunct professor, Westchester Community College. Workshop leader at seminars and conferences on early childhood education. Special areas of interest include social justice issues in the early childhood classroom and creating aesthetic learning environments for young children.
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BA, University of Vermont. MSEd, Hunter College. Assistant Director, Art of Teaching Program, 2023-present. Emily has taught in early childhood classrooms in rural, suburban and urban settings before transitioning to work at a Title 1 public school teaching grades Kindergarten through second grade in Harlem. Most recently, she has worked as a special education teacher in a second grade integrated co-teaching classroom in a Westchester public school. Emily has presented on Emotionally Responsive Practices, Trauma Informed Teaching and Project-based learning. She was a Prospect Archives Practitioner Fellow in 2019. Emily is an adjunct faculty member at Westchester Community College in the Early Childhood Program. Emily is passionate about creating inclusive class communities that foster play, creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking. She believes that schools should be a place to ignite curiosity and use authentic experiences to construct knowledge.
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BA, Knox College. MA, PhD, Cornell University. Psychology (2007-present) and the Art of Teaching (2010-present) faculty. She is a developmental and cultural psychologist with special interests in sustainable, community based participatory action research, cultural-ecological approaches to infant and child development, children at risk (children in poverty, HIV/AIDS orphans, children in institutionalized care), health and cognitive development, development in African contexts, and the impact of the physical environment on child development. Author of articles and book chapters on African and American infants' language learning, categorization and face processing, the built environment and physical and mental health, and relationships between the quality of southern African orphan care contexts and child development and health.
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BA Sarah Lawrence College. MA, PhD, Teachers College Columbia University. Psychology Faculty Emeritus (1985-2022). Former Director of the Child Development Graduate Program. She is a developmental psychologist with special interest in cultural psychology, language development, and theories of development. Author and researcher on Dewey's vision of development, and metaphoric thinking in children.
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BA, Middlebury College. MA, Sarah Lawrence College. MSW, New York University. PhD, Fielding Graduate University. Child Development Clinical Faculty (2017-present) and Child Development Graduate Program Clinical Faculty Advisor (2023-present). Developmental psychologist and clinical social worker. Areas of speciality and interest in autism and developmental disorders, infancy and early childhood mental health, child-centered play therapy, humor development, therapeutic work with parents, and sensory processing and integration in young children.
CDI Professional Advisory Board
The Professional Advisory Board is made up of a group of individuals who have a professional and personal interest in children and families, child development and education. They provide professional input on the work CDI is doing. Many members of the PAB are alums of SLC and have a strong interest in staying connected to SLC and CDI.-
- Abigail Canfield, Chairperson, Writer
- Miriam Arond, Director, The Good Housekeeping Research Institute; Former Editor-in-Chief of Child magazine
- Camille Banks-Lee, Teacher, Writer and Co-founder of Daughters of the Nile; Former Executive Director, Mount Vernon Youth Bureau
- Indhira Blackwood, Former Director, Child Development Institute, Sarah Lawrence College
- Frances Clayton, Director, ANDRUS Early Learning Center (AELC)
- William Crain, Professor of Psychology, The City College of the City University of NY
- LaRuth Gray, Scholar-in-Residence, New York University
- Mara Gross, Director, Community Partnerships & Service Learning, Sarah Lawrence College
- Roger Hart, Co-Director, Children's Environments Research Group, City University of New York Graduate Center
- Mary Hebron, Professor Emerita, Sarah Lawrence College
- Monika Heimbold, Social Worker
- Cassandra Hyacinthe, EdD, Education Consultant, CEO, HY-Ed Group, LLC
- Carol Hillman, Early Childhood Educator and Writer
- Barbara Holland, President, Board of Directors, The Lois Bronz Children’s Center (White Plains, NY); Former member, White Plains Board of Education
- Marjorie Miller, Social Worker
- Debi Riessen, Lead Teacher, Sarah Lawrence College Early Childhood Center
- Carol Robinson, Director for Early Childhood Educational Programs, Family Services of Westchester
In Memory of CDI's Founders
Tributes from the Sarah Lawrence Community