About Roxy

PhD, Human Development & Family Studies
Minor: Children’s Educational Media
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Roxy received her PhD in the Human Development and Family Studies department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in December, 2022. During graduate school, she worked in the Cognitive Development & Media Lab under the advisement of Dr. Heather Kirkorian, with a focus on increasing the educational value of media for young children. Roxy specifically focused on the roles of teachers and parents as media mentors for their children.

Roxy currently is the Teaching & Research Coordinator at the UW Child Development Lab, where she plans and oversees all research activities conducted with the CDL’s preschool children, families, and teachers. She also teaches undergraduate courses, serves on the Human Development & Family Studies Undergraduate Program Committee, and collaborates with instructors across campus to offer hands-on, high-impact teaching experiences for students.

Outside of her roles at UW-Madison, Roxy has also actively participated in outreach and dissemination opportunities through the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association, PBS Wisconsin Education, and much more.

Roxy aspires to enhance the lives of young children, their families, and early childhood educators through her roles as a sound researcher, an inspiring instructor, a thorough disseminator, and a local collaborator.

VIEW ROXY'S FULL CV HERE

“We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say ‘It’s not my child, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond.

I consider those people my heroes.”

– Mr. Rogers

Research

Roxy spent her graduate career conducting research to 1. inform the creation of educationally valuable and developmentally appropriate content for children and 2. investigate the roles that parents and early childhood educators play in children’s learning from media. Her previous research contributions have focused on children’s books, television, videos, apps, and games – in the lab, in the home, and at school.

Dissemination

Roxy has shared her work to broadly with fellow researchers at both national and international conferences. She has also actively sought out opportunities to disseminate findings to parents and educators on how to select and use children’s media in everyday life as media mentors. Recently, this dissemination work was recognized and sponsored by the Spencer Foundation.

Collaboration

Roxy has collaborated locally with communities and organizations to actively bridge the gap between media research, production, and practice. She has delivered workshops to local librarians, teachers, and parents on media mentorship.

If you’d like to collaborate with Roxy on a future project, drop a line on her contact page.