Next Generation of Family Math Researchers Dissertation Fellowship
In 2023, the Center for Family Math established the Next Generation of Family Math Researchers Dissertation Fellowship. The fellowship supports early-career researchers as one way to build the Family Math field. Specifically, the fellowship (1) encourages the next generation of Family Math scholars in their pursuit of aligned academic interests, (2) generates new Family Math research aligned to the Family Math Research Agenda, and 3) generates and disseminates Family Math research products that are relevant, accessible, and actionable for practitioner and family audiences.
Fellows receive mentorship by the Center’s Research Consortium members as they complete their dissertation work. Each Fellow receives a stipend to support their research, prepares a research-to-practice brief based on their dissertation, and participates in other select applied activities, including presentations, advisory meetings, and professional learning.
2025 Fellows
Daniel Garcia, University of California, Irvine
Daniel Garcia is a third-year doctoral student in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine. His research centers on supporting early STEM learning by building on the strengths and funds of knowledge within Latine families. Using qualitative and co-design methods, Daniel partners with families and early educators to co-create culturally relevant, engaging STEM experiences. He holds a B.S. in Social Psychology from the University of California, San Diego, an M.A. in Psychological Science from California State University, Northridge, and an M.A. in Education from the University of California, Irvine. Daniel is the proud son of undocumented Mexican immigrants and a first-generation college student.
Francia Zelaya, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Francia Zelaya is a Ph.D. student in Mathematics Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research focuses on family engagement, mathematics assessment literacy, and culturally responsive education. As the lead researcher of Entre Padres, a community-based, participatory design study, Francia partners with Latina immigrant mothers to codesign family math workshops that empower parents to navigate the school system and support their children’s mathematics learning, particularly high-stakes assessments. She is also involved in Dr. Frances Harper’s work, collaborating with Black and Latinx families to reimagine mathematics learning through justice-centered approaches. Francia’s work aims to dismantle deficit narratives, promote systemic change, and foster educational equity by positioning parents as co-researchers, advocates, and leaders in their communities.
Patricia Fuentes Acevedo, University of California, Irvine
Patricia Fuentes Acevedo is a Chilean mathematics teacher educator and a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine. She earned a degree in Mathematics Teaching and a Master’s degree in Didactics of Mathematics from the Universidad de Concepción, Chile, as well as a Master’s degree in Education from the University of California, Irvine. Patricia is committed to transforming the ways mathematics is taught, experienced, and imagined, particularly in underserved communities in the US and globally. Her dissertation is a community-engaged research project with an elementary school that serves a large proportion of Latine families. Over three years of partnership, Patricia has led monthly bilingual co-design meetings with caregivers, teachers, and researchers. In this context, she employs a design-based implementation research (DBIR) approach and qualitative methods to study the redistribution of math epistemic authority, teacher learning, and cycles of co-design.
Julie Salazar, University of California, Irvine
Julie Salazar is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from California State University, Northridge. As a first-generation Latina scholar, Julie is committed to ensuring educational tools reflect and empower the strengths of minoritized communities. She co-designed a STEM-focused mobile app in collaboration with Latine families. Her research explores how Latina mothers envision technology as a tool for fostering family learning and how families engage in math dialogue while using the app. Julie also examines how mothers interact with the app as co-users and co-designers. Her work investigates how technology aligns with Latine families’ cultural values, learning goals, and STEM identities to inform more inclusive, culturally sustaining designs.
Yilin (Elaine) Liu, Boston College
Yilin (Elaine) Liu is a doctoral candidate in the Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology program at Boston College. Her research focuses on how caregiver–child interactions support children’s early math development, with an emphasis on embedding math learning opportunities into family routines. Her dissertation examines the unique role of early math skills compared to literacy in predicting long-term outcomes and explores how families engage in math during shared literacy activities at home and in community settings. Elaine is particularly interested in bridging research and practice to make early math learning more accessible, culturally responsive, and sustainable for families. Ultimately, she hopes her work will inform strategies that empower caregivers and educators to support children’s early math development through everyday interactions.
Paola Montúfar Soria, New York University
Paola Montúfar Soria (she/her/ella) is a doctoral candidate in Developmental Psychology at New York University, where she works with Dr. Gigliana Melzi in the Culture, Families, and Early Development (CFD) Lab. She holds a BA in Psychology with Honors from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Paola’s research focuses on using culturally grounded and strengths-based approaches to understand and support Latine families’ early STEM engagement. Her dissertation broadens traditional conceptions of family math by: (1) incorporating artesanías (i.e., cultural crafts) as meaningful math-related activities; (2) exploring multimodal math engagement through both talk and gesture; and (3) centering caregivers’ beliefs about the role of math in their children’s everyday lives. Through her work, she seeks to challenge prevailing assumptions about what early math learning looks like and its role in children’s development.
2023-2025 Inaugural Fellows
Vanessa Noemy Bermudez, University of California, Irvine
Vanessa Noemy Bermudez is a doctoral candidate at the University of California Irvine School of Education. She earned an M.A. in Experimental Psychology from San Jose State University and a B.S. in Psychology from Duke University. Her research aims to harness the funds of knowledge within Latine, immigrant, and low-income communities, to enhance family engagement and forge strong home-school connections that foster early STEM learning. Adopting community-based design research methods, she collaborates with families and teachers to co-create meaningful and playful environments that are grounded in Latine families’ cultural ways of knowing and aligned with early STEM learning goals. Combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies, she investigates the causal impacts of these programs on STEM learning and motivation outcomes, seeking to gain deeper insights into families’ experiences and inform future design and implementation cycles. As a first-generation college student of Mexican heritage, she is particularly dedicated to the mentorship of students, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds.
Research Brief: Matemáticas en Familia: Co-Designing Home Math Activities with Latine Families
Shirley Duong, University of Pittsburgh
Shirley Duong is a PhD candidate in the Cognitive Psychology program at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). She completed her BA in psychology with a minor in mathematics at the University of New Haven and her MS in psychology at Pitt. Her research interests include identifying qualitative aspects of the home learning environment (HLE) that relate to children’s math skills, exploring innovative methods to measure the HLE, and applying HLE research to support early education in her community. In addition, Shirley is a Data Analyst at Trying Together, a non-profit organization that supports high quality care and education for children in her county. In her spare time, she enjoys drawing, baking, and playing chess.
Fany Salazar, University of Arizona
Fany Salazar is a PhD candidate at the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies at the University of Arizona. She is interested in working and doing research with parents from Latinx communities. Her research focuses on parents’ participation and engagement in the mathematics education of their children. Also, she is interested in how parents as adult learners use their experiences to make sense of mathematics. Currently, she is working on a project with teachers, multilingual children in grades 2-5 from Latinx communities, and their parents.
Research Brief: Parental Engagement in Mathematics from the Perspective of Mexican American Mothers
Gillian Grose, University of Maryland, College Park
Gillian is a fourth-year doctoral student studying Human Development at the University of Maryland, College Park. She received her B.S. in Human Development from Cornell University. She studies how parents’ and children’s beliefs about math can impact children’s math learning. Overall, she is interested in intervention work that aims to make math more accessible. Her research focuses on how children can learn math through playful, informal learning activities.
LaTreese VeNaye Hall, Florida International University
LaTreese Hall is a doctoral candidate in Developmental Science at Florida International University under the mentorship of Dr. Shannon Pruden. She has completed a B.S. in Psychology, an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies, and an M.S. in Psychology. Hall’s research explores how family processes impact children’s number and spatial language input. Specifically, her dissertation examines (1) the extent to which parents’ social behaviors (e.g., praises and negations) and mental rotation skills are associated with the number and spatial language they produce with their children, and (2) whether mothers of children with behavioral challenges produce a higher quantity of math language after receiving an intervention shown to improve the family social context. Hall advocates for the inclusion of underrepresented populations in research and investigates her study questions with Hispanic and bilingual families. Hall hopes to extend her dissertation work to examine family processes, socioemotional development, and math achievement among parents and children nationally and internationally.
Research Brief: The Links Between Parental Social Behaviors and Math Talk with Young Children
Julie Joohyun Kim, Boston College
Julie Kim is a doctoral candidate in the Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology program at Boston College, where she works with Dr. Eric Dearing. Julie’s dissertation aims to examine a strengths-based approach in home-school collaboration to foster early math learning. Her dissertation lies at the intersection of her research interests in early math development and in translating research to practice in an applied setting (i.e., home, preschool classroom). By helping teachers recognize families as valuable partners, and by helping families recognize their strengths and ability to foster math in their daily routines and practices, she hopes her work will inform research and practice efforts to support children’s early math learning.
Research Brief: Home-School Collaboration to Support Children’s Early Math Learning
Linxi Lu, Boston College
Linxi Lu is a Ph.D. candidate in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology at Boston College. Her research interests revolve around understanding various factors that might impact family engagement and children’s early math development. She has conducted research in a variety of contexts, including low-income communities in rural & urban China and the United States. Her work has been published in journals such as Developmental Psychology and Education Sciences. Apart from her scholarly endeavors, she actively contributes to the field as a practitioner. She designs and implements culturally-adaptive family intervention and preschool programs in various settings. Moreover, she serves as a co-founder of Parent Matters: the Growing Star Program, a summer camp initiative aimed at promoting parent-child interactions. She also serves as an online lecturer, public speaker, and writer, sharing her expertise on parent-child interactions and family engagement via various Chinese platforms such as BRTV, JSTV, ZJTV, Tiktok, etc.
Qianru (Tiffany) Yang, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Qianru (Tiffany) Yang is a PhD candidate in the Human Development, Learning and Teaching program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research focuses on early STEM learning in the home environment, with a particular focus on the role of parent-child interaction in the development of early STEM skills. Tiffany is also interested in how culture influences parental STEM-related beliefs and practices, as well as children’s learning outcomes. Her dissertation project examines families of 4- and 5-year-olds in China and the United States to understand cultural similarities and differences in parental math beliefs and attitudes, parent-child math communications during play, and their relations to children’s early numerical and spatial skills.
Learn More
Fellows Briefs: Coming early 2025
Fellows Blogs: Inclusive Inquiry: Centering Families in Family Math Research
Meet the NAFSCE Team
The Center is proud to be a part of the National Association for Family, School and Community Engagement (NAFSCE), the first membership association focused solely on advancing family, school, and community engagement. Together, we are making family math an every day experience.
