Human Development and Psychology (HDP) Student Directory
The Division of HDP is committed to understanding individual differences and bettering the lives of children, adolescents, and their families from under-served and under-resourced communities, and those who are under-represented in the scientific literature.
Doctoral Student Directory Request FormYear Entered Program: 2024 – 2025
Year Entered Program
2024
Student Bio
Flora Ziprin is a PhD student in the Human Development and Psychology division. Her work sits at the intersection of early childhood education research and policy, with a focus on educator well-being, social-emotional development, and the management of challenging behaviors. She is particularly interested in how workforce policies influence teacher experiences, classroom practices, and children’s access to high-quality, culturally responsive and supportive early learning environments. With seven years of experience as an early childhood teacher at UCLA, Flora approaches her work with a deep understanding of the challenges educators face and is committed to conducting research that improves the experiences of both educators and children alike.
Teaching and Research Interests
- Early Childhood Education Policy
- Workforce Well-Being
- Challenging Behaviors
- School Discipline Policies
Awards and Honors
- National Early Care and Education Workforce Center, Integrated Research and Policy Fellow (2025-2026)
Education
- B.A. (Psychology), University of California, Los Angeles
- M.A. (Education), University of California, Los Angeles
Advisor
Year Entered Program
2023
Student Bio
JULIE RINKER is a doctoral student in Special Education in the Cal State LA/ UCLA Joint Doctoral Program. Her research interests include literacy and dyslexia interventions for secondary and post-secondary populations, human rights curriculum, and coaching and mentoring of teachers as they become increasingly specialized as literacy instructors.
Specialization
- Special Education
Teaching and Research Interests
- Dyslexia
- Adolescents and Adults
- Human Rights Education
Education
- M. Ed. and Learning Therapy Specialization at Southern Methodist University
- B.A. in Political Science at Wheaton College, IL
Advisor
Year Entered Program: 2023 – 2024
Year Entered Program
2023
Student Bio
Gabriella is a doctoral student at UCLA in the department of Human Development and Psychology as a Cota-Robles Fellow. Her research focuses on Early Childhood Education policy, workforce development, and professional development. Prior to her time at UCLA, Gabriella earned a BA in Child and Adolescent Development and a Master’s in Early Childhood Education from San Francisco State University. She has worked in Higher Education and Early Childhood Education for the past decade.
Specialization
- Early Childhood Education
Awards, Honors, and Fellowships
- Cota-Robles Fellow
Advisor
hilarywu@ucla.edu | CV | Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter
Year Entered Program
2023
Student Bio
With a decade of professional experience, Hilary’s journey has encompassed roles as a behavior respite provider, behavior specialist, ESL teacher, and a K-5 special education teacher; primarily with autistic youth. She has also held teaching assistant positions in teacher preparation courses within the university setting. Hilary’s research interests are centered on autism and co-occurring mental health conditions, especially in culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) young adults who engage in masking/camouflaging behaviors. Hilary is also committed to exploring CLD teacher-family partnerships and their crucial role in the well-being and development of autistic individuals, as well as teacher-student relationships and the role of the double empathy phenomenon.
Teaching and Research Interests
- Camouflaging/masking in autistic young adults
- Autism & co-occurring mental health conditions
- Teacher-family partnerships
- Teacher-student relationships and the double empathy phenomenon
Awards, Honors, and Fellowships
- 2023 Louise Tyler Scholarship
Education
- Master of Arts, Autism Spectrum Disorders, CSULA
- Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, Cal Poly Pomona
Advisor
imtorres24@g.ucla.edu | LinkedIn | CV
Year Entered Program
2023
Teaching and Research Interests
- Multilingualism/ Bilingualism
- Language Brokering
- Early Childhood Development
Education
- M.A. (Child Development), CSULA
- B.A. (Child Development), CSULA
Advisor
itielbarrera15@g.ucla.edu | LinkedIn
Year Entered Program
2023
Specialization
- Special Education
Teaching and Research Interests
- Early Childhood Special Education
- Autism
- Diversifying the Special Education Teacher Workforce
Education
- Master of Science in Early Childhood Special Education, California State University, Fullerton (2021)
- Early Childhood Special Education Teaching Credential, California State University, Fullerton (2019)
- Bachelor of Arts in Human Development, California State University, Long Beach (2015)
Advisor
Year Entered Program
2023
Teaching and Research Interests
- Executive Function/Cognitive Control
- ADHD
- Anxiety experiences in students with mathematics learning disabilities
- Teacher knowledge and perception
Education
- M.S. Special Education, University of Kansas, 2020
Research Centers
- Cog Lab
- UC/CSU Collaborative for Neurodiversity and Learning
Advisor
Year Entered Program: 2022 – 2023
Year Entered Program
2022
Student Bio
Dena Gohari, B.A., is a first year PhD student and has been working with children and young people on the autism spectrum since she was a junior in high school. She received her bachelor’s degree in Intensive Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz and during her gap year worked full-time as an applied behavioral interventionist at The Bay School Santa Cruz, a branch of The May Institute. Dena holds a range of experiences managing challenging behavior in clinical settings for nonverbal children on the spectrum. Dena’s research interests primarily include intersectional identities within the autism spectrum, particularly the perspectives of individuals with co-occurring gender dysphoria and autism spectrum disorder. Alongside classes, Dena currently juggles a number of duties in Lord Lab, ranging from coding longitudinal data to being the lead investigator on a project about aggression in autism, to administering play-based assessments for young children.
Teaching and Research Interests
- Aggression in autism
- LGBTQIA+ experiences in autism
- Loneliness experiences in autism
Awards, Honors, and Fellowships
- UCLA University Fellowship- 2022-2023
Education
- Bachelor of Arts- Intensive Psychology- UC Santa Cruz, 2021
Publications
- Strang, J. F., Powers, M. D., Knauss, M., Sibarium, E., Leibowitz, S. F., Kenworthy, L., Sadikova, E., Wyss, S., Willing, L., Caplan, R., Pervez, N., Nowak, J., Gohari, D., Gomez-Lobo, V., Call, D., & Anthony, L. G. (2018). “They thought it was an obsession”: Trajectories and perspectives of autistic transgender and gender-diverse adolescents. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(12), 4039–4055. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3723-6
- Strang, J. F., Knauss, M., van der Miesen, A., McGuire, J. K., Kenworthy, L., Caplan, R., Freeman, A., Sadikova, E., Zaks, Z., Pervez, N., Balleur, A., Rowlands, D. W., Sibarium, E., Willing, L., McCool, M. A., Ehrbar, R. D., Wyss, S. E., Wimms, H., Tobing, J., Thomas, J., Austen, J., Pine, E., Gohari, D., … Anthony, L. G. (2020). A clinical program for transgender and gender-diverse neurodiverse/autistic adolescents developed through community-based participatory design. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 50(6), 730–745. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2020.1731817
Research Centers
- UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior
Advisor
wyifei@g.ucla.edu | Website | LinkedIn
Year Entered Program
2022
Student Bio
Phoebe is a PhD student in the Department of Education, University of California, Los Angeles, supervised by Dr. Alison Bailey. She is a member of the Language and Literacy Research Group. In her spare time, she likes traveling around the world, reading, playing tennis, and gardening on her five-square-foot balcony. Phoebe uses her legal name Yifei Wang when publishing.
Teaching and Research Interests
- Bilingualism
- Translanguaging
- Second Language Acquisition
Education
- M.S.Ed in Learning Sciences and Technologies, UPenn GSE
- B.Econ. in Finance, Beijing Foreign Studies University
Advisor
Year Entered Program: 2021 – 2022
Year Entered Program: 2020 – 2021
Year Entered Program
2020
Student Bio
Zoe’s research journey centers on exploring the impact of educational factors on children’s self-regulation skills. These factors encompass teachers, classrooms, learning activities, and curriculum. Her study population includes neurodiverse and typically developing students across early childhood and elementary school stages, as well as children from diverse cultural backgrounds. Self-regulation, covering cognitive, emotional, and social aspects, is at the core of her investigations. Zoe’s research is holistic, drawing from qualitative, quantitative, behavioral, and neuroimaging methodologies. She is dedicated to conducting interdisciplinary and translational research.
Education
- Ed.M. (Human Development and Psychology), Harvard University
- B.S. (Childhood and Special Education; Psychology), New York University
Publications
- Mao, X. Z. & Grammer, J. G. (in preparation). “Paying attention gets twice the result with half the effort”: Teacher’s perception of children’s attention in Chinese kindergarten classrooms.
- Jones, S. M., Brush, K., Ramirez, T., Mao, X. Z., Marenus, M., Wettje, S., Finney, K., Raisch, N., Podoloff, N., Kahn, J., Barnes, S., Stickle, L., Brion-Meisels, G., McIntyre, J., Cuartas, J., & Bailey, R. (2021). Navigating social and emotional learning from the inside out; Looking inside and across 33 leading SEL programs: A practical resource for schools and OST providers (revised and expanded 2nd edition; preschool and elementary school focus). New York, NY: Wallace Foundation.
Advisor
Year Entered Program: 2019 – 2020
Year Entered Program: 2018 – 2019
Contact Us
Division Head
Alison Bailey
abailey@gseis.ucla.edu
(310) 825-1731
Division Administrative Assistant
(310) 825-9260
Division Graduate Advisor
Kim Mattheussens
mattheussens@gseis.ucla.edu
(310) 825-0830
Student Ambassadors
Lauren Kinnard
Ingrid Tien
Maira Tafolla
Desiree Tanimura
hdpstudentreps@gmail.com