Congratulations to CSC alumni Alex Busuito, Ph.D., and Kizzann Ashana “Shana” Ratcliff, Ph.D., for being named Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) 2022-2023 U.S. Policy Fellows

The CSC congratulates Alex Busuito and Kizzann Ashana “Shana” Ratclilff for being named SRCD 2022-2023 U.S. Policy Fellows. “The SRCD U.S. Policy Fellowship Programs include placement opportunities in federal congressional offices as well as federal and state executive branch agencies. The purpose of the fellowship programs is to provide researchers with immersive opportunities to learn about policy development, implementation, and evaluation, and to use their research skills in child development to inform public policy at the federal or state level.”

Alex Busuito, Ph.D., Center for Perinatal and Early Childhood Health, Rhode Island Department of Health was named a 2022-2023 SRCD State Policy Fellow. Alex completed their dissertation research and their clinical internship at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University and graduated from Penn State in summer 2021. As a graduate student in Penn State’s Child Clinical Psychology PhD program, Alex was the recipient of the 2018 CSC Strumpf Scholar Award, an award that recognizes outstanding performance and excellence in graduate studies. Their primary research interest involved identifying specific self-regulatory mechanisms that perpetuate the intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment. Their mentors were Dr. Ginger Moore and Dr. Erika Lunkenheimer.

Kizzann Ashana “Shana” Ratcliff, Ph.D., SRCD Federal Executive Branch Fellow in the Office of Head Start in the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was named a SRCD Federal Executive Branch Policy Fellow. Shana completed her clinical internship at West Virginia University Medicine and post-doctoral training at Children’s National Hospital. While completing her doctorate in the Penn State Child Clinical Psychology program, she was the recipient of the CSC’s 2020 Irene E. Harms Graduate Scholarship Award in recognition of her outstanding academic potential in translational science. As a doctoral student, her primary research interest was in how early childhood factors, such as parent-child communication and child cognition, influence children’s emotional competence. Her mentor was Dr. Pamela Cole.

Congratulations, Dr. Busuito and Dr. Ratcliff! You can view the full SRCD announcement here.