This award recognizes the graduate student who has best combined high academic achievement with leadership in University or other public activities. This award is open to any current graduate student who has completed a minimum of one full year of graduate studies at Penn State.

Anna, a Developmental Psychology graduate student (advisor: Dr. Kristin Buss) and former PACT Graduate Administrative Assistant, received this award for her work with the BRIDGE Diversity Alliance, Graduate Alliance for Diversity and Inclusion in the College of the Liberal Arts, and Parents And Children Together.

Congratulations, Anna!

On December 10, 2020, PACT held a drive thru lunch to thank PACT Community Advisory Board members. The event was held safely and socially distanced outside for all to enjoy. To view photos from the event, please click here.

The Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) recently released a brief by Anna Gassman-Pines, Ph.D. and Lisa A. Gennetian, Ph.D. on the need for renewal and reinstatement of economic supports in the face of COVID-19. Click here to read the full story.

Parental depression and anxiety can have profound effects on children. For the first time, Penn State researchers demonstrated that stress biology relates to depressive and anxiety symptoms differently for mothers versus fathers, and that parents’ profiles of stress biology and symptoms can predict their preschoolers’ emotional and behavioral problems. To read the full article, click here.

Research by Winnie Adebayo, a PACT Penn State University Park Researcher, and colleagues was recently featured by Penn State News. View the full article here.

The You Rock! Award was created as a way to recognize and honor unusual dedication and outstanding contributions by College of the Liberal Arts staff members. Congratulations, Carmen! You can view the announcement here.

Congratulations to Dr. Sunhye Bai, Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, on being awarded the Karl R. Fink and Diane Wendle Fink Early Career Professorship for the Study of Families. This professorship is a three-year, rotating, endowed professorship that is awarded to early-career faculty conducting innovative family science research in Penn State’s College of Health and Human Development.

Dr. Bai’s research broadly focuses on adolescent development in the context of daily family and school life. Her work integrates human development, family studies, and clinical and health research. It relies heavily on naturalistic measures of youth and family functioning, including daily diaries, passive audio/videorecordings, and actigraphy. She hopes to better identify innovative strategies to enhance parent-child interactions and increase family strengths to promote health in adolescents.

Congratulations, Dr. Bai!

The Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) recently released a new series of briefs entitled Addressing inequities in education during the COVID-19 pandemic: How education policy and schools can support historically and currently marginalized children and youth. The series contains five briefs, each two pages in length. For more information and to access the briefs, please click here and scroll down.

In this post, I will discuss the complex issue of substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic with a specific emphasis on the likely negative impacts on the family unit. I also offer recommendations to help support individuals and families. View the complete article here.

Discussions centered on the importance of partnerships, particularly among community members, community organizations, and educational institutions, to enhance the lives of diverse children, youth, and families. The panelists provided an overview of PACT and its goals as well as the context in which community organizations are operating and responding to meet the communities’ needs. Also, panelists discussed the importance of community-university partnerships during difficult times, the benefits for community organizations and members in such partnerships, and best practices for community collaboration. The panel discussion ended with opportunities to get involved in research projects as well as information about local resources. To view the presentation, click here.

Dr. Bray's presentation took place on July 22, 2020, as part of a webinar series powered by Latino Connection and Penn State Reach. Her presentation included information on strategies and resources for caregivers of children with disabilities. To view the presentation, please click here.

PACT welcomed Eugenia R. Moten as Assistant Director effective July 1, 2020. PACT is a university-community partnership that provides Penn State researchers and community stakeholders an equal voice in crafting, refining, and/or implementing salient and relevant research with an emphasis on enhancing the lives of children, youth, and families of diverse backgrounds in the greater Harrisburg area. The PACT Assistant Director is part of the Administrative Team for PACT, which includes the PACT Director and Associate Directors, Community Engagement Coordinator and Liaison, Latino Outreach Coordinator, and Graduate Administrative Assistant.

Eugenia received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and had a long career of over 30 years working for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She is a certified Life Coach and the founder and CEO of Teens Let It Out Ministry, a support group for teenagers and young adults. Eugenia is also the founder of SAMM (Single and Married Moms Ministry), which provides a forum for married and single mothers to discuss family issues and concerns. She served as a Family Coach where she provided services to youth aging out of the foster care system and she has experience providing one-on-one mental health therapeutic support services for special needs children. Eugenia is active in the church; she ministers, and she serves on numerous church boards and several faith-based organizations. She volunteers faithfully throughout the community ministering to at-risk youth. Eugenia has been committed to serving the community for over 40 years and specializes in healing of the whole family.

Please join us in welcoming Eugenia!

This webinar focused on current knowledge about COVID-19 and pregnancy and the postpartum period. The presentation included online resources especially relevant to pregnant/postpartum women that may help address mental and physical health risks. Click here to view the series.

PACT Community Engagement Coordinator, Carmen Henry-Harris, recently participated in the Black Girl Health (BGH) Phoenix Rising 5K. BGH is dedicated to helping women achieve healthier lifestyles. The purpose of the 5K was “to encourage healthy habits and physical activity while showcasing the resiliency and strength of black women even in the face of a pandemic such as COVID-19.” Click here for more information.

The Road to New American Health is a webinar series powered by Latino Connection and Penn State Reach. The presentation can be viewed here.