Faculty Community/Professional Service

As shown on the other parts of our website, faculty teach many classes and conduct human development and family studies research. The faculty of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies are also very involved in the local Delaware community. In addition to community service, faculty members are active in their professional communities. Some examples of this involvement follow:

Dr. John Bishop is on the UD Alcohol Policy and Education Council, the President’s Council at Albright College, and serves as a senior site visitor for the International Association of Counseling Services (most recently reviewed the University of Tennessee and will be chairing a visit at Drew University this fall). He also is a frequent consultant to college and university counseling centers and continues to work with the Harvard School of Public Health in his role as the Director of the Building Responsibility Coalition. Dr. Bishop also serves as a senior accreditation reviewer (site visitor) for the International Association of Counseling Services, Inc. He has also served as a reviewer for the Journal of College Counseling.

Dr. Tim Brookes is a member of the ACLU Board of Directors, the Governor’s Commission on Community Based Alternatives for Persons with Disabilities, and the Governor’s Council for the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services. In addition, he serves as Chair of the Public Policy Committee for The Arc of Delaware and the Delaware Disabilities Advocacy Coalition.

Prof. Steve Eidelman is President of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, July 2008-July, 2009 Board of Directors, The Arc Link, Inc. He is returning to the Board of Directors, Mental Health Initiative, Open Society Institute, Budapest and London. In addition, he has been an Expert Witness - Federal Court Case - Ligas v. Milram, Illinois and provided Expert Opinion for Birchut, Civil Rights of People with Disabilities in Ismael.

Dr. Michael Ferrari served as the faculty sponsor for the “Urban Plunge”, a service learning project that was designed to help raise awareness of the experience of homelessness - a project conducted with University support at the Sunday Breakfast Mission in Wilmington. He is a neuropsychology consultant for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation assisting in the evaluation and management of persons with developmental and acquired brain injuries and their ability to work. In addition, Dr. Ferrari is a member of the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology and a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Neuropsychology. He is a reviewer for journals (e.g. Human Development, Cognition and Emotion, Pediatric Psychology) and has served as an NIH reviewer.

Dr. Ruth Fleury-Steiner is a former board member, Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She is member of the Development Committee of the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence. In addition, she is a member of the Delaware Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Consortium.

Dr. Norma Gaines-Hanks is a past board member of: Christiana Cultural Arts Center, Wilmington, DE (2003 - 2007); Newark Day Care; and Wesley Foundation Campus Ministry. She serves on the Human Service Advisory Council, Delaware Technical and Community College (2004 - present). In addition, she is a founding member of the African-American Economic Empowerment Fund of Delaware (2008).

Dr. Myae Han serves on the editorial board of Journal of Literacy Research. She is also a member of The Association for the Study of Play (TASP), International Reading Association (IRA), National Reading Conference (NRC) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Dr. Kathleen Kerr is actively involved with the American College Personnel Association (ACPA): Convention Program Chair for the National Convention, Washington, DC, 2009; past Chair, Commission for Housing and Residential Life, 2008-2009; and member, Presidential Taskforce on Sustainability, 2006-present.

Dr. Beth Mineo is Chair of the Delaware Partners Council for Children with Disabilities and Secretary, Board of Directors, The Arc of Delaware. In addition she is a member of the Executive Council, Delaware Speech-Language-Hearing Association; the Advisory Board for the Disability Law Program’s Protection and Advocacy for Individual Rights Program; Praxis Speech-Language Pathology National Advisory Committee; and National Board of Editor, College of Direct Support. Dr. Mineo is also a member of the State Rehabilitation Council for the Visually Impaired; Pass It On Center Task Force; Education and Communication Study Section, National Institutes of Health; and the Assistive Technology Industry Association conference Strand Manager.

Pat Tanner Nelson, Ed.D. is Co-chair of eXtension Just in Time Parenting in a multistate project to harvest the best research based information. She is editor of the Great Beginnings services (http://ag.udel.edu/extension/fam/gb/gb-list.htm) which is offered to families via the web, through home visiting programs and through traditional mail. A series for parents of school-aged children, Families Matter! (http://ag.udel.edu/extension/fam/FM/index.htm) is sent electronically and by traditional mail to families with school-age children. Dr. Nelson is also a member of Delaware Healthy Mothers, Healthy Infants Consortium and a board member of Kids Count in Delaware.

Dr. Christine Ohannessian is on the editorial board for Developmental Psychology. She also regularly participates as a reviewer for the National Institutes of Health Center for Scientific Review. In addition, she reviews text books for Prentice Hall and Sage Publications.

Dr. Rob Palkovitz’s community service is largely faith-based. He is active in Freedom Outreach (Wilmington, DE): Informal networking with at risk families and children, fund raising for summer camp program in New York State, and “Parties in the Park” in Riverside and Southbridge. He also volunteers at Camp Josiah, Port Jervis, New York: Nine day sleep away camp sessions for inner city children and foster children offering nature education, swimming, boating, sports, and training in practical life skills. He has been a volunteer for 15 years and a youth group leader, Vineyard Christian Fellowship: He offers faith-based peer support groups (past 20 years) and speaks at PTAs and parent groups. Additionally, Dr. Palkovitz is a Book Review Editor for Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research and Practice About Men as Fathers, 2002-present. He is on the Editorial Review Board of a), Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research and Practice About Men as Fathers, b) Marriage and Family Review and c) Journal of Family Theory and Review.

Dr. Cynthia Paris currently serves on the Board of Directors of Delaware New Scripts (Supporting Change and Reform in Interprofessional Preservice Training), a volunteer organization of families, early intervention professionals, therapists, health care professionals, and educators working to support families as change-agents and partners in family-centered intervention experiences. She serves on the Editorial Board of The Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education and the Board of Reviewers of The Journal of Teacher Education.

Dr. Barbara Settles’ on-going work is with the Delaware/Panama Partners of the Americas where she serves on the Board, has frequently traveled to, and received visitors from Panama. Among the current programs with the DE/PA POA is one on tobacco cessation in which professors from nutrition, nursing and art collaborated in developing workshops which have been given both in Delaware and Panama. Through DE/PA POA, HDFS students have traveled to Panama for service and research experiences, helped with hosting here, and designed research which was done in Panama.

Dr. Bahira Sherif Trask has recently started working with the Blue Prints Communities of Delaware project. Her role is to provide advice and suggestions with respect to family support, family strengthening and diversity issues to nine communities that are in the process of revitalization. She also serves on the Board of Directors of a home for teenage pregnant girls in the Philadelphia area, called the Cradle of Hope. Dr. Trask also serves as a board member for NCFR, is a liaison to the NCFR identity task force, and serves as a member of a special task force on restructuring the NCFR conference. She is past president of the Family Science Association and reviews the annual editions of The Family.

Dr. Donald Unger serves on the Delaware Family Support Coordinating Council and consults with local agencies concerning family support, prevention, and parent education activities. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Emmaus House, a shelter for families without homes. He also serves on the Advisory Committee of the Layton Preparatory School, a high school for students with learning differences. In addition Dr. Unger is on the Editorial Board of Family Relations. He also serves as an occasional reviewer for the Journal of Adolescent Health and Child Development. He has been an NIH reviewer and reviewer for book publishers.

Dr. Julie Wilgen serves on the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood of Delaware and for the American Cancer Society, Newark Chapter. She provides consultation services to both organizations and assists with programming and fundraising. She is also an Officer on the Executive Council of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, Eastern Region, and helps to plan regional programs for Annual Conferences. Most recently, she gave a presentation and served as panelist at the Delaware Health and Social Services 7th Annual Women’s Wellness Expo. Dr. Wilgen is also Treasurer and Budget Chair for the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, Eastern Region.