People / Team

Niobe Way

Founder & Executive Director

Niobe Way, Ed. D., is a Professor of Applied Psychology in the Department of Applied Psychology at New York University. She is also the co-Director of the Center for Research on Culture, Development, and Education at NYU and the past President for the Society for Research on Adolescence. She received her doctorate from Harvard University in Human Development and Psychology. Way’s research focuses on the intersections of culture, context, and human development, with a particular focus on the social and emotional development of adolescents.

Alisha Ali

Co-Founder

Pedro Noguera

Co-Founder

Carol Gilligan

Co-Founder

Joseph D. Nelson

Co-Principal Investigator

Joseph D. Nelson, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Studies at Swarthmore College, and affiliated faculty with the Black Studies Program, and the Gender and Sexuality Studies Program. He is also a Senior Research Fellow with the Center for the Study of Boys’ and Girls’ Lives at the University of Pennsylvania. His research employs interdisciplinary frameworks to examine identity, culture, and urban school reform from a qualitative inquiry stance. In the low-income neighborhood where he grew up, Dr. Nelson taught first-grade in a single-sex class of Black and Latino boys.

Hirokazu Yoshikawa

Co-Principal Investigator

Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Ph.D., is the Courtney Sale Ross Professor of Globalization and Education at New York University Steinhardt, and a University Professor at NYU. He is the Co-Director of the Global TIES for Children Center. He conducts work on child and youth development in the areas of immigration, refugee and humanitarian contexts, early childhood, poverty reduction, and sexuality. He engages in research-practice and research-policy partnerships in the United States as well as in Latin America, South Asia, and the Middle East.

Jinjoo Han

Research Scientist

Jinjoo Han, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Scientist at PACH. She received her doctorate in Early Childhood and Childhood Education from New York University with a focus on quantitative research methods. Her research focuses on understanding the role of proximal social processes in both the school and home settings for effecting educational change. Dr. Han aims to use quantitative research methods to uncover a deeper understanding of the developmental trajectories of children’s socialization skills in the classroom setting to positively impact education practice and policy.

Holly Vanhare

Director

Holly Van Hare, MA, is the Director of The Listening Project. She received her master’s degree in Experimental Humanities and Social Engagement from New York University, where she focused her research on educational spaces and how cultural biases and stereotypes hinder access to education and affect learning experiences for certain groups. Holly has taught in public schools in New York City and Boston, MA and has a background in curriculum development. Additionally, she has participated in research in trauma-informed and preventative health education programs, body size and inclusivity in education, and anti- oppressive education.

Rachel Taffe

Research Associate

Rachel Taffe, B.A., is a PhD student in the Developmental Psychology program at NYU Steinhardt working under the advisement of Dr. Niobe Way. Her research interests include interpersonal curiosity, social behavior (e.g., inclusion/exclusion, stereotyping, prosociality), and identity development during childhood and early adolescence. Previously, Rachel earned a B.A. in Psychological Science as well as a B.A. Criminology, Law, & Society at the University of California, Irvine, where she also served as the Lab Manager for Dr. J. Zoe Klemfuss’s Child Narratives Lab.

Henry Zhu

Research Assistant

Henry Zhu is a Research Assistant with The Listening Project. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Human Development Research & Policy from New York University, where he is particularly interested in adolescent identity development, masculinity, and social media. Henry has worked for a national teen and young adult mental health non-profit in both internal operations and external affairs roles. He has past experience in direct mentorship, coaching, and peer support with adolescents.

Sean Small

Assistant Director

Sean Small, B.S., is the Assistant Director of The Listening Project. He received his bachelor’s degree in Applied Psychology from New York University with a focus on child and adolescent mental health studies. There, he focused on gaining a breadth of experiences and knowledge in and outside the field of psychology, such as sleep psychiatry, forensic social psychology, and adolescent psychopathology in order to borrow from multiple disciplines when approaching tasks. Sean has worked in public and private schools in New York with a background in adolescent development.