Dr. Sarai Coba-Rodriguez

Lab PI

Dr. Sarai Coba – Rodriguez is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign. She is program faculty in Human Development and Learning, where she teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses. Dr. Coba’s research aims to answer: How do ecological contexts, individual, and family factors promote the resilience of low-income racial-linguistic group families and children’s school readiness? Challenging deficit perspectives that often characterize diverse families, she uses a family resilience framework that emphasizes families’ strengths, cultural resources, and agency. To present a more complex and dynamic picture of diverse families and the transition to kindergarten, she focuses on the perspectives, experiences, and expectations of all involved in the process, including parents (caregivers), siblings, extended kin, early childhood educators, kindergarten teachers, and children. As a qualitative researcher, Dr. Coba is an expert at conducting in-depth interviews, photo-elicitation interviews, naturalistic participation, and neighborhood observations. She is a Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy (IRRPP) and a Faculty Fellow in the Honors College.

In her free time, she enjoys hiking, biking, trying new foods, and spending time with family and friends!

Graduate Research Assistants

Jasmine Brown

Graduate research assistant

Jasmine is a doctoral student in Disability Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). She has a background in Human Development and Family Studies. She is a licensed pediatric occupational therapist working primarily with children with Autism. Her research interests focus on advocating and exploring the lived experiences of minority families and children with and without disabilities as they navigate the education system.

Yola Dohrmann

research assistant

Yola is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology in the program of Human Development and Learning at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). She earned her Master’s in Early Childhood Education from Erikson Institute in 2020. Yola is a licensed teacher with a Type 04 Certification and Bilingual/ESL endorsement. Her primary research interests are children’s school readiness during the primary years.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

Ummie Ansari

Ummie is an Urban Education major at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). She is pursuing an Elementary Education concentration with endorsements in Middle School Mathematics, Social Studies, and English. She has loved teaching her entire life and cannot wait to be able to give back to her community as an educator.

Ansam Barakat

Ansam is double majoring in Biological Sciences and General Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). She is interested in working in a health care setting by becoming a physical therapist. She is currently working in a physical therapy clinic as a rehab aide. She is very passionate about helping patients in their recovery process as well as providing them with the proper care for long-term results.

Victoria Herr

Victoria is majoring in Urban Education with an endorsement in mathematics for middle school at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). As a Golden Apple Scholar, she participates in Summer Scholar Institutes, a rigorous, multi-week teacher preparation program that inspires, develops, and supports undergraduates to teach in schools-of-need. As a former CPS student, her passion for teaching stems from her determination to give back to the community that raised her.

Cristina Romero

Cristina is pursuing a career in Elementary Education with an ESL endorsement at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Her interests are centered around exploring the role of urban social, environment, and health inequalities. As she continues assisting in research, she hopes to strengthen her knowledge, which will serve to help advocate and lead children in developing successful and important skills needed to overcome adversities.

Alumni

Sydney Dolan

Sydney completed her undergraduate degree in Human Development and Learning at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC, Fall 2019). She is particularly interested in families and couples and their functions as a unit. She plans on continuing her education to obtain a Marriage and Family Therapy license. Sydney hopes to provide holistic care that supports the long-term well being of families. 

Allyson Kim

Allyson is majoring in Human Development and Learning with a minor in Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). After graduating, Allyson plans on teaching abroad, where she can provide quality education everywhere she goes.