Dr. Alisha Wackerle-Hollman, research associate in the Department of Educational Psychology, was recently awarded a $16,000 grant through the Institute for Translational Research in Children’s Mental Health (ITR) at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Wackerle-Hollman’s focus is on improving parenting engagement and retention in communities through prevention and intervention research. She, along with Dr. Rich Lee in Clinical Psychology, is being awarded for her research on innovative methods to engage parents. The title of the project is Increasing the Likelihood of Evidence-Based Parenting Intervention Uptake for Diverse and Disadvantaged Families: An Engagement and Retention Primer.

Dr. Wackerle-Hollman is the principal investigator of two IES funded projects: Spanish Individual Growth and Development Indicators and Individual Growth and Development Indicator- Automated Applications for Performance Evaluation of Early Language and Literacy (IGDI-APEL), as well as lead curriculum developer for the Northside Achievement Zone’s Family Academy. Her research interests include: early literacy development and assessment, the transition of research to practice, community-based participatory research, parent education, adult learning and school readiness.

Congratulations to Dr. Wackerle-Hollman on her accomplishments and advancements in research and this prestigious grant.