Fatima Zeshan ’28 (left) and Calyssa Orellana ’27 (right) purchase items with Contribution Project funding to help The Village at Ithaca. (Photo provided)

Fatima Zeshan ’28 saw a need in her community: according to the latest U.S. Census data, 30% of Ithaca residents live below the poverty line, a rate two times higher than the state average.

Zeshan and Calyssa Orellana ’27 are co-presidents of the Homelessness Action Project, a student group supporting organizations that assist people experiencing homelessness. The group launched the “Village Fellowship Project” to provide necessities such as personal hygiene items, first aid kits or moving supplies to young adults in the Village at Ithaca’s transitional housing program.

“We take the time to meet with residents and staff and ask them questions like, ‘What struggles are you facing?’ or ‘How can we step in to help?’” Zeshan said. “We were able to build a curated list of items and help fill in the gaps for them.”

They’ve filled those gaps with funding from the 2026 SUNY Contribution Project, an annual initiative from the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research (BCTR) that provides $400 to 200 randomly selected students to make any contribution they wish.

Zeshan said her contribution was about not just helping unhoused people in Ithaca but understanding their individual experiences.

“Our committee learned about the systemic barriers, the familial struggles and the emotional exhaustion that comes from unstable housing,” Zeshan said. “Everyone deserves access to basic resources, and everyone deserves a home.”

Students want to make a difference

Zeshan’s project was one of many highlighted during a virtual student showcase on April 24 that celebrated the contributions students made this year.

Buffalo State University student Noah Zanghi (right) leads a Buffalo Trans Choir rehersal. Zanghi founded the choir in January and Contribution Project funding helped support the choir.

“In addition to their day job in the classroom, recipients gain meaning and purpose through their projects,” said Anthony Burrow, BCTR director and founder of the Contribution Project. “We’ve loved watching what students from across the SUNY system do with this opportunity from the perch that we have.”

Originally open only to Cornell students, the program has expanded to include five other SUNY schools. Students have made more than 850 contributions since 2019, and the program has expanded to areas including Cincinnati and Lincoln, Nebraska.

Noah Zanghi, a senior at Buffalo State University, used his funding to support the Buffalo Trans Choir. He launched the group in January, seeing a need for a choir that represented and affirmed trans and gender-diverse people.

“People have come to me so many times and said how my project has gotten them out of bed in the morning,” Zanghi said. “It’s so hard right now to find any kind of support for a project surrounding trans people. The fact that we were able to get off the ground, buy some sheet music, and pay for a rehearsal space is huge.”

SUNY Plattsburgh sophomore Maria Cedeno, a nursing major, chose to use her funds for the “Kindness Keeper Project,” which she created to supply comfort items to pediatric patients at the Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, New York, in connection with the hospital’s existing Kindness Fund.

“They’re some of the toughest patients out there,” Cedeno said. “The amount of procedures and things they go through in order to keep their health, and the things their families see, is so unbelievably tough.”

The Kindness Keepers was the project that Maria Cedeno from SUNY Plattsburgh created with her funds from the Contribution Project

With the funds, Cedeno bought coloring and word search books, fidget toys and weighted blankets; she also coordinated a drive to collect additional donations from the nursing school’s faculty.

“This project will hopefully make many of the patients feel comforted and feel understood,” Cedeno said.

Also participating in the SUNY Contribution Project this year were Stony Brook University, Binghamton University and SUNY Morrisville.

“On each of these campuses, remarkable students have been pouring their hearts into contributions that have deep meaning for them,” said Burrow, the Ferris Family Associate Professor of Life Course Studies in the College of Human Ecology. “And it means the world to them that these schools are supporting their efforts. It makes all the difference.”

This story appeared in the Cornell Chronicle on May 7, 2026.

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The winners and judges from the 2026 BCTR Poster Symposium pose for a picture. The winners front, l-r) were Brooke Kivel ’26 for Best Presentation; Françoise Cattaneo, Ph.D. candidate for High Impact Project; and Lorie Li ’28 and Madeline Lee ’28 for Best Poster. Judges for the symposium were (rear, l-r): Cassondra Lyman, Marie Cope, Kristen Elmore, Casey Adrian, Katie Fitzgerald, Navika Gangrade, and Cagla Duman.

Student research from across campus was on display during the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research (BCTR) Poster Symposium on April 28, 2026 in the Physical Sciences Building. The symposium included undergraduate students from Cornell Human Ecology, the College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell Duffield College of Engineering, along with graduate students.

“This event showcases the remarkable translational research work students are involved in across the campus,” said Kristen Elmore, BCTR associate director. “They’re excited to share the findings they’ve discovered while working on this research with communities, which is a hallmark of Cornell’s land-grant mission.”

The symposium featured nearly 40 interdisciplinary research presentations on topics such as adolescent health, early childhood education, aging, technology, and child development, with studies examining mental health, neurological conditions, caregiver wellbeing, healthy aging, effects of social media, and lived experiences of youth.

The symposium gave students experience in answering questions in an academic conference format, with nearly 100 people in attendance reviewing the students’ work.

This is the second symposium for Hyun Hwang ’26, who, with Jasmine Feng ’26, presented research on barriers to improving awareness and adoption of the Social Media TestDrive project. Hwang said feedback from that experience informed how they presented this year’s project.

“Presenting at the symposium also gives me the opportunity to grow as an academic communicator, pushing me to translate complex ideas into clear, concise, and accessible language for all audiences,” said Hwang.

Hopper Kendragan ’26 appreciated exploring the community impact from other students’ translational research. Kendragan and Hyun Lim ’27 presented work on the process evaluation tools used in research work done by ACT for Youth and she enjoyed posters that may not have results but show important parts of the research process.

“It’s always amazing to see all the creativity and hard work that everyone puts in, and it really showcases how diverse research can be,” said Kendragan.

Three awards were presented for best poster, best presentation, and high-impact project. The award winners were:

Best Presentation: Brooke Kivel ’26 on research that tracked people over time to explore how the gap between wanting control and feeling in control relates to OCD symptoms.

Best Poster: Lorie Li ’28 and Madeline Lee ’28 who presented their summer internship work as BCTR Scholars with The Village at Ithaca.

High Impact Project: Françoise Cattaneo, Ph.D. candidate with research that identified distinct eating patterns among teenagers in rural Bangladesh by grouping participants based on similarities in their diets.

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His research focused on the social ecology of child and adolescent development, with a long-standing interest in violence-related issues – including war, child maltreatment, childhood aggression and juvenile delinquency. He applied this expertise for more than 30 years as a psychological expert witness in murder trials, including resentencing hearings for juvenile offenders. He also conducted UNICEF missions to assess the impact of the Gulf War on children in Kuwait and Iraq, and served as a consultant for programs serving Vietnamese, Bosnian and Croatian children.

“Jim sought to teach a broad audience about how violence, in all its forms, has a profound effect on children and youth, while also reminding us of the humanity and resilience of the victims of violence and neglect,” said John Eckenrode, professor emeritus of human development, who co-authored the 1980 book “Understanding Abusive Families” with Garbarino. “In Jim’s eyes, no child was entirely lost if we opened our hearts and minds to them.”

A 1968 graduate of St. Lawrence University, Garbarino earned his Ph.D. at Cornell under the tutelage of Urie Bronfenbrenner, the legendary professor in the College of Human Ecology and the co-founder of the Head Start program. Garbarino was appointed to the Elizabeth Lee Vincent Professorship of Human Development in 1999 and served from 1994 to 2003 as director of the Family Life Development Center in the College of Human Ecology, which merged with the Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center in 2011 to become the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research.

Previously, Garbarino was a fellow at the Boys Town Center in Omaha, Nebraska. He then became an associate professor at Pennsylvania State University, and served as president of the Erikson Institute in Chicago.

Garbarino moved to Loyola University Chicago from 2006 to 2020, serving as the Maude C. Clarke Chair in Humanistic Psychology, and founded the Center for the Human Rights of Children.

Garbarino published more than 25 books, including “Lost Boys: Why our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them” in 1999, which published one day after the Columbine school shooting and catapulted Garbarino onto the national stage as an expert on youth violence, according to Jane Powers, Ph.D. ’85, former director of ACT for Youth in the BCTR. Powers was working with Garbarino on a project called “Making Sense of Senseless Youth Violence” at that time.

“Jim was a gifted – indeed brilliant – speaker who had the ability to take complex ideas and make them accessible to a wide range of audiences, including academics, practitioners, educators and the general public,” Powers said.

Other books by Garbarino include “Millers’ Children: Why Giving Teenage Killers a Second Chance Matters for All of Us” (2018), “Listening to Killers: Lessons Learned from My 20 Years as a Psychological Expert Witness in Murder Cases” (2015) and “No Place to Be a Child: Growing Up in a War Zone” (1991).

Garbarino’s many awards and honors included the first C. Henry Kempe Award in 1985, for efforts on behalf of abused and neglected children from the National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect. In 2018, he was recognized by the American Psychological Association as one of 33 influential psychologists for his work on trauma. He also had an extensive career as an expert witness in criminal cases involving trauma and violence.

He is survived by his wife Claire; sons Josh and Eric; daughter Jo; and siblings John and Karen. A memorial service is scheduled for April 11 at 4 p.m. at the First Unitarian Society of Ithaca, 306 North Aurora Street. A livestream of the service is available. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to two organizations close to Garbarino: the Life School, in Panajachel, Guatemala, or Save The Elephants.

This story appeared in the Cornell Chronicle on April 1, 2026.

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Studying the phenomenon in adolescents for the first time, the research adds to an emerging understanding that purpose is not a constant, have-it-or-you-don’t trait measurable at any one time, as implied by most research to date.

Rather, the researchers said, teens may feel purpose ebb and flow in response to the daily challenges of adolescence, when purpose is emerging and can help students navigate changes. Parents and mentors can monitor that variability and try to reduce big swings in purposefulness, which could reflect vulnerability in their adaptation, said Anthony Burrow, the Ferris Family Associate Professor of Life Course Studies in the Department of Psychology in the College of Human Ecology.

“Researchers have mostly considered purpose as a trait and not thought as much about the moments in a person’s life when they feel far more purposeful than others, or when they feel less so,” said Burrow, director of the Purpose Science and Innovation Exchange and Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research. “Those with the potential to help shape young people’s environments should think as much about the capacity to sustain purposeful pursuits as they do the intensity with which a young person expresses their purpose at any one time.”

Burrow is the first author of “Within-Person Variability in Daily Purpose Moderates the Association Between Trait Purpose and Adolescent Adjustment,” published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence. Kaylin Ratner, Ph.D. ’20, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, is the co-author.

A small set of prior studies focused on adults had hinted that purpose is a more dynamic experience – something long documented about other psychological assets, including emotions (“affect”) and self-esteem. Self-esteem, for example, may be called stable or fragile at different times, and big swings are understood as potentially problematic, reflecting vulnerability.

Applying methodologies from those domains to purpose, Burrow and Ratner worked with a national sample of more than 320 high-schoolers enrolled in a 10-week, independent “learning challenge” through the nonprofit GripTape. The students chose a topic of interest to study and checked in regularly on their progress with an adult “champion.”

Study participants completed an initial survey about how purposeful and engaged their lives felt – the traditional, single-point-in-time measure used in most research. They also completed daily diaries throughout the 70-day challenge, responding to the question, “How purposeful did you feel today?” Responses were analyzed to show each participant’s average sense of purpose over the 70 days and degree of deviation from that average, and how much their purpose swung between any two consecutive days.

The results showed that teens who reported a higher baseline sense of purpose tended to experience purpose more consistently over time – but were not immune from day-to-day variability. In addition, those with less variability over time reported greater well-being and self-esteem.

“Perhaps,” the authors wrote, “a stable sense of purpose operates like a compass: It may keep adolescents generally oriented but cannot prevent occasional undulations in terrain from steering them off course.”

The findings further establish purpose as variable, not fixed, Burrow said, and should spur future research about specific experiences that cause ups and downs. Knowing about those fluctuations, he said, suggests opportunities to help young people sustain purpose, including by limiting their highs or lows.

“Like most things worth having, extreme fluctuations might prove to be problematic over the long haul,” Burrow said. “Remaining even keel is probably better. When it comes to feeling purposeful, stability might be far more advantageous than bouncing around.”

The researchers have found that providing teens opportunities to shape their own learning can heighten purpose, as in GripTape’s challenges and The Contribution Project, which funds teens’ ideas for how to make a difference in the world – a program Burrow started at Cornell and has expanded to the State University of New York. Among GripTape participants, Burrow said, students report feeling most purposeful on days when they met with adult champions.

The variability of purpose doesn’t necessarily make it more difficult to cultivate, Burrow said, just something to be aware of on an ongoing basis.

“It’s an opportunity to pay more attention to the fullness of our experiences,” he said. “Let’s keep monitoring for experiences and settings that seem to support a sense of purpose, because if we do that, we might be able to curate more enduring positive experiences for young people.”

The research was supported by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

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Translational research is the process of connecting what scientists discover to what happens in the real world. It is bi-directional — findings from research are applied in communities in the form of programs, practices or policies that improve people’s lives, and knowledge and experience from communities are incorporated into the research process to make it more meaningful and effective. It’s the driving idea behind the work done by the researchers in the BCTR.

These concepts can help students realize the social impact of their work throughout their careers, in fields including science and engineering, medicine, public health, social sciences, law and public policy.

Kristen Elmore, associate director of the BCTR, directs the minor.

“Translational research is a skill that is necessary now more than ever,” she said. “This minor will help students connect research to the real world, drawing on community member’s perspectives to do it.”

Her hope is that students will help close the gap between campus and community and use their knowledge to further well-being of the communities they’ll work in after graduation.

The minor expands on the center’s programming for students, including the BCTR Scholars  and the Program on Research for Youth Development and Engagement’s PRYDE Scholars.

“My experiences with translational research at Cornell helped me understand how to effectively perform needs-based assessments and use these assessments to make actionable impacts in the community,” said Patrick Crossen ’20, a former PRYDE Scholar now in his final year at the University at Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

“Because of these experiences, I secured my first full-time job after college working for a continuing medical education company, where I got to identify knowledge gaps amongst practicing neurologists and create educational programs to mitigate those gaps.”

The minor requires 15 credits, beginning with two core courses that explore translational research examples and approaches. Students must take one of these courses before declaring their intention to pursue the minor. In addition, students will take part in a translational research field experience to apply what they’ve learned.

“This minor provides a practical toolkit for any student looking to create social impact in their future career,” said Navika Gangrade, a lecturer in the BCTR and the faculty advisor for the minor.

“Learning from leading researchers in fields like youth development, nutrition, social work, and public policy, students will learn how to apply translational research methods to their own fields of study and create work that is community-engaged, ethical, and socially impactful.”

Visit the webpage to learn more about the minor in translational research, including requirements and elective courses. Or attend the information session on April 7, 4:30-5:30 p.m., in Martha Van Rensselaer Hall Room 1102 or on Zoom.

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Liese was best known for her work in the fiber arts; her quilts, wall hangings, and handmade dolls won state and national awards. She was also a mainstay in the Ithaca Democratic Party, leading get-out-the-vote campaigns over the course of decades.

Liese was an essential part of Urie’s work, hosting guests and colleagues, planning global travel, and editing his many books and publications. After Urie’s death in 2005, she played an important role in keeping his legacy alive at Cornell.

Liese and Urie Bronfenbrenner reading to their children.

“She was a steady supporter of the Bronfenbrenner Center, the College of Human Ecology, and Cornell,” said John Eckenrode, who became director of the BCTR when it merged with Cornell’s Family Life Development Center in 2011. “We were happy to have her as a part of our family. We all felt a responsibility of living up to the legacy of Urie’s work, and she was a reminder to us and an inspiration to keep his legacy alive.”

“I first met Liese as we were setting up the new home of the BCTR in Martha Van Rensselaer Hall. The somewhat still empty space was felt even more special that she was able to see it and visit with us,” said Anthony Burrow, the current BCTR director. “Her energy and enthusiasm for the space is something I remember on many days.”

Urie and Liese married in 1942 and moved to Ithaca in 1948 when Urie joined the Cornell faculty. Together, they raised six children in a historic house in the Forest Home neighborhood near Cornell University’s Ithaca campus. Liese played an active role in organizing neighborhood events, teaching local children about art and music, and supporting the Ithaca Democratic Party.

At the same time, she provided significant support to Urie behind the scenes. She was known as a gracious hostess, often entertaining well-known guests, including Peter Yarrow of the folk group Peter, Paul, and Mary; Fred Rogers, also known as Mr. Rogers from his popular children’s show; and Bob Keeshan, also known as Captain Kangaroo.

“What she brought to the family and to dad’s amazing accomplishments was a steady, quiet hand behind the scenes – someone who loved him dearly and supported him,” said her son, Steven Bronfenbrenner.

As their children grew into adults, Liese leaned more heavily into the arts. She painted, created pottery, and became an accomplished fiber artist, exhibiting quilts across the country and receiving numerous awards.

“Later in life, she really found herself and her artwork, which is extraordinary,” said Steven. “She created gorgeous pieces. I can’t say enough about her artistic eye and her ability to create beautiful work.”

Donna Dempster-McClain, Ph.D. ‘85, was a graduate student in Human Development and Family Studies at Cornell in the 1970s and 1980s. She worked with Urie and got to know Liese well through their shared love of fiber arts.

“She taught these fabulous fiber arts classes at the Cornell Botanical Gardens that were well-known in Ithaca,” said Dempster-McClain. “She was truly multi-talented. And she was wonderfully active in the Forest Home community.”

In her later years, Liese remained active in the Ithaca Democratic Party and women’s group, helping to coordinate elections at Kendal at Ithaca, the senior living community where she lived.

Liese is survived by her six children, Michael, Steven, Beth, Mary, Kate, and Ann, along with 13 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

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People have theorized about purpose since the time of ancient Greeks and Romans, providing the basis for purpose research today, with Burrow at the forefront. In April 2025, Burrow launched the Purpose Science and innovation Exchange (PSiX) in the BCTR, a research initiative that will expand on this research, with a focus on how young people view and cultivate purpose in their lives. Burrow and research colleague Patrick Hill of Washington University in St. Louis have published a new book, “Purpose in Life as Ancient but Nascent” (Cambridge University Press). In the book, Burrow, Hill, and other scholars touch on purpose from various disciplines to help guide the reader in their journey to cultivate their own purpose.

We talked with Burrow and Hill about the book.

Question: Why did you feel compelled to bring together this collection of perspectives on purpose?

Hill: Purpose is something that has sparked the interest of so many people both within and outside of academia. However, those different groups do not often connect, which may hinder new discoveries and opportunities. We wanted to create this book as a space where different voices could “talk together.” Absent these diverse voices, recommendations and policies around purpose may be missing the context of different environments and lived experiences.

Burrow: The topic of purpose is enjoying resurgent interest from academic researchers, educators, business leaders, youth-organization directors, and beyond. Yet, this interest is often met with insights that draw from isolated disciplines, so those new to the topic get exposed to just a narrow slice of perspectives. We wanted to showcase the inherent complexity of this topic by inviting a broader range of perspectives on purpose. Readers may appreciate some of the places where bridging these perspectives is simple and straightforward; they may also appreciate the stubborn differences across others.

Question: The book title frames purpose as both ancient wisdom and emerging science. Is there tension between the two that creates opportunities or challenges to studying and communicating about purpose?

Hill: I think one of the biggest challenges — and opportunities — for purpose comes from the critical need to consider both the work that has been done, as well as the important new perspectives and studies. We are blessed to build purpose research from the remarkably deep and thoughtful work produced by past researchers, as well as the new measures and methods being developed by the “new guard.” Our book title reflects this challenge in that the richest work on purpose will only come if we both recognize that past work as well as embrace the more nascent literature on purpose.

Burrow: Developing this volume helped me see that this tension is more productive than problematic. It is worth appreciating just how long people have wondered about the topic of purpose in life — it’s been a longstanding curiosity throughout history. Researchers interested in purpose may be motivated less by discovering something entirely new than by the chance to connect their questions to a much wider tapestry of questions about the human experience than is possible with other topics.

Question: If you could highlight an insight or idea from the book that challenges conventional thinking about purpose, what would it be and why does it matter for how people live their lives?

Burrow: In Chapter 7, Kaylin Ratner, Ph.D. ‘20, makes key points on the role of universities in helping (or hindering) purpose development among students. She reminds readers that purpose development is not merely an individual quest but is instead always moored by available environmental supports — or their absence. She further discusses important pitfalls of failing to support student purpose development, which is a perspective we must confront honestly.

Another insight comes from Chapter 3, which I worked on with Marissa Rice, Ph.D. ’20. It challenges a widely held assumption that purpose is something to be found. While “finding purpose” is perhaps an understandable phrase, it lacks empirical basis on how purpose is acquired. Instead, we consider how purpose might be “activated,” “cultivated,” or “facilitated,” a shift that moves people from passively waiting to discover their purpose to deliberately building it by engaging with the world around them. This reframing also invites institutions and communities to thoughtfully design opportunities or spaces for us to explore or experiment, which makes purpose acquisition possible.

Hill: Dr. Burrow and I all too frequently have our work characterized as “happiness” or “wellbeing” by the public or press. While purposeful living aligns with and promotes personal wellbeing, I think this volume really highlights how much purpose is more than and unique from these constructs. Chapter 12 considers whether and how purpose fits in theories of wellbeing and — spoiler alert — the answer is not clear. This insight spreads through the other chapters of the work, where people point to how purpose must be considered in the context of one’s identity and their environmental context. In so doing, I hope this work challenges the impression that purpose equates to happiness or related ideas.

Question: Beyond those already engaged with purpose academically, who do you hope reads this book? How could it shift how they think about their own sense of purpose?

Burrow: I believe this book is for anyone. But if nudged to pick a specific audience, it would be those individuals who are best positioned to help others think about, understand, and even develop a sense of purpose. I think the book is best thought of as a collection of actionable insights for those who can create the conditions for others to lead lives of purpose.

Hill: I too hope anyone gets something from this work, but I particularly hope that teachers and professors get a chance to read through this volume. These groups are perhaps best positioned to directly impact those individuals just starting the purpose development process. I hope our book helps these groups recognize the importance of helping students to cultivate purpose, as well as provides insights into how that “help” will necessarily take different forms — whether providing opportunities for reflection, critical conversations, or even rest and personal space.

Question: What questions about purpose are you still sitting with after editing this book?

Hill: One of the biggest questions about purpose for me is, how do we keep these conversations going? I hope this book sparks connections between the authors and the readers, as well as among the authors themselves. I hope that each author views it as a starting point rather than the finish line. As editors, I see it as our duty to really push those conversations forward through initiatives like PSiX so we continue providing a voice for our authors and opportunities for these conversations to progress in the years ahead.

Burrow: I want to further understand when hardship catalyzes purpose versus when it extinguishes it. As societies seem increasingly complex, discovering more about this seems vital, as does ensuring that the findings are effectively translated to people and communities who are best positioned to put them to good use.

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The 2026 BCTR Scholars are (l-r): Danielle Chen ‘29, Ava Betnar ‘29, Sumaswara Chinthalapati ’27, Fabiola Philibert ‘28, Enrico Hernandez ‘28, and Jinyu Xu ’28.

The BCTR Scholars program introduces undergraduates to translational research through specialized coursework during the spring 2026 semester, networking with faculty mentors, and a hands-on experience with local organizations over the summer. Students learn how translational research can inform programs, policies and practices that support communities.

“The BCTR Scholars program places students in a unique role as intermediaries connecting local community organizations to researchers at the BCTR,” said Kristen Elmore, associate director of the center. “Next year’s cohort of scholars are up to the challenge, and it’s been great to see so many talented students eager to join this program.”

Each scholar is matched with a community partner where they will intern for eight weeks during the summer, giving them a front-row view of how community organizations apply evidence-based research to meet local needs. This year’s community partners are Civic Ensemble, Village at Ithaca and Cayuga Health Center for Health Equity Transformation.

Madeline Lee ’28, a 2025 scholar, spent her summer with Village at Ithaca, an organization that provides resources and services to help underserved students and families thrive in Tompkins County.

“The BCTR Scholars experience was great because it really opened my eyes to different professional pathways that I can explore,” said Lee. Her summer experience shifted her career trajectory. “I’m leaning toward going into social work, which is exciting. Plus, I found a family and a home outside of Cornell with the Village at Ithaca.”

This year’s BCTR Scholars and their community partners include:

Danielle Chen ’29 (Human Development) and Jinyu Xu ’28 (Human Development) will spend the summer with Village at Ithaca.

Ava Betnar ’29 (Human Development) and Sumaswara Chinthalapati ’27 (Human Biology, Health and Society) will work with Civic Ensemble, a theater company creating community-engaged programming that explores current social, political and cultural issues.

Fabiola Philibert ’28 (Global and Public Health Science) and Enrico Hernandez ’28 (Global and Public Health Sciences) will work with the Cayuga Health Center for Health Equity Transformation, which partners with communities, academia and policymakers to improve health equity in the region.

“The BCTR Scholars are prime examples of how Cornell students are not just passive residents of Tompkins County but are genuinely dedicated to using translational research to make a difference here,” said Casey Adrian, the program’s coordinator. “I am confident that the incoming cohort of scholars will bring so much to their community partner organizations.”

After their summer internships, the students will reflect on their experience during the fall 2026 semester to complete the program.

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ction Research Collaborative co-directors Neil Lewis, Jr. and Tashara M. Leak welcome attendees to the ARC symposium in New York City.

The Action Research Collaborative (ARC) is partnering with a New York state agency to strengthen early childhood care and education across the state, with a strong focus on the childcare workforce.

ARC will evaluate projects from the New York State Council on Children and Families (CCF) that focus on employee support and development, programming, and support systems for providers and families, supported by a one-year grant from CCF for $1.7 million.

“ARC’s broader mission is to be responsive to the needs of communities – to use scientific evidence to inform decision-making in policy and practice, and to evaluate the effects of those decisions on the lives of communities,” said Neil Lewis Jr. ’13, ARC co-director and associate professor of communication and a Nancy and Peter Meinig Family Investigator in the Life Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and at Weill Cornell Medicine. “Working with CCF on these programs is in direct alignment with that mission.”

ARC is part of the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research in the College of Human Ecology, and CALS.

Four projects focus on supporting early childhood care and education workers. One provides scholarships for workers who want to receive credit for lived experience before entering a relevant degree program. Another aims to improve their health and well-being; it will be led by Laura Bellows, associate professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences (CHE). Two of the projects are new – a registered apprenticeship program for childcare assistants and a program to subsidize tele-mental health benefits for childcare staff.

In addition to these projects, ARC researchers will analyze CCF’s implementation of the Pyramid Model, a framework used in early childhood settings to promote children’s social and emotional growth through strong relationships, positive learning environments and individualized support.

ARC will also evaluate two efficiency-based initiatives – the Shared Services Alliance, a pool of resources that childcare providers can access, and an effort to link the state’s early childhood data systems to better coordinate support and services across state agencies.

“This portfolio is exciting because it allows us to study systems together,” Lewis said. “From the mental health of childcare staff to the logistics of scaling services to the feasibility of linking data systems, we can generate rich knowledge that would be harder to get by studying any one part in isolation.”

The ARC-CCF partnership began with conversations in Albany, where ARC researchers meet annually with policymakers to discuss community needs and share research.

“We’re always looking to gather the evidence needed to inform our work – to learn important lessons that can enrich our theories, and to gain answers to practical questions,” said Vanessa Threatte, CCF executive director.

ARC brings experience in community-engaged evaluation, including studies of the Double Up Food Bucks nutrition incentive program in upstate New York, and experiences of families in transitional housing in New York City.

“Part of ARC’s mission is to bring together people and sectors that historically don’t collaborate with one another to solve pressing societal issues,” said Tashara M. Leak, associate professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences (CHE) and ARC co-director. “More than ever, we must leverage our respective strengths to advance the health and well-being of New Yorkers.”

ARC will lean on its network of researchers from across Cornell for its work on the projects. Along with Lewis and Leak, this includes Marlen Z. Gonzalez, assistant professor of psychology (CHE) and Jamila Michener, associate professor of government in the College of Arts and Sciences, and senior associate dean for public engagement (Brooks School). Other collaborators include Bellows and Elizabeth Eagen, deputy director of the Citizens and Technology Lab in CALS, along with graduate students, postdocs and research staff.

ARC will provide CCF reports on each project, offering insights into what works, what doesn’t, what can be implemented, and where improvements are needed.

“This collaboration has the potential to improve programs that touch thousands of families across New York state,” Lewis said. “It’s exactly the kind of work ARC was designed to do – translating research into action that makes a difference in people’s lives.”

This story appeared in the Cornell Chronicle on Oct. 1, 2025.

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