President: Laura Evans, PhD
Dr. Laura Evans (she/her) is a Teaching Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State Brandywine. She completed her MS in Couple and Family Therapy and her PhD in Family Science at the University of Maryland. Her research focuses on therapy process (what makes therapy work), common factors in relational therapy, the scholarship of teaching and learning in HDFS, and gender and language. She teaches undergraduate courses on a variety of topics including research methods, family relationships, and interventions for challenges experienced by individuals and families.
Contact: lme20@psu.edu
Vice-President: Kate Riera, PhD
Dr. Kate Riera (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Human Services in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Delaware. She completed her PhD in Family Science at the University of Maryland and her MSEd in Psychological Services from the University of Pennsylvania. She teaches a variety of undergraduate courses focused on Counseling, Mentoring, Interpersonal Relationships, and Families. Her research interests include marginalized families, adolescent health and well-being, and examining equitable and engaging teaching practices in family science. She also enjoys cooking, gardening, and her two Havanese dogs Coco and Javi.
Contact: kriera@udel.edu
Treasurer: Heather R. Kennedy, PhD, LPC, CFLE
Dr. Heather Kennedy is an Associate Professor of Family Science at the University of Nebraska Kearney. She received her Ph.D. in Human Sciences with a specialization in Child, Youth, and Family Studies from the University of Nebraska Lincoln. Heather has been a member of the Family Science Association since 2021. She has also contributed to scholarship in the Family Science Review and at the annual conference. She has taught a variety of undergraduate courses in Family Science programs (e.g., family resource management, diverse families, human sexuality) and graduate courses in a Mental Health Counseling program. Her recent research has focused on the well-being of same-sex couples and families, as well as the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
Contact: kennedyh2@unk.edu
Secretary: Adam Clark, PhD
Dr. Adam Clark (he/him) is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Family Studies and Human Development program at the University of Arizona, a position that allows him to focus 100% on teaching. He completed his Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Science at Oregon State University in 2015 and his master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Brigham Young University in 2011. His teaching focuses on couple relationships, family dynamics, and basic counseling skills and concepts. Some of his interests include rock climbing, watching Star Wars with his kids, and playing board games.
Contact: adamclark@email.arizona.edu
Student/New Professional Rep: Tim Ottusch, PhD
Dr. Tim Ottusch (he/him) is an Associate Professor of Practice in the Family Studies and Human Development program at the University of Arizona. He completed his Master’s and Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Science, as well as a graduate certificate in college and university teaching, at Oregon State University. His teaching includes research methods and courses on various points in the life course (child development, adolescence, young adulthood, and aging). His research focuses on the scholarship of teaching and learning and college student basic needs. He enjoys running, hiking, cycling, camping, traveling, and watching sports with his family.
Contact: ottusch@arizona.edu
Immediate Past President: Nikki DiGregorio, PhD
Dr. Nikki DiGregorio (she/they) has been a member of FSA since 2009, and served as Secretary and Vice President before taking on the role of President of FSA. Currently, Nikki is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Studies and Community Development at Towson University, teaching courses in sexuality in human development, diversity in human development, legal and public policies affecting families, and programming and evaluation for family services. Nikki’s research focuses on the interplay between social policy, language appropriation, and the experiences of gender and sexual minorities, as well as the scholarship of teaching learning as it pertains to pedagogy centered around diversity, value systems, sexualization, and objectification.
Contact: ndigregorio@towson.edu
Website Co-Manager: Catherine Dutton, PhD
Dr. Catherine Dutton (she/her) is a former high school teacher and currently an Assistant Professor in the Human Development, Family Studies & Counseling department at Texas Woman’s University. Her teaching focuses on housing, design, and teacher preparation courses for Family & Consumer Science students along with qualitative research methods, family crises, and adolescent development. Catherine’s research interests include understanding the interactions of quilters and their families, and the integration of technology in teaching family sciences.
Contact: cdutton@twu.edu
Website Co-Manager: Jennifer Greiving, MA, CFLE
Jenn Greiving (she/her) is a PhD student in the Education and Human Development program at University of Colorado Denver (UCD). Jenn was formerly a faculty member in the Human Development and Family Relations program at UCD. Her research focuses on student-parents in higher education. Jenn has been a member of the FSA since 2014. She enjoys baking/cooking, roller skating, and a well-timed GIF (bonus points if it’s from The Emperor’s New Groove). Jenn also serves as an Associate Editor of the Family Science Review.
Contact: jennifer.greiving@ucdenver.edu
Publication Chair/Family Science Review Editor: Karen Doneker Mancini
Dr. Karen Lee Doneker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Studies and Community Development at Towson University in Towson, Maryland. Karen earned her Ph.D. from the University of Delaware in Human Development and Family Studies. Her areas of teaching focus on theory, policy and research design and writing. Dr. Doneker has extensive experience in disabilities studies and United States policies for individuals with disabilities. Her research has centered on caregiving across the lifespan and has included both policy and theoretical works. Education policy, pedagogy and the history of the field of family science are also areas of focus.
Contact: kdonekermancini@towson.edu
2025 Conference Co-Chair
Dr. Mamta Saxena (she/her) is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development at the State University of New York at Oswego. She completed her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Connecticut and her M.S. in Child Development from the University of Delhi, India. At SUNY Oswego, she teaches courses on lifespan development, research methods, and special topics such as diversity, equity, inclusion, siblings and extended family, and mental health issues.
In the department, she served as assistant department chair, advising coordinator, and first-year advisor. She spearheaded the standardization of methods courses to align course objectives, activities, assessments for data-driven practices, and evaluation of courses. The initiative resulted in revisions in course objectives and activities that promoted student success regardless of differing instructor effects and findings were published in Family Science Review. Recently, she received the Best Presentation Award (May 2023) at the World Conference for Women Studies in Singapore and was awarded the Cognella Innovation in Teaching Award for Family Science (Nov 2022) at NCFR, MN.
She serves as co-chair of the sibling relationship focus group at the National Council on Family Relations and as a program evaluation consultant for Sibshops – a program for siblings of individuals with disabilities. Her research interests include mixed methods studies on sibling relationships and caregiving, caregiver’s mental health and caregiving patterns, program evaluation, and pedagogy. Her current research aims to study trends and patterns in demands, family routines, coping, life satisfaction, and perceptions of stress in post-pandemic contexts. Her future goals include transitioning to a leadership position in higher education that integrates DEISJ perspectives, curriculum development, and teaching/research on pedagogy
FSA has shaped her professional identity and voice in numerous positive ways. She and her co-chair are excited to receive presentation proposals for the Family Science conference in Costa Rica and look forward to meeting everyone in June 2025.
2025 Conference Co-Chair
Dr. Hilal Kuscul (she/her) is a scholar in Human Development and Family Sciences. She brings over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector to her work. She has been deeply involved in the development, implementation, and evaluation of parenting, literacy, and women’s empowerment programs within the nonprofit sector. This extensive experience catalyzed her to pursue a doctoral degree in Human Development and Family Sciences.
She earned her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Kuscul has served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Connecticut and SUNY Oswego. She teaches courses on Child Development, Adolescent Development, Family Interactions, Men and Masculinities, Close Relationships, and Research Methods.
Her research focuses on fathering within the context of poverty and gender ideology, strongly emphasizing evidence-based interventions that promote resilience and well-being in parents and children. Her work underscores the importance of culturally sensitive approaches in addressing families’ diverse challenges.
