Ashley Shafer – Pittsburgh

Ashley Shafer (she/hers) is a doctoral candidate in the Applied Developmental Psychology program at the University of Pittsburgh. Ashley’s research focuses on improving the early childhood education experience through building social-emotional skills, teacher-child relationships, and socially just teaching practices. Her background includes a wide range of experiences that have bolstered her passion for early childhood education, from working in childcare, and designing professional development, to community advocacy and mixed methods research. Ashley’s mission is to conduct research that will help assist in the design and implementation of effective strategies to address the dynamic impact that environments, relationships, and policies have on early childhood education, and in turn positively impact the everyday lives of practitioners, children, and their families. In 2020 Ashley proudly received both the School of Education’s Student Leadership Award and the Graduate and Professional Student Government Leadership and Service Award. She currently serves as a Student Fellow at the Office of Child Development and is an active member in the Survivor Support Network and the Rising Education Scholars Helping Advance Partnerships and Equity. Ashley enjoys a holistic approach to human thriving and wellness, which for her includes spending time with friends, her partner, Joe, and their cat, McGregor, trying new restaurants, attending shows in the Cultural District, engaging in local community initiatives, and cheering for Pittsburgh sports teams.