Staff
Michael C. Reichert, Ph.D.Executive Director
Education:Georgetown University, BSFS, 1974
University of Pennsylvania, MS.Ed., 1980
University of Pennsylvania, Ph.D., 1984
Professional Biography:
Dr. Reichert earned his doctorate in Professional Psychology and received additional clinical training at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic. He has specialized in work with children, families and males in a clinical and consulting practice for the past 25 years. He created and served as Director of an urban youth development program, Peaceful Posse, sponsored by Philadelphia Physicians for Social Responsibility, and currently serves as Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Boys’ and Girls’ Lives, a research consortium of independent schools operating in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Reichert has published and spoken at conferences, schools and to community groups on subjects related to boys’ and girls’ lives and traumatic disruptions in children’s experience. He has consulted to and conducted training for many independent schools, is currently on staff at The Haverford School outside of Philadelphia.
Research Interests and Current Projects:
Current research interests include the impact of gender curricula on boys' and girls’ lives, the social dimensions of learning, development of emotional intelligence and leadership, moral development, developmental trajectories toward violence and programming for democracy and sanctuary in schools. Dr. Reichert is especially interested in psychological programs, both in schools and in communities, which can contribute to lives of greater possibility and integrity for children. With Richard Hawley, he has developed the Boys’ Audit as a service to schools. And, as father to two sons, Dr. Reichert is committed to supporting other parents of boys and has developed the workshop, Raising Sons 101.
Peter Kuriloff
Research Director
Education:Antioch College, B.A., 1965
Harvard University, Ed.M., 1966
Harvard University, Ed.D.,1970
Professional Biography:
Dr. Kuriloff earned his doctorate in counseling psychology and is a fellow of the American Psychological Association in School Psychology. He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania since 1970 and twice chaired the Psychology in Education Division. He moved to the Educational Leadership Division (now the Foundations and Practices of Education Division) in 1992. Besides teaching at GSE, Dr. Kuriloff is the senior advisor on Group Effectiveness and Career Development in Wharton’s Executive MBA program. Dr. Kuriloff has held a number of University-wide positions, including chair of the Grievance Commission, chair of the Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility and chair of the Faculty Senate.
Research Interests and Current Projects:
Dr. Kuriloff’s interests include gender dynamics (masculinities, femininities, and school gender "offers") and their impact on the opportunities of children; minority retention in schools and colleges; and, in general, the reinvention of schools as more inclusive, open, generous, and effective places for the children who inhabit them. His research has involved the study of learning and teaching in small groups, the impact of legal reform on educational practice including the effectiveness of various kinds of dispute resolution in public schools, the nature of parent-child communications about human sexuality, the organizational and educational consequences of parental involvement in public schools, and most recently, the impact of various constructions of masculinity on boys’ learning and emotional development. In his capacity as research director of the Center for the Study of Boys’ and Girls’ Lives, a coalition of independent schools, he fosters teacher-initiated research to discover and implement best practices for boys and girls.
Sharon M. Ravitch, Ph.D.
Research Co-Director
Education:Harvard University, Ed.M. 1994
Harvard University, Ed.M. 1995
University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, Ph.D., 2000
Professional Biography:
Sharon M. Ravitch, Ph.D. is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education where she is Co-Director of the Center for Collaborative Research and Practice in Teacher Education. Ravitch teaches master’s and doctoral-level courses in qualitative research, evidence-based practice, ethnography, research development and instrument design, fieldwork and mentoring, as well as race, gender, and cultural issues at the Graduate School of Education and at The Wharton School of Business. Ravitch earned two master’s degrees from Harvard University, one in Human Development and Psychology and the other in Education. She earned her doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania in an interdisciplinary program that combined anthropology, sociology, and education. Ravitch authored the book School Counseling Principles: Multiculturalism and Diversity (American School Counselor Association, 2006) and co-authored a book entitled Matters of Interpretation: Reciprocal Transformation in Applied Development Contexts for Youth (Jossey-Bass, 1998). Ravitch is currently finishing two co-authored books, one entitled Intercultural Understanding in an Age of Standards: An Interpretive Framework for Education and Professional Development and the other Writing as a Practice of Teaching: Narratives from First Year Teachers and is co-editing a book entitled Evidence Matters: The Penn Handbook for Evaluating Training and Development. She publishes, speaks and consults internationally in the areas of evidence-based practice, qualitative research, ethnography, practitioner and action research, and issues of gender, race, culture and equity in organizations. She is a Research Co-Director at the Center for the Study of Boys’ and Girls’ Lives.
Research Interests and Current Projects:
Dr. Ravitch’s research has four main strands:
1. Practitioner research: Dr. Ravitch’s work in the area of practice-based inquiry centers on practice-based research that works from an applied ethnographic approach to engendering professional and institutional development and change. Her research focuses on the influences of practice-based inquiry on educational practice and leadership more broadly. Dr. Ravitch is particularly interested in how practitioners learn about inquiry and how they conceptualize and utilize research in relation to their daily practices, commitments, and goals. Dr. Ravitch is engaged in the teaching of and collaborative research with educational and business leaders across the United States as well as with systemic family therapists at the Central Integral de la Familia and the Universidad Cristiana Latino Americana in Quito, Ecuador.
2. International Social Justice Research that works from a participatory action research approach: Dr. Ravitch co-leads a multi-year participatory action research initiative that seeks to understand marginalized populations’ access to justice in four conflict-impacted countries: Afghanistan, Burundi, Colombia, and Liberia. She also engages in applied research in Ecuador and Nicaragua.
3. Teacher education: Dr. Ravitch is engaged in research that focuses on teacher education and professional development, specifically the ways in which issues of diversity, inequity, and the sociopolitical context of schooling shape urban teachers’ perspectives on students, their own worldviews, and their pedagogy as well as the teaching and learning that take place in and around teacher education courses. She is engaged in collaborative research focused on the role of reflective writing and inquiry groups on teachers’ processes of learning to teach.
4. Ethnography within and across disciplines: Dr. Ravitch is engaged in collaborative research on issues of methodology, representation, and media influence on the practices, conceptions, articulations, and uses of ethnography within and across disciplines.
Brett G. Stoudt, Ph.D.
Research Consultant
Education:
Moravian College, B.A., 1998
The Graduate School of the City University of New York, Ph.D. 2008
Professional Biography:
Brett Stoudt received his PhD in Social-Personality Psychology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He has worked with CSBGL since 2003. He has consulted to a wide range of research enterprises in addition to CSBGL, including the Ruttenberg Cancer Center at Mt. Sinai Hospital, Global Rights and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Recent publications include “The role of language in the investigation of privilege: Using participatory action research to discuss theory, develop methodology, and interrupt power.”
Research Interests and Current Projects:
Global Rights: Partners for Justice (Washington, DC)
2007-present Participatory Action Research & Statistical Consultant
Enshrining Minority Women’s Rights as Constitutional Rights: A Research Collective of Nepali Women (2007-present). Kathmandu, Nepal. Increased Access To Justice For Victims of Sexual Violence Through Empowerment & Mobilization of Local Communities: A Research Collective of Congolese Women (2007-present). Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo. Addressing the Human Rights Dimensions of Natural Resource Exploitation in Africa (2007-present). Central Africa. Violence Against Women in Afghanistan Families: A Survey (2007-present). Kabul, Afghanistan. Amplifying International Youth Voices on Rights, Poverty & Discrimination in Education (2007). Nigeria, Brazil, Cameroon, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Honduras & India. With Michelle Fine, Eve Tuck & Amber Hui.
Center for the Study of Boys’ & Girls’ Lives (CSBGL) (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
2003-2007 Senior Research Associate (formerly Center for the Study of Boys’ Lives)
2007-present Director of Boys’ Research
Strengthening & Supporting the Advisor System through Teacher Research (2005-present). Episcopal High School: Alexandria, Virginia. Investigating Faculty Beliefs about Masculinity & Boys’ Development (2005-2007). University School: Shaker Heights, Ohio. Character Education for Boys: Curriculum Evaluation, Research & Curriculum Development (2005-present). Chestnut Hill Academy: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Examining the Positional & Multilevel Experiences of Hetero-Normative Bullying from Lower School to Upper School (2004-present). Haverford School: Haverford Pennsylvania. Assessing the Socio-Educational Boarding School Experiences of Boys & Girls: A Thirty Year Gender Audit (2004-2006). St. Paul’s School: Concord, New Hampshire. Assessing the Achievement of Boys & Girls in the 2002 & 2003 Cohort (2004-2005). Episcopal High School: Alexandria, Virginia. Understanding Boys’ Risk Taking & Moral Behavior within the Context of a Values Driven School (2004-2005). Chestnut Hill Academy: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Mount Sinai Hospital: Ruttenberg Cancer Center (New York, New York)
2000 Research Assistant
2002-present Statistician & Data Analyst
Women’s Circle of Life: Behavior, Estrogen, Metabolism & Breast Cancer Risk: A Molecular Epidemiology Study (2005-present). Department of Defense: Washington, DC. Principal Investigator: Dana Bovbjerg, Ph. D. Cancer Prevention & Control: Multidisciplinary Training (2004-present). National Cancer Institute: Bethesda, Maryland. Principal Investigator: Dana Bovbjerg, Ph. D. Psychological & Behavioral Factors in Chemotherapy-Related Fatigue (2001-2006). American Cancer Society: New York, New York. Principal Investigator: Dana Bovbjerg, Ph. D. Presurgery Stress: Biological Impact in Breast Cancer (2000-2003). National Cancer Institute: Bethesda, Maryland. Principal Investigator: Dana Bovbjerg, Ph. D. Inherited Susceptibility to Breast Cancer in Healthy Women: Mutations in Breast Cancer Genes, Immune Surveillance, & Psychological Distress (1998-2005). Department of Defense: Washington, DC. Principal Investigator: Dana Bovbjerg, Ph. D. Familial Cancer Risk: Stress Induced Consequences (1998-2000). National Cancer Institute: Bethesda, Maryland. Principal Investigator: Dana Bovbjerg, Ph. D.
Amanda SotoSenior Research Associate
Amanda is a doctoral student at Bryn Mawr College pursuing independent research on gender and sexuality development as well as sexuality education programming. She earned a master's degree in counseling in 2006 and her experiences as a school counselor fueled her interest in studying gender and adolescence. She is currently teaching a class on adolescent development and planning her Ph.D. dissertation.
amandacsoto@gmail.com
Shannon Andrus
Senior Research Associate
Shannon is a doctoral student in the department of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum at UPenn GSE. She earned her Masters Degree in Liberal Arts and her undergraduate degree in English Literature. She taught high school English for four years prior to starting her doctoral work. Shannon’s research interests are in teaching and teacher education, gender studies, single-sex education, and curriculum. In addition to working with CSBGL, she is involved with a longitudinal study of how new teachers learn to teach. She is currently teaching an English methods course at GSE and is a teaching assistant in a research methods class.
sandrus@dolphin.upenn.edu
John Baker
Senior Research Associate
John is an advanced graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania pursuing a PhD in mathematics education as part of the Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum program. John is a former secondary mathematics teacher whose research interests include how youth use and learn to use mathematics in schools and out. In his dissertation research, he is studying the out-of-school mathematics practices of urban high-school-aged youth at an after-school robotics program, as well as the learning environment within which those practices occur. John comes to CSBGL as a methodologist skilled in qualitative and quantitative research design and analysis. In all of his work, John is particularly interested in innovative research methodologies and issues of diversity and equity.
bakerjy@dolphin.upenn.edu
Tanya Maloney
Research Assistant
Tanya is a doctoral student in the department of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. Prior to her doctoral work in education, she earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. She then joined Teach For America (TFA) in Chicago where she taught high school mathematics for three years and also earned her M.A.T. in mathematics education. She then taught two additional years in New Jersey. Tanya’s research interests are in teaching and teacher education, curriculum reform, and issues of equity in education. In addition to working with CSBGL, she is involved with a longitudinal study of how new teachers learn to teach. Currently, Tanya is a PennGSE/TFA mentor for first year TFA corps members.
tmaloney@dolphin.upenn.edu
Roseann Hugh
Research Assistant
Roseann is a Ph.D. candidate in the Education, Culture & Society program, pursuing a dual degree in anthropology and education. She is interested in researching the cultural productions of youth in transnational and diasporic communities. Roseann taught in New York City public schools, and also worked at a Philadelphia-based educational research organization. She has published and presented in the areas of state-wide coaching reform, and data use.
roseannl@dolphin.upenn.edu
Amanda Cox
Research Assistant
Amanda is a graduate student in the Education, Culture, and Society program at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education. A graduate of a single-sex high school and college, she is interested in gender identity formation and in socioeconomic diversity within independent schools. Amanda has taught Latin and coached volleyball, swimming, and cycling at the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, CT and at Germantown Academy outside of Philadelphia. She has also taught math, history, and Latin to middle school students at The Philadelphia School, an independent progressive school in Center City Philadelphia.
abcox@dolphin.upenn.edu
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