Our research team is led by Dr. Niobe Way and includes graduate students and undergraduate research assistants
Dr. Niobe Way
Dr. Niobe Way is a internationally recognized leader in the fields of human development and psychology and has been studying the social and emotional development of adolescent boys and girls for over three decades.
Dr. Niobe Way is a Professor of Developmental Psychology, the founder of the Project for the Advancement of Our Common Humanity (PACH) at NYU and the Director of the Science of Human Connection Lab. She is also a Principal Investigator of the Listening Project, which has been funded by the Spencer Foundation and is currently funded by the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative and the Rockefeller Foundation, and is a member of the New Pluralists Collaborative. Dr. Way was the President of the Society for Research on Adolescence, received her B.A. from U.C. Berkeley and her doctorate in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard School of Education, and was an NIMH postdoctoral fellow in the Psychology Department at Yale.
Dr. Way’s work focuses on social and emotional development, how cultural ideologies shape child development and families in the U.S. and China, and on how to build a more just and humane world. The Listening Project, her current project with Drs. Joseph Nelson, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, and Jinjoo Han, is a novel intervention that aims to foster curiosity and connection to address the global crisis of connection (e.g., loneliness, depression, anxiety, suicide, hate crimes, mass violence). Dr. Way created and teaches the courses "The Science of Human Connection," “Adolescent Development,” "Transformative Interviewing," and "Culture, Context, and Psychology." Dr. Way’s work, for which she is regularly featured in the media, integrates the theoretical, empirical, and applied work she has developed over three decades on the intersections of culture, contexts (micro and macro), human development, and wellbeing.
Her latest co-edited book is The Crisis of Connection: Its Roots, Consequences, and Solutions (NYU Press). Dr. Way has authored or co-authored nearly a hundred journal articles and books, including Deep Secrets: Boys’ Friendships and the Crisis of Connection (Harvard University Press), which was the inspiration for "Close", a movie that won the Grand Prix Award at Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film. Her newest book for Dutton press (a division of Penguin/Random House) is Rebels with a Cause: Reimagining Boys, Ourselves, and Our Culture. Another book, in progress for Harvard University Press, is titled: The Culture/Nature Clash and Its Violent Consequences.
Graduate Students
Esther Sin, M.A.
Esther (she/her) is a doctoral candidate in the Developmental Psychology program at NYU Steinhardt. Broadly she is interested in the intersections of culture, context, and human development. Specifically, Esther uses mixed methods to understand (1) how sociocultural contexts affect developmental trajectories of immigrant youth, (2) how cultural ideologies shape mothers' gender socialization across ethnic groups, and (3) how gender socialization is related to adolescent socio-emotional development. Prior to starting at NYU, Esther completed a B.S. at Boston University and her M.A. at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she worked with Dr. Suniya Luthar. Esther was in brand consulting before she made a shift to developmental psychology.
Yufei Gu, M.S.Ed
Yufei (she/her) is a 4th-year doctoral student in Developmental Psychology at New York University - Abu Dhabi Global PhD Program, co-mentored by Dr. Theodore Waters and Dr. Niobe Way. She pursued her Bachelor's degrees in Psychology and Interactive Media at NYUAD and her Master's Degree in Learning, Science & Technology at University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education. She conducted her bachelor's capstone project on the relationship between infants' attachment security level and their later development of interpersonal relationships. Yufei is interested in the relationship between children's early childhood experience with caregivers and their mental health, academic performance and peer relationships later in life.
Rachel Taffe, B.A.
Rachel (she/her) is a 2nd-year doctoral student in Developmental Psychology at NYU Steinhardt. Broadly, she is interested in interpersonal curiosity’s role in social emotional and identity development processes during childhood and adolescence. Through her research, Rachel hopes to learn more about how children’s innate, relational capacities (e.g., interpersonal curiosity) may be nurtured and leveraged as a means of fostering meaningful social connections within and across groups. Prior to NYU, Rachel earned bachelor’s degrees in Psychological Science and Criminology at the University of California, Irvine, where she also served as the Lab Manager for Dr. J. Zoe Klemfuss’s Child Narratives Lab.
Research Assistants
Not pictured: Michelle Zhuang, Maggie Wang
Listening Project Team
Joseph D. Nelson, Ph.D.
Dr. Nelson, co-founder of The Listening Project, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Studies at Swarthmore College, and affiliated faculty with the Black Studies Program and the Gender and Sexuality Studies Program. He is also a Senior Research Fellow with the Center for the Study of Boys' and Girls' Lives at the University of Pennsylvania. His research employs interdisciplinary frameworks to examine identity, culture, and urban school reform from a qualitative inquiry stance. In the low-income neighborhood where he grew up, Dr. Nelson taught first-grade in a single-sex class of Black and Latino boys.
Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Ph.D.
Dr. Yoshikawa is the Courtney Sale Ross Professor of Globalization and Education at New York University Steinhardt, and a University Professor at NYU. He is the Co-Director of the Global TIES for Children Center. He conducts work on child and youth development in the areas of immigration, refugee and humanitarian contexts, early childhood, poverty reduction, and sexuality. He engages in research-practice and research-policy partnerships in the United States as well as in Latin America, South Asia, and the Middle East.
Jinjoo Han, Ph.D.
Dr. Han is a Senior Research Scientist at PACH. She received her doctorate in Early Childhood and Childhood Education from New York University with a focus on quantitative research methods. Her research focuses on understanding the role of proximal social processes in both the school and home settings for effecting educational change. Dr. Han aims to use quantitative research methods to uncover a deeper understanding of the developmental trajectories of children's socialization skills in the classroom setting to positively impact education practice and policy.
Holly Van Hare, M.A.
Holly Van Hare is the Director of The Listening Project. She received her master’s degree in Experimental Humanities and Social Engagement from New York University, where she focused her research on educational spaces and how cultural biases and stereotypes hinder access to education and affect learning experiences for certain groups. Holly has taught in public schools in New York City and Boston, M.A. and has a background in curriculum development. Additionally, she has participated in research in trauma-informed and preventative health education programs, body size and inclusivity in education, and anti-oppressive education.
Sean Small, B.S.
Sean Small is the Assistant Director of The Listening Project. He received his bachelor's degree in Applied Psychology from New York University with a focus on child and adolescent mental health studies. There, he gained a breadth of experience and knowledge in the field of adolescent psychology, sociology, data science, and philosophy in order to borrow from multiple disciplines when approaching endeavors. Sean has worked in public and private schools in New York with a background in adolescent development. He is also Co-Founder and Research Director of The Center for Rural Homelessness.
Henry Zhu, M.A.
Henry Zhu recently graduated from NYU Steinhardt’s Human Development Research & Policy Master’s program. He is particularly interested in adolescent identity development, masculinity, and social media. Previously, Henry earned a B.A. in Psychology from Harvard University and has worked for a national teen and young adult mental health non-profit in both internal operations and external affairs roles. In addition, he has past experience in direct mentorship, coaching, and peer support with adolescents.