Position Priorities
- Parent development
- Ecological models of human and family development
- Purpose-based planning processes
- Families and learning, early literacy, school readiness
Education
- B.S. Elementary Education from State University of New York-Cortland
- M.A. Early Childhood and Elementary Education, State University of
New York-Cortland
- PhD in Human Development and Family Studies, Cornell University
Previous Professional Experience
Before joining Extension, Gay taught children ages 3 to 8 in public and private schools in New York and Connecticut and taught courses in child development, early childhood education, and parenting at Cornell University, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has also served as a consultant to private non-profit groups (where she developed a variety of parent education materials) and to state agencies. Within Extension, Gay was the project director/co-director of two multi-year community-based projects to improve the lives of young children and their families, the School Readiness Project and the ABC Project.
Highlights of Current Assignments and Programs
- Developed a new research-based model of parent development. Webcast presentations outlining the model are archived at http://wctf.state.wi.us/home/ Working with UWEX Family Living Educators to develop practical uses of the model for them to build, or help communities build, portfolios of parenting education programs.
- Co-Chair (currently with Family Living Educator Kathy Hetzel) of UW-Extension's Parenting Education Team since January 2006. Currently working with the team to develop a parenting education website with information and resources for county-based Family Living Educators.
- Co-writing (with Mary Gruenewald and Stephen Small) a paper about new, ecological approaches to family strengthening
Contact Gay at:
geastman@wisc.edu
364 Middleton Building
Department of Human Development and Family Studies
School of Human Ecology
University. of Wisconsin-Madison
1305 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Phone 608/262-1115
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