Zipi DiamondGraduate Student

I am pursuing a Master of Science in Human Ecology, with a focus on supporting families with young children. I am passionate about using qualitative research to amplify families’ voices and to inform meaningful programmatic and policy changes to support families. I also hope to learn best practices for community-based or participatory research. More specifically, I am interested in the early care and education (ECE) system, including quality improvement for child care programs, family engagement, and the impacts of COVID-19 on the ECE system.

In addition to being a graduate student, I am a senior research analyst at Child Trends, a nonprofit research organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and families. At Child Trends, I manage and support federal and state-level research and evaluation projects about the early care and education system.

I received my Bachelor of Arts in Sociology/Anthropology and Women’s and Gender Studies from St. Olaf College. While at St. Olaf, I conducted research on college students’ health and well-being. I also conducted an independent study on the sociology of assisted reproductive technologies. During the summers, I was an assistant preschool teacher and an intern for The Human Rights Campaign on an initiative to improve LGBTQ+ competency and inclusivity among adoption and foster care agencies.