Emily Meland

Emily Meland is a doctoral candidate in Human Development, Learning, and Teaching, where her research aims to bridge silos between social emotional learning (SEL) and culturally sustaining, asset-based pedagogies, with a specific focus on supporting the adults who work with children and youth. Emily is a member of the Ecological Approaches to Social Emotional Learning (EASEL) Lab at Harvard, led by Dr. Stephanie Jones, where she has worked across a range of projects related to equitable SEL and how culture and context impact the way SEL is conceptualized, defined, and implemented in diverse settings. She is also a member of the Adolescent Ethnic Racial Identity Lab (AERID) Lab, led by Dr. Adriana Umaña-Taylor and a facilitator for the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at HGSE. Emily’s deepest learning and appreciation for the work of SEL and equity in schools is attributed to her students and colleagues in Lawrence, MA, where she served as a second grade teacher.