Professor Rebekah Coley

By examining how our earliest encounters with families and educational systems shape development—and how inequality affects these encounters—Rebekah Levine Coley’s work speaks to researchers, students, and community members alike.

Her recent research in economic inequality builds on a career of investigating areas critical to advancing the greater good: family and community poverty; housing and community development; family structure and parenting; father involvement; early childhood education; and youth health risk behaviors.

Coley is a compelling presenter on these topics, chairs and organizes multiple symposia, and serves as principal investigator on several research grants. Her work has appeared in publications as diverse as Science and Teen Vogue.

A leader with several international professional associations, Coley was recently elected co-chair of the Policy and Communications Committee at the Society for Research in Child Development. She’s also co-chair of the Social Policy Committee at the Society for Research on Adolescence and a Consulting Editor with Child Development.

Students working under her leadership know they’ll encounter an environment that challenges them to get beyond “academic journals that only academics read,” as Coley said in an interview. They will have and create opportunities for research that translate into real-world practice that benefits communities.