The University of Maryland College of Education welcomes five new faculty members for the 2026-2027 academic year: Assistant Clinical Professor Erin Jones and Post-Doctoral Associates Jacquelyn Gross, Jennifer Magnuson, Isabel Valdivia and Elizabeth Reynolds.
“I always get so excited when new faculty join our college community,” said Dean Kimberly Griffin. “This year’s cohort brings unique perspectives and wealth of knowledge to our collective commitment to transforming education for good. Their expertise will certainly strengthen our community, advance our ability to tackle grand challenges facing schools and society, and enrich the educational experiences of our students. I look forward to engaging with the ideas, collaborations and impact they will bring to our college.”
Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education (CHSE)
Erin Jones, Assistant Clinical Professor
Research Focus: Neurodivergence and masking, program development and evaluation, culturally responsive school- and college-based mental health supports, and relational factors that shape youth and emerging adult mental health
Biography: Jones is a licensed psychologist in Maryland and has held certifications in elementary education, K-12 special education and school counseling in Maryland and North Carolina. Prior to joining the college’s school psychology faculty, Jones served as a postdoctoral associate and later as an assistant clinical professor in the UMD College of Behavioral and Social Sciences’ Department of Psychology, where she co-directed the UMD SUCCEEDS College ADHD Clinic.
She previously served as an exceptional children teacher and department chair in Duplin County Schools in North Carolina; an adult secondary educator at Southeast Ministry in Washington, D.C., and for Charles County Public Schools in Maryland; and a corps member coach and exceptional children content lead for Teach For America-Eastern North Carolina.
Jones received her Ph.D. in school psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed her American Psychological Association-accredited doctoral internship with Guilford County Schools in North Carolina. She holds a M.S. in school counseling (CACREP-accredited) from Loyola University Maryland and a B.A. in sociology and anthropology from Towson University.
Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology (HDQM)
Jacquelyn Gross M.S. ‘15, Ph.D. ‘18, Post-Doctoral Associate
Research Focus: Early childhood education (ECE), social-emotional development, and the programs and policies that support children, families and the ECE workforce
Biography: Gross is a developmental psychologist whose research draws on mixed method approaches to examine early childhood education and child development, with particular expertise in program evaluation, causal inference and large-scale administrative data. Prior to joining the College of Education faculty, she served as a social science research analyst in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), where she oversaw national research and evaluation studies focused on ECE and child welfare. She previously completed a postdoctoral research position at UMD’s Center for Early Childhood Education and Intervention, where she conducted applied research and evaluations of statewide ECE initiatives.
She earned her Ph.D. and M.S. in developmental psychology from the University of Maryland and her B.A. in psychology from Trinity University.
Jennifer Magnuson, Post-Doctoral Associate
Research Focus: Caregiver influences on early language development
Biography: Magnuson, CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist and researcher whose work examines how caregiver factors, including caregiver talk, mental health and stress, influence language learning and development among children from birth to 5 years old, particularly those at increased likelihood for language learning difficulties.
Funded through the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, Magnuson will be mentored by Assistant Professor Rachel Romeo and Professor Bridgette Kelleher (Indiana University Indianapolis Institute for Human Health and Wellbeing). Under their mentorship, she will investigate how changes in caregiver stress relate to fluctuations in the home language environment and how these factors may interact to shape children’s language development and school readiness.
Magnuson received her Ph.D. in hearing and speech sciences and her M.S. in speech-language pathology from Vanderbilt University, and her B.S. in communication sciences and disorders from James Madison University.
Isabel Valdivia, Post-Doctoral Associate
Research Focus: Classroom practices, learning across diverse contexts, and family interactions
Biography: Born and raised in Chile, Valdivia brings more than a decade of experience in education, having served as a high school teacher, vice principal, and as a professional development coach for teachers and principals across Chile. Her research focuses on understanding how children’s developmental contexts and individual characteristics shape learning across time. She seeks to produce evidence that helps educators adapt classroom practices to better support students from diverse backgrounds and helps parents understand how everyday interactions in the home can support their children’s learning and academic achievement.
Valdivia earned her Ph.D. in human development from Virginia Tech, her M.Ed. in mind, brain, and education from Harvard University and her B.Sc. in biological sciences from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership (TLPL)
Elizabeth Reynolds Ph.D. ’26, Post-Doctoral Associate
Research Focus: Digital media literacy and social studies education with a focus on how students find digital information they can trust and use to inform their participation in democracy
Biography: A former middle school social studies and humanities teacher, Reynolds grew up in a politically engaged family and experienced firsthand the rapid evolution of social media and the broader information environment. Recognizing that educational practices have struggled to keep pace with the ever-changing digital media landscape, her work focuses on helping teachers and students understand how to respond to and navigate digital media in ways that support informed civic action.
Reynolds is actively engaged with the Lateral Reading-Model-Evidence Link Diagrams LR-MEL Project and the Maryland Democracy Initiative (MDI), work she began while completing her doctoral degree. She has co-authored publications on digital literacy with several College of Education faculty and facilitated sessions on the same topic at MDI’s annual Civic Engagement Across the Curriculum institutes, professional development programs at UMD designed to help faculty, staff and K-12 educators integrate community-based learning and civic frameworks into their courses.
Reynolds completed her Ph.D. in teaching and learning, policy and leadership with a specialization in teacher education and professional development at the University of Maryland; her M.S.Ed. in teaching, learning, and leadership from the University of Pennsylvania; and her B.A. in politics from Ursinus College.
