Staff Directory and Contact Information
Alma Cortes, IDP Executive Director
A native Texan, Alma Cortes earned her Master’s in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street College of Education and her B.A. in English and Spanish at Rutgers University. Mrs. Cortes was an early childhood teacher for seven years working with children ages three and four in South Los Angeles and Northern New Jersey before coming to IDP. She is also an instructor for the UCLA Applied Developmental Program (ADP) a Psychology minor at UCLA. She has been with IDP since July of 2008. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership at UCLA where her current research is on parents and parent practices of families with children ages 0-3 in non-center based care in southern California.
Contact:
Franz Site: 1611 Franz Hall; mailbox 951563
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563
Fernald Site: 320 Charles E. Young Drive North, Room 98
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563
Phone: (310) 206-0633
Fax: (310) 206-0827
Email: acortes@psych.ucla.edu
Administrative
Jasmine Mosafer, Undergrad
IDP and ADP Coordination, Event Planning, Ordering, Fundraisers
Infant Development Program
UCLA Department of Psychology
1620 Franz Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563
Office: (310) 825-2896
Fax: (310) 206-5895
Email: idpstaff@psych.ucla.edu
*IDP's office phones, for administrative and non-urgent calls (equipped with voice mail-please feel free to leave messages here and we will respond.)
IDP Teachers
IDP has seven staff members: one executive director, five full-time teachers, and one floater teacher. Each has extensive training and experience in early childhood education and developmental psychology. Additional staffing is provided by student interns. IDP has a favorable adult: child ratio of 1:3 or better
Sydney Barnes, Floater Teacher
Sydney first joined IDP in March of 2011. She was an Intern in the Applied Developmental Psychology minor and stayed on as a student teacher. Upon graduation a teaching position opened up at IDP and she was more than thrilled. She received her bachelors' degree in psychology from UCLA in winter 2012, and started full time in spring of 2012. In her spare time Sydney enjoys running, hiking, and volunteering. She is especially passionate about Pediatric HIV/AIDS research. Sydney loves spending time with family and friends. Her love of children has always driven her career aspirations and she is very much enjoying this opportunity to work with these lovely children.
Contact: sbarnes@psych.ucla.edu
Courtney Kumar, Franz Teacher
Courtney Kumar graduated Magna Cum Laude from California State University, Northridge with a Degree in Child Development, from there she graduated with honors with a Masters in Child Development from the University of California, Davis. Mrs. Kumar is also a Certified Child Life Specialist. She has been working at IDP since February 2009 and enjoys learning new things from the children daily. In her free time, she enjoys running charity 5k and 10k races.
Contact: Ckumar@psych.ucla.edu
Lauren Pritchard, Fernald Teacher
Lauren’s experience with IDP was as an intern in the summer of 2008. She fell in love with the children and families, staff and philosophy immediately. Her only fear was the end of the internship. Fortunately, a position opened up when she graduated from UCLA and she joined the staff as the floater teacher that fall. The following winter she became a primary teacher at Fernald. She is excited to work in such a splendid environment, with caring co-workers and incredible children. She is currently earning a Master's degree from Loyola Marymount in Early Childhood Education to further her knowledge and apply new ideas to the classroom. Outside of IDP, she studies, but also love to spend time with my friends and family. She has a husband, John, and two boys, Tuna and Dwight. Her boys are actually cats, but their personalities and demands are such that they should be human. Besides this, she loves to watch movies, cook and eat, all preferably with good company.
Contact: Lmcculloch@psych.ucla.edu
Eileen Santos, Franz Teacher
Eileen Santos earned her AA Degree in Early Childhood Education, with an emphasis in Special Education from Santa Monica College. Ms. Santos is a wife & a mother of four daughters and a grandmother of three grandchildren. Her two older daughters attended the Head Start Program in the State of California, where she diligently worked as a parent volunteer for four years. This program led her to pursue her career as an early childhood educator. She was a lead teacher in early childhood education for ten years working with children ages three to five years. In the Fall of 2008, she joined the IDP Franz community to work with the infant and toddler program. Here she has devoted her time and energy to our young children, as well as to mentoring the students in our Applied Developmental Psychology minor.
Contact: Esantos@psych.ucla.edu
Elizabeth Slocum, Franz Teacher
Liz joined the IDP team in September of 2010. She received her Master’s degree in Child Development from the University of La Verne, and her B.S. degree in Child and Adolescent Development from California State University, Fullerton. Prior to becoming a primary teacher for UCLA’s Infant Development Program, Liz worked with children ages 2 to 5 years as a preschool teacher for the Walnut Valley Unified School District. She also worked as a childrens dance instructor for 3 years. She very much enjoys working with children, and expanding her knowledge on current child development research. In addition to her passion for working with children, Liz enjoys reading a good book, shopping, and spending time with her family, friends, and pets (she has many!) Liz is grateful for the opportunity to work at IDP, and is excited for the many new adventures to come!
Contact: eslocum@psych.ucla.edu
Tracy Zieve, Fernald Teacher
Tracy Zieve currently works as a supervising child development teacher for the Infant Development Program's Fernald site and has been a part of the IDP team since the Spring of 2008. She also presently works part-time as a undergraduate student mentor for the Pathways in Early Childhood Education program (PECE) for students at Pierce Community College. She has a Master's degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Child Development from Pepperdine's Graduate School of Education and Psychology. She also has a BA from UCLA in Psychobiology with a minor in Applied Developmental Psychology. Previously, she has worked as a behavior modification therapist and a preschool teacher and was even an undergraduate student intern at UCLA IDP, herself! Along with Child Development, her passions include music, travel, and staying healthy and active, and she often spends time with family and friends. She hopes to continue her learning and education with children and loves discovering new things about child development from her IDP children each and every day!
Contact: Tzieve@psych.ucla.edu
