“Mothers of Humane Developmental Science” Connect at Commencement

By happy accident, Erikson Institute’s 2025 Commencement brought together two of the early childhood field’s most accomplished and beloved “founding mothers,” Adele Diamond, PhD and Cynthia García Coll PhD. Along with being invited to speak at the same Erikson event, the women discovered other serendipitous connections while at dinner with Erikson faculty members the night before the ceremony. Both women have spent their careers expanding knowledge of how young children develop and thrive, using innovative approaches grounded in social-emotional and societal factors, and both have influenced Erikson faculty and students.

“It was a literal coincidence having Adele and Cynthia at graduation together this year, with none of us having any idea ahead of time that they even knew each other, much less that they went to Harvard at the exact same time and studied under the same advisor, Jerome Kagan,” said Associate Professor Amanda Moreno, PhD. At the May 5 commencement ceremony García Coll served as a doctoral chair and Diamond gave a keynote speech and received an honorary doctorate from Erikson.

Impact of two remarkable scholars

The best way to describe the magnitude of a chance meeting between two scholarly stars is through the words of Erikson faculty whose scholarship and teaching have been shaped by their influence.

Mariana Souto-Manning, PhD, President

“It’s a rare and inspiring moment when two architects of a more humane and equitable developmental science are honored side by side—not only for their individual brilliance, but for the ways their work deeply complements and strengthens each other’s.

Dr. García Coll’s An Integrative Model for the Study of Developmental Competencies has pushed us to recognize that culture, racism, and social position are not external variables, but foundational forces shaping child development. Her scholarship has expanded how we think about equity, identity, and resilience in systemic and structural terms. Dr. Diamond’s groundbreaking research in developmental cognitive neuroscience has pushed us to understand that executive function is profoundly shaped by joy, movement, and human connection. She has brought early childhood wisdom—play, music, dance—into dialogue with neuroscience, reminding us that nurturing the whole child is essential to any educational or developmental effort.

Together, Dr. Cynthia García-Coll and Dr. Adele Diamond have reimagined what it means to understand and nurture human development. One reveals how systems shape childhood, insisting we name injustice to build belonging; the other shows that joy, movement, and connection are not luxuries, but necessities for the thriving mind. Together, they remind us that to truly honor children, we must embrace both the worlds they live in and the wonders they carry within.”

Seulki Ku, PhD, Assistant Professor

“As a first-year doctoral student in 2013, I was drawn to Dr. Adele Diamond’s work on executive function—how it develops through both environmental contexts and neural mechanisms. Since then, her research has had a meaningful impact on my own work on self-regulation development in early childhood. I also feel connected to her through Dr. Clancy Blair, my mentor during my postdoc at New York University. In 2008, Dr. Blair and Dr. Diamond published on the idea that cognitive and emotional regulation develop together to support school readiness. Dr. Blair later expanded this work in our 2021 co-authored paper, A Hierarchical Integrated Model of Self-Regulation.

Meeting Dr. Diamond after commencement was unforgettable. She showed curiosity about my work, suggested collaborators, and expressed deep empathy when I shared about Dr. Blair’s passing last December. Her kindness, curiosity, and warmth are qualities I deeply admire—and aspire to embody.”

Luisiana Melendez, PhD, Clinical Professor

“I first read An Integrative Model for the Study of Developmental Competencies in Minority Children (García Coll et al 1996), while a doctoral student. In this piece, Dr. García Coll and colleagues discuss child development as nuanced by the culture and context in which development occurs, a fact that had been largely ignored in mainstream professional literature for decades. Since then, Dr. García Coll’s writings have been assigned reading in all courses I’ve taught at Erikson Institute, as I feel they help students to consider the strengths of the different family backgrounds of the children they will serve.”

Kia Ferrer, (PhD ’25)

“As my dissertation chair, Dr. Cynthia García Coll has had a profound impact on my intellectual and professional development within the field of developmental science. Her pioneering work on the Integrative Model for the Study of Developmental Competencies in Minority Children fundamentally shifted how I approach research on child development in pediatrics, particularly in social determinants of health shaped by race, ethnicity, social stratification, and immigration. As a fellow Puerto Rican, seeing Dr. Cynthia García Coll’s leadership in developmental science was also deeply affirming. Her presence in the field showed me that it was possible to bring my full cultural identity into my academic work. She served as a role model—proof that scholars like me belong in this space and can help shape it.”

Amanda Moreno, Associate Professor

“My personal favorite quote of Adele’s is: ‘Want to optimize executive functions and academic outcomes? Simple, just nourish the human spirit’ (Diamond, 2013; p. 205). This philosophy as well as the evidence behind it has influenced the field and our team greatly, and her speech at graduation provided multiple tangible inspirations for how our graduates will put these ideas to work in their settings. Love and care is good learning, and we have Adele to thank for providing the neuroscience behind what skilled early childhood practitioners have known instinctively for decades.”

To learn more about Commencement 2025, including a video featuring remarks by Diamond and García Coll, please click here.