Joy Lorenzo Kennedy, PhD

I am an Emmy-award-winning applied developmental psychologist, with expertise in language and literacy development, family involvement, play-based learning, and cost analysis. I combine over 20 years experience in rigorous quantitative and qualitative research with a strong background in IT; this dual background makes me proficient as both a researcher and a product manager.

In my current position as Senior Research Scientist at Education Development Center (EDC), I am Principal Investigator on two nationally-funded impact studies. 

• Institute of Education Sciences-awarded 3-year, $3M grant to conduct an initial efficacy study of Mission US, an online role-playing game for middle- and high-school students. We are investigating the impact of the Mission US games and accompanying curricular supports on students' historical knowledge and thinking skills, as well as their interest in history; findings will be available in mid-2025. 

• National Science Foundation-awarded 3-year, $3M grant to evaluate a culturally relevant intervention to model science-rich interactions using a telenovela. In collaboration with Literacy Partners and Univision, we created an Emmy-award-winning 5-episode mini-series. My team is investigating the impact of the miniseries, as well as workshops built around the series, on Spanish-speaking caregivers' attitudes and beliefs about science, as well as their knowledge of science careers; findings will be available in mid-2025. 

• I support a variety of other initiatives at EDC, including extensive work in cost analysis and leading work in the U.S. Virgin Islands for the Regional Educational Laboratory-Northeast and Islands.

I received my undergraduate degree in psychology from Brown University and my doctorate in Applied Psychology (Developmental program) from New York University. For my dissertation, I conducted a longitudinal investigation of narrative development in English-Spanish dual language learning children across narrative contexts and languages.