Emily Jensen, then and now.

GLADSTONE — Emily Jensen, daughter of David and Kristine Jensen of Gladstone, recently graduated with a PhD in Human Development and Family Studies from Michigan State University.

Her work focuses on supporting children with disabilities and their caregivers in healthcare and educational settings through community-based research and practitioner training to ensure inclusion, access, and high-quality care. She successfully defended her dissertation entitled: “Investigating the consilience between the needs of caregivers of children with medical complexities and the training experiences of pediatric residents: A mixed-methods, multi-phase exploration.”

During her time at MSU, she managed the Research in Autism and Developmental Disabilities lab, served as an assistant coach for a baseball league for children with disabilities, published several peer-reviewed journal articles, and taught numerous undergraduate courses.

She currently works as an inclusion consultant on an early childhood curriculum and hopes to land a tenure-track academic position.