Ellie Wroten

Ellie Wroten is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Human Development and Family Sciences program. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree with Distinction in Human Services, with a concentration in Administration and Family Policy, as well as a Master of Science degree in Human Development and Family Sciences, also from the University of Delaware. Ellie is a constructivist-interpretivist lifespan developmental researcher with widely ranging interests centered around major transitions across the lifespan, death and dying across the life span, and emerging adulthood. She is also a very passionate educator.

Manuscripts, Published or In Progress

• Wroten, E.D.S., & Hareven, T.K. (2024). The life course of twentieth century Lyon silk workers: A pilot study. Historical Life Course Studies, 14(2024), 41-56. https://doi.org/10.51964/hlcs16992.
• Wroten, E.D.S., Black, M., Lewis, B., Ritter, L.J., & Knox, D. (Under review). Sex on the school bus: Invisible context of sex education? Manuscript submitted for publication.
• Farmer, H.R., Eze, J., Ambroise, A.Z., Wroten, E., Thomas Tobin, C.S., & Stokes, J.E. (Under review). Purpose in life as a moderator in the association between discrimination and cognitive functioning. Manuscript submitted for publication.
• Goldstein, S.E., Gunn, J.F., Lee, C.L., Paldi, R., & Wroten, E.D.S. (Under review). Extreme parenting and youth adjustment: Associations among helicopter parenting, parental psychological control, autonomy, and mental health. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Recent Presentations

• Riera, K., Goldstein, S., Wroten, E., Figgs, V., Miller, M., Atienza Spencer, G., Fitzgerald, E., Simpers, K. (2024, November). “Launching”: Fathers’ perspectives on parenting and the college transition process. Lightning paper accepted for presentation at the National Organization of Human Services Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
• Whitaker, A., Buell, M., Shelley, J., Wroten, E. (2024, June). The inclusion of individualized coaching in state early care and education policies. Poster presented at the Administration for Children and Families’ National Research Conference on Early Childhood, Arlington, VA.
• Wroten, E.D.S. (2024, June). Pink penalties in the ivory tower: Sexism experiences of older female academics. Poster presented at the Groves Conference on Marriage and Family, Harlem, NY.
• Wroten, E.D.S. (2024, April). The lives of silk workers in late 20^th century Lyon: A pilot life course examination. Paper presented at the Marion H. Steele Research Symposium, Newark, DE.
• Wroten, E. (2024, April). Who lives, who dies, who tells your story: An investigation of academic retirement, end-of-life, and unfinished projects. Paper presented at the Southern Sociological Society Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
• Wroten, E., Goldstein, S., Riera, K., Miller, M., Figgs, V., Spencer, G.A., Simpers, K. (2024, April). “As a parent I have let go a lot more, because I don’t have a choice”: Parents’ experiences of their child moving away from home to attend college. Poster presented at the Southern Sociological Society Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
• Devlin, M. M., Cuddy, L., Wroten, E., Hanley, D. (2024, February). Extending Avatar Embodiment: A proposal for a qualitative investigation. Top Student Paper. Paper presented at the Western Communication Association 2024 Convention, Reno, NV.
• Buell, M.J., Whitaker, A., and Wroten, E.D.S. (2024, February). State-Level Coaching Policies: Systems Support for Inclusion in ECE Settings. Paper presented at the Conference on Research Innovations in Early Intervention, San Diego, CA.
• Wroten, E.D.S., Whitaker, A., and Buell, M.J. (2023, November). Instructional Coaching Inclusion in State Child Care and Development Fund Plans. Paper presented at the National Council on Family Relations 2023 Annual Conference, Orlando, FL.
• Goldstein, S., Riera, K., Wroten, E.D.S., and Miller, M. (2023, October). Leaving the nest: First-year college students’ perspectives on leaving home. Paper presented at the Society for the Study of Human Development 2023 Conference, Philadelphia, PA.

Professional Experience

• Graduate Research Assistant (2022 – Present)
  • Instructional Coaching and State Early Care and Education Policies (January 2023 – December 2024), assisting Dr. Anamarie Whitaker
  • Collaborative for Data-Driven Action (June – December 2022) – Maternity Care Coalition Virtual Home Visiting project, assisting Dr. Laura Wallace
• Course Instructor (2023 – Present): HDFS422 – Capstone in Family Relationships. University of Delaware, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences.
• Graduate Research Assistant (2022 – Present)
•  Instructional Coaching and State Early Care and Education Policies (January 2023 – present), assisting Dr. Anamarie Whitaker
• Collaborative for Data-Driven Action (June – December 2022) – Maternity Care Coalition Virtual Home Visiting project, assisting Dr. Laura Wallace
• Graduate Student Collaborator (2022 – Present): The Launching Adolescents, UNderstanding College Health (LAUNCH) project will be the first mixed-method, longitudinal study examining the role of parents and other important social agents in the lives of emerging adults as they transition to college.
• Project Liaison, Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (2023)
• Graduate Teaching Assistant (2021 – 2022): HDFS 202 – Diversity and Families
• Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (2019 – 2020): HDFS202.
• Undergraduate Research Assistant (2019 – 2020): Autism in Context Research Lab, assisting Dr. Sara Curtiss.
• Laboratory and Studio Fellow (2018 – 2020): University of Delaware Physics Department, SCEN101.

Honors and Awards

• Seth Trotter Special Collections Research Award, 2024
• Top Student Paper, Western Communication Association
• Catherine Bieber Scholarship for Academic Achievement and Leadership, 2021-2023
• Catherine Burke Flickinger Scholarship, 2017-2020
• Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society, 2019-present
• The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, 2020-present
• Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society, 2017-present

Professional Memberships

• Groves Conference on Marriage and Family, 2023 – present
  • Conference Committee Co-Chair
  • Families in a Time of Social and Political Upheaval: Lessons from the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Washington, D.C., 2025.
• Society of Southern Sociologists, 2023 – present
  • Anti-Harassment Taskforce Member
• National Council on Family Relations, 2023 – present
• Family Science Association, 2021 – present
• Interagency Coordinating Council, State of Delaware, 2023 – 2026
  • Equity committee vice chair

Past Education

• M.S. Human Development and Family Sciences, completing in Spring 2023, University of Delaware
• B.S. Human Services, Degree with Distinction, 2020, University of Delaware