Research Assistants and Administrative Staff

Penina Braffman (braffman@tc.columbia.edu) is Administrative Assistant to NCCF Co-Director Sharon Lynn Kagan. Ms. Braffman graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in May of 2009 with a Bachelors degree in English. As an undergraduate, she worked at the Penn Writing Center as a writing tutor and participated in West Philadelphia's Big Brothers Big Sisters Program.

Jocelyn Friedlander (friedlander@tc.columbia.edu) is Research Assistant to NCCF Co-Director Sharon Lynn Kagan. Ms. Friedlander graduated from Yale in May 2009 with a B.A. in Psychology. As an undergraduate, she conducted research on emotion regulation in children at the Yale Child Study Center. She has been a fellow at the Zigler Center for Child Development and Social Policy, and a tutor in New Haven's public schools.

Rachel McKinnon (mckinnon@tc.columbia.edu) is Administrative Assistant to NCCF Co-Director Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. Ms. McKinnon graduated from Arizona State University in May 2004 with a Bachelors degree in Family Studies and Human Development. Prior to her work at NCCF, she was a Research Assistant at the University of Maryland for Dr. Nathan Fox. She is currently pursuing an M.A. degree in Developmental Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Jodi Moss (moss@tc.columbia.edu ) is Communications Director for NCCF.  Prior to joining NCCF, Ms. Moss was the marketing and public relations manager at Porter Novelli, a global public relations agency, and the director of marketing for Dynamic Diamond Corp.  Ms. Moss received her MBA from Columbia Business School with a concentration in marketing and management and her BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania.

Samara Wallace-Noyola (wallace-noyola@tc.columbia.edu) joined NCCF in September 2004 as Finance Director. Prior to joining NCCF, Ms. Wallace-Noyola was employed at Columbia University for eight years. She holds a Bachelor degree in Business Administration from Metropolitan College of New York, and is currently pursuing a MA degree in fundraising for non-profit administration at Columbia University.