Holly Hatton-Bowers

Holly Hatton-Bowers

Holly Hatton-Bowers Associate Professor and Early Childhood Extension Specialist

Holly Hatton-Bowers received her doctorate from the University of California, Davis in human development with a focus on early childhood development and early mental health. She completed the University of Massachusetts/Napa Infant-Parent Mental Health Post-Graduate Certificate Program in 2007. She has been a CASA worker, family support worker for families with children 0-5 years with involvement in child welfare services, a child care provider of infants and toddlers in a perinatal day treatment program, and an evaluation consultant for programs aimed at enhancing and improving caregiving for low-income families. For four years she served as a senior academic researcher at the University of California, Davis Extension, examining programs and services serving vulnerable children and families and using research-based education to enhance the lives of professionals, families, and communities.

Hatton-Bowers is an assistant professor in child, youth, and family studies and an early childhood extension specialist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Hatton-Bowers’ primary areas of interest and scholarly activity include creating and implementing programs designed to enhance the quality of early childhood development and early care and education and to use strategies that cultivate resilience, compassion, and kindness among caregivers and families. Her work focuses on contemplative practices, such as reflection and mindfulness to promote child, teacher, and family well-being. Specifically, these practices are examined for how they improve parent and teacher capacity for sensitive and responsive caregiving; particularly in the context of stress, and with vulnerable populations of children. As an Extension Early Childhood Specialist, she is active in translating and disseminating current research findings in the areas of caregiving and health in early childhood using an interdisciplinary approach.

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