The Nebraska Academy for Early Childhood Research has selected six faculty members to serve as Policy Fellows for the 2025-26 academic year.
The NAECR Policy Fellows Program is designed to educate early childhood researchers on policy processes, impacts and relationships to research; to provide policymakers with insight into the latest early childhood research at the University of Nebraska; and to generate collaboration among researchers and policymakers to develop effective research agendas that enrich early childhood experiences.
The program features a series of informal conversations between NAECR early childhood researchers and First Five Nebraska.
Katie Bass, data and policy research advisor for First Five Nebraska, said the Policy Fellows program is key to bridging the gap between the research and policy communities in the state.
“First Five Nebraska is privileged to have a front-row seat, using leading-edge research to help our state’s policymakers make the most informed decisions possible about the care, education and healthy development of young children,” she said.
Continuing and strengthening the partnership between First Five Nebraska and NAECR Policy Fellows, Bass said, is crucial for future generations of children and their families.
“When we combine this mutually beneficial learning process with the work of building strategic relationships, it widens future opportunities for evaluative and applied policy research,” she said.
The 2025-26 NAECR Policy Fellows are:
Pamela Bazis, assistant professor of special education and communication disorders, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Birdie Ganz, professor of special education and communication disorders, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Sangyoo Lee, assistant professor of child development, Munroe-Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Sharon Obasi, department chair and professor, Department of Counseling, School Psychology and Family Science, University of Nebraska at Kearney
JP Rech, assistant professor of physical education, University of Nebraska at Kearney
Nishank Varshney, assistant professor, Department of Education and Child Development, Munroe-Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Learn more about the 2025-26 NAECR Policy Fellows.
College of Education and Human Sciences
Special Education and Communication Disorders
