Isabel Bradburn serves as the research director of the Child Development Center for Learning and Research in the Department of Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) as well as the associate director of strategic and faculty initiatives for the Institute for Society, Culture & Environment (ISCE). She has worked at Virginia Tech since the fall of 2004. Before she worked at Virginia Tech, Bradburn held various roles in both clinical and research fields, working with children and families. Bradburn holds a master’s degree in human development from the Harvard School of Education and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley.

1. What was your first job and what did it teach you?  

One of my early jobs was babysitting in middle and high school. That taught me I liked kids and was interested in their development. My undergraduate work was in anthropology; I was curious about how personality development differs across cultures and societies. At the end of my undergraduate work, I was offered a position as a field manager in Africa, working with Pygmies. That was fascinating. There was a lot of literature there at the field site, and I started reading some of John Bowlby's work on attachment, which pushed me toward an interest in psychology. 

2. What made you interested in working in higher education? 

I always gravitated toward clinical positions that were within an academic institution, and for a while, I worked at medical schools. I'm not doing licensed clinical work currently, but the Child Development Center and a lot of the projects I’ve worked on at Virginia Tech have focused on preventing later difficulties in life. Working in higher education appealed to me due to the myriad roles you can hold, the openness to new ideas, and working with students. 

3. What is your favorite part of your role at Virginia Tech? 

The ability to continue growing and learning is my favorite part. In the HDFS department, my research team teaches undergraduates aspects of doing research with children and preschools and is concerned with how research on gesture might be applied in the preschool context.

I also bring in grant money to fund myself. Our projects are generally focused on early childhood, but they all take a slightly different lens. I also do a lot of program evaluation. I've worked with the state and localities, and I love learning about different communities and the problems they're working on. 

With ISCE, I have some latitude to develop professional development programs for faculty. I run a policy group, which is full of wonderful and inspiring faculty members. 

4. What projects are you currently working on at Virginia Tech? 

I’m wrapping up a guide that puts free or low-cost resources into one place for early childhood center directors. We received a grant from the Davenport Charitable Trust for this and another project.

I’m working with Le Wang, professor of agricultural and applied economics and The David M. Kohl Chair in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, on a grant that's looking at childcare subsidies and benefits cliffs. A “benefits cliff” refers to when a family’s increase in earnings results in a decrease in benefits, but they are unable to sustain their household and need continued support.

On the ISCE side, our +Policy Network recently received a grant focused on metricizing the societal value of research.  

5. What do you like most about serving on CECE’s advisory board?

I really love learning about this center. It fits my profile well in terms of being out with communities and focusing on a combination of research and action, working locally while applying what you learn from literature and contributing to it, as well. 

6. What do you look forward to working on with CECE in the future?

I look forward to learning more about CECE and seeing where I can plug in my expertise. I’m interested in infrastructure around children and families, development, and those kinds of large-scale topics. 

7. What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Try to take a vacation before you think you actually need it. 

8. What is the last book you read that you would recommend?

I would recommend Who Is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service edited by Michael Lewis. The stories were so varied. The writers did a very good job. 

9. What is your favorite place to travel for vacation?

Andalusia in Spain. We ended up vacationing after a family reunion there. I fell madly in love with it. It is just magnificent, from the architecture and the national parks to the people and the food.