Dr. Alexis Merculief

Alexis is a postdoctoral fellow with the Equity in Early Education (E3) postdoctoral fellowship program, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). She received her Ph.D in Human Development and Family Studies from Oregon State University in 2023. Prior to her doctoral training, she received a B.A. in psychology from Seattle Pacific University, and an M.S. in Human Development from Oregon State University. Alexis is an Aleut tribal member and previously worked to promote education, health, and cultural connection in American Indian/Alaska Native children through youth program development at an AI/AN health organization in the Northwest.

Alexis is interested in how features of the built and social environment influence cognitive development (specifically, executive function) in early childhood; as well as how community and cultural resilience can promote long-term health and academic achievement for children from American Indian, Alaska Native, and other underserved populations.