The Virtual Lab School was founded by Dr. Cynthia K. Buettner, emeritus Professor of Human Development and Family Science at The Ohio State University. The team is currently led by Associate Professor, Dr. Sarah N. Lang, College of Education and Human Ecology. VLS team members have both practical and research experience in child development and education. The VLS team and contributing writers, expert consultants, and reviewers conduct studies and update VLS content with the latest research from the field.
Principal Investigators
Cynthia Buettner, Ph.D.
Founder
Dr. Cynthia Buettner is now an emeritus Professor at The Ohio State University, was the founder of the Virtual Lab School, serving as the Principal Investigator of the project for more than 10 years. Her research and outreach activities have focused on at-risk children, their families, and the educational and human service systems that support them. In addition to leading the development of the VLS, she conducted evaluation studies of Ohio’s childcare quality rating and improvement system, led the Ohio State Kid Corps project, which paired hundreds of college students with children in Head Start centers, and directed the Directory for Children with Special Needs project for the former Office of Special Needs within the Department of Defense.
Sarah Lang, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator, Director
Dr. Sarah Lang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Sciences at The Ohio State University, and is the current Principal Investigator and Director of the Virtual Lab School. Dr. Lang’s research is focused on strengthening children’s learning outcomes and experiences in childcare settings by examining the network of relationships and contexts in which children develop. She is committed to ensuring that the early childhood workforce is well trained and supported so they can provide high-quality care to children. She has specifically studied the cocaring relationship between families and early childhood professionals, interventions to support early childhood teachers’ resiliency, and coaching-based professional development systems, including the efficacy of the Virtual Lab School model.
Our Staff
Kristen Knight, M.S.
Associate Director of Professional Development & Training
Dan Buettner
Technical Director
Jim Pickett
Creative Director
Jason Baker
Media Director
Brian Roberts, M.Ed,
Senior Multimedia Producer
Kaleigh Matesick, M.A.
Lead Content & Training Developer
Amy Hudson
Content Training Coordinator
Sal D’Arienzo
Editor & Implementation Specialist
Victoria Boone
VLS Program Coordinator
Robert Nichols, Ph.D.
Program Coordinator, Support Request Specialist, Research Associate
Erin Tebben, Ph.D.
Associate Director of Research and Program Evaluation
Jun Wang, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Erin Fox, M.P.A, M.P.H.
Graduate Research Associate
Abby Bush
Graduate Research Associate
Content Experts & Contributors
- Rosemarie Allen, Ph.D.
- Kristin Tenney-Blackwell MA, LLP, IMH-E
- Jennifer Cunningham
- Mary Louise Hemmeter, Ph.D.
- Pamela Hardin
- Neal Horen, PhD
- Dara Houston
- Amy Hunter, LCSW
- Iheoma U. Iruka, Ph.D.
- LaToya Jackson. M.S.
- Anneliese Johnson, M.S.
- Tara Kirton, MSEd
- Victoria Kress, Ph.D.
- Kathleen Artman-Meeker, Ph.D.
- Sharon Millington
- Jenille Adams Morgan, M.A.
- Adrienne Moetanalo, M.P.H.
- Chryso Mouzourou, Ph.D.
- Rosalie Odean
- Michaelene M. Ostrosky, Ph.D.
- Charis Price, Ph.D.
- Summer Luckey, Ph.D.
- Aaron Robertson
- Katherine Robertson, LCSW
- Meredith Schilling, M.S.
- Vanessa Shrontz, M.S.
- Jane Silovsky
- Sarah Simpson, M.L.I.S
- Eliza Sproat
- Carol Taylor
- Jovanna Tyree