People

Tovah P. Klein, Ph.D. - Director

Tovah P. Klein, Ph.D (tklein@barnard.edu) has a doctorate in developmental and clinical psychology from Duke University and holds a bachelor's degree from University of Michigan in Psychology. She is on faculty in Psychology at Barnard College and conducts research on children's social development and parents' experiences parenting young children, including the challenges of combining work and family. Other research areas focus on trauma and young children, as well as children's use of play to communicate and process emotions and stressful experiences. She is on the Advisory Boards of Room to Grow, Per Dev, Rwanda Educational Assistance Program, Ubuntu Education Fund, LearnNow.org, and has been an advisor to Sesame Street. Dr. Klein is an advisor to children's TV and film, and is frequently quoted in parenting magazines and the media as an expert on toddler development and parenting issues. Dr. Klein's first book How Toddlers Thrive: What parents can do today to plant the seeds of lifelong success was published in 2014 and she is currently working on the next one. Follow her on Twitter: @tovahklein. She is the mother of three young adults, all Toddler Center graduates.

Alison Davis - Associate Director

Alison Davis (aldavis@barnard.edu) received her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and her Masters in Social Work from Hunter College. She spent many years working with children and families as a social worker before returning to Hunter for a Masters in Early Childhood Education. Prior to joining the Toddler Center in 2018, she spent nine years as a teacher at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church Day School. Alison is the mother of two children- her daughter is a Barnard College senior and her son is living and working in NYC. 

Robin Otton - Center Administrator

Robin (toddlercenter@barnard.edu) is the Center Administrator with a connection to the Toddler Center stemming back to her many years as an independent school admissions director in New York.  Mother of two children, Robin enjoys time with family, walking and birding in Central Park and doing jigsaw puzzles.    

Ketaki Krishnan - Research Coordinator/Asst. Teacher

Ketaki (kkrishnan@barnard.edu) graduated from Barnard in 2023 with a degree in Psychology. Ketaki will be coordinating the Toddler Center's research projects and also teaching in the Monday/Thursday afternoon and Wednesday morning classes.  In her free time she enjoys swimming, cooking her favorite South Indian dishes, and making art inspired by nature, childhood, and nostalgia.

Hannah Corrie - Teacher

Hannah (hcorrie@barnard.edu) is a Barnard College graduate with a master's in English literature and a recently earned master's in Early Childhood/General Ed from Bank Street. This is Hannah's fourth year at the Toddler Center and she will be teaching in all 2-day classes at the Toddler Center.  Writing poetry is her favorite pastime.    

Alison Itzkowitz -  Teacher

Alison, also known as Ali, (aitzkowi@barnard.edu) received her bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 2015 and has completed a graduate degree in Early Childhood Education from Brooklyn College, May 2023.  Ali has been teaching preschoolers for 7 years (including 2 in Japan) and is excited to be in her second year at the Toddler Center. In her spare time, she likes to swim, do yoga, bake, and hang out with her cat named Mushroom. 

Leslie Perrell - Assistant Teacher

Leslie (lperrel@barnard.edu) graduated from Barnard, worked in its Speech Perception Lab, and watched her two year old son at the Toddler Center while observing for her Developmental Psychology class. After spending decades in the corporate world, she decided it was time to try something new. Now in her fifth year at the Toddler Center, she recently obtained Child Development Associate accreditation. Some of Leslie's free time is spent visiting her two sets of twin grandchildren and gardening. 

Carly Stein - Assistant Teacher

Carly (cstein@barnard.edu) graduated from Barnard in 2022 and begins her second year with us as an assistant teacher in the Monday/Thursday afternoon and Wednesday morning classes.