People: Administrative Team
ECRC Administrative Team: Norline, Christine and Keely.
X. Christine Wang, PhD
Associate Dean for Interdisciplinary Research
Professor
Director, Early Childhood Research Center
wangxc@buffalo.edu
Christine, a native of China, completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Beijing Normal University. She obtained her PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2003 and joined the University at Buffalo faculty later that same year.
Christine is a prolific researcher and an active member in professional organizations. Her primary research interests include young children’s learning and collaboration in technology-rich environments, early science/literacy and design experiment, and early childhood education in international contexts. Besides conducting research, what she enjoys the most is spending time in classrooms and being the favorite aunt of her young nephews.
Keely Benson, PhD
Associate Director, Early Childhood Research Center
ko23@buffalo.edu
Keely grew up in Hamburg, New York, and currently resides in East Aurora. She completed her BA at the University at Buffalo in psychology and social sciences and interdisciplinary with a minor in education. In 2010, Keely began teaching at ECRC as a lead teacher in the preschool classroom. During that time, she obtained her master’s at UB in early childhood/childhood education and is certified to teach students birth to sixth grade.
Keely completed her doctoral degree in the Curriculum, Instruction and the Science of Learning program with a concentration in early childhood education. Her research interests include visual arts in early childhood and early childhood curriculum development. She loves to spend time with her family—her husband Josh and their daughter Isla. She also loves her hometown hockey team, the Buffalo Sabres!
Norline Wild, PhD, MSW
Curriculum Coordinator, Early Childhood Research Center
nwild@buffalo.edu
Norline is a lifelong Western New Yorker, and currently resides on Grand Island. She received her bachelor’s degree in human services from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, and her master’s degree in social work (MSW) from Boston College. In 2016, Norline came to ECRC and UB as an educator and student. She completed her doctoral degree in the Curriculum, Instruction and the Science of Learning Program with a concentration in early childhood education in 2022. Norline is passionate about the impact of picturebooks and the power they hold to promote identity, diversity, justice and action in our early childhood classrooms. She is excited to interweave social justice into our curriculum.
When she's not at ECRC, Norline loves to read, walk, practice yoga and spend time with her husband, Jason, and their three children, Mara, Gabriella and Anthony.