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Why Culture & Belonging Matter in Early Childhood | Telli Davoodi, PhD

Telli Davoodi, PhD · Developmental Psychologist, Boston University · Princeton University · Gallup · Meta

Developmental psychologist Telli Davoodi explores how culture, identity, and belonging shape the way young children learn, connect, and grow during the most formative years.

About the speaker

Telli Davoodi, PhD

Developmental Psychologist, Boston University · Princeton University · Gallup · Meta

Dr. Telli Davoodi is a developmental psychologist whose work explores how culture and context shape children's cognitive, social, and emotional development. She earned her PhD in Developmental Psychology from Boston University and continued her cross-cultural research at Boston University's Wheelock College of Education and Human Development and Princeton University, where she studied conceptual reasoning across cultures and the influence of factors such as language and religion on learning and development.

Prior to joining Meta, Dr. Davoodi served as a Research and Methodology Lead at Gallup, partnering with international organizations on large-scale studies examining children's well-being, social connection, youth digital experiences, and the global experience of loneliness.

Today, she is a researcher at Meta, where she focuses on digital trust and safety across the company's platforms, with a particular emphasis on the experiences of children, adolescents, and other vulnerable populations.

At Kinetiq, Dr. Davoodi contributes her expertise on cultural identity, belonging, and child development, helping ensure that the program's cultural pillar is grounded in research and meaningful developmental practice.

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