Lise Youngblade

Lise Youngblade earned her doctorate and master's degree in human development and family studies from Pennsylvania State University, and her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Oregon. She began her duties as dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at Colorado State University in August 2019. Youngblade joined Colorado State in 2006 as professor and head of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. She then served the college as associate dean for research from 2013-15 and as associate dean for strategic initiatives from 2015-2019.

Previously, Youngblade was a tenured associate professor of pediatrics and health policy and epidemiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. She also served as associate director of the Institute for Child Health Policy at the University of Florida.

Youngblade is a life-span applied developmental scientist whose areas of specialization include child and adolescent socio-emotional development, healthcare access for vulnerable youth, program evaluation, and analysis of developmental processes in educational and community contexts. A significant focus of her career is in community-engaged processes that unite evidence-based findings with policies and programs that support youth and families.  

Her work has been funded by multiple agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. She is currently co-principal investigator for a five-year project funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop assessment and training tools for systems serving children exposed to trauma.

She has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers, numerous chapters, and policy-oriented technical reports. She has co-authored a book on the balance of maternal employment and family well-being. She is a past co-editor of the Journal of Family Relations, and she recently completed a 10-year term on the editorial board of Developmental Psychology.  She regularly reviews for multiple journals and served as a standing member of an NIH study section for five years.

Youngblade is active in the community and served for six years as a member of the Colorado Medical Home Initiative, which is a state-wide collaborative headed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. That initiative seeks to ensure family-centered, comprehensive, coordinated, connected, and culturally competent health care for all children in Colorado. She is currently a three-term member of the board of directors of United Way of Larimer County, Colorado.

Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University,1990 
M.S. in Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, 1986 
B.S. in Psychology (with honors), University of Oregon, 1984