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"A good leader shines the light on other people and helps others reach their own goals."

Dr. Alissa Huth-Bocks lives by those words. Since becoming MPSI's director on January 1 she has worked to meet with MPSI's faculty and staff, understand the scope of their projects, learn Wayne State's processes and bring a fresh approach to community and collegial connections. "My background in clinical psychology comes in handy," she said, "as I understand the importance of both advancing scientific knowledge and applying or 'translating' that knowledge to best support families through service and outreach."

Dr. Huth-Bocks is nationally recognized for her work on the development and implementation of evidence-based services and interventions for children, youth and families with a multi-generational integrated platform centered on stress and resilience in urban families. She came to MPSI from Cleveland's Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital (part of the University Hospitals network) where she was a psychologist and professor in the Department of Pediatrics (Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics & Psychology) as well as the Department of Psychiatry. Her research interests are parent-infant/toddler attachment, early relational health, multi-generational health care, and traumatic stress in families and communities.

Returning to the Detroit area was "like coming home," she said. Her family roots are in Southeast Michigan, and she received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Michigan State University. Dr. Huth-Bocks assumes the directorship from Dr. Peter Lichtenberg, who will continue as director of the Institute of Gerontology, MPSI's lifespan research partner. Dr. Lichtenberg took the helm at MPSI in 2009 bringing strength and stability to the Institute after a series of short-term leaders. He added new faculty, increased grant numbers and amounts, expanded community engagement, built awareness of the historical significance of Charles Freer and Freer House, and oversaw the 100-year celebration of MPSI's founding. Of special note, Dr. Lichtenberg created MPSI's first pre-doctoral training program and oversaw the establishment of its Dual-Title Infant Mental Health degree.

"I am thrilled to now hand the reins to Dr. Huth-Bocks, a true expert in child development," Dr. Lichtenberg said. "And I am proud of the honor to have been able to direct MPSI and its faculty for 14 years. We have worked as a team to fortify the Institute and reach new goals. I feel strongly that Dr. Huth-Bocks will continue to achieve, building strength upon strength."

In her own words: Q & A with Dr. Huth-Bocks

What attracted you to this position at MPSI?

The opportunity to direct MPSI was an ideal and natural next step in my career. The combination of my past experiences as a traditional tenured faculty member studying early childhood development among urban families and programmatic leadership in a pediatric healthcare setting give me a breadth of background that prepares me well for this role. The role of Director allows me to not only continue my own basic and applied developmental research, but also the opportunity to lead and grow the Institute in new ways. I'm eager to support others' work, grow collaborations, break down silos of work across the university, and diversify the interdisciplinary research, training, and outreach that MPSI is so well known for. 

I grew up here and received all my educational training in Michigan, so I have admired the legacy and work being done at MPSI for decades. I have also had the honor of working with other scholars at MPSI in the past, so in many ways, this has felt like "coming home."

What opportunities do you see for MPSI, its mission and faculty?

One of my favorite things to do is bring together people who share a common passion or goal, so I am looking forward to bridging connections and growing teams to accomplish bigger goals together! Connections and a sense of community through trusted relationships make our work more successful and also more enlivening and enjoyable.

I'm very eager to reach out and grow our faculty affiliations with other disciplines at the university not currently well represented at MPSI, such as public health, pediatrics, nursing and education, to name a few. I'd love to see greater interdisciplinary work and have benefited personally from working alongside professionals in these other fields. Our mission is broadto improve the lives of children and their families--so we need to capitalize on different perspectives and types of scholarly and applied work. 

I'm very grateful to Dr. Lichtenberg for stabilizing and growing MPSI during his tenure. This is an exciting time for me to further revitalize the Institute with new ideas, in collaboration with faculty and staff, and to grow an expanded vision of our collective work. We are still grappling with the instability of the pandemic and other widely felt stressors, which changed the way people live and work. The upside is we now have the chance to reorganize ourselves, reevaluate goals, and look to new directions.

What is your leadership style and approach?

I approach leadership with both humility and a strong stance of advocacy. Having worked at various institutions and in different settings, I have experienced a wide range of leadership styles. I strive to be open to learning from others. In my opinion, good leaders recognize they don't need to know everything. I welcome and value input and feedback from others and aim to be collaborative.

At the same time, I want to lift up others' work and advocate for those with whom I work, so I'm not afraid to be a "squeaky wheel" if I need to be. A good leader shines the light on other people and helps them reach their own goals. I strive to lead in a way that explicitly recognizes everyone's value and unique strengths regardless of formal roles or titles. 

Having a sense that someone has your back and you aren't in it alone, can also lead to more courageous and innovative ideas. Leaders need support and connection too. 

A powerful thing I learned once, that still resonates with me is that leaders consider how best to support their colleagues and the overall mission or goal (whatever that may be). Sometimes this means walking in front, sometimes this means walking side by side, and sometimes this means walking behind. How to know which? Be intentional and ask what the other person needs.

Any priorities yet? 

Yes! 

• Get to know well what everyone is doing, their goals, and any felt obstacles to their best work. Work on solutions and strategies to remove or reduce those obstacles.
• Re-evaluate, with input from others, how things have been typically or historically done at the Institute. With a focus on increasing our sense of connection and community, consider new ways of doing things. What is the best approach, what makes the most sense now?
• Spend time outside the Institute and across the university to learn what others are doing and to raise awareness of MPSI. Help bridge connections to other groups and individuals that share our mission.
• Explore additional financial supports for our work. We are privileged to work at an Institute that receives strong support from WSU, but we also recognize that "outside" funding is imperative to continue our mission with impact and relevance. To grow as an Institute requires funding; awareness is a critical part of this. I want to strengthen our relationship with the Development office and beyond to help others understand what we do and why it is vital to child and family well-being.
• Maintain and support MPSI's homethe Freer House. Protect the house's legacy as the home of Charles Freer and his extensive art collection (now at the Smithsonian) as well as the original home of the Merrill Palmer School for Motherhood and Home Training.

Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute Report 2021/2022
Editor : Cheryl Deep
Designer: Catherine Blasio