Service
Alex is the inaugural Chair of Professional Development & Training for the Utah Association of Infant Mental Health (UAIMH), where she launched a quarterly Lunch & Learn series co-sponsored by the Weber State University Department of Child & Family Studies. She also created and supervises a funded fellowship in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Professional Development & Training for early career professionals and students. In January 2022, Alex was appointed to the board and named President-elect of UAIMH. In each of her UAIMH roles, Alex is contributing to the roll-out of Infant Mental Health Endorsement (IMHE® ) in Utah. As a member of Utah’s IMHE® Leadership Cohort, in May 2022, Alex was one of the first eight professionals in Utah to earn endorsement through the national Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health.
As a former award winner, Alex serves on the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Critical Perspectives in Early Childhood Education Dissertation Award Committee. She has served as a conference proposal reviewer and as a reviewer for international peer-reviewed journals in qualitative research and in early childhood education. Alex served as the editorial assistant for the Bank Street Occasional Paper Series 2016 special issue on “Life in Inclusive Classrooms: Storytelling with Disability Studies in Education”. She is a former Student Editorial Board member of the American Journal of Education.
At Weber State University, Alex serves on the Faculty Senate’s Teaching and Learning Committee. She has been recognized by the WSU Teaching and Learning Forum as a campus leader in inclusive pedagogy, recruited to support the internal Thrive Symposium, and to facilitate university-wide discussions and workshops around inclusive curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment in higher education.
Alex is the faculty advisor to 40 undergraduate students in Early Childhood and Early Childhood Education programs. She is also the Child and Family Studies Department Liaison and Advisor for the Weber State University Bachelors of Integrated Studies (BIS) program. She also enjoys serving on capstone project committees for students pursuing BIS degrees, and enthusiastically welcomes new students interested in collaboration and feedback on projects related to the needs of children and to early childhood education. Alex has served on two committees for recent student capstone projects: the first around using picture books and open-ended discussions to support preschool-aged children’s understanding of death, and a second around combatting politically motivated misinformation on child trafficking, and disseminating mental health-informed approaches for survivors of child trafficking.
Alex previously served on Weber State’s Research, Scholarship, and Professional Growth (RSPG) committee, responsible for reviewing and funding internal grant proposals. Alex was the founding chair and a previous member of the Moyes College of Education Justice and Equity Committee, and a previous member of the the Teacher Education Admission & Retention Committee. Alex is the former Vice Chair of the Weber State University public Charter Academy Kindergarten’s Board of Directors.
During her time at Penn State, Alex served as the President of the Disability Studies Student Group, as a member of the University Libraries’ Accessibility Committee, and as a member of the College of Education’s Diversity and Community Enhancement Committee (DCEC). She served as a representative on the Curriculum & Instruction Department Student Council, as secretary and Early Childhood Education Liaison for the Curriculum & Instruction Graduate Student Association (CIGSA), and supported the Pennsylvania Educational Equity Project in outreach efforts. Alex previously served as a Volunteer Coordinator for TEDxPSU and as treasurer for the Penn State campus chapter of Active Minds. In 2015, she directed a fluid workshop on Dramatic Puppet Play at the 6th Annual Play Mini-Conference for NAEYC’s Week of the Young Child.
Alex Collopy, Ph.D. 