Fahad Usman

Fahad Usman is a Research Coordinator in the Family ENGAGEMENT Research Group at the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, where he supports Dr. Abigail Palmer Molina’s research on maternal and infant mental health, including the Parents as Teachers Maternal Mental Health Learning Collaborative. 

He is also a doctoral candidate in Developmental Science at North Dakota State University, where his research examines how family economic stress and parental mental health shape children’s developmental and academic outcomes. He is particularly interested in the mechanisms through which material hardship and household disorganization contribute to children’s behavioral and cognitive difficulties, and in how targeted economic investments, such as unconditional cash transfers, can promote resilience in vulnerable families. His work spans quantitative and mixed-methods approaches, including structural equation modeling, multilevel growth modeling, and program evaluation, and is grounded in a commitment to equity-centered, community-engaged research with low-income and marginalized families.