Gretchen C. Yehl

Experience

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  Dearhaven Child Care & Learning Center

  May 2008 - Oct 2011

  Supervising Teacher for an Infant/Toddler Classroom

  -Responsible for safe, effective, creative classroom environment; planning and scheduling activities-Encourage, facilitate observe and document child developmental progress-Review child assessments prepared by other teachers; coach/counsel teachers; lead team meetings -Prepare and present parent conferences; in addition to providing daily advise to parents on their child’s progress and individual needs

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  Advocate Lutheran General Children's Hospital

  Sept 2011 - Aug 2012

  Intern, Healthy Steps for Young Children

  -Worked with a Developmental Specialist and Pediatric Residents-Trained in both Healthy Steps and Bright Futures-As a team met with families and conducted parent consults-Participated in well-baby checks-ups-Contributed to the weekly NICU Follow-up Clinic; performed the Batelle Cognitive Assessment on children 2-3 years of age-Updated parent resource flyers and parent packets-Visited and shadowed each Advocate Health Care Healthy Steps Specialist, for a broad view of the needs of the families served at each site. Show less

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  Haymarket Center

  Oct 2011 - Nov 2012

  Early Head Start Home Visitor

  Child development and parent support specialist in a residential drug treatment facility. Supported women who were either pregnant or currently parenting as they navigated the unique challenges and stressors in their recovery and parenting. · Maintained a caseload of 12 clients, consisting of pregnant women and families with children age 0-3 years.· Conducted weekly 90-minute home visits, both onsite and offsite, with each client.· Conducted twice-monthly parent group socializations.· Assisted homeless families struggling with substance abuse, addiction and recovery, untreated mental health issues, and trauma.· Helped expand the EHS program to Haymarket Center’s incarcerated unit known as MOMS; worked with incarcerated women who were parenting or pregnant.· Completed regular developmental assessments to ensure clients were meeting developmental milestones.· Worked with a dynamic team consisting of the nursing staff, unit staff, nutritionist, and an Infant Mental Health Consultant Show less

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  University of Illinois Chicago

  Oct 2012 - Oct 2013

  Healthy Steps Specialist

  Child development and parent support specialist in a pediatric hospital setting under a multi-year grant through Chicago Public Schools, supporting teen moms. · Worked with a dynamic team of pediatric residents and hospital personnel to provide at-risk families with comprehensive health care.· Educated pediatric residents on child development.· Conducted regular home visits with a pediatric resident. · Assisted during all well-baby check-ups to provide both the families and the pediatric resident with helpful information regarding child development, and guidance around topics such as sleep and feeding.· Completed regular developmental assessments during the well-baby check-up.· Regularly reviewed and updated parent handouts and information packets to ensure families received the most updated and relevant information. · Assisted with Healthy Steps parent groups. Show less

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  Intertek

  Oct 2013 - Sept 2015

  • Coordinated and led projects for premium and promotional items from concept stage through design, manufacturing, distribution, and post-distribution.• Provided safety consultation and relevant child development information (developmental capabilities) to clients for premium and promotional items by evaluating and identifying essential safety and regulatory requirements.• Communicated essential safety and regulatory requirements to clients, both verbally and through written reports.• Interfaced with client and client’s suppliers and manufacturers on tactical issues. Show less Provided child development expertise, foreseeable use analysis, and advisory services to companies interested in designing out identified hazards to create safer consumer products that met all regulatory and essential safety standards. • Provided internal safety engineers and external clients with knowledge regarding the developmental capabilities and interests of children and adults, and often worked on multiple projects at once.• Managed developmentally appropriate observations and interactions with children and adults in a laboratory setting.• Researched and reviewed available literature related to child development and product safety.• Presented to customers on the developmental capabilities of individuals throughout the lifespan and the foreseeable uses of consumer products.• Hosted regular child playgroups in order to observe children play and interact with product, or to collect pediatric biomechanic and anthropometric data Show less

  • Safety Engineer

    Oct 2014 - Sept 2015

  • Research Scientist/Child Development Specialist

    Oct 2013 - Sept 2015
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  Fisher-Price, Inc.

  Oct 2015 - Feb 2021

  Sr. Early Childhood Development Researcher

  Performed on-site, web-based, and in-home testing; parent and developmental trend research across target age groups and categories; compiled, analyzed and generated report summaries for product development needs; conducted observational research to study infant sleep, ages and stages of music preferences, and contributed to the company-wide curriculum. Led gear & toy testing in the Play Lab in conjunction with team leads in marketing, quality, gear/toy design and engineering.• Supported the Baby Gear, Newborn & Infant teams during entirety of product design cycle, from concept to completion. • Helped develop and implement a companywide Early Childhood Development Curriculum, updated annually• Provided feedback on audio, content and curriculum development for product lines to ensure all aspects of the product design and execution were appropriate for the target age and have global reach.• Age graded products and provided developmental copy for use on packaging and web • Expert in sleep, utilized knowledge base to design and conduct pediatric sleep studies to inform product and app design for Baby Gear and Newborn lines• Participated in on-boarding process for new designers and interns for respective teams to introduce them to relevant child development concepts that impact design. • Conducted qualitative and quantitative research on relevant child development topics.• Performed on-site observational research and in-home ethnographic research with children and their families to better inform product design and development.• Managed the In-Home Product Performance Test Program• Member of the in-house Safety Committee reviewed and approved products across the Mattel brand portfolio for potential hazards and misuse scenarios.• Selected for and completed the Fisher-Price Leadership 360 Training• Won the Mix Fair ‘Fan Favorite’ product design award 2-years in a row Show less

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  Freelance

  Dec 2020 - now

  Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant [prenatal to six years]

  Support clients as they navigate sleep challenges with their little ones.· Knowledge of the importance that sleep plays in a child’s well-being, behavior, mood, and development, and in parents' patience with their children and in their relationships.· Effectively work with families to address sleep challenges including but not limited to: typical newborn sleep, sleeping through the night, waking up too early, bedtime battles, establishing a nap schedule, establishing a bedtime routine and age-appropriate schedule, nap transitions, transitioning sleep environments [e.g., bassinet to crib, crib to bed, etc.], transitioning from co-sleeping, preparing for a new baby, coordinating multiples’ schedules.· Provide guidance and support via video consults, individualized sleep plans, and email or phone support. Show less

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  Lovevery

  Aug 2021 - now

  • Director, Product Research

    May 2024 - now

  • Senior Manager, Research

    Feb 2022 - Jun 2024

  • Senior Product Researcher

    Aug 2021 - Feb 2022