Alexandra Rush

Alexandra Rush, Ph.D., is a human development researcher and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and Human Development at Empire State University. Her work examines how individuals and families construct meaningful lives after the traumatic effects of war, with an emphasis on intergenerational trauma, resilience, and posttraumatic growth. She is also interested in the development of youth identity and purpose, bringing expertise in qualitative, mixed-methods, and phenomenological approaches. She earned her doctorate in Family Science and Human Development at Montclair State University, following earlier studies at Douglass College of Rutgers University and graduate training at Long Island University. Her academic path deepened her focus on how trauma and resilience are transmitted across generations in the context of war. Her work highlights how trauma affects family legacies, while also illuminating pathways toward healing, posttraumatic growth, and the pursuit of purposeful lives across time. During her doctoral studies, Alexandra worked at the Institute for Research on Youth Thriving and Evaluation (RYTE) at Montclair State University. There, she contributed to the Building Evidence in Scouting Together (BEST) project, studying how the training of adult volunteers influences character outcomes in youth. She also examined programmatic influences on youth purpose and identity within the scouting context. At Empire State University, Alexandra Rush continues to bridge research with application in her teaching and scholarship. She has taught courses on child development, human ecological systems, development of spirituality and wisdom, and abnormal psychology. In a previous role at Dickinson College, she led a study on the first girls to join Scouts BSA, examining how their entry into a traditionally male-dominated space influenced their identity and sense of purpose.