Laura Berk, Illinois Art Station Founder 

Laura Berk is a distinguished professor of psychology emerita at Illinois State University, where she taught child development for over three decades. She has published widely in scientific journals, authored several best-selling higher education textbooks, and written chapters and books for parents and teachers of young children. Her research has been featured in Parents Magazine, Wondertime, Readers’ Digest, Psychology Today and Scientific American.

Laura serves on the board of Artolution, an international organization that brings collaborative public art projects to children, youth and families facing profound hardships around the globe. She serves on the board of the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. Laura’s conviction that engaging with the visual arts transforms all aspects of children’s development and helps bring diverse community groups together led her to become  the founding donor of the Illinois Art Station.

Laura is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, Division 7: Developmental Psychology, a McLean County YWCA Woman of Distinction, and a member of the Illinois State University College of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.