Click on the names below to read their biographies:
Clark McKown, Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Pediatrics
Executive Director
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Behavioral Sciences
Education and Training
- University of California, Berkeley, PhD, Psychology
- Stanford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Predoctoral internship
- Yale University, BA, Psychology
Areas of Expertise
- Child assessment and therapy
- School consultation
- Academic, social, behavioral, and emotional disorders of childhood
- Social development and friendship
Research Interests
- Typical and atypical social development
- Assessment and treatment of social problems
- Instructional environments and children’s well-being
- Program evaluation
Nicole Russo-Ponsaran, Ph.D.
Associate Research Director
Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences
Education and Training
- Northwestern University, Ph.D., Neuroscience
- Loyola University Chicago, B.S., Biology
- Certified research reliable in administration of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (Lord, Rutter, & Le Couteur, 1994)
- Certified research reliable in administration of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (Lord C, Rutter M, DiLavore P, et al., 1999)
Areas of Expertise
- Autism spectrum disorders, fragile X syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and language-based learning problems
- Neurophysiology
- Nonverbal awareness, prosody, facial affect
- Social information processing
Research Interests
- Improving objective assessment of functioning for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities
- Direct assessment of social-emotional learning skills and self-regulation in typically-developing and clinical pediatric populations
- Evaluation of intervention efficacy and the development of new treatment programs
Bernadette Evans-Smith, Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Pediatrics
Clinical Director
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Behavioral Sciences
Education and Training
- University of Rhode Island, Ph.D. in Psychology
- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), BA in Psychology
- Children’s Hospital, Oakland, Postdoctoral Fellow
- University of Virginia, Postdoctorate Training/Neuropsychological Assessment
- Rhode Island Youth Guidance Center, Predoctoral Internship
Areas of Expertise
- School and Clinical Psychology
- Child and Adolescent Assessment
- Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy – individual, family, and group
- School Consultation
- Childhood Disorders including Autism Spectrum Disorders, Learning Disabilities, Anxiety and Mood Disorders, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Research Interests
- Social Emotional Learning and Development in Children and Adolescents
- Reading Disabilities
- Pain Management
Carri Hill, Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Behavioral Sciences
Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences
Education and Training
- University of Chicago, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Post-doctoral fellowship
- Geisinger Medical Center, Pre-doctoral internship, pediatric and child psychology
- Bowling Green State University, Ph.D., Clinical Psychology
- University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, B.S., Psychology
Areas of Expertise
- Assessment and treatment of young children
- Preschool disruptive behavior problems (tantrums, aggression, noncompliance)
- Parenting
Research Interests
- Social cognitive processes and parenting
- Intergenerational transmission of problematic behaviors
- Development of assessment tools for early emerging problem behaviors
- Observational assessment of children and parents
- Evaluation of intervention efficacy and development oft interventions for families with young children with disruptive behaviors
Adelaide Allen, Ed.M.
Research Manager
Scholarship Coordinator
Education and Training
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, Ed.M., Human Development and Psychology
- University of Michigan, B.A., Psychology
Areas of Expertise
- Early Childhood Development
- School-based Social Skills Interventions
- Executive Functions and Study Skill Development
- Educational Software Research and Design: Reading and Cognitive Development
- Universal Design for Learning: Curriculum Design
Research Interests
- Screening and assessment services for identifying social-emotional difficulties within a problem solving model (RTI)
- Designing and implementing social emotional support services in schools, including effective progress monitoring assessments
- Implementation and effectiveness of Executive Functions Curriculum in elementary through high school aged students
- Social Network Analysis and its use in schools for identifying students with social needs and students with social strengths
- The relationship between classroom climate and student learning
Jason K. Johnson, B.A.
Research Study Coordinator
Education and Training
- Monmouth College, B.A., Biology and Chemistry
Research Interests:
- Development of assessment tools to identify children and adolescents at risk for social– emotional difficulties
- Direct assessment of social-emotional learning skills and self-regulation in typically-developing and clinical pediatric populations
- Evaluation of intervention efficacy and the development of new treatment programs, specifically facial emotion recognition
- Sociometrics and Peer rejection
Jaclyn Russo, M.A.
Research Assistant
Education and Training:
- Columbia University, M.A., Clinical Psychology
- The University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, B.S., Psychology
Research Interests:
- Aspects of the family that can both positively and negatively impact typically-developing and clinical pediatric populations
- Social and emotional well-being of children with chronic medical conditions
- Development of assessment tools to identify children and adolescents at risk for social– emotional difficulties
