Associate professor Sara Whitcomb received her doctoral degree from the University of Oregon’s APA accredited program in school psychology in 2009. She completed her predoctoral APA/APPIC accredited internship at the May Institute and her postdoctoral fellowship at UMass’ PSC. Her research and clinical interests are in mental health promotion and positive behavioral support systems in schools, social-emotional learning, and behavioral and instructional consultation. Dr. Whitcomb is the program director and teaches courses in social-emotional and behavioral assessment and consultation. In addition, Dr. Whitcomb has coordinated and supervised the third and fourth year practicum.

Lauren is a doctoral candidate in the School Psychology program. She completed her

undergraduate education at the University of Rhode Island, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in

Psychology and a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies (concentration in Family & Community Settings). Lauren's research interests center around consultation, pre-referral intervention teams, and teacher-student relationships. Lauren's participation on the SMILE team includes collaboration with the BESTed subgroup, aiming to develop learning modules and assessment tools that support pre-service educator development. Upon completion of her Ph.D. at UMass Amherst, she aspires to work in a public school setting, collaborating along side teachers, administrators, and families to promote successful student outcomes and efficient system functioning.

Jessica is a doctoral candidate in the School Psychology program originally from New York. She

completed her undergrad in Psychology at Hobart and William Smith Colleges where she was a

coordinator for the America Reads program and obtained internships working in

inclusive classrooms, youth court, and a child advocacy agency. While on the SMILE research team, Jessica has been actively involved in projects related to assessing student SEL competencies, 

teacher perspectives of SEL and trauma exposure, and barriers to building capacity for SEL school

-wide. Jessica is also a member of the BESTed subgroup leading learning modules to support classroom management and social emotional development strategies for pre-service teachers. Jessica’s dissertation focus is on facilitating integration of a social-emotional learning (SEL) and preventative classroom management strategies through consultation and performance feedback in early childhood. In the future, she intends to be licensed as a psychologist to engage in school-based work as well as systems level consultation forthe implementation of tiered mental health supports with a focus on trauma.

During the last decade Katerina has received graduate school training in career guidance psychology at Belarusian National University, mental health counseling at Cambridge College and school psychology at UMass Amherst. She is currently a doctoral candidate in the School Psychology program at UMass Amherst. Her research interests involve SEL and PBIS practices that support diverse students, as well as training programs for teachers and parents to reduce social isolation among Hispanic/Latinx youth in schools. She has been presenting posters at local (NE PBIS), national (NASP) and international (ISPA) conferences, sharing results of her research about PBIS practices used at public schools to support culturally and linguistically diverse students, as well as preventive intervention programs that reduce social isolation among Hispanic youth. In SMILE research group she is involved in Strong Kids subgroup to learn more about best ways that teachers and practitioners use while incorporating Strong Kids curriculum at schools. In her dissertation she plans to interview and learn from teachers who has experience working with Hispanic/Latinx students. Her research goal will be to summarize findings in a useful training available for school stakeholders who are searching for ways to connect and build stronger relationships between teachers and students from diverse backgrounds. In the future, Katerina hopes to work as a consultant in schools where she can provide evidence-based services to best support diverse students and school staff, promoting healthy teacher-student relationships and school connectedness.

Caitlin Bourgaize is a doctoral student from Southern California, attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s School Psychology program. She completed her undergraduate degree in psychology at Whitter College, and completed her Masters degree in Counseling and Therapy from California State University, Fullerton. From these programs, Caitlin gained experience in severe mental health, with a focus on trauma, crisis, and school-based clinical work, with a certification in Trauma-Focused CBT.

Caitlin’s primary interests include direct and systems-wide school-based support for mental health and behavioral challenges, with an emphasis on students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Through the SMILE research team, Caitlin has participated in projects focusing on supportive mental health interventions for students with internalizing symptoms, creating and training pre-service teachers in classroom management and behavior, and conducting school-based Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) program evaluations. Caitlin’s research and applied goals include work with school staff and mental health professionals, in direct and systems contexts, to support the identification, prevention, and treatment of children with severe mental health and behavioral disorders and related crises.

Kelsey Gordon is a second-year doctoral candidate in the School Psychology program. Originally

from Connecticut, she first moved to Massachusetts to pursue her undergraduate degree in

Psychology at Boston College. After graduating, she had the opportunity to work with at-risk youth

in a variety of diverse alternative therapeutic settings. Kelsey is extremely passionate about working

with students to improve their mental health and social-emotional wellness. Her primary research interests involve supporting students with emotional and behavioral disorders, trauma-informed care models, crisis intervention and prevention, and improvement of transitional supports for at-risk students being reintegrated from alternative educational settings into public school systems.

Born in Seoul, Korea, Catherine Park is currently a doctoral student in the School Psychology program. She completed her undergraduate degree in Business Administration minor in Public Policy and Management in Carnegie Mellon University, and received Masters in International Educational Development in Columbia University. In the past, she has worked in developing teacher training workshops for the educators in the Asia-Pacific region. Also, she developed early childhood literacy programs in international educational development settings. As she worked in the field of policy, she became more interested in impacting children and family directly. Thus, she pursued Masters program in Prevention Science and Practices in Harvard University. Currently, her research interest is in identifying risk, protective, and promotive factors among children at-risk and developing culturally responsive social-emotional learning intervention programs for both children and adults. Accordingly, she is involved in Strong Kids research group to research implementation of the Strong Kids program and assessment of SEL skills. 

Zachary Santana is a doctoral student in the Umass Amherst School Psychology program. Throughout his time with the SMILE research team, he has predominantly worked on analyzing and facilitating the BestEd project. He has also assisted with systematic tier-1 PBIS evaluations of local schools. 

His research and professional interests include eliminating disproportionate disciplinary practices in schools, implementing mental health supports for children and families, and understanding bias in education and school-wide systems. After graduation, his goals are to enter academia and stay engaged in research while providing mental health supports to local children and families in schools and private settings. 

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Jamie's interests involve identifying best practices for working with students who have behavioral and emotional problems. She is especially interested in the implementation of SWPBIS, SEL curriculum, and additional methods for creating a positive and culturally responsive school climate. 

She contributes to the BESTed project and enjoys consulting teachers on behavior management strategies that promote positive learning environments.

Emily is an undergraduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (class of 2021). She is currently working toward obtaining her bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in education. Outside of the SMILE Lab, Emily is a research assistant to Katerina Aniskovich, aiding in her dissertation research of social isolation of Hispanic/Latinx youth, and their relationships with teachers. Her primary research interests involve culturally responsive teaching practices for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students, teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of school-wide as well as curriculum-based social-emotional learning (SEL) interventions and implementation, and SEL interventions and prevention for at-risk youth. After finishing her undergraduate work, Emily intends on applying to a doctoral program for school psychology.