简介

My research program utilizes a prevention science framework to examine and address developmental and mental health difficulties among young language-minority, immigrant, and migrant children. Contributing to empirical and clinical advancements in this area are three interrelated investigative foci: 1) methodological improvements in the assessment and early identification of young bilingual children, 2) expansion of the theoretical and research bases pertaining to developmental and clinical processes within young Latino children and their families, and 3) creation and examination of multisystemic preventive interventions fostering linguistic and socioemotional functioning. These studies are fiscally supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Education, foundations, and other entities. At CUA, I am a faculty member of the Children, Families, and Cultures concentration within the Clinical Psychology program. I also serve as Director of Latin American and Latino Studies (lals.cua.edu) and a Fellow of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies. Further, I am engaged in the local and national communities, as reflected by my past engagement in DC Bilingual Charter School and the Advisory Committee of the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Immigration. Present activities include the federal Expert Panel on Research Methods with Young Dual Language Learners, and the Policy and Communications Committee of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD). In terms of my background and training, I am a licensed clinical psychologist in Maryland and DC, beginning my career as a preschool teacher assistant. I obtained my doctorate at the University of Denver in child clinical psychology with an emphasis in cognitive neuroscience and an internship at Children’s National Medical Center in clinical child and pediatric psychology. I subsequently focused on the early childhood identification and prevention of developmental and mental health difficulties as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neuropsychology at Kennedy Krieger Institute. I also completed a research postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where I designed and conducted prevention and intervention science investigations. Most recently, I participated in a faculty fellowship in the National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education at the University of Virginia. Throughout my training and career, I have been dedicated to learning and utilizing advanced statistics, including latent variable and multilevel level modeling, to advance scientific knowledge and practice with young immigrant children and families. This approach is rooted in a community-based participatory research framework involving strong collaborations with families and the local and national programs that serve them. **Note to applicants to the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program: I am accepting students for the coming academic year. The clinical faculty looks forward to reviewing your application!**