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.
Acting 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
Jason 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
Bernadette Evans-Smith, Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Pediatrics
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
