CORE TEAM ALUMNI
Camille Valvur
Camille Valvur is a recent graduate of Applied Psychology and Global Public Health at New York University, and is currently a Data Collection Admin. Camille is interested in the impact of public health policies as well as restorative justice initiatives on victims and perpetrators. In the future, she hopes to either pursue public policy or clinical psychology.
Krystel Francis
Krystel Francis is a recent graduate with an MA degree in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness from NYU Steinhardt. As a Research Assistant she has previously contributed to work that raises awareness of mental health in marginalized populations using community-based interventions. Her research background consists of projects focused on identifying culturally-sensitive components using the Multi-phase Optimization Strategy (MOST) to improve engagement in HIV care for people of color and the effectiveness of psychoeducation/Motivational Interviewing approaches to promote Black adolescents depression treatment engagement in school settings. She is currently utilizing her clinical experience to contribute to her role as a Coaching and Counseling Coordinator for the SAFE Spaces project under the NYU RISE Lab.
Andrew Nalani
Andrew Nalani is an Assistant Professor of Human and Organizational Development at Vanderbilt Peabody College. His research threads together theories and methods in developmental and community psychology to design and evaluate transformative programs that promote positive youth development. Supervised by Drs. Erin Godfrey and Shabnam Javdani, Andrew is a graduate student researcher with SAFE Spaces working specifically on curriculum design and measurement development. He is specifically interested in the role youth-adult partnerships play in individual and community empowerment and the organizational factors that sustain such partnerships. Additionally, he is part of the evaluation team for the Listening Project (with Drs. Hirokazu Yoshikawa and Niobe Way) and maintains a research-practice collaboration with international non-profit, Partners for Youth Empowerment. Andrew holds a Doctorate degree in Applied Psychology (Psychology and Social Intervention) from New York University, aMaster of Education degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College.
Chloe Greenbaum
Dr. Chloe Greenbaum earned her BA in Psychology from Darthmouth College before earning her PhD in Counseling Psychology from New York University. She later completed her postdoctoral fellowship in adolescent psychology at Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Health Alliance. During her time on the RISE team, Dr. Greenbaum served as the Intervention Director of WRITE ON, a writing-based intervention for adolescents in detention. Currently, she works as a clinician, an adjunct professor at NYU, and the director of Psychology Doctoral Prep, an educational consulting service to assist psychology doctoral applicants.
Christina Ducat
Christina Ducat is currently studying Community Psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; she holds a BA in Political Science and Government and a BS in Applied Psychology & Global Public Health with a specialization in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Development from NYU. At RISE, Christina was an advocacy supervisor for the ROSES project and also served as Project and Outreach Coordinator, implementing measures to pilot the Citizen’s Crime Commission’s job readiness program and promoting implementation of a high school curriculum to raise awareness of trafficking and sexual violence in collaboration with the Nest Foundation.
Christopher Stults
Professor at Baruch
Dr. Stults received his BS in Psychology from the University of Miami, his MS in Counseling Psychology from Florida International University and his PhD in Counseling Psychology from New York University. Additionally, he completed his pre-doctoral internship a Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He currently teaches psychology at Baruch College and works as a licensed psychologist at a private practice in NYC. He is the founder and primary investigator of the Sexual and Gender Minority Health Lab at Baruch College, which conducts research that leads to the improvement in the mental and physical health of LGBTQ+ people.
Corianna Sichel
Corianna Sichel is currently a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University in the Department of Psychiatry and New York State Psychiatric Institute in the Division of Child/Adolescent Psychiatry. She received a BA in Philosophy from Duke University and earned her PhD in Counseling Psychology from NYU Steinhardt under the mentorship of Dr. Shabnam Javdani. She completed her pre-doctoral fellowship at Yale School of Medicine, in the Division of Prevention and Community Research.
Deanna Ibrahim
Deanna Ibrahim is a Doctoral Fellow in the Psychology and Social Intervention Program at NYU, under the mentorship of Drs. Erin Godfrey and Shabnam Javdani. Her research examines the mechanisms through which youth programming (particularly, arts-based) can promote positive developmental outcomes, including engagement in social justice. As a member of the RISE team, Deanna is involved in curriculum and intervention development for SAFE Spaces, and she is Co-Lab Manager of Data Brigade, the team of undergraduate and Masters student research assistants. Outside of the RISE team, Deanna is the Lead Statistician of the Theater and Health Lab at NYU (Drama Therapy program), and she has been a mentor for the NYU QUEST Program for the past two years. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, Deanna graduated summa cum laude from Muhlenberg College, where she received her BA in Psychology and Theatre.
Emma Pendry-Aber
Emma Pendry-Aber earned her BA in Psychology from Barnard College and served as a Cross-Project Coordinator for SAFE Spaces and Ending Girls’ Incarceration during her time on the RISE Team.
Erin Laird
Erin received a BS from Applied Psychology program at New York University, which she graduated from in 2020. Since joining in 2017, she has served multiple roles on the RISE Team. She was previously a research assistant and later, assistant lab manager for the ROSES project and now serves as a Project Coordinator for SAFE Spaces. Her research interests include the effects of systems of oppression, specifically incarceration, on marginalized communities with a focus on addiction and substance abuse. In the future, she plans to apply to Ph.D programs in community psychology.
Esther Burson
Esther Burson is currently a postdoc at Cornell University and also holds a PhD from NYU Steinhardt’s Psychology and Social Intervention program in the Department of Applied Psychology. Before coming to NYU, Esther graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Swarthmore College and also worked for various humanitarian and educational organizations in Estonia, Greece, and New York City. As part of RISE, she primarily worked under the mentorship of Dr. Erin Godfrey, examining critical consciousness among sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ) youth and juvenile justice system-involved adolescents. Her research continues to focus on sociopolitical development and its effects on well-being and solidarity among marginalized groups, and she remains committed to LGBTQ+ rights and disability justice.
Joshua Adler
Joshua Adler is currently a PhD student in the Critical Social/Personality Psychology program at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center. He previously received his BS in Applied Psychology from NYU Steinhardt while minoring in Sociology and, during his time on the RISE Team, served as a Research Assistant, Assistant Lab Manager, and eventually Project Coordinator for the SAFE Spaces project.
Keisha April
Keisha April joins the Department of Applied Psychology as a Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow. She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Drexel University and a JD from the Cardozo School of Law. Broadly, Keisha’s research interests lay in examining factors that contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. Her current work seeks to establish a greater understanding of the relationships between communities of color and the police through exploring the attitudes and beliefs of the individuals who interact with and work within the justice system. Keisha’s work is guided by her training as a clinician and legal practitioner, and seeks to inform policies and practices to reduce disparities and promote more positive outcomes for at-risk and justice-involved youth.
Leila Wallach
Leila Wallach is currently a clinical psychology doctoral student at Palo Alto University. She earned her BA in Psychology from Simon Fraser University and her MA in General Psychology with a focus on Forensic Psychology from New York University. Previously, Leila served as the Lab Manager for ROSES at the RISE Lab. She currently works as an addiction and substance counselor in San Francisco. Her research interests include juvenile justice, alternatives to incarceration, and trauma-informed care, practice and policy.
Megan Granski
Megan Granski is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Cognitive & Dialectical Behavior Therapy (CCDBT) and recently earned her PhD in Counseling Psychology at NYU Steinhardt under the mentorship of Dr. Shabnam Javdani. She also holds a BS in Education and Social Policy and graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University. During her time on RISE, Megan served as a Graduate Research Coordinator on ROSES, designing and coordinating a randomized control trial to evaluate the effectiveness of an advocacy intervention for 300 juvenile justice-involved girls. She is trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and various Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) treatments, including exposure therapy for anxiety disorders and OCD and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) for PTSD, and completed her pre-doctoral internship at Mount Sinai Morningside.
[ResearchGate]
Nirit Gordon
Dr. Nirit Gordon completed her BA in social work from Tel Hai college and her MA from New York University in Transdisciplinary Violence and Trauma Studies. In 2018, she completed her PhD in Counseling Psychology in NYU’s Department of Applied Psychology. Dr. Gordon now works as trauma therapist at a private practice, is an adjunct professor at NYU, and is the clinical intake director at the National Institution for the Psychotherapies.
Olga Pagan
Olga Pagan is a fourth year doctoral student in the Psychology and Social Intervention program in the Department of Applied Psychology at NYU Steinhardt. She previously earned a BA in Psychology from Yale University and an MA in Elementary Education from Stanford University with a certificate in Bilingual Education. While on the RISE team, Olga served as a graduate student researcher involved in the development, implementation and measurement of a juvenile justice staff intervention in collaboration with community partners in New York City. She currently works as an educational consultant for 2Partner Mathematics Consulting and is also the Chief Program Strategist of the Center for Racial Justice in Education. Her current research interests include: (1) the development of a holistic and trauma-informed staff training for frontline workers in juvenile justice facilities in NYC, (2) a study of teacher racial bias and its effects on students’ academic and behavioral outcomes, and (3) a study of teacher stress and resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and the context of systemic racism in NYC DOE schools.
Pilar Victoria
Pilar Victora received her BS in Applied Psychology as well as her master’s degree in Human Development and Social Intervention with a concentration in research methods, both from New York University. During her time on the RISE team, Pilar worked as a Peer Advocate, Graduate Student Research Supervisor, and Project Manager for ROSES. She currently works as a data and research associate at FreeForm, an organization that helps domestic abuse survivors achieve financial security.
Sarah Peralta
Sarah is a Graduate Research Assistant at the National Center for School Mental Health, primarily assisting on the Maryland FYI project. She is currently a doctoral student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County receiving her Ph.D. in Clinical-Community and Child Psychology. She received her Master’s in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness at New York University with a concentration on adolescent trauma. She worked as a grief and bereavement counselor in NYC with children who have lost family members to various causes. Sarah’s clinical and research interests focus on issues related to grief and bereavement in the juvenile and criminal justice system.
Selima Jumarali
Semima Jmarali is currently a PhD student at the University of Maryland Baltimore County studying Clinical Community Psychology. She earned her bachelor’s degrees in psychology and biology from the University of Miami, before completing her master’s in Higher Education and Student Personnel Administration at New York University. She is currently researching the experiences of QTPOC in identity-based matched psychotherapy arrangements.
Sukhmani Singh
Dr. Sukhmani Singh is an Associate Professor at University of Connecticut’s School of Social Work. She earned her PhD in Developmental Psychology from NYU Steinhardt and was a Postdoctoral Associate at NYU’s Institute of Human Development and Social Change. As part of the RISE Team, she served as the Project Director of the Resilience Opportunity Safety Education Strength (ROSES) Program and was the co-Principal Investigator alongside Dr. Shabnam Javdani. Dr. Singh is currently the PI of a grant awarded by the Ms. Foundation for Women; the project seeks to engage young women co-researchers directly impacted by the juvenile legal system to both create and disseminate policy-based recommendations to both juvenile and education systems to effectively serve the educational needs of systems-impacted youth.
RESEARCH ASSISTANT ALUMNI (Alphabetical by Last Name)