Alumni

Leandro Chernicoff is a doctoral student in the Human Development area within the Department of Educational Psychology. He is interested in the development of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills to foster well-being and alleviate suffering. This started as a personal quest, and since 2013 he has collaborated as Academic Director of AtentaMente, a Mexican nonprofit focused on teaching these very skills to adults, children, and teens. He is also a physicist and a full-time professor at UACM, one of three public universities in Mexico City, teaching college level math and physics since 2003.

Kelly Gregus is currently working as a psychometrist in the Denver area and completing her dissertation titled “A Meta-Analysis Exploring the Effects of Cognitive Behavioral-Based Therapy Treatments on Symptoms of Depression in Autistic Individuals.” She earned her Bachelor of Science in Neurobiology and her Master of Science in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin Madison. She also completed the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program at the Waisman Center during her second year of graduate school. Kelly completed her clinical internship at Brain and Body Integration in Denver, Colorado. Before internship, Kelly completed practicum in several settings, including schools, community mental health, and assessment clinics.

She received a BA in Psychology from the University of Iowa, and an MS in Educational Psychology from University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2020, she will graduate from University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (School Psychology Area). Her clinical and research interests include the assessment and treatment of challenging behavior using Applied Behavior Analysis, preference assessment methodologies, and the continuum of care for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Her dissertation evaluated stimuli inclusion methods in systematic preference assessments.

She received a BA in Psychology from Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, PA, graduating magna cum laude with departmental honors. Her research interests include factors related to implementation of interventions delivered by natural treatment agents such as parents and teachers, as well as qualitative research surrounding experiences of parents and teachers. She is currently on internship at the Munroe-Meyer Institute (a member of the Nebraska Internship Consortium in Professional Psychology) within the Behavioral Pediatrics and Integrated Care track.

Megan Kaul is a doctoral student in the School Psychology area within the Department of Educational Psychology. She graduated with her BA in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2017. Prior to graduate school, she worked as a lab manager researching children’s learning, cognition, and development with the intent to extend research findings to educational settings. Her current research interests broadly include family engagement practices in schools, prevention and early intervention, and school mental health. Specifically, she is passionate about researching ways parents and teachers can utilize evidence-based practices to best support students with behavior challenges.

Katherine Lawlor is a doctoral student in the School Psychology area within the Department of Educational Psychology. She received a BA in psychology from Boston University. Her research interests focus on family-centered services, how relationships and interactional processes within families contribute to school success, and how schools can best support families. Katherine works on the Teachers and Parents as Partners project where she engages in Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC) with teachers, parents, and middle school students experiencing behavior challenges. Additionally, she works on the Family Engagement through PBIS project, collaborating with PBIS teams to improve family engagement within existing PBIS systems and practices.

He received a BS in psychology with a specialization in Cognitive Science from Michigan State University. At UW–Madison, Brandon was the Project Assistant for the Lifespan Family Research program, which evaluated the effectiveness of the Working Together intervention, a program for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families. He was also the Project Assistant for the Families and Schools Together (FAST) project. Brandon is completing his internship as a school psychologist intern at the Avondale Elementary School District in Arizona. His current dissertation work involves evaluating how the FAST program works for “at-risk” students compared to “typically developing” students.

Her research interests involve family engagement and intervention and assessment of English Language Learners. She is specifically interested in the implementation of family-engagement interventions with culturally and linguistically diverse populations. She is currently completing her predoctoral internship at the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in Cypress, Texas. Her dissertation examines the recruitment and retention of caregivers for a family-engagement program implemented in a large urban school district.

Katherine Norman is a doctoral student in the Human Development area within the Department of Educational Psychology. Her research is focused on the cognitive impact of pretend play and drama practices at different stages of development.

Hannah Rapp is a PhD candidate in the Human Development area within the Department of Educational Psychology. Her research is focused on evaluating and implementing forgiveness education interventions and the promotion of parent and child well-being following bullying abuse.