Director: Nadia L. Ward, Ph.D.
Program Coordinator: Barb Nangle, M.A.
Pre-Doctoral and Post-Doctoral Fellows
MAAX Facilitators
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Nadia L. Ward, M.Ed., Ph.D. is the Director of Urban Education & Prevention Research at The Consultation Center and Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. Her extensive work in the area of academic achievement for African American and Latino youth has spanned 12 years and has included training and consultation to universities, public school systems and private organizations, curriculum development, program development, implementation, and evaluation. Dr. Ward has worked extensively with high-risk as well as high achieving urban youth and their families in a variety of capacities. She has designed and evaluated academic enrichment and competence enhancing substance abuse and violence prevention programs in school and community settings.
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PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Barb Nangle, M.A. is the Program Coordinator for The MAAX, as well as for Urban Education, Prevention and Policy Research at The Consultation Center. She has worked for the past seven years on programs that support urban youth. Barb holds a master's degree in sociology from the University of Connecticut. She is dedicated to working toward dismantling of the structures of inequality in our society.
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Pre-Doctoral and Post-Doctoral Fellows
Tamika Gilreath, Ph.D. is a NIDA post-doctoral fellow at The Consultation Center. She received her doctorate in Biobehavioral Health with a minor in Applied Statistics from The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Gilreath has worked on several projects related to substance use including biomedical studies of smoking patterns, serving as a mentor for at risk African American adolescent females, and performing secondary data analyses of socio-demographic correlates of smoking among African Americans and South African and Tanzanian adolescents. Her primary research interests include research on health disparities, substance use, academic achievement and mental health of adolescent African Americans, as well as international tobacco consumption among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.
Melissa Maras, M.A. is a pre-doctoral psychology fellow at The Consultation Center and is completing her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Miami University in Oxford, OH. Melissa has participated in a variety of school- and community-based consultation and evaluation activities. She is interested in developing and evaluating community-centered models for individual and organizational capacity-building in schools. Through community-based participatory research, Melissa investigates how schools can develop local capacity to strengthen the alignment of policy and practice. Melissa is also involved with the ongoing development of graduate training and supervision models within the field of Expanded School-based Mental Health.
Samantha Matlin, M.Phil., is a Pre-doctoral Psychology Fellow at the Consultation Center/Connecticut Mental Health Center. She is a clinical psychology doctoral student at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Samantha earned her B.A. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. In general, her research interests have focused on community based prevention/intervention programs among ethnic minority adolescents targeting depression/suicide. Samantha has provided clinical services to ethnically and socio-economically diverse adolescents, families, and adults in school, outpatient, and in-home settings. She also has an interest in federal, state, and local legislation that impacts the mental health of ethnic minority youth, families, and communities.
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2007-08 MAAX Program Facilitators
Taryn Anderson, B.A. received her degree in Psychology from Yale University. As an undergraduate she used her time to work with children and gain research experience in psychology. She has served as Co-Director for “Visions of Virtue.” a mentoring program for teenage girls in New Haven and Bridgeport. She has worked as a research assistant with the Yale Child Study Center and the Yale Parenting Center and Child Conduct Clinic. Taryn plans to work in her hometown of New Haven after pursuing a graduate degree in Clinical Psychology. She would love to not only run her own private practice, but she would love to develop programs to help youth overcome the achievement gap, strengthen their artistic talents and empower them to make positive choices in life.
Joanna Caserta, B.A. graduated magna cum laude from Marist College in 2006 with a degree in Psychology. At Marist, she interned at the Office of Community Research conducting program evaluation and research, was a member of the Psi Chi Honors Society, Dean's List, and Psychology Club, and was involved with volunteering and mentoring in local schools. In addition, Joanna was chosen to present independent research at the Psychological Undergraduate Research Conference in 2004. Currently, she is in her second year at Southern Connecticut State University, pursuing a Masters of Science in School Counseling. At Southern Joanna is the Webmaster of the Counseling and School Psychology Department's Graduate Student Affairs Committee, and is also an active member of the Diversity Committee and Active Minds. After graduation Joanna hopes to work with middle and high school students in an urban school district.
Candi Fulcher, B.A. received her degree in African American Studies with a focus on education from Temple University. As an undergraduate, Candi devoted her time to working with young adults. She volunteered as a mentor for teenage girls in a program called Girl Talk. The program focused on developing a positive image of self and problem solving. She also helped with the construction and execution of a study entitled “Parental Influence on Adolescent Behavior and Attitudes.” For the past two summers, Candi worked for the Sparks program as a Travel and Educational instructor for youth. As an instructor, she conducted lessons about various historical events and locations that the students visited at the end of the program. She will be attending graduate school this spring for a Master’s degree in Education. Upon completion of her Master’s degree, Candi plans to work with students on both the grade school and college level.
Kristen Marcaly, B.A. received her degree in Psychology and Philosophy from Rutgers University graduating cum laude. At Rutgers, she volunteered as a counselor, supervisor, and trainer at Scarlet Listeners, a student run organization which provided peer counseling and referral services. She was awarded the Targum Newspaper Shining Knight Service Award for her four year service to the community. As an undergraduate, she interned at the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center as an Assistant Teacher in a specialized Autism Spectrum Disorders classroom where she implemented individualized behavior and life skills programs. Kristen also interned at the Highland Park Senior/Youth Center where she organized and implemented an outreach program assisting seniors. She worked as a Research Assistant in the Rutgers University Cognitive Development Laboratory collaborating with local pre-schools to assist in research on “Theory of Mind.” She is currently a first year student in the doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at the University of Hartford.
Kathleen McDonald, M.A., received her B.A. in Psychology from Gettysburg College. While an undergraduate, she interned at Adams-Hanover Counseling Services, Inc. While there, she observed child and family therapy sessions with mobile therapists. Kathleen received her M.A. in Child/Adolescent Clinical Psychology from Montclair State University in NJ. While in graduate school, she was an extern at the Community Mental Health Center at Hoboken University Medical Center. Her responsibilities included providing group therapy and individual therapy for children and adolescents with severe social, emotional, and behavioral deficits between the ages of 6-16. This past summer Kathleen was a facilitator at Peace Camp, a program aimed at conflict resolution and she implemented multiple therapeutic activities with 45 at risk children and adolescents. Currently, Kathleen is attending the Psy.D. program for Clinical Psychology at the University of Hartford.
Samantha Q. Pouncey is currently a senior pursuing her B.S. degree in Sociology, Secondary Education, and History at Southern Connecticut State University. She is a member of the NAACP community service committee and Alpha Kappa Delta, the International Sociology Honor Society. In May, 2008, in addition to her B.S. degree, she will obtain her Teacher’s Certification in Social Studies for 7-12 graders. Samantha served as a MAAX facilitator last year at East Rock, Hill Central and Edgewood Schools. Samantha’s past experiences with students and education also include working as an Americorp volunteer in Washington, DC, a tutor and afternoon assistant at St. Martin DePorres Academy in New Haven, CT. She is currently a youth coordinator at her church and a tutor at James Hillhouse High School’s Saturday Academy. Samantha’s future aspirations include advance study in urban education and school administration.
Evelyn E. Segura, B.A. received her Bachelor’s degree from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a Postbaccalaureate Certificate in Psychology from Columbia University.
She is currently earning a doctoral degree in clinical psychology at the University of Hartford, Graduate Institute of Professional Psychology. Upon graduating from college, Evelyn spent five years working with various urban non-profit social justice organizations in New York City. She saw the applicability of social justice to clinical work and decided to pursue graduate work in psychology. Ms. Segura has ten years of experience in therapuetic recreation with developmentally impaired adolescents and adults. Additionally, she has three years of research and field work experience with foster care families, the underserved, youth of color, trauma survivors, and traumatic brain injury. She has experience facilitating groups and enjoys the group process. In the future, she plans to continue working with inner-city adolescents and developmentally impaired adults. She is particularly interested in bilingual approaches to treatment.
Marcus Walton, B.S., graduated from the University of New Haven with a degree in Business Administration. After graduating Marcus had a successful career in the financial services industry with companies such as Legg Mason, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. He is currently pursuing his graduate degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in Business and Mathematics at the University of New Haven. In addition to his professional and academic achievements, Marcus was the Minority Student-Athlete of the Year, Track and Field Team captain and a two-time Track and Field All-American. In addition to working with the MAAX program, Marcus is also an employee of the New Haven Board of Education working as a tutor and mentor at the Davis Street Inter-district Magnet School. Marcus’ transition from business to education has been spurred by his particular interest in teaching and mentoring underserved minority students.
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