Meet Our Research Team!

Rondy Yu is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the School Psychology program and oversees the Applied Behavior Analysis program at the University of California, Riverside’s Graduate School of Education. He received his Ph.D. in Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Yu is a licensed educational/ clinical psychologist, nationally certified school psychologist, and board certified behavior analyst. He has experience in both public schools and non-public agencies functioning as a psychologist, behaviorist, and clinical supervisor. Dr. Yu has presented at various professional conferences at the local, national, and international levels on topics related to behavioral consultation, treatment fidelity, and research related to programming for children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders. Prior to joining UCR, Dr. Yu served as a mental health specialist with Santa Barbara County SELPA where he assisted in the placement and case management of students in residential/non-public school programs, and oversaw research and data tracking for mental health programs and services.

 Jeff has been an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he has led both intramural and extramural grant-funded research projects focusing on mental health in Black children and families, culturally competent practices, and discrimination among LGBTQ+ individuals and BIPOC. He is currently on a year-long leave to be the full time Diversity & Inclusion Research Fellow at the Partnership on AI, where he is conducting a mixed methods study on how to foster inclusivity in the field of Artificial Intelligence.  Jeff has published several peer-reviewed articles within developmental and school psychology journals. Jeff received a Ph.D. in school psychology from Tulane University and a B.A. in psychology from Yale University. He was a Rhodes Scholarship finalist. Jeff was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica.

  June Preast, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of School Psychology at the University of Alabama. Dr. Preast focuses her research primarily on identifying and implementing impactful systemic changes to address student needs. She uses a collaborative, primary prevention, multi-tiered systems of support approach to educational decision-making and programming. As such, she has studied the impact of academic interventions to address behavioral issues, the influence of psycho-social factors (i.e., depression, hostility, and self-esteem) related to mental health needs, the importance of using data to inform academic and behavioral intervention choices, and the attributes of effective teacher teams.

Nina Mandracchia, M.A. is a third year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Riverside. Her research interests include effective training and professional development for educators and effective implementation of evidence-based practice in schools, specifically in regard to specific learning disability identification and intervention. Her current research projects include creation of an effective tool for evaluating web-based educational resources, as well as contributing to the projects ongoing at the SSPRC.

Tyler Womack is a third year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Riverside. Her research interests include examining behavior interventions tailored to the needs of English Language Learners, as well as how to be considerate of cultural and linguistic diversity with Positive Behavior Supports. Her current research project examines factors that motivate parent involvement of children with IEPs.

Ashley Donham, M.A., is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the School Psychology program at UCR. She is interested in examining the effectiveness of interventions for students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Her current research project focuses on utilizing Direct Behavior Ratings (DBR) as a self-monitoring intervention for adolescents with ADHD. Her prior research studies have focused on school-based applications of evidence-based psychosocial interventions (e.g., parent training, classroom management, social skills training) for students with ADHD. 

Melissa is a second-year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at the University of California, Riverside’s Graduate School of Education. Her research interests include effective interventions and support systems to improve learning outcomes for students with learning disorders, especially students with ADHD.

Elissa is a second year PhD student; her research interests are broadly aimed at refining behavior and executive function assessments to inform preventative and early intervention efforts within a school-based framework. Specifically, Elissa is interested in improving assessment and evidence-based interventions for students with ADHD. She is also committed to improving access to mental health resources for students who belong to underserved and underrepresented populations. Interests related to these include training parents and teachers to assess and effectively implement evidence-based interventions for children with learning and behavior difficulties.

Theresa Stewart is a PhD student in the school psychology program at UCR. Her research interests include behavioral interventions for preschoolers who have or are at risk for EBD, specifically interventions that involve positive reinforcement. She joined the lab in November 2018. 

Jessica is a third-year School Psychology Ph.D. student at the University of California, Riverside who is interested in working with culturally and linguistically diverse populations and dedicated to supporting them through practice and research. As a native Spanish speaker, she hopes to assist Spanish speaking parents and teachers in the delivery of academic and behavioral evidence-based interventions. Research interests include effective assessment, intervention and best practices for English Language Learners, examining PCIT outcomes for students with autism whose parents' primary language is Spanish and effective parent-school communication. 

Anacary Ramirez, M.A. is a fourth-year doctoral candidate. Her research interests include family-school-community collaboration/consultation, with a specific interest in family partnerships, and behavioral and mental health interventions with diverse students. Her current research project involves evaluating the efficacy and acceptability of teleconsultation with Spanish-speaking families for enacting student behavior change. 

COMING SOON

COMING SOON

Jenna Nguo is a third year undergraduate psychology major and education minor at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). She is currently the Co-Director of Events and Outreach at Psi Chi, the Psychology Honor Society at UCR. She is interested in studying school/college counseling in graduate school.

Maricruz Galvan is a fourth-year psychology student with a concentration in Law/Society. She is also doing a minor in education. Currently, she is interested in teaching students at a high school or college level and doing research relating to the law. Maricruz joined the SSPRC in her third-year at UCR. SSPRC has allowed her to observe the world of research, and it has shown her how significant research is in school psychology. The field of school psychology does research to help better understand teaching and how to improve the education system overall.

Vivian Li is a third year double major in Psychology and Education. She has previously worked as a Behavioral Therapist specializing in ABA therapy in high school and her first couple of years at UCR. Her passion is to serve those with disabilities and to spread awareness for underrepresented populations. After graduating, she hopes to pursue her Master's degree and become a BCBA or Speech Pathologist. 

America Vera is a fourth year Psychology major and Education minor. She is interested in focusing her studies on clinical psychology and education. In the future, she wants to dedicate her time on students' mental health and provide them support in the educational system.

Sarah Panameno is a fourth year undergraduate Psychology major and Education minor. She joined the lab Winter quarter 2019 and has an interest in school psychology research. Her general research interests are in bilingual education and multicultural psychology. Sarah plans to attend graduate school and eventually become a School Psychologist.

Hello, my name is Monica De Dios and I am a volunteer research assistant for the SSPRC lab. I am currently on a gap year working at the Early Childhood Services here at UCR and my goal is to receive my Master's Degree in School Psychology. 

Eri Sekiguchi is a fourth-year psychology major. She joined the SSPRC Lab to expand her interests in the field of psychology. Asides from being a student, she is also co-president and founding member of Delta Alpha Pi, an honor society for students with disabilities, at UCR. She is interested in serving underrepresented and disadvantaged populations after graduating. As a student who is still discovering the right career path, she believes that this lab will help her pave a clearer road to her destinatio

 Chelsea Nguyen is a fourth year Psychology undergraduate at University of California, Riverside. She is interested in focusing her studies on multicultural community psychology. In the future, she hopes to pursue a master's degree and to become a licensed therapist.