Email: reitmand@nova.edu |
Project RISE Director David Reitman, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Nova Southeastern University's Center for Psychological Studies and the Director of the ADHD Assessment Consultation and Treatment (AACT) Program. He received his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of Mississippi in 1995 and began teaching at NSU in 2001 after 6 years at Louisiana State University. Dr. Reitman is the author of over 50 publications concerned with child behavioral problems, behavior management, and parenting practices, and recently completed editing 2 books concerned with child assessment. Dr. Reitman's prior research and consulting activities have resulted in a number of collaborations with large organizations serving children, most notably Head Start Programs (in Mississippi and Louisiana) and, most recently, with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County. Dr. Reitman has also served as consultant to the Children's Services Council of Broward County and frequently conducts trainings on logic modeling and outcome evaluation for "Out of School" providers. Dr. Reitman has served as the Director of Project RISE since its inception in 2005. |
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Email: jthaw@nova.edu |
Assistant Project Director Jean M. Thaw, Ph.D. is a Visiting Professor at Nova Southeastern University's Center for Psychological Studies. She is a licensed clinical psychologist who earned her doctoral degree from Louisiana State University in 2002. After her residency at the University of Mississippi Regional Medical Center, she completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA), where she studied the effects of environmental change on weight gain prevention. Her research and participation in several NIH-funded grants is primarily concerned with eating disorders, weight loss and weight gain prevention, and physical activity in youth and adults. Dr. Thaw served as a Research Analyst at the Children's Services Council of Broward County (CSC) before accepting her position as the Assistant Project Director and Director of Training for Project RISE in 2007. Her role at the CSC provided a unique opportunity to learn about the funding and outcome expectations of afterschool programs, an experience that has informed the ongoing development of Project RISE and its training offerings. Dr. Thaw also serves as the Principal Investigator for her grant funded by the Active Living Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The study was designed to assess physical activity levels and fitness in afterschool programs, with the data collection phase recently ending in January, 2011. |
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Email: vmanuela@nova.edu |
Director of Research & Evaluation Manuela Villa, Ph.D, received her B.A from the University of Miami and her doctoral degree from Nova Southeastern University. Throughout her career, Manuela’s passion for serving minority children living in poverty has led her to engage in clinical and research experiences that aim to improve children's health and overall quality of life. Manuela has provided clinical services to chronically ill children and their families in both the inpatient hospital (Children's Hospital Boston, Holt Children's Hospital, and Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital) and outpatient (Mailman Center for Child Development and Nova Southeastern University's Center for Psychological Studies) setting. Prior to joining Project RISE, she completed a 2-year pre-doctoral research fellowship at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. This allowed her to participate in the development and implementation of National Institute of Health-funded, community and clinic-based, health behavior intervention/prevention programs for children with Type 1 Diabetes or at risk for Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity-related medical conditions. Manuela has served as the Director of Research and Evaluation for Project RISE since April 2009. Since that time, she has led a variety of Out-of-School program evaluation/quality improvement efforts and served as co-investigator in the Smart Physical Activity Assessment of Curriculum-Based Exercise (SPAACE) Study, a project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Active Living Research Program examining the impact of evidence-based physical activity instruction on children's health and fitness in the after-school setting. |
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Email: vj161@nova.edu |
Director of Training Vanessa Jarquin graduated from the University of Miami with a PhD in developmental psychology in 2008. She went on to join the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. At the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, her research focused on minority children with various disabilities, particularly autism spectrum disorders. Vanessa joined Project RISE in 2010 as project coordinator for Project SPAACE (Smart Physical Activity Assessment of Curriculum-based Exercise). She is currently director of training at Project RISE. |
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Email: onora@nova.edu |
Administrative Coordinator Nora O'Connell has been the Administrative Coordinator for Project RISE since August of 2010. Prior to joining Project RISE she had her own consulting company solving business problems for clients from both healthcare and legal settings and has experience working in higher academia. She has attended nursing school, has received paralegal certification at The Paralegal Institute of Philadelphia, and has completed her Masters in Health Law from Nova Southeastern University. She has two beautiful children and working at Project RISE allows her to spend time with them. |
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Email: tvalere@nova.edu |
Assistant Director of Evaluation Tanisha has over a decade of experience working with families, school aged children and adolescents. She is an advocate for quality afterschool programs and fully understands the enriching experience of attending afterschool programs. As a child she participated in afterschool programs in Omaha, Nebraska and Miramar, Florida. While in college she worked with afterschool programs in Tampa, FL serving in various roles from Program Specialist to Coordinator. Her experience has proven to be a valuable asset while working with the Out of School programs funded through The Children's Trust. She holds a bachelors degree in Sociology from the University of South Florida and a Masters of Education degree in Human Resource Development from Florida International University. |
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Email: kaskel@nova.edu |
Reading Associate Samira Kaskel graduated from Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida with a Specialist degree in School Psychology. She is a former school psychologist with the Broward County public school system. At present, Samira is the Reading Coach for Project RISE. She conducts trainings on oral reading fluency assessment and intervention to improve oral reading fluency outcomes. Additionally, Samira provides on-site consultation to Trust-funded afterschool programs to ensure that quality reading enrichment practices are available to all students.
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Email: aresnick@nova.edu |
Graduate Assistant Alexis is University of Florida graduate who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at NSU. Her clinical experience includes providing assessment and treatment services to children and adolescents (and their families) demonstrating problems associated with ADHD, noncompliance, defiance, social skills, anxiety, and mood. She is currently a Graduate Assistant for Project RISE. |
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Email: ck430@nova.edu |
Graduate Assistant Alessandra is currently a doctoral student at NSU and is pursuing her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree from the University of Vermont in 2007 and has experience working with children at the Yale Child Study Center in New Haven, Connecticut. She is currently a Graduate Assistant for Project RISE.
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Email: db1273@nova.edu |
Graduate Assistant Darrah is currently a graduate student at Nova Southeastern University pursuing her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology. Darrah earned her Bachelors degree in psychology in 2009 from Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio. She is currently working with both inpatient and outpatient populations and gaining experience in therapy and assessment. Darrah is a Graduate Assistant for Project RISE. |
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Email: sm1776@nova.edu |
Graduate Assistant Stacey is a first year Ph.D. student at Nova Southeastern University. She completed her undergraduate work at the University of Michigan where she did research in personality psychology, cognitive development in children, the transmission of psychopathology, motivational interviewing, and pediatric health psychology. She hopes to focus her research in the areas of early intervention and prevention programs for children with internalizing and externalizing disorders. Stacey is currently a Graduate Research Assistant for Project RISE. |
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Email: malaga@nova.edu |
Graduate Assistant Johanna Malaga is a University of Miami graduate who is pursuing a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at Nova Southeastern University. She has worked with adults, children, and families in various settings. She has provided treatment services for a range of clinical issues including defiance, anxiety, post traumatic stress, depression and schizophrenia. Her clinical interests involve trauma focused therapy with children, parenting skills training, working with immigrant families, and the grief experience of suicide survivors. She is currently a Graduate Assistant for Project RISE. |
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Email: sh1049@nova.edu |
Graduate Assistant Suzanne is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA. In 2004 she graduated the Barbara Brennan School of Healing. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Mental Health Counseling at NSU. She has conducted workshops and lectures at Naples Community Hospital, The Shelter for Abused Women, Project Help, and various other organizations in Naples, Fl. She is currently the non-denominational clergy representative at the Cleveland Clinic, Weston, FL. She works as a Graduate School Assistant at Project RISE. |
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Email: lm1214@nova.edu |
Graduate Assistant Leon Mandler, B.S., is a Tufts University graduate currently pursuing his doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at Nova Southeastern University. His clinical interests include child and adolescent behavior problems as well as behavior management. Leon spent two years in New York City working as a teacher and Residential Habilitation Specialist before enrolling at Nova. He is currently a Graduate Assistant at Project RISE. |
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Email: dc1093@nova.edu |
Graduate Assistant Dallas is a doctoral student in the Psy D program at NSU. She graduated in 2008 from the University of Florida. Her interests are in Health psychology and specifically, illness prevention. She has experience working with the severely mentally ill at Henderson Community Mental Health as well as with emotionally and behaviorally challenged children through her work at Memorial Healthcare Systems. She is currently a graduate assistant for Project RISE. |
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