Elizabeth Gershoff, PhD, president-elect
Elizabeth Gershoff is president-elect for Div. 37. She is the Amy Johnson McLaughlin Centennial Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences and associate director of the Population Research Center, both at the University of Texas at Austin. Gershoff's research focuses on how parental and school discipline affect child and youth development and how parent education and early education programs can improve the lives of at-risk children. She is an internationally recognized expert on the effects of corporal punishment on children. Gershoff was previously an associate professor of social work at the University of Michigan and a research scientist at the National Center for Children in Poverty at Columbia University. She was the 2019 recipient of the Nicholas Hobbs Award recognizing her work advocating on behalf of children.
Thomas Gross, PhD, program chair, 2020 APA convention
Thomas J. Gross, PhD is an assistant professor of psychology at Western Kentucky University. He has his PhD in school psychology from Oklahoma State University. He has experience providing behavioral health services in community and school settings, and his research interests include evaluation of implementation, caregiver influence on youth social behavior, and outcomes measurement. Secondary interests include school psychologists' preparedness to work with diverse groups and math interventions.
Neko Milton, student representative
Neko Milton is a fifth-year PsyD student at the University of San Francisco. He is currently in the data collection stage of his dissertation, “Exploring Identity Development in Relation to Mental Health Outcomes within the Black Deaf Community”. Neko will start his internship this summer at Boston Medical Center, Center for the Multicultural Training in Psychology where he aims to work with children and families around complex trauma.
Neko's future goals include providing culturally competent services as a health service psychologist within an integrated hospital setting or community mental health center, with a focus on providing services to underserved populations. Specifically, Neko wishes to contribute to providing services to black and deaf communities. He is from Los Angeles, California and is a die-hard Lakers fan. For self-care, Neko loves to read, play basketball and compete in Crossfit competitions.
Mel Schneiderman, PhD, member-at-large, advocacy coordinator
Mel Schneiderman is senior vice president and co-founder of the Vincent J Fontana Center for Child Protection and former senior vice president of Mental Health Services at the New York Foundling. Schneiderman is a national APSAC board director and serves on the board of Prevent Child Abuse New York. Schneiderman founded one of the first child sexual abuse treatment programs located within a child welfare agency. His research interests and expertise include mental health treatment of traumatized children, psychological maltreatment and foster parent training. He is past president of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children-New York State Chapter. He has served on several non-profit boards and presented at over 50 conferences and workshops; he is the recipient of numerous foundation grants and has published over 25 articles in peer review journals.
Paul Shawler, PhD, member-at-large, Early Career Professionals
Paul Shawler is chief psychologist for the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs and serves as an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center at the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. He earned a master's degree and a doctorate in clinical psychology from Oklahoma State University. He completed a predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the OU Health Sciences Center's Center on Child Abuse and Neglect.
Spencer Evans, PhD, social media coordinator
Spencer Evans is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory for Youth Mental Health in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. Evans earned his PhD in clinical child psychology at the University of Kansas and completed his predoctoral internship at the Charleston Consortium in South Carolina. His research examines irritability and aggressive behavior in youth, with special interests in assessment, evidence-based treatment and developmental psychopathology. He previously worked with the World Health Organization on their development of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) Mental and Behavioural Disorders, with a focus on improving the diagnostic classification of disruptive behavior problems in youth. Beginning in January 2021, Evans will be an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami.
Jennifer L. Woolard, PhD, secretary
Jennifer Woolard is associate professor at Georgetown University, where she also serves as co-director of the Graduate Program in Developmental Science. Her research and action laboratory, the Georgetown Community Research Group, examines how individuals and families interact with systems in communities, including how first responders and veterans receive mental health treatment. Her Center for Research on Adolescence, Women, and the Law concentrates on care and control systems, including the juvenile and criminal justice systems and schools. Projects examine how youth and parents understand the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney and the right to a trial. Woolard has testified as an expert before federal and state legislatures as well as in criminal cases. She has presented her research findings to a wide variety of academic, legal and policy audiences, and won several awards for teaching excellence.