Trainees at the Tarjan Center
One of the Tarjan Center's chief activities is the preparation of personnel for careers in fields relating to developmental disabilities. Because the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities are complex, service providers and professionals require expertise in many different disciplines. Our faculty and trainees follow an interdisciplinary approach and provide state of the art diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment services through UCLA-based Tarjan Center Clinical Training & Services. We welcome our new trainees for 2011-2012.
Jennifer Gerdts is a psychology intern specializing in developmental disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. She completed her B.A. in Psychology at Colby College in Maine and received her M.S. in child clinical psychology from the University of Washington. She is currently completing her final year of graduate training in clinical psychology and will receive her PhD from the University of Washington in 2012. Jennifer's clinical interests are in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders and social skills training with high functioning children with autism. As a graduate student, Jennifer worked at the University of Washington Autism Center and Seattle Children's Hospital, conducting diagnostic and neuropsychological assessments with children and adults. Jennifer’s dissertation focuses on autism behavioral genetics, including an examination of autism-related traits in family members of individuals with autism. Her future goals include working as a clinical psychologist in a university-based autism center in both a clinical and research setting.
Mina Park is a psychology intern specializing in autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities. She is completing her final year of graduate study at University of California, Santa Barbara, and will receive her Ph.D. in counseling/clinical/school psychology (clinical psychology emphasis) in June 2012. She received her M.A. in counseling psychology from the UCSB, and completed her B.A. in Psychology, with a minor in Asian American Studies, at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her clinical and research interests are in interventions for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, specifically as they relate to developing social competence. While at UCSB, Mina worked at the UCSB Koegel Autism Center and gained extensive experience in providing Pivotal Response Treatment to children and their families. Mina's future clinical and research goals are to continue working with youths with autism spectrum disorders and their families in a university-based autism center.
Where Are They Now?
Alisha Renee Alleyne, Judge Baker Children's Center, Boston, MA.
Laura Babikian, UCLA Hospital, Los Angeles, CA.
Raphael Bernier, Assistant Professor, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
David Black, Research Associate/Clinical Psychologist, Boston Medicine, Boston, MA.
Nicole Cavenagh, Turo University Nevada Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities.
Anthony D. DiNardo, Semel Institute-Psychology & Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, CA.
Elena Harlan Drewel, Post Doctoral, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN.
Susan K. Faja, Post Doctoral, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Center for Autism Research, Philadelphia, PA.
Alexander Gantman, UCLA Department of Psychiatry, Tarjan Center, Los Angeles, CA.
Evan Jay Goldberg, UCLA Orthopaedic Surgery, Los Angeles, CA.
Katharine Hayward, Tarjan Center, National Arts and Disability Center, Los Angeles, CA.
Lara S. Head, NIH Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Developmental Disabilities, Waissman Center University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Justin Hom, Private Sector.
Karen Kobayashi, Clinical Psychologist, Self Employed Private Practice.
Elizabeth Ann Laugeson, CART, Tarjan Center.
Megan Martins, Post-doctoral Fellow, University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center.
Kara Siebert, Physical Therapist, California Children Services, Los Angeles, CA.
Nelrose Chandler Sims, Regents' Center for Learning Disorders at University of Georgia.
Kimberly R. Smith, Public Health/Title V.
Anne Vandenberg Snow, Post-Secondary Setting.
Lesley Stahl, Pr Learning Skills Counselor, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.
Lindsey J. Sterling, Post-Doctoral Fellow, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.
Annie T. Tran, Pharmacology School.
Nancy Wu, Research Scientist.
Jill M. Zukerman, Hospital.
