Current Staff

Dr. Baweja is a developmental psychologist and clinical instructor at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior within the David Geffen School of Medicine. Dr. Baweja has broad training in the evaluation, treatment, and support of individuals with attention deficits, learning problems, and related behavioral difficulties.

Most recently, Dr. Baweja's research has examined the underlying risk factors that increase children’s susceptibility to peer rejection and bullying during middle childhood. Earlier in her career, she was part of the research team within the Treatment Studies for ADHD, Irritability, and Mood Disorders program at UCLA investigating effective pharmacotherapies for children and adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Currently, Dr. Baweja is a clinical specialist in the Parent Training and the Children’s Friendship Programs and provides treatment services in both individual and group-based capacities.

Dr. Reina Factor, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist who has over 18 years of experience working with individuals across the lifespan, with an emphasis on individual and group interventions that involve the family. She has expertise working with autistic individuals and neurodevelopmental disabilities of all ages, particularly with the pediatric population, as well as individuals with a range of co-occurring diagnoses including anxiety, depression, early psychosis, ADHD, OCD, ODD, and mood disorders. Dr. Factor serves as the Director of Outreach and Dissemination at the UCLA Tarjan Center and also works at Spectrum Psych LA, a private practice. Dr. Factor earned her undergraduate degree at Emory University, where she completed an honors thesis examining an early social responsiveness screener. She then worked as a research associate at UCLA, focusing on the JASPER intervention developed by Dr. Connie Kasari and administering Discrete Trial Training (DTT) and Parent Training. She completed her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Virginia Tech. She completed her predoctoral and postdoctoral work at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Additionally, Dr. Factor has conducted extensive research, particularly focusing on the social and emotional development in autistic children, highlighting the impact of systems (e.g., peers, parents, the family) and how they inform interventions by looking at mechanisms of change and treatment outcomes. Dr. Factor was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA and is a proud third generation UCLA Bruin and 4th generation Californian!

Courtney Kwan, PhD is a practicing licensed psychologist specializing in assessment and treatment for children, adolescents and young adults. Dr. Kwan has a background working within a wide range of pediatric settings across the United States and Internationally. She also has years of experience working with individuals who struggle with neurodevelopmental (i.e., Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, executive functioning challenges, social skill difficulties), medical (i.e., coping, medical adherence and medical regimen), and/or psychiatric conditions (i.e., anxiety, adjustment challenges, stress, OCD, sleep difficulties, and depression). In addition to her role as the child-group facilitator for the Children’s Friendship Training program, Dr. Kwan also provides psychological services at a downtown Los Angeles private practice and at UCLA’s Endocrine and Primary Care clinics.

Marlena is the clinic coordinator and manages all aspects of the clinic, oversees the research assistants, intakes, and its three programs (i.e., Children’s Friendship Training, Parent Training Program, PEACE). Marlena graduated from Pepperdine University's Graduate School of Education and Psychology in 2022 with a Master's in Psychology and hopes to continue doing work in the field. She previously worked as a research assistant in UCLA's Department of Psychology, worked as a research assistant at the UCLA Language Acquisition Lab, which studies infant linguistics, and the Center for Scholars to Storytellers, which focuses on adolescents and how they consume media.