I have 25 years of experience as a professor, facilitator, trainer, and coach. I hold a B.S. in psychology & a B.A. in French Literature from Tufts University, and a M.S. & Ph.D. in Human Development & Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University. I have taught human development to prospective and seasoned educators, social workers and child life specialists in varied settings, including Wheelock College and Penn State, and present at regional, national, and international conferences. At the community level, I created curriculum and facilitated new mothers' groups at The Freedman Center for Child and Family Development at William James College in Newton, MA, and served the larger community as developmental consultant to area schools. I now run parenting groups and workshops at my practice as well as onsite or virtually at various institutions. I custom-design and present professional development workshops to schools and am currently partnered with MAAEYC, the Massachusetts Association for the Education of Young Children, to provide education and support workshops to their parent community.
I serve as developmental consultant to Massachusetts public and private schools and have served in the same capacity to several non-profit agencies including WarmLines (currently The Freedman Center for Child and Family Development at William James College), COMPASS for Kids (currently part of ImagineThat), and Families First of Cambridge, MA. My teaching experience, along with my passion for empowering families to examine their values and goals within the framework of what we know is good for child development, gives me a unique lens for putting developmental theory into practice for both families and professionals who work with them.
I help parents and professionals become better at their roles by using perspective-taking and partnering as tools to build stronger relationships. Using a holistic approach and a cultural-contextual lens to problem-solving, I teach families, educators, and others to become better observers, to ask the right questions, and to connect to the perspective of the child. My passion for food as medicine and the emerging research connecting stress, gut health, and mental health have inspired me to educate others about the importance of nutritious eating in the prevention and treatment of chronic illness, emotional, neurodevelopmental, and neurodegenerative disorders.
I am active in the Greek American community and a mother of three.
I serve as developmental consultant to Massachusetts public and private schools and have served in the same capacity to several non-profit agencies including WarmLines (currently The Freedman Center for Child and Family Development at William James College), COMPASS for Kids (currently part of ImagineThat), and Families First of Cambridge, MA. My teaching experience, along with my passion for empowering families to examine their values and goals within the framework of what we know is good for child development, gives me a unique lens for putting developmental theory into practice for both families and professionals who work with them.
I help parents and professionals become better at their roles by using perspective-taking and partnering as tools to build stronger relationships. Using a holistic approach and a cultural-contextual lens to problem-solving, I teach families, educators, and others to become better observers, to ask the right questions, and to connect to the perspective of the child. My passion for food as medicine and the emerging research connecting stress, gut health, and mental health have inspired me to educate others about the importance of nutritious eating in the prevention and treatment of chronic illness, emotional, neurodevelopmental, and neurodegenerative disorders.
I am active in the Greek American community and a mother of three.