Alexandra “Ali” Cupito, Ph.D., LP, HSP is a pediatric psychologist and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics with the Cone Pediatric Teaching Program.  Dr. Cupito teaches pediatric and family medicine residents in psychological and behavioral health concepts. Dr. Cupito is particularly interested in the intersection of physical, behavioral and emotional health and health promotion and prevention. She is passionate about working with children and adolescents coping with chronic illnesses and complex medical needs. Working collaboratively with patients, families and medical providers, she provides compassionate, patient-centered care using a cultural humility perspective. She enjoys working with families from diverse cultural backgrounds and provides LGBTQ-affirming care.  Her research focuses on improving interdisciplinary team communication, and coordination and quality of care for patients and families.  Dr. Cupito earned her B.A. in Psychology at UNC Chapel Hill and M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at UNCG.  She completed her predoctoral clinical internship specializing in pediatric integrated behavioral health and neuropsychology at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Cupito received additional postdoctoral training in pediatric integrated care at UNC Children’s Hospital.  

Andrea (Ande) Kulish-Avery, Ph.D., is the owner and a Licensed Psychologist at Strong Start Psychological Services, PLLC in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. She provides early identification and early intervention services to young children with neurodevelopmental/developmental concerns and mental/behavioral health needs. Ande completed her B.A. in Psychology at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., while volunteering in rural schools in Central and South America during the summers to support the implementation of behavioral intervention programs. Ande earned her MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Carolina- Greensboro. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC, and a postdoctoral fellowship in Early Childhood Mental Health at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, DE.

Nadia Huq, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and Instructor of Medical Psychology in Psychiatry at Columbia University. She is currently working for the School-Based Mental Health Program at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center providing clinical services for children and families in an underserved low-income community. Her research interests include acculturation conflict, ethnic identity development and psychological adjustment among Latino youth. She earned her B.A. in Brain, Behavior, & Cognitive Science at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and her M.A. and Ph.D in Clinical Psychology at UNCG. She completed her pre-doctoral clinical psychology internship at Children’s National Health System in Washington D.C. and her post-doctoral fellowship at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center.

N. Keita Christophe is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at McGill University. He received his PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he also earned a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. Keita is also a former NICHD T-32 Predoctoral Fellow at the Carolina Consortium on Human Development. Keita’s research employs developmental psychopathology and cultural developmental science perspectives to better understand factors that influence psychosocial wellbeing and healthy development among racially and ethnically minoritized youth exposed to racialized stress.

Juan Prandoni, M.A., is currently working at El Futuro, Inc. - a non-profit outpatient mental health clinic in Durham, NC - as their new Associate Training Director for the La Mesita Mental Health Training Network. La Mesita is a virtual networking and training project aimed at disseminating the latest research on culturally sensitive evidence-based practices for the Latinx community. Juan recently finished his pre-doctoral internship at Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth, NJ.  He earned his B.A. in Psychology and French at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his M.A. in Clinical Psychology at UNCG. His research focuses on identifying the need for and implementation of treatment adaptations to evidence-based practices to better serve the Latinx community.

Yesenia Mejia, Ph.D. is a post-doctoral fellow at the UC San Diego Consortium. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego, and then worked as a research assistant in the Culture and Mental Health Lab at the University of Southern California. Her research experiences include conducting a community mental health education program in Mexico, and working on a psychosis literacy communication campaign for Spanish-speaking Latinos. Broadly, her research interests include examining how cultural factors may influence psychopathology and developing culturally-competent assessments and treatment interventions for underserved populations.

Alex graduated from University of San Diego with a BA in Psychology and minors in Business Administration and Media Studies.  He subsequently taught secondary English as a Teach For America corps member in Oakland, California, where he received an MA in Education with an emphasis in Teaching.  He then earned an MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology from UNCG. Predoctoral internship in health service psychology at New Mexico VA Health Care System included emphases in family psychology as well as residential substance abuse and trauma rehabilitation.  Postdoctoral residency at UC San Diego included program development in positive psychology. He also focuses clinically on testing, assessment, and evaluation. His research has included community-based collaboration and risk and protective factors in context of acculturation for migrant-origin persons, including trauma and factors related to sociocultural identity.