Famatta Gibson, LMSW

Famatta Gibson (she/her/hers) MSW, LMSW

Famatta Gibson joined the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence (YCEI) in September 2021 as Project Coordinator for the Social Emotional Learning Observation Checklist for Elementary Schools (SELOC) Project. Effective July 1, 2023, Famatta will transition as Project Coordinator at the Education Collaboratory at Yale within the Yale Child Study Center.

In her current role at the YCEI, Famatta works as member of the SELOC Project team, that is developing the Social and Emotional Learning Observation Checklist for Elementary Schools (SELOC-E). The SELOC-E will be an easy-to-use checklist measure for use by school practitioners to support SEL teaching. She serves as the point of contact for day-to-day communication with research partners and potential partners. She also supports various areas of the research including school recruitment, participant payments, financial reconciliations, and project management. Before joining the YCEI, Famatta worked in various research and regulatory-related roles at Yale University. Famatta also serves the New Haven community as a licensed mental health clinician with Elm City COMPASS and the Continuum Integrative Behavioral Health (CIBH).

Famatta was born and raised in Monrovia, Liberia where she received her AA in Computer Science from the AME Zion College in Monrovia, Liberia. She received her BS in Psychology from Liberty University in Virginia, and MS in Social Work from Alliance (formerly Nyack College) School of Social Work in New York. Before coming to the US, Famatta was trained by the United Nations as a War Trauma Field Worker. She is humble and fortunate to have served child soldiers and girls who were sex trafficked.

Famatta volunteers in New Haven, the neighboring town of Woodbridge, a host of other areas and with some international non-profits. She also enjoys mentoring youth and social work students and serving her country (Liberia) by providing access through psychoeducation around mental health symptoms and grief and loss. She is passionate about storytelling as a form of healing.

When not working or volunteering, she can be found cycling in and around CT, training for the Smilow Center Closer To Free Cancer Ride and spending time with friends and family.