Matia Finn-Stevenson, PhD

Matia Finn-Stevenson is a research scientist at Yale University, Child Study Center, where she is also associate director of The Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy and the director of the School of the 21st Century. She developed the social and emotional learning model that is the basis for the Mutt-i-grees Curriculum, conceptualized by the Pet Savers Foundation, and the integration of Mutt-i-grees to teach social-emotional skills. Dr. Finn-Stevenson is also directing Yale's efforts in the study of pets in the lives of children. Her previous work focused on research in child development and school-work-family life issues, including studies on the impact of demographic and other changes on schools and the involvement of schools in childcare, family support and other interventions.

Dr. Finn-Stevenson is the author and co-author of numerous publications, the most recent of which are related to school reform, evaluation of school-based support services, and program development social policy. Among her publications are books entitled Children in the Changing World; The School of the 21st Century: Linking Child Care and Education; Child Development and Social Policy; and The First Three Years and Beyond: Brain Development and Social Policy. She has been an advisor on domestic policy issues to the staff of the White House Office of Policy Development and a consultant to the Connecticut legislature's Committee on Work and Family, the Committee on Education and Labor, the U. S. House of Representatives, and the U. S. Senate Subcommittee on Children, Youth, Families, Alcohol, and Drug Abuse. She regularly advises school districts and state departments of education on programs and services for children and serves as a consultant to state and federal policymakers and foundations. Dr. Finn-Stevenson earned her doctorate from Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.