Crista Marchesseault, MAT, MA

As director of communications for Yale Child Study Center (YCSC)—which serves as the Department of Child Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine (YSM)—Crista guides departmental strategic communications, oversees related projects, and facilitates dissemination of the center's varied and complex research, clinical, and educational work. As a departmental communications officer, she also works closely with the Office of Communications at YSM and liaisons with Yale's Office of Public Affairs and Communications.

In her role as vice chair for communications at YCSC, she also serves as a member of the YCSC strategy and stewardship team, meeting regularly with the department chair and other vice chairs. Crista also works to develop and sustain relationships and connectivity within and across the YCSC community, working closely with the department's vice chair for collaborative excellence.

Prior to stepping into her current role in 2021, she served as a program manager and operations director for Minding the Baby™ (MTB) for 11 years, leading a variety of initiatives surrounding implementation, research, and training in the basic tenets of the MTB clinical model. Since she began working at Yale in 2002, she has served as a research associate, project director, chair of the YCSC web and social media committee, and member of the YCSC branding and networking committee.

Crista holds a bachelor's of science in organizational communications from Northeastern University; a master of arts in teaching from Sacred Heart University; and a master's in child development from Tufts University, where she sharpened her expertise in developmental literacy and served as a home visitor for a school-based home visiting program.

In addition to her work in teaching and academic research, Crista’s professional background includes experience in public relations, nonprofit management, web development, professional editing, grant facilitation, marketing, and job training. She is currently serving as a volunteer mentor through Yale's Working Women's Network.