Yale Child Study Center Welcomes New Clinical Trainees for the 2025-2026 Academic Year

In July of each year, Yale Child Study Center (YCSC) welcomes new trainees to its world-renowned educational fellowships, internships, and practicum programs. The following trainees have joined YCSC education and training programs this summer as fellows, residents, interns, and practicum students.

Camille Fortin, LMSW, earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Connecticut, where she also received a master's of social work, with a concentration in individuals, groups, and families. During her graduate training, she completed internships at the Whitney Center, Dana's House, and Yale New Haven Health. In her free time, she enjoys walking her dog, reading, and baking for her friends and family.

Retta Laumann, MSW, has a bachelor’s in fine arts from Baldwin Wallace University and attended Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work for her graduate training. She competed internships at Yale Child Study Center, where she worked with children and families in the outpatient clinic, and within child protective services in her hometown of Arlington, Virginia. She is passionate about providing culturally humble and collaborative clinical care, and combining the arts and social work. Outside of work and learning, she enjoys visiting her friends in NYC, propagating houseplants, and playing with puppies. 

Allie Mascia, MSW, earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut and master's of social work from Fairfield University. During her graduate training, she completed internships at Yale New Haven Health Intensive Outpatient Program and Albert J. Solnit Inpatient Psychiatric Center. Her clinical passion lies in trauma work, attachment, and systemic barriers. In her free time, she enjoys walking outdoors, spending time with family and friends, and teaching fitness classes.

Rebecca Brady, MD, PhD, was born and raised in North Carolina. She graduated summa cum laude from Duke University with a bachelor’s in neuroscience and philosophy. She completed her graduate training as part of the Medical Scientist Training Program at Washington University, where she studied the relationship of prenatal exposure to neighborhood crime and parental callous-unemotional traits to functional brain connectivity in newborns, as well as conduct problems in toddlers. She has published several first-author papers in top journals and was named an Ann W. and Spencer T. Olin Fellow. At Yale, she hopes to study the brain, behavioral, and environmental factors underlying moral development and externalizing disorders in mothers and infants. Clinically, Rebecca is interested in perinatal and early childhood psychiatry.

Megan Conrow-Graham, MD, PhD, completed her medical and graduate training in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, and her bachelor's degree at University of Pittsburgh. Her doctoral thesis investigated how mutations in high-risk genes for autism and intellectual disability contribute to cognitive differences in mouse models. She is passionate about health equity, having served as a student manager in the student-run free medical clinic in Buffalo and as co-president of student activism groups. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and young daughter gardening, cooking, baking, and enjoying the outdoors.

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellows

Rijah Chhapra, MBBS, earned her medical degree from Aga Khan University, Pakistan, and completed her residency at the University of Kentucky. During her training, she developed a deep passion for advocacy and diagnostic disparities. Beyond medicine, she enjoys drawing and painting, using art as a therapeutic medium to foster connection and self-expression.

Natalie Maria Duke, MD, MPH, earned her medical degree from Mercer University in 2022 and her master’s degree in public health from Emory University. She has significant public health experience, including work at Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control. Passionate about providing compassionate, patient-centered care, she looks forward to continuing her professional journey at Yale, where she can further develop her skills in child psychiatry and trauma-focused care. Outside of her clinical work, she enjoys collaborating with colleagues, mentoring students, playing tennis, and fostering a supportive environment in her residency program.

Jenny Jean, MD, spent three years as a clinical research fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). She graduated from medical school at the University of Rochester and completed her residency split between the University of Illinois Chicago and the NIMH. During her time at the NIMH she focused on mapping brain development using longitudinal neuroanatomic data, exploring ADHD genomics, and examining the factors and mechanisms underpinning ADHD symptom trajectories starting from childhood. She is passionate about child and infant psychiatry and exploring the phenomenological experience of autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and OCD at the intersection of elucidating the role of the cerebellum in neurodevelopmental disorders. She loves art, post-modern theory, and deconstructing psychoanalysis.

Breanna Keepers, MD, MBA, received her medical degree from the University of North Carolina and her bachelor’s degree at Harvard University. She completed three years of adult psychiatry training at Columbia and has a particular interest in working with youth with substance use disorders. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, swimming, and walks with her son, husband, and cranky chihuahua.

Austin Novarra, MD, earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Michigan. Before attending medical school at Michigan State University, he took time off to participate in NIH-funded minority health and health disparities research. As part of this fellowship, he lived in Ghana for several months conducting sickle cell research. While in medical school, he served as a community mentor for youth ages 12 to 17 at risk or involved in the juvenile court system. For the past three years, he has been a psychiatry resident at McLean Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. He has developed a particular clinical interest in neurodevelopment disorders, building on the neurodevelopment certification he completed during medical school. In his spare time, he enjoys playing basketball and golf. He is also a collector of historical coins.

Miriam Similon, MD, earned her bachelor's degree with majors in psychology and Hispanic literatures and culture at Wesleyan University, and her medical degree at the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University. She completed her psychiatry residency requirements at Staten Island University Hospital - Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra. While in residency, she designed and implemented a child mental health curriculum for the pediatrics residents. She is passionate about medical education, working with children, narrative medicine, and therapy. In her free time she loves to travel, hike, dance, cook for friends and family, go to concerts, and watch movies.

Chevaughn Wellington, MD, MS, was born and raised in New England and has cultural roots in Jamaica. She graduated as an honors scholar at the University of Connecticut, receiving a bachelor’s of science in molecular and cell biology. She then earned a master’s in biomedical sciences at Drexel University, a graduate certificate in public health at the University of Connecticut, and her medical degree at Quinnipiac University. She completed her general psychiatry residency at Boston University/Boston Medical Center, New England’s largest safety net hospital. Her clinical interests include school-based mental health, trauma, faith and mental health, integrated behavioral health, psychotherapy, and more. Outside of clinical care, she enjoys spending time with loved ones, nature walks, the arts in various forms, and all things tropical.

Alexandria Crawford, MA, earned her undergraduate degree in psychology and sociology at the University of New Mexico while she was active duty in the U.S. Air Force. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate in the school psychology program at the University of Connecticut. Throughout her graduate training, she has trained in various settings, including the American School for the Deaf, UConn Health, and most recently at YCSC in the pediatric neuropsychology and pediatric psychology, neurology, and chronic pain tracks. Her dissertation examines teacher accommodation of anxiety in the school setting. Clinically, she is interested in the psychosocial adjustment of children and families navigating chronic illness, including enhancing collaboration between medical and educational systems to promote continuity of care across settings.

Anna Kilbride, PsyM, MA, received her master’s in psychology from the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University and her master’s in child development from Sarah Lawrence College. During her graduate training, she completed clinical practica at the Center for Psychological Services, ADHD Clinic, and Children Healing After Trauma Clinic at Rutgers University; the Supporting Healthy Relationships and HERO Dads programs at Montefiore Medical Center; and in early childhood at Yale Child Study Center. Her doctoral dissertation focuses on representational risk markers for later child outcomes in parents’ caregiving narratives. In her spare time, she enjoys painting, yoga, and spending time with her family and friends.

Adriana Mendez, MA, is currently completing her doctoral degree in clinical science at Emory University, where she also earned bachelor’s and master's degrees in psychology. Her doctoral dissertation investigates and validates a novel eye-tracking tool that has been FDA approved for the diagnosis of autism in the Spanish-speaking Latino community. In her research, she utilizes mixed-methods to understand and address any barriers to accessing early behavioral mental health care experienced by the Latino community. For the past four years, her clinical training has largely focused on the assessment and treatment of various neurodevelopmental disorders in early childhood, including autism and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders among others. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, crocheting, and learning how to sew.

Adithi Rajagopalan, MS, is currently a doctoral student in Penn State's child clinical psychology program. She has two master’s degrees in mental health counseling from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor's in writing seminars with a focus on narrative fiction and psychology at Johns Hopkins. Her research focuses on strengths-based intervention for vulnerable populations, particularly children experiencing uncontrollable stress (e.g. poverty-related and discrimination-related ). In her free time, she loves running, baking, reading, watching reality television, and hanging out with her dog, Brady.

Alison D. Lizardi earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from Southern Connecticut State University, where she is now working toward her master’s in social work. During her undergraduate training, she completed an internship at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven. In her free time, she enjoys Pilates, baking, and volunteering on the Disaster Action Team at the American Red Cross.

Chanelle Norman is a dual-enrolled student working toward both a PhD in clinical psychology at Fielding Graduate University and a master’s of science in clinical psychopharmacology at The Chicago School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in human biology from the University of Indianapolis in 2007 and a doctorate in physical therapy from the University of St. Augustine in 2014. She has over a decade of experience as a licensed physical therapist delivering rehabilitative care across the lifespan in a wide range of medical and community-based settings. Her research interests include the cognitive and affective consequences of interpersonal manipulation in women survivors of intimate partner violence, with a particular focus on how such experiences impact top-down regulation, neurodevelopment, and broader physiological health. Outside of academics, she enjoys traveling, weight training, baking, and spending quality time with her spouse and their Italian Greyhound, Eisenhower.

Eliza Appleton is a dual doctoral student in educational psychology and masters student in social work at the University of Connecticut. Her interests are in pediatric psychology, specifically with children and adolescents with autism and developmental disabilities who require specialized medical care. Prior to starting graduate school, she was a research assistant on the Autism & Developmental Disorders Inpatient Research Collaborative at Bradley Hospital in East Providence, Rhode Island. In her free time, she enjoys biking and spending time with her rescue dogs.

Erika Parent earned a bachelor's of fine arts in theatre at the University of Southern California. She then earned an English secondary teaching credential at California State University, Northridge. She taught high school English in Los Angeles and, after moving back to Connecticut in 2006, she began teaching at Guilford High School. She took a break from teaching in 2013 to raise her two boys, and is now pursuing a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy at Southern Connecticut State University.

Gerardo M. Enríquez Rivera completed his undergraduate studies in psychology at the University of Puerto Rico. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree in social work at the University of Connecticut. He participates in the "Connecticut ¡Adelante!" program, which promotes bilingual social workers. In his free time, he enjoys reading, writing, watching movies, and spending time with his cat.

Hilary Skov, MS, is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at the University of Connecticut. She received her master’s in school psychology from Tulane University and her bachelor's degree at Emmanuel College. During her graduate training at Tulane, she gained experience in trauma-informed assessment, intervention, and consultation in school settings in New Orleans, Louisiana. During her graduate training at UConn, she has gained experience in assessment and intervention in clinical settings, and broadened her experience to include adults. Her research examines the role of respiratory sinus arrhythmia, a biomarker of emotion regulation, in predicting mental health outcomes following stress exposure in parents and children. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her fiancé, Juan, and their dog, Luna.

Imri Fisher, MA, earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and business administration at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and a master's degree in clinical psychology from Tel Aviv University in Israel. He is currently a master’s in social work student at Sacred Heart University. During his graduate training in psychology, he worked at different inpatient and outpatient clinics and hospitals, public schools, and private practices. Last year, he completed an internship working with vulnerable populations at a residential facility. His master’s thesis explored the experience of parents who have adult children with Asperger's syndrome. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, hiking, traveling, and playing basketball.

Irene Zheng earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Connecticut, majoring in human development and family science. She is currently a graduate student at Southern Connecticut State University, working toward a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. In her free time, she likes to travel, go to concerts, try new foods, listen to K-pop, and watch C-dramas and anime.

Iryiana Rivera, LMSW, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychological sciences and a master’s in social work from the University of Connecticut. During her graduate training, she completed internships at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven and Yale Child Study Center, where she worked with monolingual Spanish-speaking families. For over two years, she served as a medical case manager in the New Haven community, supporting individuals living with HIV in navigating their medical and mental health needs. She is a recipient of the CJK Dragonfly Social Work Fellowship, a fellow of the Council on Social Work Education’s Minority Fellowship Program, and a member of the inaugural Adelante Connecticut Cohort, which supports bilingual Spanish-speaking social workers in delivering linguistically and culturally responsive care. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, exploring new coffee shops, reading, and traveling.

Isabela Yoguez attends the Columbia School of Social Work and will earn a master’s of science in social work in 2026. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond, where she majored in cognitive science and health studies and minored in anthropology. As an intern for the Digital Scholarship Lab at the University of Richmond, she contributed to the digital humanities project Mapping Inequality, which focused on assessing the impacts of redlining in the United States. She is a lifelong lacrosse player and, most recently, was the club lacrosse president at her undergraduate institution. She continues to enjoy watching and playing the sport when possible. She volunteered at Silver Hill Hospital in 2023, solidifying her desire to become a clinical social worker. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities, spending time with family and friends, and reading at the beach.

Michelle Ross is pursuing a master of arts in Christian counseling at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Her clinical interests include child development, trauma-informed care, and the integration of emotional, relational, and spiritual well-being. She brings a desire to support children and families in meaningful ways. She is looking forward to growing as a future counselor through her experiences at YCSC. In her free time, Michelle enjoys playing the piano, hiking, and browsing thrift stores for vintage finds.

Natalie Charamut, MA, MPS, received her master's in school psychology at the University of Connecticut, master's in clinical psychology at the University of Maryland, and bachelor's degree at UNC Chapel Hill. During her graduate training, her research has focused on assessment of youth and teacher well-being. She has completed practicum experiences in high school, elementary school, and clinical day schools. In her free time, she enjoys going to musicals, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

Saadia Elahi, MS, received her master's degree in clinical psychology from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and her bachelor's degree in Neuroscience at Northwestern University. During her graduate training, she has completed clinical practicums at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago's Pediatric Stress and Anxiety Disorders Clinic. Her master's thesis explored systemic and individual drivers of adoption of early interventions for trauma in schools. She is now preparing her dissertation, which will describe development and implementation of a universal preventive mental health program for middle grade classrooms. In her free time, Saadia enjoys baking, spending time with family and friends, trying new coffee shops, and exploring nature.

Samantha Santos, MA, holds a master's in clinical practices in psychology from the University of Hartford, a master’s in public administration from Clark University, and a bachelor's degree from Clark University. She is currently a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at the University of Hartford. During her graduate training, she has completed practicum placements at Asylum Hill Family Medicine Center in Hartford, Connecticut, the UCONN Health Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic in West Hartford, and Northeast Neuropsychology Services LLC in Farmington. Her doctoral dissertation examines the relationship between perinatal emotion regulation and infant mental health in response to stressors related to the Covid-19 pandemic. In her free time, she enjoys reading, painting, and spending time with her loved ones.

Sara Flash, MA, is a doctoral student in the school psychology program at the University of Connecticut. She received her master's in educational psychology at the University of Connecticut, and her bachelor's degree at Muhlenberg College. She has trained in various Connecticut school districts and within the ACCESS department at EastConn. Her research interests include assessment and intervention development, intervention implementation and fidelity, and school-based consultation. In her free time, she enjoys catching up with friends, playing board games, and spending time outdoors, especially in national parks.

Sarah T. Reilly is a doctoral candidate in the clinical psychology PsyD program at Alliant International University – California School of Professional Psychology. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Connecticut College and an master’s degree in clinical psychology from Alliant. During her graduate training, she completed a neuropsychological externship at the Integrated Clinic in Santa Monica, CA, where she conducted comprehensive assessment batteries to evaluate a broad range of developmental disorders. Her dissertation explores how unconventional therapist language influences the therapeutic alliance, reflecting her broader interest in how subtle, relational elements of communication impact outcomes in therapy. For the past three years, she has provided individual, group, and couples therapy across a wide range of settings. Her approach is grounded in cognitive behavioral and third-wave therapies, with a strong emphasis on integrating a multicultural lens. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, skateboarding, skiing, and spending time with friends and family.

Tapvir Singh is a doctoral student in clinical psychology at Rutgers University. During her clinical training, she has completed externships in neuropsychology, integrated care for neurological and chronic medical illnesses, and childhood exposure to complex trauma at Rutgers University and the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation. Her areas of interest include neuropsychology and pediatric health psychology, with a focus on the biobehavioral mechanisms involved in health and illness. In her free time, she enjoys exploring farmers markets, cooking, and being with loved ones.

YCSC training programs share a common goal of providing a deep understanding of adaptive and maladaptive development in children and their families. This is gained through supervised clinical intervention delivery, didactic experiences, and involvement in research initiatives designed to increase knowledge and inform clinical decision-making.