About Us

Dr. Dart is an Associate Professor in the School Psychology Program at the University of South Florida. He is a licensed psychologist and board certified behavior analyst and completed his graduate training in the school psychology program at Louisiana State University. His research interests are best summarized as school-based behavioral interventions implemented within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS). His work in school mental health focuses on the development and evaluation of progress monitoring tools to assess students’ social-emotional functioning and the adaptation of existing behavior interventions (e.g., Check-in/Check-out) to address mental health concerns.

Erin Dowdy, PhD
Dr. Dowdy is a Professor in the Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology at the University of California Santa Barbara. She is a licensed psychologist and a nationally certified school psychologist. Her research career and scholarly publications have focused on universal assessment for social and emotional health and risk. She is focused on equitable screening practices. Dr. Dowdy has a record of past success at disseminating research in peer-reviewed journals and at professional conferences, and her research and collaborative work with schools, state, and community agencies has been funded by various agencies.

Katie Eklund, PhD
Dr. Eklund is an Associate Professor in the School Psychology Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She received her doctorate in Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and her Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan. Prior to entering academia, Dr. Eklund worked in public education for 10 years as a school administrator, school psychologist, and school social worker. Dr. Eklund’s research focuses on school mental health, including early identification and intervention for children who have behavioral and/or social-emotional concerns, social emotional learning, school climate, and school safety.

Andy Garbacz, PhD

Dr. Garbacz is a Professor in the School Psychology Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research emphasizes building, testing, and scaling programs that interconnect school, home, and community systems to promote mental health and reduce the risk of later mental health concerns. Dr. Garbacz focuses on universal, school- and community-wide programs to support all children and youth as well as programs and practices for children and youth who need additional support. Dr. Garbacz is actively engaged in research examining the Teachers and Parents as Partners intervention, the Family Check-Up model, as well as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.

Stephen Kilgus, PhD

Dr. Kilgus is a Professor in the School Psychology program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also Co-Director of the School Mental Health Collaborative, a national research and technical assistance center. He is also the Executive Director of METRICS, a national school mental health technical assistance center. Dr. Kilgus’ research has informed the development and testing of school-based early interventions for students exhibiting externalizing and internalizing concerns. He has also contributed to the development and validation of several social-emotional and behavioral assessments, including universal screening, problem analysis, and progress monitoring tools.

Shannon Suldo, PhD
Dr. Suldo is a Professor and Director of Clinical Training in the School Psychology Program at the University of South Florida. She is a Licensed Psychologist who trained at the School Psychology Program at the University of South Carolina. She has extensive research and clinical experiences in school-based mental health services, including: establishing empirical links between student mental health and academic success; conceptualizing and measuring student mental health in a dual-factor model that considers psychopathology and subjective well-being; promoting positive indicators of student and educator well-being; and identifying youth with mental health problems.

Nathaniel von der Embse, PhD, NCSP
Dr. von der Embse is a Professor of School Psychology at the University of South Florida and is an Associate Editor at the Journal of School Psychology. Dr. von der Embse utilizes a social justice framework to examine the intersection of education policy and school mental health. His research has resulted in over 75 peer-reviewed journal articles, professional articles, or book chapters. Dr. von der Embse completed his master’s and educational specialist degrees in school psychology from Miami (OH) University, and Ph.D. from Michigan State University with a specialization in educational policy analysis.

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What We Do

Conduct Research

Develop Resources

Provide Technical Assistance

Train Future Professionals

Mental Health Evaluation, Training, Research & Innovation Center for Schools

Our Leadership