Youth-Nex People

Discover our team, our current job market candidates, and opportunities to join our work.

Youth-Nex is comprised of faculty, research associates, staff, graduate students and faculty affiliates. Youth-Nex affiliated faculty are from across the University of Virginia, including departments like Medicine, Psychology, and the College of Arts and Sciences. We also have partners and affiliates outside of the University. 

2023 Job Market Candidates

Below you will find profiles for our current job market candidates, including the following:

Employment Opportunities

Youth-Nex Employment: These positions are posted and managed by Youth-Nex.

Affiliated Employment at UVA: These positions are affilliated with Youth-Nex but managed by colleagues at UVA.

Youth-Nex Faculty

Derrick P Alridge

Derrick P. Alridge

  • Philip J. Gibson Professor of Education
  • Director, Center for Race and Public Education in the South
Jessika Bottiani

Jessika H. Bottiani

  • Research Assistant Professor
Catherine Bradshaw

Catherine P. Bradshaw

  • Senior Associate Dean for Research & Faculty Development
  • Professor
Chris Chang-Bacon

Chris Chang-Bacon

  • Assistant Professor
Katrina Debnam

Katrina Debnam

  • Associate Professor
Nancy L Deutsch

Nancy L. Deutsch

  • Associate Dean for Faculty Development
  • Linda K. Bunker Professor of Education
  • Director, Youth-Nex
Shereen El Mallah

Shereen El Mallah

  • Research Assistant Professor
Alexis R. Harris

Alexis R. Harris

  • Research Assistant Professor
Wintre Foxworth Johnson

Wintre Foxworth Johnson

  • Assistant Professor
Michael Lyons

Michael Lyons

  • Associate Professor
  • Clinical & School Psychology Program Director
Heather McDaniel

Heather McDaniel

  • Research Assistant Professor
Amanda Nguyen

Amanda Nguyen

  • Research Assistant Professor
Lora Henderson Smith

Lora Henderson Smith

  • Assistant Professor
Naila A. Smith

Naila A. Smith

  • Assistant Professor
Julia Taylor

Julia Taylor

  • Associate Professor
Patrick Tolan

Patrick H. Tolan

  • Charles S. Robb Professor Emeritus of Education
Arthur L Weltman

Arthur L. Weltman

  • Professor of Kinesiology
  • Professor of Medicine
Joseph Williams

Joseph Williams

  • Associate Professor

Youth-Nex Research Associates

Lydia Beahm

Lydia Beahm

  • Postdoctoral Research Associate
Lex Budavari

Lex Budavari

  • Postdoctoral Research Associate
Jessica Forrester

Jessica Forrester

  • Postdoctoral Research Associate
Chelsea A Kaihoi

Chelsea Ann Kaihoi

  • Research Scientist
Pamela Nicholas-Hoff

Pamela Nicholas-Hoff

  • Postdoctoral Research Associate
Toshna Pandey

Toshna Pandey

  • Postdoctoral Research Associate
Ashlee Lester Sjogren

Ashlee Lester Sjogren

  • Postdoctoral Research Associate
Faith Zabek

Faith A. Zabek

  • Postdoctoral Research Associate

Youth-Nex Staff

Katelyn Birchfield

Katelyn Birchfield

  • Program Coordinator and Implementation Support & Coaching Specialist
Leslie Booren

Leslie M. Booren

  • Associate Director for Communications & Operations, Youth-Nex
Sherry Bryant

Sherry Bryant

  • Program Coordinator and Implementation Support & Coaching Specialist
Abby Gillespie

Abby Gillespie

  • Director of Strategy and Engagement, Youth-Nex
Crystal Haislip

Crystal Haislip

  • Associate Director for Administration, Youth-Nex
Martha Pullen

Martha Pullen

  • Financial and Administrative Coordinator, Youth-Nex

Nicole E. Wolf

  • CSP Research Coordinator

Youth-Nex Ph.D. Students

alwani-noor_profile-photo_383x383_2022-11-9.jpg

Noor Alwani

  • Ph.D. Student
daniel-simon_profile-photo_600x600_2022-10-25.jpg

Simon Daniel

  • Ph.D. Student
min-helen_profile-photo_412x412_2022-10-25.jpg

Helen Min

  • Ph.D. Student
Theresa Pfister

Theresa Pfister

  • Ph.D. Student
powers-meredith_profile-photo_412x412_2022-10-25.jpg

Meredith Powers Franco

  • Ph.D. Student
Taina Quiles

Taina Quiles

  • Ph.D. Student
Dana Sox

Dana Sox

  • Ph.D. Student
Allison Rae Ward-Seidel

Allison Rae Ward-Seidel

  • Ph.D. Student

Affiliated Faculty

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Youth-Nex

Youth-Nex is a trans-disciplinary center with a translational approach to scholarship and innovation that is central to its work.