Organizers

Co-VP Advertising Coordinator - Jessica Tobia

Jessica is a first-year doctoral student in the School/Applied Child Psychology program at McGill University, under the supervision of Dr. Armando Bertone (PNLab). Her research explores the relationship between attentional abilities and literacy/numeracy skills in children and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders. She holds a BA in Psychology from McGill University and a MA in Child Studies from Concordia University. As Co-VP of Creations and Advertising, Jessica is excited to share updates about upcoming events happening at SISP.

In Collaboration with the School/Applied Child Psychology Student Association

sacpstudentassociationatmcgill.com

Committe Organizers

Chair of the Committee - Anna-Francesca Boatswain-Jacques

Anna is a second-year doctoral student in the School/Applied Child Psychology program at McGill University. She received her undergraduate psychology degree from Concordia University and completed her master's degree in psychology at the University of Montreal. Her research interests revolve around differences in the cognitive development of individuals with and without neurodevelopment conditions. For her Ph.D. work, she seeks to understand the unique and similar ways that autistic individuals perceive, attend, and think about information. As Co-Chair of the conference, Anna is excited to learn and help share valuable psychological skills from students and professionals in this year's conference.

Steven Shaw, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University in Montreal. He is the Graduate Program Director of the School/Applied Child Psychology Program. He earned a Ph.D. in School Psychology from the University of Florida in 1991. At McGill University he is director of the Resilience, Pediatric Psychology and Neurogenetic Connections Lab and co-director of the McGill Developmental Research Lab. Before entering academia, he had 17 years of experience as a school psychologist in school, university, hospital, medical school, and independent practice. From 1997 to 2004, he served as lead psychologist and associate professor of pediatrics at The Children's Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina and Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Shaw is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist. In 2000, the South Carolina Association of School Psychologists recognized him for "Outstanding Contributions to Education" for his work on addressing overrepresentation of minority groups in special education, and development of teaching techniques for children with borderline intelligence. In 2010, he received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the Faculty of Education at McGill University. In 2012, he received the President’s Award from the National Association of School Psychologists for his innovative research-to-practice efforts. His clinical and research interests include pediatric school psychology, improving education of children with rare genetic disorders and autism, and development of resilience skills in children at risk for academic failure. He has over 160 scholarly publications and presentations and has published four books. He is on the editorial board of several international scholarly journals and is editor of School Psychology Forum.

Chair of Community Engagement - Jamie Kreidstein

Jamie (she/her) is a first-year master’s student in the School/Applied Child Psychology program at McGill University. She completed her undergraduate psychology degree at McGill University. Jamie is supervised by Dr. Steven Shaw at the Resilience, Pediatric Psychology and Neurogenetics Connections Lab. Her research interests include making research in educational psychology useful and accessible to best support children and families. She looks forward to continuing to engage with professionals in the field through SISP and share evidence-based practice with educators, caregivers, students, and youth support workers.

Co-VP Advertising Coordinator - Adina Gazith

Adina is a first-year doctoral student in the School/Applied Child Psychology program at McGill University. She completed her undergraduate psychology degree at Concordia University, and her master’s degree in educational psychology (with a specialization in human development) from McGill University. Adina’s research interests involve highlighting the unique strengths and contributions of vulnerable youth. In her Ph.D., Adina hopes to continue working with autistic children and Indigenous children. She is excited to join the team as Creations Co-Coordinator, ensuring that the community gets updates and advertisements for the events that SISP offers.

Faculty Advisors

Jeffrey L. Derevensky, PhD, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology. In addition to his administrative duties, he is currently the Director of Clinical Training in School/Applied Child Psychology and Professor, Department of Psychiatry at McGill University. He has published widely in the fields of child development, developmental psychopathology, gambling studies and education and is on the editorial board of numerous journals. He has developed a comprehensive research program investigating many facets of adolescent risky behaviors with a particular emphasis on understanding youth gambling behaviors. He remains actively involved in basic and applied research, prevention, treatment, training and social policy development. Dr. Derevensky has been a consultant to gaming corporations and governments throughout the world and has provided expert testimony before legislative bodies in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. He is the author of over 150 published refereed peer-reviewed journal articles, 60 book chapters, and 3 books. He is also the Director of the McGill University Youth Gambling Research and Treatment Clinic and Director of the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors.

Co-VP Sponsorship - Sara Marshall

Sara is a second-year Master's student in the School/Applied Child Psychology program at McGill. She obtained her B.Sc. in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour from McMaster University. She is supervised by Dr. Chiaki Konishi (Social-Emotional Development Research Group, SED-RG) and her Master's research will explore how school climate data is collected and used by Canadian principals. Sara is excited to continue the role of VP Sponsorship and support the exciting things that SISP has planned for 2024!

Hosted by SISP student committee, McGill University

& Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology

Co-VP Sponsorship - Emilie Bélanger

Emilie (she/her) is a first-year doctoral student in the School/Applied Child Psychology program at McGill University. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Psychology and her master’s degree in Educational Psychology (with a specialization in Human Development) from McGill. Emilie is supervised by Dr. Victoria Talwar and has been a member of the Talwar Child Development Lab since 2022. Emilie’s research interests include children’s social and moral development, specifically the influence of different social factors on children’s honesty and lie-telling behaviours. She is excited to be joining SISP this year as the co-VP of Sponsorships and is looking forward to helping support the different events that SISP offers!

Comité organisateur

Co-VP Advertising Coordinator - Jasmyn Skinner
Jasmyn is a first-year doctoral student in the School/Applied Child Psychology program. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph where she studied Neuroscience and Psychology. Jasmyn completed a Masters of Counselling Psychology at Western University. Currently, she is being supervised by Dr. Tina Montreuil and is part of the Childhood Anxiety and Regulation of Emotions (C.A.R.E.) Research Group. Her research interests include the role of perinatal maternal mental health and its impact on child cognitive and social-emotional development. Jasmyn is joining SISP as the co-VP of Creations and Advertising and is looking forward to sharing information about events going on at SISP.