Jackie Kestler | Project Manager

Jackie manages the day-to-day operations of the MAPS Study. She enjoys working closely with the research assistants, coordinators, and families who come into the lab. She’s happy to help address any questions or concerns that anyone has, so contact her with any issues. Jackie received her B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University and MPH in Maternal and Child Health from the University of Illinois, Chicago.

 

Beth Hunt | Project Manager

Elizabeth “Beth” Grisa Hunt is the Project Manager of the When To Worry (W2W) study. A lifelong Chicagoan, Beth began her career as a research assistant and then project director for studies conducted by the Families and Communities Research Group at the Institute for Juvenile Research in the University of Illinois at Chicago and Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. These studies were grounded in a public health perspective, focusing on advancing knowledge about development, risk, and prevention of aggression and violence using longitudinal methods among minority youth from low-income neighborhoods in Chicago. Subsequently, Beth obtained her M.S. from The Pennsylvania State University in Human Development and Family Studies, specializing in family-based interventions, co-parenting, and longitudinal methodology.

 

Cecilia Ortega | Recruitment Specialist

Cecilia has extensive experience working on research projects over the past 12 years. She is thrilled to be working with this team, whose common goal is to learn more about preschool children. Meeting with participants, explaining the study and securing their participation is her main objective on our team.

 

 

Amanda Nili | Graduate Student

 

 

 

 

 

 

Corey Richier | Research Assistant

Corey Richier is a Research Assistant for the MAPS Study. He recently graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Northern Illinois University, where he worked for two and a half years in a RA in a developmentally-oriented clinical psychology lab. His research interests include assessment, in addition to the behavioral, contextual, and neurocognitive factors that predict psychopathology in early childhood. He is excited to bring his background in developmental psychopathology to the MAPS study. He hopes to further his research career by learning to implement MRI methodologies in the analysis of these developmental processes.

 

Makeda Springette | Research Assistant

 

Rachael Young | MRI Technologist

Rachael has over 10 years of experience performing MRI in a variety of situations both with pediatric and adult populations.  She is a recent graduate of University of Illinois at Chicago with a Bachelor’s of Science in Neuroscience.  She is excited to bring her clinical expertise to the study’s MRI component.  She hopes to further her career in research by combining MRI with brain growth and development studies.