Elisa Fisher

Research Assistant

Elisa is a graduate student in social work and public health in a joint Master’s degree program through Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health (Population and Family Health Department) and the School of Social Work. Her research interests include program development and evaluation, with a focus on addressing disparities through early intervention and strengths-based, youth development programs. She is also interested in clinical social work. Elisa joined the EPAC lab as research assistant for the CARING project, and is currently Dr. Duch's research assistant for her work on childhood obesity. Elisa's prior research experience includes the University of Maryland’s Child Development Lab and the Georgetown Health Policy

Institute. Elisa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from University of Maryland, College Park.

Carmen Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Program Director

Dr. Carmen Rodriguez directs the federally funded Head Start and Early Head Start program sponsored by the Mailman School of Public Health. Columbia University Head Start (CUHS) provides comprehensive bilingual child development and family support services to children from birth to age five, pregnant women and their families. The program serves a predominantly Latino immigrant population in Washington Heights and West Harlem/Hamilton Heights. Dr. Rodriguez holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from New York University. She is Assistant Professor of Population and Family Health at CUMC. Full Bio.

Maria Martí

Fellow, Department of Psychiatry

Maria graduated from the University of Barcelona in 2006 with a MS in Psychology and was trained as a Clinical Psychologist in the Hospital “Universitari Mútua de Terrassa” from 2007 to 2010. In 2011 she received a grant from the Alicia Koplowitz Foundation to do a fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology at Columbia University - New York Presbyterian.  She is involved in the EPAC lab as a part of her fellowship, working on the Caring program research and also co-leading a Caring group. She is interested in parent-child interactions, particularly maternal capacity to reflect on the child’s experience and its impact on their relationship and the the child’s social-emotional development. 

Saskia Op den Bosch

Project coordinator, Getting Ready for School

Saskia graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a BS in Psychology and has a Masters in Quantitative Research Methods in the Social Sciences from Columbia University. Saskia became interested in education while teaching and tutoring children in the urban community of Pittsburgh. Prior to coming to Columbia, Saskia worked for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center conducting behavioral and fMRI research with children and adults on the Autism spectrum. She joined EPAC lab in the Spring of 2012 as a research assistant for the CARING project. Saskia is interested in education, program evaluation and working with minority/ disadvantaged youth. She became the Getting Ready for School project coordinator in August of 2012.

Carly Roberts

Coach, Getting Ready for School

Carly is completing joint Master of Public Health and Master of Public Administration degrees at Columbia and will graduate from both programs in 2014. She is especially interested in urban children’s issues, particularly education and health. Before coming to Columbia, she worked with a small community-based organization in Washington, DC, providing comprehensive, wrap-around services for children and families in an under-resourced neighborhood. Carly began volunteering on the GRS team in 2013. She also holds a BA in psychology from George Washington University.

Mariela Cohen Sabban

Coach, Getting Ready for School

Mariela graduated from the University of Buenos Aires in 2005 with a BS in Psychology, She received her MSEd. in Human Development from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009, and moved to New York City where she is currently living. Mariela worked for 4 consecutive years at Columbia University Head Start with children and adults, where she developed a special interest in education and literacy acquisition. Currently she is getting her second Masters in General Education and Literacy from Bank Street College of Education. She became part of Getting Ready for School in 2013.

Vanessa Arthur

Research Assistant, Getting Ready for School

Prior to joining GRS, Vanessa worked as an Educational Consultant for Sesame Workshop’s Global Education Department, where she contributed to international versions of Sesame Street to promote early childhood education and creative learning strategies for young children. Vanessa is a former Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Mozambique, where she worked as a secondary school English teacher, and led community-based projects for youth, including HIV/AIDS prevention, female empowerment, and journalism. Vanessa holds a Master’s degree in International Education from the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Government & Politics and Chinese from the University of Maryland, College Park. Vanessa has a keen interest in the educational and emotional growth of youth in developing nations.