Three School Psychology alumni: Berkeley's unique program

March 28, 2022

Together they have nearly 150 years in the profession of school psychology. They each lead professional organizations with a combined membership of nearly 200,000 people worldwide. Their work and service has undoubtedly touched the lives of millions of school children around the globe.

And they—Professor Frank Worrell, Dr. Laurie Klose, and Professor Chryse “Sissy” Hatzichristou—also share the distinction of being alumni of Berkeley GSE’s School Psychology program.

Three School Psychology alumni: Berkeley's unique program


At a virtual mini reunion, these alumni discuss the indelible mark the GSE’s School Psychology program had, and continues to have, on their lives.

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  • Professor Frank Worrell was shy as a child, and is now the president of the American Psychological Association (APA), the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States.
  • Professor Sissy Hatzichristou always knew she would return to Greece to develop a model of school psychology, and is now the president of the International School Psychology Association (ISPA).
  • Dr. Laurie Klose is a first generation college graduate, and is now president of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP).

It may be serendipitous that Worrell, Klose, and Hatzichristou are each president of their respective organizations at the same time.

But it’s certainly no accident that they have been elected to lead the American Psychological Association (APA), National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), and the International School Psychology Association (ISPA), respectively.

In interviews, without hesitation, they all point to one person influencing their professional trajectory: the late Professor Nadine Lambert, founder of the GSE’s School Psychology program, which is consistently ranked among the top 10 in the United States (#8 in the U.S. News & World Report's rankings for 2023).

Lambert, they say, created a forward-looking program grounded equally in research, training, and consultation, offering graduate students room to explore and indeed, push the envelope.

Worrell PhD ’94, who started as APA president on Jan. 1, 2022, continues that model today as director of the GSE’s School Psychology program, noting that Lambert emphasized “making your best contributions not just to science but to practice, and to serve.”

Klose PhD ’95, C.ESP ’92, C.EPP ’90, who has worked in K–12 schools, taught at universities, and built a private practice, and is currently NASP president through June 30, 2022, has held on to the mindset of looking at “how the students fit into the whole integrated system.”

While Hatzichristou PhD ’87 president of ISPA through June 30, 2023, and Director of the School Psychology program at National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, has leaned into “responsive, evidence-based interventions, and efforts toward impacting policy decisions.”

These alumni gathered for a virtual mini reunion to catch up and discuss the indelible mark the GSE’s School Psychology program had, and continues to have, on their lives.