School Psychology

Jin Hyung Lim

Jin Hyung Lim is a PhD student in the 2022 cohort of the School Psychology Program at the Berkeley School of Education. He is a recipient of a prestigious scholarship for his five-year PhD study funded by Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies (KFAS). He obtained BA in Education (with Summa Cum Laude) and MA in Special Education at Seoul National University in South Korea. When he was in Korea, he worked as a research assistant in the Special Education Research Institute at Seoul National University and an instructor of an individualized reading program (Tiers 2/3) for students at risk for...

Isabella Ahrens

Isabella Ahrens is a fifth-year doctoral candidate in the School Psychology Program. She is currently working at an elementary and high school in San Francisco Unified School District as a school psychology intern. Isabella has engaged in assessment, consultation, and therapy practicum experiences in schools in the East Bay and a private practice in San Francisco.

Her research explores parent involvement in youth sport and student athlete academic engagement. Isabella has contributed to research exploring Native Hawaiian mental and behavioral health, patients...

Umara Hansen

Umara Hansen (she/her/hers) is a first year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at UC Berkeley. Umara attended the University of Ottawa, Canada and graduated with the highest distinction of Honours in Psychology, BSc where she studied the impact of stress on wellbeing through fMRI measures. Prior to graduate school, Umara worked as a research assistant in a variety of research labs throughout Canada and the United States, including the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Lab at the University of British Columbia and the Stress and the Development Lab at Harvard University....

Jackie Lopez Santiago

Jackie is a PhD student in the School Psychology Program under the advisement of Professor Frank Worrell. Jackie’s primary research interest include: understanding the educational experiences of low income, Latine students; parent education as a mediator for Latine students academic success; and the social networks of Latine parents, particularly mothers.

Jackie is a first-generation college graduate who was born and raised in Santa Monica, Calif. She is an alumnae of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) where she began her research experience as a second year...

Mark Pommer

Mark Pommer is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program at UC Berkeley. Mark received his EdS in school psychology from Columbia University. His current research interests include bilingual evaluations, second language acquisition, and addressing disproportionality of English language learners in special education. Mark is also involved in hope theory and application research, international school psychology, and assistive technology research and design.

Mark’s return to academia was inspired and informed by his 16-year career as a Nationally Certified School...

Elaine (Hua) Luo

Elaine Luo is a PhD candidate in the School Psychology Program at Berkeley School of Education (BSE). Prior to joining the BSE, Elaine received her MEd in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2020 and her BA in Education Sciences from the University of California, Irvine in 2018.

Elaine's current research focuses on adolescents' ethnic-racial identity development under the influence of various entities in their ecological system and the impact of ethnic-racial identity development on their mental health and developmental outcomes.

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Amanda McKerracher

Amanda McKerracher is a Health Service/Clinical Faculty member in the School Psychology program, as well as a member of the BPIC training committee. Her role involves clinical supervision of doctoral trainees, as well as teaching coursework in mental health and academic assessment and interventions, ethical decision making, and consultation skills. Prior to joining the faculty, Dr. McKerracher worked in various capacities in the field of education, including as a teacher, early childhood educator, school psychologist, and licensed psychologist. She is currently a Licensed Educational...

Mercedes Zapata

Mercedes Zapata is a Lecturer in the School Psychology Program. Dr. Zapata teaches coursework related to psychopathology and adolescent development, and she provides consultation for community mental health and school-based practicum experiences. Dr. Zapata is a Licensed Psychologist in California as well as a Nationally Certified School Psychologist and credentialed School Psychologist. She has practiced as a school psychologist in San Francisco Unified School District and Alameda City Unified School District.

Prior to receiving her PhD in Education (School Psychology), Dr. Zapata...

Nicole Faraci

Nicole is a third year PhD student in the School Psychology program within the School of Education. She graduated from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oneonta in 2019 with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Educational Psychology.

She is currently focusing her research on youth political engagement and equitable civics education; she is passionate about the intersection of research, practice, and policy in order to foster meaningful and empowering participation of young people in civic life.

Specializations and Interests

Civic Engagement, Civics...

Edwin Carlos

Edwin Carlos (He/Him) is a 1st year PhD student in the School Psychology program at the School of Education. He is a 2nd generation Filipino American from Renton, Wash., and graduated with a Bachelor's of Arts in psychology and a minor in education from Stanford University in 2020.

His research focuses on the role of ethnic/racial identity and ethnic studies on students' mental health and academic outcomes.

Specializations and Interests

Ethnic/Racial Identity; Mental Health; Ethnic Studies; Culturally Relevant Pedagogy;...