Maya Coleman, PhD Clinical Psychology, MA Special Education
Program Director Hand in Hand Parenting | Washington, DC | [email protected]
Maya recently took on the position of Executive Director at Hand in Hand Parenting. For the last decade, Maya has worked as a Clinical Psychologist in private practice supporting families of young children who have had challenging early experiences including preterm birth, perinatal complications, early illness and medical treatment, developmental challenges, and caregiving disruptions. Maya also has a background in Special Education and enjoys supporting parents as they navigate early intervention systems. Maya also provides mental health consultations for early childhood educators and professional development training for early childhood educational communities.
Maya was the Research Coordinator for Hand in Hand's Feasibility Study of the Professionals Intensive Course for Early Childhood Educators.
Angela Sillars, PhD Developmental Psychology, MA Education, Society & Culture
Assistant Professor of Education Castleton University | Castleton, VT | [email protected]
Angela served as the Lead Researcher for Hand in Hand's Feasibility Study of the Professionals Intensive Course for Early Childhood Educators.
Pam Oatis, MD
Pediatrics Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center | Dundee, MI | [email protected]
Under Dr. Oatis’ leadership, Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, in partnership with the Ohio Department of Health’s Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps (BCMH) and Family Voices of Ohio, was awarded a federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) multi-year grant for the statewide implementation of services for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN). Under this grant, over the course of 5 years, Dr. Oatis trained over 700 Public Health Nurses, Early Intervention workers, and Head Start Teachers using Listening Tools to improve the quality of support they can offer to children with special health needs and their families.Â
Pam was named the American Academy of Pediatrics Ohio Chapter Pediatrician of the Year in 2011-2012, and the March of Dimes Physician of the Year in 2013. She has won numerous awards for research excellence, and was chosen to participate in the Harvard Program in Palliative Care Education and Practice at Harvard University in 2008-2009.Â
Pam served as the Medical Research Consultant for Hand in Hand's Feasibility Study of the Professionals Intensive Course for Early Childhood Educators.
Ahava Vogelstein, MA
Grants and Research Manager Hand in Hand Parenting | Baltimore, MD | [email protected]
Ahava Vogelstein, M.A. is an early childhood education consultant in Baltimore, MD. She partners with educators, school leaders, families, and nannies to support the body, heart, mind, and spirit of young children and their grownups. Ahava began this work as a school counselor with a M.A. in Counseling Psychology. After years of working in schools and with families, Ahava led a team to develop a nanny certification program with The Institute for Families and Nannies. Ahava's work focuses on leadership training, effective communication, and trauma-informed teaching practices. She enjoys designing curriculum and supporting emerging education leaders as adjunct faculty across the Northeast. Outside of consulting, Ahava loves making up songs with her young nieces and nephews in the kitchen while making pancakes together.Â
Ahava served as a Researcher and Administrative Coordinator for Hand in Hand's Feasibility Study of the Professionals Intensive Course for Early Childhood Educators.
Anna Cole, PhD. Social, Systemic & Oral History. Research Fellow, School of Sociology and Education, University of Portsmouth; Certified Instructor, Hand in Hand Parenting.
Hand in Hand Regional Leader | Lewes, England | [email protected]
Anna’s professional background is in academic and community research, writing and teaching. Her PhD was an archival and oral history of the gendered impact of inter-generational collective trauma stemming from the period of the ‘Stolen Generations’ in Australia.Â
Anna documented Indigenous women’s cultural resistance to the systematic removal of Indigenous children from their families during the racist policies of ‘Protection’ and ‘Assimilation’ in New South Wales, 1909-1969. Anna has lectured and course-convened in historical anthropology, postcolonial history and literature at Universities in Sydney, London and Brighton and has worked as a Research and Project Co-ordinator on a number of oral and cross-cultural histories, including for the New South Wales Government’s Cultural Heritage Division; Anthropology Department, University of Technology, Sydney and Goldsmiths College, University of London; and most recently for the Women’s Community Activism Project, University of Portsmouth.
Anna is trained in trauma-informed girls’ group-work and experienced in intersectional feminism. Anna is a Certified Instructor, Certification Mentor and Regional Lead in the UK for international not-for-profit Hand in Hand Parenting. She is an active part of their Research Committee, currently working to evidence the efficacy of inclusion-based connection tools in early childhood educational settings. For both her academic and community-based research Anna has been the recipient of a number of grants and awards, including a Prime Minister’s Fellowship, Museum for Democracy; Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Centre for Public Culture and Ideas, Griffith University; Gerrand Hermes Peace Foundation and Boeing International Philanthropic Fund. Anna publishes in the area of postcolonial history, gender and families.
Hand in Hand Research Committee Members
Ken Mallon, MS Health Sciences, MS Statistics, MS Clinical Psychology
Marriage and Family Therapist Associate, Family Matters | President, Mallon Advisory Services | San Jose, CA | [email protected]
Ken is a clinical psychotherapist and technology consultant. As a therapist, he works with families, couples, adolescents and adults going through significant life challenges and crises. As a technology veteran, Ken has led data, research and product initiatives at large tech firms (Yahoo, Microsoft), research firms (Ipsos, Kantar) and smaller, innovative companies. Ken has two adult children and is an avid chess player.
Pamala Trivedi, PhD Educational Psychology, MEd, School Psychology, MA International Studies
Senior Technical Assistance Specialist & Research Faculty Member Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, Department of Pediatrics | Washington, DC | [email protected]
While in federal government, Pamala was a longtime staff member of a children and youth policy team in an agency in the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services that used policy and research to improve services for children and families with multiple vulnerabilities (HHS/ASPE). Pamala's work and publications from her years in government focused on trauma-informed approaches, preschool expulsions and suspensions, school-based behavioral health, parenting & fatherhood, and school-age child care.Â
As a parent and clinician, Pamala deeply engages in Hand-in-Hand methods. Now that her work is much closer to children, families and providers, Pamala is excited to join the Research Committee in thinking through strategies to build the evidence base for Hand-in-Hand.