Gabriella recently earned her MA in Developmental Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. She graduated with honors in 2018 with a BA in Psychology and minor in Cognitive Science from Rutgers University. She gained clinical and counseling experience to youths/ families while completing a wide range of training and certifications at Grace Abounds Counseling and Bonnie Brae (a residential treatment program for at-risk boys). As a research assistant at Rutgers Graduate School of Education as an undergraduate, she investigated services (interventions such as self-management and organization skills vs. accommodations) provided to students with disabilities. While drafting an intervention manual, evaluating teaching lessons, and developing a class-wide training curriculum, magnified her passion for learning/teaching. This inspired her to be a toddler and music teacher, then progressing to program specialist ensuring that the curriculum and teaching is optimally implemented in all classrooms. Gabriella also was a research assistant in the Neurocognition, Early Experience, & Development (NEED Lab) here at Teachers College while being a project assistant in the Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy. Further to being intrigued by the emphasis of early interventions that target the gap of school readiness; she hopes to advance the design of effective policies that will promote the health of a growing child’s brain. Over this past summer, Gabriella held and truly enjoyed the position of an assistant teacher for the Hollingworth Science Camp. In addition to exploring teacher impact on academic achievement and curriculum development, Gabriella plans to dedicate herself to studying child development and learning by pursuing her PhD in Education at Rutgers G.S.E.