Part of the Graduate School of Education
Our Team
Director
Amanda Nickerson, PhD
Amanda Nickerson is a professor of school psychology and the inaugural director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York. Her research focuses broadly on school safety and building social-emotional strengths of youth, with a particular emphasis on bullying and other forms of violence and victimization. She has published more than 100 journal articles and book chapters, written 5 books, and conducted over 300 professional presentations. She is an author of the PREPaRE School Crisis and Intervention Training Curriculum and is Coordinator of Research for the National Association of School Psychologists School Safety and Crisis Prevention Committee. She has served on multiple editorial boards and committees, including associate editor of the Journal of School Violence. Dr. Nickerson’s work has been funded by federal, state, and private funders, including the Institute of Education Sciences and the National Institutes of Health. She is a licensed psychologist, nationally certified school psychologist, and fellow of the American Psychological Association.
Associate Director
Stephanie Fredrick, PhD
Stephanie Fredrick is the associate director of the Alberti Center and assistant professor in the Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology. She is a licensed psychologist and a nationally certified school psychologist. She has previous experience working as a school psychologist and consulting with schools on bullying prevention and social emotional learning. Broadly, her research investigates how schools, families, and communities can prevent peer victimization and increase resiliency and protective factors among children experiencing victimization. She is particularly interested in universal school-based preventative and protective factors, including social support, school climate, and social emotional learning.
Program and Operations Manager
Brie Kishel
Brie Kishel is the program and operations manager at the Alberti Center. Brie obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in child and
youth services from Medaille College, and spent over 18 years working for a local non-profit organization. In her previous position
as education coordinator at the Museum of disABILITY History, she developed and presented a bullying prevention program for elementary school students in several Western New York districts.
Some of Brie's responsibilities for the Alberti Center include marketing and communications; financial and operations management;
and event planning, including coordinating the Alberti Center's colloquium series, annual conference, and monthly sessions for the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) workshop requirement for New
York State teacher certification.
Training and Evaluation Specialist
Kathleen P. Allen, PhD
Kathleen P. Allen, PhD (Katy) is a graduate of the Warner Graduate School at the University of Rochester. Prior to completing her graduate degree in education and human development, Katy was involved in promoting the well-being and safety of children both in and out of school through her company, Impact Training, Inc. In addition to introducing school staff to programs on personal safety and social-emotional learning for students, Katy has assisted a number of schools in developing their own materials and procedures for dealing with bullying. A former high school English teacher and trainer for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Katy has focused her recent efforts on providing professional development on bullying prevention and intervention to schools throughout the state. As well
as conducting and publishing research on bullying in schools, Katy’s most recent interest is in adolescent social drama and its connections to bullying.
Community Programming Consultant
Toni Torchia, PhD
Dr. Toni Torchia graduated in 2017 with her doctoral degree in combined counseling and school psychology from the University at Buffalo. She has an extensive amount of experience working in research at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions in a variety of roles, including project coordinator, on multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health as well as a National Institute of Justice grant. Her responsibilities at the Alberti Center have included program evaluation for the PREPaRE School Crisis Prevention and Intervention Training Curriculum developed by the National Association of School Psychologist's (NASP). Dr. Torchia is currently leading the center's efforts to develop and deliver student-centered programming for schools and community agencies related to bullying and peer relationships. Her interests include community outreach, program evaluation, research on peer bullying and victimization, dating violence and substance abuse.
Project Director
Gina Bellavia, PhD
Gina Bellavia holds a master’s degree in education from the University of Rochester and a PhD in social-personality psychology from the University at Buffalo. At the Alberti Center, she is the Project Director
for NAB IT!, a study funded by the Institute of Education Sciences with the aim of using social norms and bystander intervention training to reduce bullying and sexual harassment in high schools. Gina brings
to this role over 10 years of experience coordinating research studies
at UB. She began her career as a teacher and has more recently worked in the field of college access. She is passionate about using research to find solutions to real-world problems, particularly those that affect youth.
Student Team Members
Amanda Breese
Graduate Assistant
Amanda Breese has her bachelor's degree in psychology from The College at Brockport SUNY and is currently a doctoral student in the combined counseling and psychology program at the University at Buffalo. Amanda's research interests focus on skin tone based bullying within Black communities.
Melissa Dudley
Research Assistant
Melissa is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program and currently completing her internship hours. Her dissertation title is Effects of Child Abuse Prevention and School Climate on Teachers' Reporting Competencies. Melissa's research interests focus on social-emotional learning, school-based program evaluation, and school climate.
Hannah Grossman
Graduate Assistant
Hannah Grossman is currently a doctoral student in the combined counseling and school psychology program, with a concentration in school psychology at the University at Buffalo. Her current responsibilities at the Alberti Center include working on a project called Developmental Pathways of Violence and Substance Use in a High Risk Sample. Hannah’s research interests include development of bullying behaviors, early childhood aggression, and intervention.
Margaret Manges
Graduate Assistant
Margaret (Maggie) Manges is currently a doctoral student in the combined counseling and school psychology program, with a counseling psychology concentration, at the University at Buffalo. Her current research projects at the Alberti Center include Program Integrity and Intervention Outcomes of Second Step's Child Protection Unit and Identity Development and Labeling Processes in LGBTQ+ Adults. Maggie’s research interests focus on adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, microaggressions in childhood and adulthood (as well as bullying experienced in adulthood), feminist psychology, human sexuality, and trauma.
Abbey McClemont
Graduate Assistant
Abbey McClemont has her bachelor's in psychology from Binghamton University and is currently a doctoral student in the combined counseling and school psychology program at the University at Buffalo. Abbey'sresearch interests focus on bullying prevention within schools, cyberbullying, ADHD, and disruptive behavior disorders.
Tim Parks
Graduate Assistant
Tim Parks has his bachelor’s in psychology from St. Bonaventure University and is currently a doctoral student in the combined counseling and school psychology program at the University at Buffalo. His responsibilities at the Alberti Center include working as the graduate assistant for PREPaRE School Crisis Prevention and Intervention Training Curriculum developed by the National Association of School Psychologist's (NASP). Tim’s research interests focus on bullying, childhood trauma and crisis intervention in schools.
Samantha Stanford
Research Assistant
Samantha Stanford is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program. Her research interests include development & implementation of evidence-based interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, parental adherance & integrity to child behavior plans and its effect on child response to intervention, and facilitating parental engagement and empowerment in child intervention.
Jenine Tulledge
Research Assistant
Jenine Tulledge is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program. Her research interests focus on child abuse prevention, childhood trauma, school climate, and the psychosocial and educational impacts of childhood illness.
Former Team Members
Sebastian BengCheong Cheong
Research Assistant
Erin Cook
Graduate Assistant
Heather Cosgrove
Graduate Assistant
Michele Crandall
Research Assistant
Danielle Guttman-Lapin, PhD, NCSP
Research Associate (Adjunct)
Tiara Handy
Research Assistant
Samantha Kesselring
Research Assistant
Shauna Mauch
Research Assistant
Mary-Lynn McHugh
Research Assistant
Joseph Prior
Research Assistant
Jessica Rosenburg
Research Assistant
Allison Sealy
Research Assistant
Michelle Serwacki
Graduate Assistant
Samantha VanHout
Graduate Assistant
Jilynn Werth
Graduate Assistant
Faculty Affiliates
Ariel Aloe, PhD
Research Scientist, Graduate School of Education, University at Buffalo
Assistant Professor, Psychological and Quantitative Foundations, University of Iowa
Laura M. Anderson, PhD
Assistant Professor, Counseling, School and Educational Psychology
University at Buffalo
Julie Bowker, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
University at Buffalo
Catherine P. Cook-Cottone, PhD
Associate Professor, Counseling, School and Educational Psychology
University at Buffalo
Janice L. DeLucia, PhD
Associate Professor, Counseling, School and Educational Psychology
Program Director, School Counseling
University at Buffalo
Rina D. Eiden, PhD
Senior Research Scientist, Research Institute on Addictions
Adjunct Faculty, Pediatrics & Psychology
University at Buffalo
Jennifer Livingston, PhD
Senior Research Scientist, Research Institute on Addictions
University at Buffalo
Jamie M. Ostrov, PhD
Professor, Department of Psychology
University at Buffalo
Amy L. Reynolds, PhD
Associate Professor, Counseling, School and Educational Psychology
University at Buffalo
Darren Treadway, PhD
Associate Professor, Organization and Human Resources
University at Buffalo
Advisory Council
Annahita Ball, PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
University at Buffalo
Wendy Craig, PhD
Scientific Director of PREVNet, Professor of Psychology
Queen's University
Lyndsay Jenkins, PhD
Assistant Professor
Florida State University
Jennifer Livingston, PhD
Associate Professor, School of Nursing
University at Buffalo
Jamie Pernick
Assistant Principal
Lancaster High School
V. Paul Poteat, PhD
Associate Professor, Lynch School of Education and Human Development
Boston College
Bradford Watts
Community Relations Coordinator
People Inc.
Daniela Wolfe, LMSW
School Social Worker
Amherst Central School District
Former Council Members
Helen Aronoff, PhD - membership term 2012-2015
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo
Lana Benatovich - membership term 2012-2018
President
National Federation for Just Communities of WNY
Vito Borrello - membership term 2012-2017
Executive Director
National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE)
Anna Cieri, PhD - membership term 2012-2019
Assistant Superintendent
Williamsville Central School District
Dewey Cornell, PhD - membership term 2012-2018
Professor of Education and Endowed Chair
University of Virginia
Janice DeLucia, PhD - membership term 2012-2019
Associate Professor
Dept. of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology, University at Buffalo
Dorothy Espelage, PhD - membership term 2012-2017
William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education
University of North Carolina
Bruce Goldstein, Esq. - membership term 2012-2018
Special Counsel
Kenney, Shelton, Liptak, Nowak, LLP
Mary Gresham, PhD - membership term 2012-2017
Vice Provost for Educational Collaboration
University at Buffalo
Brenda McDuffie - membership term 2012-2013
President & CEO
Buffalo Urban League
Bruce Mitchell - membership term 2018-2019
Adjunct Professor, Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology
University at Buffalo
Jane Ogilvie - membership term 2012-2015
Division Director, Community Youth Development
Erie 1 BOCES
Jamie Ostrov, PhD - membership 2012-2017
Professor, Department of Psychology
University at Buffalo
Kevin Penberthy - membership term 2014-2020
Retired Deputy Director
NYS Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD)
Adjunct instructor, School of Social Work
University at Buffalo
Debra Pepler, PhD - membership term 2012-2017
Distinguished Research Professor
York University
Amy Reynolds, PhD - membership term 2012-2019
Associate Professor
Department of Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology
Reed Stewart - membership term 2012-2018
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Family Counseling Associates
Susan Swearer, PhD - membership term 2012-2019
Professor of School Psychology, Dept. of Educational Psychology
University of Nebraska - Lincoln