Our Team
Xiao Cheng
Xiao Cheng, M.S., is a FIND Editor and facilitates video editing for various FIND projects. She also works on developing data management systems with the Data Manager for the Center for Translational Neuroscience at the University of Oregon. She received a Bachelor’s of Science from Beijing Forestry University in China in 2006 and her master’s degree in Prevention Science from the University of Oregon in 2019. Xiao’s research interests include the effects of early childhood stress exposure, parenting skills, and the design and implementation of therapeutic interventions for vulnerable or marginalized.
Renata Correa Gomes
Renata Correa Gomes, M.A., is a member of the FIND team and Research Coordinator at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood. She contributes to efforts focused on scaling the FIND program, including collaborating with early childhood education centers to expand the FIND video library and providing input on program adaptation. She graduated in Pedagogy in Brazil and has worked as a teacher and engaging in research focused on young children. She pursued her master’s in International Education Policy at Stanford University, a turning point in her life where it became clear that she wanted to commit her work to support children around the world to survive and thrive.
Celeste Mena
Celeste Mena, M.S., is an Editor Trainer and a Coach for the FIND Program. She provides support and training to editors at the University of Oregon. Celeste was born in El Salvador and grew up in Guatemala, making her a bilingual and bicultural coach, editor, and research assistant. Celeste received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the University of Oregon in 2016 and her master’s degree in Couples and Family Therapy Program also at the University of Oregon in 2019. Celeste has experience implementing evidence-based interventions for vulnerable families. She has worked across different FIND projects, such as KEEP-P, SEAL, OTTER, and PCC. She has also supported both individual and group implementation of the FIND program.
Sally Steinman
Sally Steinman, B.A., is an Implementation Lead at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood. In addition to providing training and consultation for FIND coaches, her work focuses on scaling the FIND program through model development and adaptation. Sally has many years of experience supporting children and caregivers through evidence-based practices in a variety of settings and has worked extensively with infants, children, and adults with diverse learning needs. Sally earned her degree in Special Education from Eastern Washington University.
Kyndal Yada
Kyndal Yada, M.Ed., is FIND Program Manager at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood. Kyndal engages in strategic planning and FIND program development activities, contributes to writing funding proposals, cultivates relationships with community partners, trains and supports implementation staff, and oversees FIND implementations. She received her master’s degree in Prevention Science at the University of Oregon and has experience implementing manualized, family-based interventions with underserved populations.
Phil Fisher
Dr. Philip Fisher, Ph.D., is Director of the Stanford Center on Early Childhood and the Excellence in Learning Endowed Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. He is also a member of the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, based at Harvard University. His research, which has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1999, focuses on developing and evaluating scalable early childhood interventions in communities, and on translating scientific knowledge regarding healthy development under conditions of adversity for use in social policy and programs. He is particularly interested in the effects of early stressful experiences on children's neurobiological and psychological development, and in prevention and treatment programs for improving children's functioning in areas such as relationships with caregivers and peers, social-emotional development, and academic achievement. He is currently the lead investigator in the ongoing RAPID-EC project, a national survey on the well-being of households with young children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Fisher is also interested in the brain's plasticity in the context of therapeutic interventions. He is the developer of a number of widely implemented evidence-based interventions for supporting healthy child development in the context of social and economic adversity, including Treatment Foster Care Oregon for Preschoolers (TFCO-P), Kids in Transition to School (KITS), and Filming Interactions to Nurture Development (FIND). He has published over 200 scientific papers in peer reviewed journals. He is the recipient of the 2012 Society for Prevention Research Translational Science Award, and a 2019 Fellow of the American Psychological Society.
Lauren Kinnucan
Lauren is a FIND Coach, Editor, and Implementation Support Specialist. She began working on FIND as an undergraduate observational coder and went on to earn her FIND Editor and Coach certifications after graduating from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and General Social Sciences: Crime, Law, and Society. She is currently working towards her master’s in School Psychology at the University of Oregon as well. Her research interests include early adversity, social-emotional development, and strengths-based interventions.
Shannon Peake
Shannon Peake, Ph.D., is Co-Director of Implementation for the FIND program and Research Assistant Professor at the Center for Translational Neuroscience at the University of Oregon. His research examines the combined influence of social factors and early supportive interactions on children's development. These perspectives use recent advances in neuroscience, instructional design, and cultural adaptation to develop programs to support early childhood professionals and parents and caregivers of young children.
Evaluation trials and implementations include adapting the FIND program to support families living in challenging situations (in treatment for substance use, living in homeless shelters, or with limited access to resources) and adapting professional development or program delivery to pediatric primary care, home visiting, early childhood education quality improvement programs, child protective services, and community agencies. He received a doctorate in developmental psychology from the University of Oregon.
Marjorie Watkins
Marjorie Watkins, M.S., is an Implementation Lead for the FIND Program. She trains and supports coaches and editors of the program, and collaborates with project partners to oversee the implementation and evaluation of FIND projects. Her experience includes more than a decade of implementing evidence-based structured interventions with vulnerable and marginalized children and families. She has experience providing early childhood organizations with technical assistance related to program development, implementation, scaling, and evaluation. Marjorie received a master’s degree in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education from the University of Oregon.