Our Team

Director

Current Leap Lab Members





Christina Rinaldi -Director 

Welcome to my research lab website. I am a professor in the College of Social Sciences & Humanities in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta and the Scientific Director for the Canadian Center for Mentoring Research. My educational background is in school/applied child psychology. In collaboration with colleagues and graduate students, I conduct developmental research on the social and emotional functioning of children (preschool to adolescence). For over two decades my main research has focused on (1) the assessment of social and emotional functioning of children, and (2) the examination of how parenting behaviours and parent-child relationships support or hinder optimal social and emotional development. Currently, I am investigating parent-adolescent relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic and learning about the challenges both parents and their adolescents face navigating this key period of development. Also, in partnering with MENTOR Canada and the Alberta Mentoring Partnership, I am studying how mentoring relationship quality is central to fostering strong mentoring relationships and wellbeing outcomes for children and youth. In summary, my research interests include studying how critical relationships (family, mentors) support children’s and adolescents’ social and emotional learning, development, and overall wellbeing.

Visit my Faculty Profile for more information.

Temi Akinola

I am a first-year M.Ed. student in the School and Clinical Child Psychology program at the University of Alberta. I obtained my Bachelor of Arts from the University of Saskatchewan. I am interested in researching parent-child interactions in at-risk families. Mainly, I would like to understand better how best to support immigrant and refugee families and which cultural gaps need to be bridged to help them adjust to the Canadian environment. I am excited to be joining the LEAP lab this year and growing as a researcher.

Lauren Alston

I am a PhD Candidate in the Psychological Studies in Education program in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta. I completed both my BSc Specializing in Psychology and my MSc in Neuroscience at the University of Alberta.

My research focus is on school-based 2SLGBTQ+ resources in urban and rural Alberta. Specifically, I am interested in student-led 2SLGBTQ+ clubs, commonly known as Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs), and how participation in the clubs impact student mental health, peer interactions, and family relationships. My previous employment as Alberta's Provincial GSA Coordinator has given me the privilege of working with and learning from communities across the province. I hope my research can be a valuable tool for school boards in their development of GSA clubs and resources.

Clarissa Cheong

I am currently in my fourth year of my PhD in the School and Clinical Child Psychology (SCCP) program. I have been part of the SED lab since 2014. I am interested in researching vulnerable youth, and trying to understand how their social and emotional functioning has been impacted by adverse situations. I am also interested in exploring how these youth can grow into resilience. 

Lisa Gray 

I am a Canadian Certified Counsellor and currently a first year counselling psychology doctoral student in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta. I completed my Master’s in Counselling at Athabasca University; where I was award the 2018 Governor General’s Gold Medal. My thesis work focused on examining parent’s descriptions of shifts or no shifts in parenting after completion of the 8-week Circle of Security©-Parenting intervention, by conducting semi-structured qualitative interviews, through the use of video teleconferencing software. 

My current research interests include attachment theory, the parent-child relationship, parental guilt, telepsychology, and qualitative research methods. For my doctoral research, I hope to examine the impact parental guilt has on the parent-child relationship. In my spare time, I like to travel, read, and spend time with my husband and our full of life toddler. 

Kirsty Keys

I am currently in the second year of my doctoral degree in the School and Clinical Child Psychology program at the University of Alberta. Prior to this degree, I completed my Master of Education in the same program.  My dissertation will focus on developmentally supportive parenting in Indigenous families. My current research and professional interests also include parenting and parenting supports; child social-emotional development; social-emotional learning; home visitation; mentoring; and innovative methods for building evaluation capacity in organizations supporting youth. In the past, I have also studied shame and guilt in relation to academic failure; bullying; and social media use. After graduating, I hope to support youth and families in their development and all areas of functioning as a psychologist and advocate. 

Amna Khizer

I am currently a first year student in the School and Clinical Child Psychology Masters program at the University of Alberta.  I previously completed my BA degree in Psychology from the University of Saskatchewan. My undergraduate research focused on family mealtimes during adolescence and its effects on post secondary academic success. I also recently finished working as a research assistant on a project examining the transition to adulthood in high performance athletes. My current research interests include the social and emotional development of children, parent-child relations, the benefits of family mealtimes, and bullying. I first volunteered with the Social and Emotional Development Lab at the University of Alberta in 2017. Ultimately, my goal is to become both a researcher and clinician with a proclivity towards children in educational and healthcare settings.

Erica Partridge

I am a fifth year PhD candidate in the School and Clinical Child Psychology program at the University of Alberta. This is also my fifth year as a member of the LEAP Lab! Prior to this degree, I obtained my Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from Western University in Ontario. I am currently back in Ontario completing my doctoral internship at a school board near Toronto. For my dissertation, I am researching how parents have been approaching and monitoring their teen's social media use during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cassandra Pirraglia

I am currently a third year PhD student in the School and Clinical Child Psychology program at the University of Alberta.  My research interests centre on early parent-child relationships and parenting stress in families impacted by neurodevelopmental disorders. My master's thesis project examined the relationships between parenting stress, parent-child conflict, and preschool-aged children's internalizing behaviour problems. For my doctoral research, I am eager to further examine the impacts of family stress on parent management training. Following the completion of my PhD, I plan to support students and families by providing psychological services within a school setting.

Leah Brassard

I am a second-year MEd student in the School and Clinical Child Psychology program at the University of Alberta. I previously completed both my BA in Psychology and MA in Social Psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University. I am supervised by Dr. Phil Sevigny and am thrilled to be a member of the LEAP Lab as a research assistant for the SSHRC PDG - Mentoring Relationship Quality project with Dr. Rinaldi. 

My research interests revolve around parent-child relationships. I am primarily interested in how parental self-efficacy can influence children’s emotion regulation skills and foster resilience in children with emotional difficulties. Outside of academia, I enjoy reading, travelling, hiking with my dog, and exploring the great outdoors!

Katie Howard

I am a second year Ph.D student in the School and Clinical Child Psychology program at the University of Alberta. Within both my research and clinical work, my primary interest centers on supporting children diagnosed with autism and their families. My dissertation research is centered on understanding the extent to which and in what ways early intervention programs for children diagnosed with autism foster family resilience among participating caregivers. I am also interested in coping strategies and stress management among parents, mentorship, and social-emotional learning. Following my Ph.D, I plan to specialize in supporting children with autism and their families.

Alicia Orr

I am currently completing my second year of my doctoral degree in School and Clinical Child Psychology at the University of Alberta. Prior to my doctoral studies, I graduated with a Master of Education in School and Clinical Child Psychology at the University of Alberta in 2020, and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Saskatchewan in 2018. My dissertation topic focuses on the social-emotional wellbeing of students identified as gifted and talented. Specifically, I aim to evaluate the efficacy of an intervention program developed for reducing perfectionistic concerns in gifted students, using an integrative approach of CBT and art techniques. My other research interests include the social-emotional development and functioning of children and adolescents, parenting adolescents, as well as assessment and intervention. Following the completion of my PhD, I plan to become a Registered Psychologist and hope to provide support to children, adolescents, and families in the areas of assessment and intervention.

Paolo Pador

I am currently a first year MEd Student in the School and Clinical Child Psychology Program at the University of Alberta. I previously completed my BSc (Honours) in Psychology at the University of Calgary where my research was focused on atypical maternal caregiving behaviours and disorganized attachment. My research interests also include how early caregiver adversity can impact the parent-child relationship and children's socioemotional development.

Alyssa Shukalek

I am a first-year masters student in the School and Clinical Child Psychology program at the University of Alberta. I am interested in studying parent-child relationship quality and the dynamics at play regarding how each member of the dyad simultaneously influences and is influenced by the other member. I am also interested in perceptions of relationship quality and how that may differ between members of any given relationship. This will be my third year with the LEAP lab, and I am so excited to be starting this next step in my education amongst such a great group of individuals.


Rachel Zukiwsky 

I am a first-year M.Ed. student in the School and Clinical Child Psychology (SCCP) program at the University of Alberta. As I am starting this new chapter of my life, I am thrilled to be joining the LEAP lab with Dr. Rinaldi as my supervisor. What drew me to the LEAP lab are my research interests, which are child-sibling and child-parent quality relationships, and how that impacts social and emotional development in children of both typical and atypical developmental trajectories. Other than my academic life, my hobbies include hiking, camping, and being a Ukrainian dancer in the Volya Ukrainian Dance Ensemble.