Meet the Team

Christopher St. Vil is an Assistant Professor in the University at Buffalo School of Social Work.  Prior to his appointment, Dr. St. Vil held a post-doctoral fellow position in the Department of African American Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. His current research focuses on trauma and the experiences of victims of violent injury as well as mentoring. Dr. St. Vil received his PhD from the Howard University School of Social Work, his MSW from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and is a former Graduate Education Diversity Fellow of the American Evaluation Association.

Cricket Mitchell is a Clinical Research Psychologist with more than 10 years of experience as a research, evaluation, and program performance consultant. Dr. Mitchell is particularly interested in the sustainable adoption of evidence-based practices in usual care settings, as well as data-driven decision making in clinical service delivery. Her areas of expertise are in research design and methodology, quantitative data analysis, program evaluation, behavioral medicine, cognitive behavioral interventions, early childhood mental health, pediatric psychology, and violence prevention.  Dr. Mitchell is a graduate of the Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology between the University of California at San Diego and San Diego State University.

Heather Dantzker has more than 15 years of experience designing and implementing research and evaluation projects to protect and improve the environment and human health. She has worked in the areas of environmental health, pesticides and chemical risk, water quality and watershed management, stakeholder engagement, and outreach and communication. She has designed and implemented both qualitative and quantitative research and evaluation protocols in the context of collaborative watershed management; military base closure and cleanup; environmental justice; chemical emergencies; and volunteer water quality monitoring. She has particular expertise in the measurement of public knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding environmental issues, and the use of research results to better communicate with target audiences and stakeholders. She has managed projects for clients at the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among others. Dr. Dantzker earned a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, in Political Economy of Industrial Societies, and MS and PhD degrees in Natural Resources Policy and Management from Cornell University.

Lauren Dods has over 16 years of experience managing complex projects in the fields of program evaluation, government legislation, community outreach, and political campaigns. Part of her work with Clarus Research involves serving as a liaison between Clarus and key leadership stakeholders and managing the implementation of various Clarus projects. Along with her management capabilities, Ms. Dods provides evaluation support for the Clarus team, which includes conducting interviews, developing qualitative and quantitative instruments, providing cognitive and usability testing, running qualitative data analysis, collecting quantitative and qualitative data, and providing report writing and presentation support. Clients Ms. Dods has worked with include the University of Oklahoma, Building Changes, the National Science Foundation, the New York City Mayor’s Children’s Cabinet Early Years Collaborative, Polaris’ National Human Trafficking Hotline, and the University of Southern California’s Suzanne Dwoark-Peck School of Social Work. Ms. Dods’ past experience involves working with evaluators from the University of Southern California, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Claremont Graduate University, where she managed and executed key project components and served as a community liaison for First 5 Los Angeles’ Partnership for Families (PFF) Initiative Evaluation Team. She also worked for USC’s Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work by providing evaluation support for longitudinal outcomes of transracial and contemporary adoptive families. Along with program evaluation, Ms. Dods spent time in the public service arena—managing projects, casework, community outreach, and public policy for Hawaii’s First Congressional District. Serving as Senior Legislative Assistant on all matters relating to health and human services, education, public housing, small business, foreign affairs, and civil rights, Ms. Dods led initiatives and oversaw a portfolio that required interfacing with U.S. and State of Hawaii departments. Ms. Dods earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Southern California and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health from Brown University.

Lynne Marsenich’s work focuses on bridging the gap between science and practice through the successful implementation of empirically-informed programs, treatments, and practices. She and her colleagues at the California Institute for Mental Health (CiMH) have developed a multi-level intervention to help transport evidence-based practices into publicly funded behavioral health, child welfare, and juvenile justice service systems. The intervention referred to as a Community Development Team has been used to help 32 California Counties and 30 community-based organizations successfully adopt, implement, and sustain seven separate evidence-based practices and programs. Ms. Marsenich is the Co-Principal Investigator on two NIMH-funded implementation grants. The first study tests the effectiveness of the Community Development Team. The second study examines the relationship between two different methods of implementing the Incredible Years parenting program and of promoting fidelity to the model. The study also tests the hypothesis that fidelity predicts positive outcomes for families. Prior to joining CiMH, Ms. Marsenich spent 20 years working in child and family service agencies – both public and private, non-profit – where she held a variety of positions from line practitioner to senior manager. Ms. Marsenich received her Bachelor’s degree from Pitzer College and her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Southern California School of Social Work.

Mona Gil de Gibaja has worked in the human service field for more than 25 years. For the past 10 years, Dr. Gil de Gibaja has been working in Florida and California to create positive systems changes in the child welfare system.  In California she improved training and practice models for one of the largest public child welfare systems in the nation. She also worked for a national operating foundation to create the Neighborhood-Based Prevention Initiative and worked collaboratively with community residents and numerous public, non-profit and private organizations to build on community strengths, address needs, and prevent child abuse and neglect in two Los Angeles communities. Further, she helped facilitate the redesign of the child welfare system in North Central Florida, working closely with the lead private nonprofit child welfare agency serving 13 primarily rural counties to safely reduce entry into the foster care system and reduce timelines to permanency. Most recently she helped facilitate the development of the Library Partnership-A Neighborhood Resource Center in a high risk, vulnerable community to help strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect. Dr. Gil de Gibaja received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Social Work from Florida International University and her doctorate in Social Work from the University of Southern California.