Staff
About Us
Staff
- Barbara J. Smith, Director
- Phil Strain, Co-Director
- Geneva Hallett, Associate Director
- Laurie Fowler Beckel, MA/LPC, Certification Coordinator
- Robin Levy-Conti, Training/Technical Assistance
- Johanna Berry Wasser, Training/Technical Assistance
- Kelly Wilson, Training/Technical Assistance
- Julie Walden, Information Support
Barbara J. Smith, Director
barbara.smith@ucdenver.edu
Curriculum Vitae
Barbara’s areas of interest include early intervention, early childhood special education, and early care and education policies and program development, leadership and collaboration, and research to practice. She received her master's degree in early childhood special education and doctorate in special education and public policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has held early childhood and early childhood special education positions for the past thirty five years including: early childhood teacher; Executive Director of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children; Policy Specialist, Council for Exceptional Children (CEC); and Program Specialist, US Office of Special Education Programs. She has worked with NAEYC and other early childhood leadership organizations to help shape quality inclusive early childhood environments and the policies and guidelines that support them.
Dr. Smith has authored over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 15 books and chapters. She is a Research Professor, School of Education and Human Development, University of Colorado Denver as well as key faculty on two national training and technical assistance centers related to children’s social emotional development and challenging behavior: the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL), and the Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention (TACSEI). She is the recipient of the Division for Early Childhood's (DEC) Merle Karnes Award for Service to the Division and the DEC award for Service to the Field. She is the Director of Pyramid Plus: The Colorado Center for Social Emotional Competence and Inclusion.
Phil Strain, Co-Director
phil.strain@ucdenver.edu
Curriculum Vitae
Phil Strain, Ph.D. is a Professor of Educational Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Colorado Denver. Dr. Strain is the author of over 250 scientific papers and he serves on the editorial boards of over a dozen professional journals. Dr. Strain has worked in the field of early intervention since 1974 and he serves as a science advisor to the Institute of Medicine, the National Institute of Mental Health and the U.S. Department of Education.
His primary research interests include: a) intervention for young children with early onset conduct disorders; b) remediation of social behavior deficits in young children with autism; c) design and delivery of community-based, comprehensive early intervention for children with autism; and d) analysis of individual and systemic variables affecting the adoption and sustained use of evidence-based practices for children with severe behavior disorders.
Geneva Hallett, Associate Director
Geneva Hallett, MA.Ed., is an early childhood educator with over thirty years experience. She has taught in and directed early childhood programs, taught early childhood courses at the university level, as well as trained and coached early childhood professionals. Before joining the Pyramid Plus staff, she was the Vice President of Qualistar Ratings where she oversaw all aspects of the statewide rating in Colorado. As Vice President of Quality Improvement at Qualistar Early Learning she created the Getting Ready for Ratings binder and created and delivered the 'train the trainer' trainings specific to the Qualistar Rating. Geneva has given presentations on early childhood education topics at the local, national, and international level.
Laurie Fowler Beckel, MA/LPC, Certification Coordinator
Laurie Fowler Beckel, MA/LPC, began as a coach with the University of Colorado/Denver in 2007 when Colorado was chosen to become a CSEFEL state. Laurie spent 23 years in the community mental health system as an early childhood mental health specialist and the Program Founder of the Early Childhood and Family Center at Aurora Mental Health and later Child and Family Services Manager at Jefferson Center for Mental Health. As one of the founding members of “Good Start” in 1995 (became Harambe), Laurie has a long history of being a champion of early childhood social and emotional supports for young children and their families.
Previously, Laurie was the Early Childhood Policy Director for the Colorado Foundation for Families and Children and staffed the governor “School Readiness Commission” focused on promoting school readiness and systems change for young children and their families.
Laurie is the certification coordinator for the Pyramid Plus Center. She developed the certification systems for Pyramid Plus Coaches and Trainers from her background as a nationally recognized coach and trainer for High Fidelity Wraparound (currently the state credentialing coach for the Youth and Family Training Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center).
Stating her passion for this work, “the Pyramid Model delivers the strategies long needed for the childcare providers and parents who often request help to deal with their children with challenging behavior. I am fully committed to getting these tools into the hands of those who care for our young children day to day.”
Robin Levy-Conti, Training/Technical Assistance
Robin Levy-Conti brings experience as a licensed Family Childcare Provider, a long time Director of a community based child care program, a non-clinical Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist for Aurora Mental Health Center, an ECE Cares coach funded by the Arapahoe County Early Childhood Council, and as a trainer/ coach for Expanding Quality in Infant Toddler Care Initiative. Robin has also previously contracted with the Pyramid Plus: The Colorado Center for Social Emotional Competence and Inclusion as a preschool trainer and coach Certification Reviewer and has worked with Horizons In Learning in their model to support universal coaching practices as part of an early childhood professional development continuum. She currently sits on Early Childhood Mental Health Infrastructure Committee (a sub-committee of the statewide Blue Ribbon Policy Council), the Colorado Coaching Consortium, and the Office of Professional Development’s Advisory Committee. Additionally, Robin is proud to be a Fellow in the 5th Cohort of the Buell Early Childhood Leadership Program at the University of Denver. Her work involves collaborating effectively with individuals and teams, respecting diverse values and viewpoints, and advocating for the early childhood professionals and service providers ‘in the trenches.’ Robin enjoys spending time with her family, making beaded jewelry, and being outdoors.
Johanna Berry Wasser, Training Coordinator
Johanna Berry Wasser has dedicated her professional career to promoting social emotional competence and inclusion practices in Early Childhood Education. She has worked with children with special needs (primarily autism spectrum disorder) for 13 years. Johanna received her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education with a licensure in Early Childhood Special Education from University of Colorado at Denver. Johanna has worked in various educational settings including public/private preschools, community child care centers and homes. After being accepted as a CSEFEL Colorado State Coach & Trainer, Johanna has presented the Pyramid Model across the state including the western slope and the front range. Johanna values her strong relationships that she has built with her local Early Childhood Council, Community Center Board, Special Education Department and families.
Johanna lives in the foothills of the San Juan Mountain Range in the small town of Ridgway with her husband, Nick and their little dog, Ridg. When Johanna is not hard at work she enjoys playing in the outdoors, riding her mountain bike, skiing in powder or climbing on rocks or ice.
Kelly Wilson, Training/Technical Assistance
Kelly Wilson developed her career through the Positive Early Learning Experiences Center at the University of Colorado Denver. She brings many years of experience in early childhood through extensive work with the LEAP (Learning Experiences: Alternatives for Parents and Preschoolers) Preschool Model and continuous experience with the teaching pyramid. She has worked on grants that focus on challenging behaviors providing direct consultation and training to a variety of settings including preschools and elementary schools, as well as staff trainings and parent trainings. Over the past 13 years, Kelly has been involved in almost every aspect of early intervention, general education, and special education. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, skiing, and playing outdoors with her family.
Julie Walden, Information Support
Julie has an accounting degree from Metropolitan State College of Denver. She has extensive experience in a variety of accounting practices from both corporate/private sector and non-profit/public sector. Julie has been with the University of Colorado at Denver for fourteen years. Working on Federal Grants for over ten years has enhanced Julie’s skills and proficiencies required to work within higher education institutions. She is currently a project coordinator for the Early Childhood Special Educational Leadership-ECSEL. Aside from work Julie is passionate about her family which includes husband-Bob, children-Jenifer, Nathan and Kayla and their two dogs-Maggie and Bailey.