Lecture Series

Wednesday, October 12, 2022
7:00 PM

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Lance D. Clawson, MD, FAACAP
Psychiatrist, Private Practice

Dr. Clawson will provide an overview of the commonly used medications used to treat a variety of childhood emotional and neuropsychiatric conditions; and how the use of medical foods & supplements, and a healthy lifestyle and diet can augment and modify standard medical treatments. How the immune system responds to stress, exercise, sleep and diet will be discussed, and how managing these lifestyle elements can make significant changes in illness course and the types of medications needed.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Clawson graduated with honors from the University of Southern California and then attended Tufts University School of Medicine again graduating with honors.  He received his post-doctoral training in general Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.  

After completing his post-graduate training, Dr. Clawson served as the Chief of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and then the Chief of Psychiatry for the US Armed Forces in the Republic of Korea.  Since leaving the Armed Services he served as Medical Director at the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Maryland of Medicine. He is currently in private practice in Bethesda, Maryland.

Dr. Clawson has lectured extensively in the areas of the psychopharmacology, and the treatment and management of ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders.  He has published on such topics as the mental health needs of homeless children, mental health consultation in schools, working effectively with pediatricians, play therapy, developing clinical databases for mental health systems of care, and the clinical management of ADHD.  His research experience includes investigation of the psychiatric sequelae of traumatic brain injury, and he has served as medical supervisor on a number of industry-supported clinical medication trials in the areas of ADHD and adolescent Bipolar Disorder. He is Board Certified in both general Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Clawson remains on the teaching faculty at Children’s Hospital National Medical Center, Georgetown University School of Medicine, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. 

Wednesday, November 16, 2022
7:00 PM

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Daniel Pine, MD
Chief, Emotion and Development Branch
NIMH Intramural Research Program

This presentation will begin review of major symptomatic aspects of pediatric emotional disorders and therapies. The presentation also will discuss recent stressful events and changes in society, related to technology and the pandemic. This provides novel insights for parents wanting to understand the emotional lives of their child and when to seek help for any problems their children might experience.  

Speaker Bio

Dr. Daniel Pine is Chief, Emotion and Development Branch in the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program. Dr. Pine moved to this position in 2000, after 10 years of training, teaching, and research at Columbia University. Since graduating from medical school at the University of Chicago, Dr. Pine has been engaged continuously in research on pediatric mental disorders, as reflected in more than 600 peer-reviewed papers. Currently, his group examines the degree to which pediatric mood and anxiety disorders are associated with perturbed neural circuitry function. Dr. Pine served as the Chair of the Psychopharmacologic Drug Advisory Committee for the Food and Drug Administration, Chair of the Child and Adolescent Disorders Work Group for the DSM-5 Task Force, and President of the Society of Biological Psychiatry. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, a Distinguished Investigator indicating stature as among the 1-2% most impactful National Institute of Health intramural scientists, and he has received many other awards.  

Wednesday, December 7, 2022
7:00 PM

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Joette James, PhD, ARPP-CN
Clinical Neuropsychologist

This session will focus on sources of cultural bias that can occur throughout the special education evaluation process, from the initial referral through assessment, diagnosis, and eligibility determination. A heavy emphasis will be placed on the issues that arise in the context of psycho-educational and neuropsychological assessment, including test selection, interpretation, and interpersonal phenomena such as stereotyped threat, which can impact the development of rapport and testing outcomes. Participants will learn the ways in which systemic racism contributes to disproportionality at each step in the special education process for children of color. In addition, participants will become familiar with best practices for improving equity and positive outcomes for children and adolescents of color with special needs.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Joette James completed her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, her internship at Harvard Medical School/Boston Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at Children’s National Medical Center (CNMC) in Washington, DC. After completing her postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. James was employed at CNMC as a staff neuropsychologist for seven years, where she participated in the training of graduate students, interns, and postdoctoral residents. During that time she also served as the chief neuropsychologist at HSC Pediatric Center, a sub-acute rehabilitation facility in Washington, DC affiliated with CNMC. She held an appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at George Washington University. Dr. James is board-certified in clinical neuropsychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) and currently serves on the DC Board of Psychology. Through the Stixrud Group, Dr. James provides individualized clinical assessments for individuals of all ages with neurodevelopmental disorders, including Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities, and Intellectual Disability, as well as for individuals with acquired injuries to the brain. She also maintains a private forensic consultation and evaluation practice and has testified as an expert on the federal, state, and local level on matters including death penalty litigation (Atkins cases), juvenile life without parole, competency to stand trial, juvenile waiver/transfer, and general mitigation. 

Wednesday, January 11, 2023
7:00 PM

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Salya Namazi, PhD
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Co-Owner, The Stixrud Group
 

Michael Reiter, PhD
Clinical Psychologist

College, community college, “gap year,” vocational training, employment, supported employment, therapeutic programming, wilderness? The post-secondary options seem innumerable. Regardless the path, this transition requires a readiness for life and skill development that exceeds the classroom. But how do we know what skills will be needed for any given child? What information do we need to gather, and what information is hiding in plain sight? How do we know they are ready for the next step…and what actually is that next step? Drawing from their experiences with teens and young adults in testing, therapy, and consultation, Drs. Namazi and Reiter reflect on key considerations for that impending post-secondary transition.

Speaker Bios

Dr. Salya Namazi (she/her/hers) is a clinical neuropsychologist and a co-owner of The Stixrud Group. She uses a neurodiverse affirming framework in her practice and specializes in the evaluation of children, adolescents, and adults with learning, attention, autism spectrum, and neurological disorders, as well as emotional difficulties. Dr. Namazi is a certified Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) professional and a full member of the World Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), and she holds memberships in several organizations focused on neuropsychology. 

Dr. Michael Reiter is a Psychologist in Rockville, Maryland who primarily works with adolescents, young adults, and their families in the treatment of anxiety, depression, executive functioning, autism spectrum, and technology overuse. He specializes in helping emerging adults who are “stuck” and struggling to transition to adulthood. Dr. Reiter has a particular interest in the intersections between employment and mental health, and developed an employment readiness group that helps young adults struggling with the social, emotional, and logistical aspects of the employment process. Dr. Reiter utilizes CBT, Exposure, Family Systems, employment and psychiatric rehabilitation models, and is SPACE trained.

Wednesday, February 15, 2023
7:00 PM

Anthony Perry, PhD
Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging
The Lab School

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In this session, Dr. Perry and members of Lab’s Student Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee (SDEIBC) will discuss best practices for fostering student leadership in the area of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. 

Speaker Bios

Dr. Anthony Perry is the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Lab School of Washington. A first–generation college graduate, he holds a B.A. in History and Hispanic Studies from the College of William and Mary and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Spanish Literature and Cultural Studies from Georgetown University. As a scholar, he aims to critically interrogate the status quo through the examination of naturalized literary, historical and cultural structures. Through a Brace Center for Gender Studies Faculty Fellowship, he examined how Black masculinity in media can be unpacked and re-approached intersectionally. In addition to presenting his work to the Phillips Academy community in 2018, this he presented to educators at the Brace Center’s Summer Institute in 2019. 

Wednesday, March 8, 2023
7:00 PM

Rebecca Alberts
Director of Visual Arts, Lab School High School

Sara Hawkins
Director of Visual Arts, Lab School Lower and Middle Schools
 

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Research has shown that the arts are associated with a myriad of benefits, everything from motivation to critical thinking. However, the arts are still generally looked at as an appetizer, rather than an essential ingredient to the main course. Part of the Lab School’s philosophy centers around using the arts for learning, both as a strategy in the classroom as well as the benefits of ‘art for art’s sake’. Join us as we explore how the visual arts are integral for students of all ages, to learn, understand and thrive. 

Speaker Bios

Sara Hawkins is currently Director of the Visual Arts Department for the Lower and Middle Schools here at Lab, while also a Teaching Artist and Academic Club leader in the Middle School Division. Sara received her Bachelors in Fine Arts and Art Education at James Madison University, as well as her Masters in Teaching Art to Students with Special Needs at George Mason University. She holds a dual certification in Art Education and in Special Education in the District of Columbia. Sara taught Art to grades K-6 in a Fairfax County Public School from 2004 through 2015, and transitioned to teaching at The Lab School in 2015. Sara believes deeply in the power of the arts to build confidence in students, assist in gaining access to and deeply understanding content, and to help them express themselves in meaningful, productive ways.

Rebecca Alberts is the Director of the Visual Arts Department in the High School at Lab, as well as being a Teaching Artist and Biology teacher. Rebecca holds a BFA, and an MFA in printmaking, an MPS in Science Education and an EdS in Curriculum and Pedagogy. Rebecca’s current artistic practice engages ideas around phenomenology and the meaning that we put into the objects in our lives. Over her teaching career, Rebecca has taught high school, college and graduate courses, as well as being part of outreach programs; she has taught at the Lab School for over twenty years. Inspired by her students and different theorists, Rebecca has examined, written and presented on a broad array of how the arts interconnect to the educative process.