Marisa Sklar, PhD
LOCI Facilitator and Data Manager

Dr. Sklar is an Assistant Professor, licensed clinical psychologist, and program evaluator in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego. Her research and evaluation work aims to improve mental health by targeting organizational- and system-level factors that influence the delivery of healthcare. She has received funding through the National Institute of Mental Health and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to assess the impacts of multiple healthcare models and systems on patient, provider, organization, and system-level outcomes. Click here to learn more about Dr. Sklar.

Joella (Phillips) Friedman
Project Coordinator

Joella is a Research Program Coordinator in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego.  She brings a wealth of experience in the coordination of large-scale NIH funded implementation research studies.  She has served as the coordinator for several adaptations of LOCI, as well as for Dr. Aarons' other ongoing research projects.

Erika Crable, PhD
System-Level Team Lead

Dr. Crable is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and at the H.W. School of Public Health and Human Longevity at UC San Diego. Her research focuses on improving the use of research evidence in federal, state, and local policymaking processes. She also tests the utility of implementation strategies for promoting access to evidence-based substance use treatment and harm reduction services for safety-net and justice-involved populations. Click here to learn more about Dr. Crable.

Ryan Kenneally
Research Associate

Ryan Kenneally graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Emory University with a double major in Psychology and Sociology. She is currently a research assistant for the LOCI project. Ryan plans to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, with a specific interest in implementing evidence-based interventions in the child mental health and child welfare service sectors.

Emeline Beltran, MA
Research Associate

Emeline Beltran received her Bachelor of Arts in Photo Communication from Cal State Fullerton and her Master of Arts in Health Communication from Cal State LA. Her professional and research interests examines intersectional identities within social service settings. She has developed programs, designed digital content, and mentored at medical camps, hospitals, and university resource centers. Emeline strives to improve social services by delivering equitable and accessible programs, interpersonal messages, and visual resources.

Manon Ironside, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Scholar and LOCI Coach

Manon is a postdoctoral research scholar and LOCI coach in the department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego. She has a doctorate in Clinical Science from UC Berkeley. Her graduate-level research focused on building and testing computational models of goal-directed decision making in the context of mental illness. Her current research at UCSD is focused on identifying and addressing barriers to the implementation of evidence-based practices across organizational and system levels.

Siena Fisk
Research Associate

Siena Fisk is a Health Policy and Organizational Research Assistant in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego. She received her Bachelor of Science in Public Health from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. In addition to working on the LOCI Project, she currently works under Dr. Erika Crable where she supports multiple NIDA-funded research studies focused on evidence-based substance use treatment and evidence-informed policy making. Siena aims to pursue a PhD with the goal of improving access to quality healthcare both nationally and internationally.

Cathleen Willging, PhD
Qualitative Team

Dr. Willging is a medical anthropologist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) with experience in mixed-method research, intervention development and evaluation, and implementation science. Her research focuses on public mental health and substance use treatment, evidence-based practice implementation and sustainment in complex systems, and the advancement of culturally- and contextually-relevant programs to support marginalized groups affected by inequities in health. Her current work entails the application of implementation science theory and methods to support innovative programming to reduce health and healthcare disparities for minoritized populations in diverse service delivery settings, i.e., primary care practices, child welfare, and educational institutions.

Click here to learn more about Dr. Willging.

Daniel Shattuck, PhD
Qualitative Team

Dr. Shattuck is a Research Associate Scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) and an applied sociocultural anthropologist with a focus on addressing the health disparities of structurally vulnerable populations, particularly sexual and gender minority youth. His work has been heavily influenced by ethnographic methods, multimodal and long-term engagement with local communities, and a holistic perspective. He has merged my anthropological skillset with implementation science to support and conduct high-impact health disparities research and provide technical support for addressing the structural vulnerabilities of sexual and gender minority populations. I undertake qualitative, longitudinal, and mixed-method research on the implementation and adaptation of multi-level interventions in collaboration with diverse communities.

Click here to learn more about Dr. Shattuck.