Becca is a third-year doctoral student at Erikson Institute studying cognitive development and children’s understanding of complex topics. She received her master’s degree in Family and Consumer Science from Illinois State University in 2021. Her clinical background is in child life where she supports children in a level one trauma center that parallels her research experience in children's understanding of death, divorce, and illness.
Becca spends most of her time with her dog, reading, or watching the Kansas City Chiefs. She hopes to provide students with the resources to learn about themselves, grow, and find meaningful community during their time at Erikson.
Diane obtained her MS in Child Development from Erikson in 2017. She is passionate about early learning and prior to moving to Chicago for graduate school, she was based in the Philippines where she was a classroom teacher and a program officer for an early learning project. At Erikson, she was involved in early childhood research and policy.
Diane has worked for the Academic Success Center since 2017. She has worked with students through study groups, one-on-one tutorials, and giving feedback through ASC online.
She is currently based in the Philippines where she is a child development consultant and has remained connected to Erikson. These days, she is primarily occupied with using her child development knowledge in raising her two daughters.
Fernando has his Master of Social Work from the Erikson Institute (2017) and is halfway through obtaining his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Health Care. Fernando holds clinical interest in play therapy, psychosomatic theory, and child sexual abuse.
Fernando currently works full-time as a Clinical Coordinator at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital where he supervises a team of 10 clinical social workers. Additionally, Fernando provides clinical supervision and training in Play Therapy.
Fernando has worked for the Academic Success Center since 2017. Fernando supports students through a Theraplay and developmental lens, providing students with structure, transparency, and guidance.
Fernando enjoys spending time in the kitchen, primarily focusing on improving his skills in baking. Fernando also enjoys Latin dancing, exercising, and spending time at the beach.
Ivette is currently a Ph.D. Student at Erikson Institute studying Child Development. She works on Project Connect as a professional development facilitator for bilingual kindergarten teachers in Illinois. She holds a master’s degree in early childhood education from Dominican University.
Ivette has been in the education field since 2013. She has taught classes and workshops to both Pre-k students and their parents as a Parent Resource Teacher in CPS around the topics of child development, SEL, health and wellness, personal and professional development, academic performance, and community engagement. She currently leads the social emotional support team at a CPS school on the southwest side and seeks to create a school environment that is focused on meeting student and staff social emotional needs.
She enjoys drawing in nature and spending time with her family, especially going on mini road trips with her trusty side-kick, pittie furbaby, Lola.