Staff Psychologist
Derek Smith, PhDDerek is cross-trained in both school and counseling psychology. He completed his school psychology training at the University of Idaho - earning his M.Ed. in Counseling and School Psychology in 2010. During his training, however, his grandfather was diagnosed with dementia, and he took on the role of co-caregiver. This opened his eyes to the limited resources available for older adults in the community, and he decided to change his clinical focus and pursue his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Utah with emphases in neuro- and geropsychology. Derek did his time in Leavenworth! (That is to say he completed his predoctoral internship at the VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System in Leavenworth, KS - not time in prison!) He completed his Ph.D. in 2018, and he works as a fully licensed psychologist in the State of Utah.
Professionally, Derek enjoys school-based interventions, working with students and teachers, geropsychology (working with older adults), providing caregiver support, psychological and neuropsychological assessment, providing holistic care to older adults. In his personal time, you can find him games (card, board, and video), animals, visiting parks & zoos & aquariums, the ocean, marine biology, spending time with family and friends, reading (fiction and nonfiction), and spending time outdoors. |
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Postdoctoral Fellow
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Chathuri Illapperuma-Wood, PhDDr. Illapperuma-Wood has a background in school psychology. She completed her internship at the Munroe Meyer Institute and graduated with her doctorate in school psychology from Mississippi State University in 2020. She has experience working with children in school system and clinic settings providing intervention and assessment services. Her professional and research interests include academic and behavioral interventions, professional issues in school psychology, and program implementation.
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BCBA Supervisor
Diana McCarty, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA-UT
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Diana McCarty is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who recently defended her dissertation in the school psychology program at the University of Utah. She completed her APA accredited doctoral internship in clinical psychology at the National Psychology Training Consortium-Cascades Region in 2019 and currently lives in Washington state. She has experience working with multidisciplinary teams within school and clinical settings providing direct services, consultation, and system-level supports. Her professional interests include working with individuals with ASD and their families, behavioral consultation, Applied Behavior Analysis, and utilizing telehealth to improve access to services for underrepresented populations. In her free time, she enjoys exploring nature, watching flicks, playing board/card games with friends, and spending time with her family.
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Mental Health Training and Development Specialist
Molly Davis, MSW, CSW
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Molly has completed her Honors Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology at the University of Utah Honors College. She later completed her Master's of Social Work at the University of Utah and a certificate of study in Refugee and Migration Studies from Oxford University. Molly has a passion for research and studied the disproportionality of student suspensions and expulsions for minority students in schools along with other work in the field of systematic racism and policy enforcement. For the past two years, she has been working with substance-use disorders in a residential treatment setting and is now returning to the academic field to embrace her passion for working with children.
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Feeding Clinic Assistant Director
Heather Lewis, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA
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Heather Lewis, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA is a doctoral candidate in the School Psychology program at the University of Utah. She is a board certified behavior analyst and licensed behavior analyst in the state of Utah. She will be serving as the Feeding Clinic Assistant Director the 21-22 school year. Within the Feeding Clinic, Heather schedules both HMHI HOME clients (individuals with developmental disabilities) and research clients (community referrals for free services), coordinates treatment, supervises student clinicians, and conducts feeding assessments with a multidisciplinary team. Her interests include assessment and intervention practices for individuals with autism spectrum disorder across the lifespan, multidisciplinary approaches to pediatric feeding disorders, and self-evaluation methods to improve clinical skills. In her free time, Heather enjoys yoga, hiking, reading, and spending time with her three cats and husband.
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Lab Coordinators
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Annie ChuangAnnie Chuang is a Lab Coordinator for the U-TTEC lab. She received her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Human Development from the University of California, Davis. Her research interests include intervention work for neurodevelopmental disorders across the lifespan, as well as early identification of ASD and ADHD. She aspires to obtain a degree in social work and become a licensed clinician.
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