Our Team
Michael Lyons
Assistant Professor in the School of Education and Human Development at UVA
I study how schools and after-school programs support students mental health. In our lab, we are focused on school-based mentoring and school mental health. I am a Nationally Certified School Psychologist and a Licensed Psychologist in Virginia.
Lara Spiekermann
Graduate Student, Clinical & School Psychology
Graduated from the University of Virginia in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. As an undergraduate she worked as a research assistant with the Virginia Institute of Development into Adulthood project. After graduation Lara worked as coordinator for The Family Prevention Of Adolescent Alcohol, Drug Use, and Psychopathology for a year. In 2016 she completed her Master’s of Education in Educational Psychology: Applied Developmental Science at the University of Virginia Curry School of Education where she worked as a graduate research assistant on the Young Women Leaders Program (YWLP); a mentoring program that pairs at-risk adolescent girls with UVA undergraduate women. She began her doctoral studies in the fall of 2016 and working with Dr. Edith Lawrence and Michael Lyons. Her research interests include positive youth development and the formation of successful mentoring relationships. las4qe@virginia.edu
Elana Jablon
Graduate Student, Clinical & School Psychology
Elana Jablon graduated from Northwestern University in 2013 with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and International Studies and a minor in Spanish. While in college, she worked in labs focused on Developmental, Social, and Clinical Psychology. After graduation, she taught high school through Teach for America in Prince George's County, MD for two years. While teaching she developed and implemented for Spanish and the World Languages program. She then taught middle school Spanish in Washington, DC, serving as Spanish department chair and creating curriculum for the language department as well as a 6th grade advisor. After she worked as a volunteer on a crisis hotline for the greater DC and Northern Virginia region. She began her doctoral studies in the Fall of 2017 under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Lyons. Her research interests include middle school mentoring programs and culturally responsive mentoring practices. eee5se@virginia.edu
Sarah Kassabian
Graduate Student, Clinical & School Psychology
Sarah Kassabian graduated from Boston College in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. After graduating, she worked at Massachusetts General Hospital as a clinical research coordinator in the Pediatric Psychopharmacology and Adult ADHD clinical and research program. Her work focused on pediatric behavior and mood disorders, particularly on ADHD in the school setting. Her current research and clinical interests include positive youth development and mental health in schools. Sarah began her graduate work in the fall of 2018 in the UVA Curry Programs in Clinical and School Psychology with Michael Lyons, PhD as her research advisor. sk5sr@virginia.edu
Westley Fallavollita
Graduate student, Clinical & School Psychology
Wes graduated from Northern Virginia Community College in 2011 and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Sciences. As an undergraduate, he worked as a research assistant for the design and analysis of online language learning courses, teaching assistant for the math department, and volunteered as a mentor with the Carver Promise mentoring program. After graduation, Westley worked in private industry as a data analyst before returning to the VCU School of Medicine as a research assistant, where he studied the impact of policy and environmental factors on adolescent tobacco-related health behaviors and outcomes. Westley also proudly served for two gap years in the national service programs AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) and City Year Washington, DC and is a recipient of the President's Volunteer Service Award. Westley began his graduate studies in the Clinical and School Psychology program in the fall of 2020 under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Lyons. He welcomes questions from prospective students, including AmeriCorps alumni and others who have taken non-traditional paths through college. wf9cb@virginia.edu
Noor Alwani
Graduate Student, Clinical & School Psychology
Noor Alwani, B.A., graduated from the University of Southern California in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. During her time as an undergraduate, she conducted research with the Motivation and Education Research Group (MERG), the Family Studies Project, and the Levan Institute for Humanities and Ethics. Noor worked as an RA in Residential Education for two years and volunteered briefly as a crisis counselor. As a researcher, Noor is interested in positive youth development and school-based mental health intervention. Her clinical interests include working with adults and refugees. In 2019, Noor began her graduate studies in the UVA Curry Programs in Clinical and School Psychology with Michael Lyons, Ph.D. na3rk@virginia.edu