Clinical Research Staff

Jill Ehrenreich-May, Ph.D.

Dr. Jill Ehrenreich-May is the Director of the Child and Adolescent Mood and Anxiety Treatment (CAMAT) program at the University of Miami. She is also a Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami with research and clinical expertise in the treatment of emotional disorders in youth. Dr. Ehrenreich-May is a Miami native that received her undergraduate degree at the University of Florida and her Ph.D. at the University of Mississippi in 2002.  She completed a clinical internship at the University of Chicago Medical Center and was previously a Research Assistant Professor of Psychology and Associate Director of the Child Program in the Center for Anxiety and Disorders at Boston University.  In addition to the development and evaluation of evidence-based treatment approaches for emotional disorders in youth, Dr. Ehrenreich-May is particularly interested in the transportability and implementation of effective treatments in environments that maximize their impact and benefit for children, including educational, pediatric and recreational settings.  Dr. Ehrenreich-May is the author or co-author of over 140 journal articles, book chapters and other publication relating to this work.  Dr. Ehrenreich-May's current research is supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and other funding agencies. 

As a way to extend her research in the CAMAT program to the community, Dr. Ehrenreich- May provides workshops and presentations to parents, educators and clinicians on the assessment and treatment of emotional disorders in children and adolescents.  She is available for both training in the Unified Protocols for the Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children and Adolescents and consultation related to this approach. Please note: Dr. Ehrenreich-May does not personally provide any assessment or therapy services at CAMAT at the present time.

Amy Beaumont, Psy.D., BCaBA

Dr. Amy Beaumont is a licensed psychologist and Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst. Dr. Beaumont received her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and completed internship at the May Institute and National Autism Center in Massachusetts.  Dr. Beaumont has over 15 years of experience providing evidence-based treatments for individuals and families, parent training, social skills groups, consultation with schools and medical professionals, and psychological assessment to children and adults.  She currently serves as Coordinator of the University of Miami's Autism Spectrum Assessment Clinic (ASAC), which specializes in assessment and treatment of individuals with autism spectrum disorders.  Dr. Beaumont sees clients for therapy and testing, as well as supervises practicum students and doctoral students within CAMAT and ASAC.  She also serves as a consultant to autism and anxiety-related research projects at the University of Miami.  She has written and presented at numerous local and national conferences on topics related to autism, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). 

Niza Tonarely-Busto, Ph.D.

Dr. Tonarely-Busto is a postdoctoral associate and Clinical Director of the Child and Adolescent Mood and Anxiety Treatment (CAMAT) Program at the University of Miami. Dr. Tonarely-Busto received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Boston College, her master's degree in psychology from Boston University, and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Miami. She completed a clinical internship at the Mailman Center for Child Development at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, serving a diverse clinical population. Dr. Tonarely-Busto also serves as the postdoctoral associate at the Autism Spectrum Assessment Clinic (ASAC), which specializes in the assessment and treatment of individuals with autism spectrum disorders. She has expertise in evaluating and treating youth with a range of difficulties, including anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive, tics/Tourette, and disruptive behavior disorders. She is a certified therapist in the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children and Adolescents (UP-C/A) and in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). She also has experience providing training and consultations and is a certified UP-C/A trainer. Dr. Tonarely-Busto's research focuses on evaluating the efficacy of transdiagnostic treatments for youth emotional disorders, with a particular interest in identifying the strategies most efficient and effective in addressing distress tolerance in youth.

Annie Morrow, Ph.D.

Dr. Morrow is a licensed clinical psychologist who works as part of a multidisciplinary team of providers in the Coral Gables area. Dr. Morrow has extensive clinical training in evidence-based assessment and treatment, with a focus on disorders such as ADHD, autism, and anxiety. Dr. Morrow received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, with a Concentration in Child and Adolescent Mental Health from Florida International University and completed her clinical internship training at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. During her postdoctoral fellowship, she trained at the Mailman Segal Center at Nova Southeastern University, in Davie, FL. She has written and presented at numerous local and national conferences on topics related to externalizing behavior, academic performance, as well as implementation science. Dr. Morrow is very passionate about improving the accessibility of mental health resources, and she has even tested out the possibility that technology could aid dissemination efforts, with posts under the social media handle of “@queenbehaviorchange.” Currently, Dr. Morrow works in private practice seeing clients for therapy and psycho-educational testing, as well as supervises doctoral students within CAMAT.

Jamie Sherman, Ph.D.

Dr. Sherman completed her undergraduate degree in psychology at Cornell University and later went on to receive her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Miami (UM). During her time at UM, she specialized in treating Anxiety, Depression, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Disruptive Behavior Disorders in children, adolescents and young adults. While at UM, Dr. Sherman was an author on the Unified Protocols for Children (UP-C) and Adolescents (UP-A), specialized treatment programs for children and adolescents with anxiety, depression, OCD, and related disorders. Dr. Sherman completed her clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine within the Pediatrics Department. During this time, she gained further specialization in treating a range of mental health problems in children and families and additional specialized training in parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) for young children with behavior concerns and is a certified PCIT Level I trainer. Dr. Sherman specializes in Anxiety, Depression, OCD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, childhood behavior problems, Selective Mutism, Tic Disorders, and Trichotillomania. Currently, Dr. Sherman works in private practice seeing patients for therapy, and also supervises doctoral students within CAMAT. As a certified trainer for the UP-C and UP-A, Dr. Sherman provides training and consultation on these treatments more specifically as well.

Amy Ahn, Ph.D.

Dr. Amy Ahn is a postdoctoral associate for the U-PEACE study at the University of Miami. Dr. Ahn received her undergraduate degree in human development from Cornell University, and her master’s degree and Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Miami. Dr. Ahn has expertise in conducting quantitative research on young children’s socio-emotional development, including social communication in children with autism spectrum disorder. Her current research focuses on developing the school-based U-PEACE program to better fit the needs of teens who have anxiety, depression, and/or other emotional concerns in diverse school settings. 

Elizabeth Halliday, M.S.

Dominique Phillips, M.S.

‌Dominique Phillips is a graduate student in the child clinical psychology program at the University of Miami. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology and minor in human development from the University of Maryland. After graduating, she worked as a research fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health in the Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, primarily focusing on the etiology and treatment of child anxiety disorders. Her research interests include the development of culturally informed, family- and community-oriented interventions for anxiety and depression in children. Specifically, she is interested in the cultural, familial, and environmental dynamics that promote or protect against the development of internalizing disorders in youth, with the hopes of establishing effective evidence-based treatments tailored to address the circumstances of diverse communities.

Rinatte Gruen, M.S.

Rinatte Gruen is a graduate student in the child clinical psychology program at the University of Miami.  She received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Boston University. After graduating, she participated in the Fellowship in Translational Developmental Neuroscience at the Yale Child Study Center. She is interested in the development and implementation of evidence-based interventions to support families living in poverty and children who have experienced trauma. 

Hannah Grassie, M.S.

Hannah Grassie is a graduate student in the child clinical psychology program at the University of Miami. She received her undergraduate degree from New York University, where she studied psychology with a concenrtation in child and adolescent mental health. Following graduation, Hannah completed a post-baccalaureate fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health studying the pathophysiology and treatment of severe irritability in youth. Her research interests include the development and implementation of clinical interventions for pediatric mood and anxiety disorders. Specifically, Hannah is interested in leveraging quantitative methods and technology such as ecological momentary assessment to probe the mechanisms of change of evidence-based interventions. 

Sandra Cepeda, M.S.

Sandra is a graduate student in the child clinical psychology program at the University of Miami. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology with a minor in biology from Florida State University. After graduating, Sandra worked as a research coordinator at the USF Rothman Center for Pediatric Neuropsychiatry, and then was the manager of an OCD and anxiety research lab at Baylor College of Medicine. While working at Baylor, Sandra also received her MS in Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health from the University of South Florida. Her research interests include the development and implementation of culturally informed interventions for OCD, anxiety, and mood disorders in youth. Specifically, she is interested in exploring more cost-effective approaches to delivering evidence-based treatment and improving the accessibility of services for traditionally underserved populations.

Lauren Milgram, B.A.

Lauren Milgram is a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Miami. Lauren worked in the CAMAT Program as an undergraduate research assistant before graduating with her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami in 2020. Lauren then completed her post-baccalaureate research training at Brown University Medical School, where she conducted research and delivered cognitive behavioral treatment to children with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Lauren has since returned to the University of Miami to continue her study of anxiety, OCD, and related disorders. She is particularly interested in examining mechanisms of change during and predictors of response to cognitive-behavioral interventions for these disorders.

Celia Romero, B.S.

Celia is a third-year graduate student at the University of Miami. She received her undergraduate degree from University of Miami where she studied Psychology and Biochemistry. Following graduation, she became lab manager for the Brain Connectivity and Cognition Lab using functional magnetic resonance to study brain networks that support flexible behaviors in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. She is interested in investigating the impact bilingual experience has on typical and atypical cognitive development. 

Angelica Gonzalez, B.A.

Angie is a graduate student in the mental health counseling program at the University of Miami. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Florida International University. She is currently a practicum mental health counseling trainee for the CAMAT Program. She is also a research associate for the SERL Lab, where she is responsible for coordinating classroom and child observations across various preschool sites in underprivileged communities. Her research interests include providing interventions to improve outcomes for children and adolescents with different emotional dysregulation disorders.

Jordana Roth, B.A.

Jordana Roth is a graduate student in the clinical psychology program at Nova Southeastern University. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida, where she studied psychology and disabilities in society. Throughout her doctoral training, Jordana has worked with children and adolescents completing comprehensive psychological evaluations for those with mood disorders, learning disorders, neurodevelopment disorders, and more. In addition, her therapy experience includes working with children, adolescents, and adults in individual and group formats. Her interests include working with children and adolescents presenting with mood disorders and providing interventions for youth from underserved communities. 

Laura Ballesteros, B.S. 

Laura Ballesteros is a candidate for the Clinical PsyD program at Nova Southeastern University. She is originally from Bogotá, Colombia, where she obtained a psychology degree from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. She later specialized in child and adolescent clinical Psychology at the Sabana University, where she conducted supervised evidence-based therapy for emotional and behavioral problems with children, adolescents, and their families. Later, Laura participated in research labs focusing on language and social development, as well as mood and anxiety problems in children and adolescents at the University of Miami. Recently, Laura completed her first practicum at the Child and Adolescent Traumatic Stress Program, at Nova Southeastern University, where she provided individual and family therapy in English and Spanish to children, adolescents, and families with histories of traumatic stress utilizing primarily cognitive behavioral interventions. Her research interests include evidence-based interventions for emotional and behavioral problems in childhood. Specifically, she is interested in the study and implementation of effective interventions with adopted children and their families.

Stephanie Talavera, B.S.

Stephanie is a third-year graduate student in the clinical psychology program at Nova Southeastern University. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Nova Southeastern University. After graduating, Stephanie worked as a Behavior Technician implementing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder. Additionally, she has experience conducting developmental assessments for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Stephanie is interested in working with children and adolescents with anxiety and mood-related disorders and her current research interest includes exploring the effectiveness and feasibility of implementing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with parents of pediatric oncology patients. 

Veronica Cortez Abreu, B.A. 

Veronica is a master’s student at the University of Miami’s Mental Health Counseling program. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Criminology at the University of Miami. Her interests include providing therapy to children and adolescents who have gone through immigrational trauma, paying close attention to the stresses of adapting to a new culture, and how the family plays a role in their overall mental health. She is interested in pursuing a doctorate degree with a focus towards immigrational stress, trauma, and the developing of appropriate coping mechanisms for young children and their families.

Gray Wise-Masters, M.A. 

Gray Wise-Masters is a master’s student in the University of Miami’s Mental Health Counseling program. Gray is a teacher turned therapist with a passion for serving others. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree in English from Florida State University, he began his career as a high school English teacher working with Teach for America and Americorps in Eastern North Carolina and then transitioned into working in higher education, completing his first master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Florida Gulf Coast University. With a passion for educational equity, access, and change, Gray is interested in studying how mental health awareness, coping skills, and emotional regulation techniques can be seamlessly incorporated into the mainstream curriculum in primary and secondary schools to help children learn how to better manage and overcome their emotional and behavioral problems from an early age.