Jill D. Sharkey, Ph.D. is Associate Dean for Research and Outreach in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, faculty in the Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School, and a Nationally Certified School Psychologist. Her research centers on promoting student engagement for all children and primarily for children who have experienced a variety of personal, family, and community risk factors. In particular, she is focused on understanding optimal family, school, and community response to youth in at-risk situations. Her recent contracts and grants have included examining school response to youths at-risk for gang involvement; innovation in system response to females who come into contact with juvenile justice–particularly those who have experienced sexual exploitation; and using evaluation to develop and sustain innovations in child welfare and mental health system policies and practice to address racial and ethnic disparities. Dr. Sharkey is also interested in understanding the impact of bullying and the stigma of bullying on psychosocial functioning and is passionate about transforming school systems to respond to students with challenging behavior with restorative rather than exclusionary approaches. To inspire her research mentoring, Dr. Sharkey serves on many local community groups to protect the rights of and enhance services to youth at-risk. She is an elected member of the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council, which determines juvenile justice policy and standards for Santa Barbara County. She also serves as an Executive Committee Member and Strategy Team Member on the South Coast Task Force for Youth Safety, which is a group of community leaders that meets monthly to improve services and outcomes for vulnerable youth. Dr. Sharkey earned her school psychology credential and received her Ph.D. in Special Education, Disability, and Risk Studies in 2003 from UC Santa Barbara. Dr. Sharkey’s brings to work experience with the practical application of research and evaluation in child-serving institutions, her clinical experience as a school psychologist, and her collaborative relationships with leaders of the institutions, systems, and agencies across Santa Barbara County.