Alissa Der Sarkissian is currently a doctoral student in the School Psychology emphasis under Dr. Jill Sharkey. Her research interests center around potential interventions that can be implemented within the foster system, juvenile justice programs, and in schools to counteract the effects of racial disparities and early life trauma. Alissa is currently working on multiple projects at the Shark Tank. The Racial and Ethnic Disparities (R.E.D.) Project aims to implement and assess an implicit bias training in Santa Barbara County’s mental health services and improve the outreach for Latinx families. The Resiliency Interventions for Sexual Exploitation (RISE) project consults with the RISE program that provides services to youth who have been exposed to sexual exploitation. The South Coast Task Force on Youth Safety Service Provider Network Evaluation Project will evaluate the new model for Santa Barbara Probation that will create outcomes and a treatment process. This evaluation will consider the risks and needs of youth in the juvenile justice system. In her spare time, Alissa enjoys reading science fiction, hiking, and playing her piano and accordion. Feel free to contact her for more information at adersarkissian@ucsb.edu.