About Us
The Center for Resiliency, Hope, and Wellness in Schools began in 1997 as a multiyear collaboration between University of Southern California, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), RAND Corporation, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), and 3C Institute. It has also received support from SAMHSA through the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN).
In 2021, the Center for Resiliency, Hope, and Wellness in Schools merged with the Center for Safe & Resilient Schools and Workplaces (CSR). Today, CSR continues to develop new trainings, interventions, and resources to meet the needs of school districts as they create safe and supportive school environments.
Guiding Principles
With and for schools
Since the Center’s founding, our work has involved close collaboration with schools to develop, pilot, and test interventions. Through these partnerships, we adapt and adjust materials according to current needs.
Ensuring impact
The need to test interventions under real-world conditions is one of our core values. Through federal and local funds, we have conducted rigorous research studies that include input from parents, students, and educators.
Focus on equity and inclusion
Our work serves youths from diverse cultural backgrounds in the United States and abroad. By working with schools, we reduce barriers to high-quality prevention and intervention supports while increasing access for youths in under-resourced communities.
Our Experts
Our team includes research and school intervention experts and a talented group of certified trainers. In addition to the extraordinary work of our current staff, we recognize the invaluable contributions of our earlier team members and advisors, including Pia Escudero, Arlene Fink, Sheryl Katakoa, Joshua Kaufman, Diana Solis, Jennifer Zelaya, Jeanne Miranda, and Ken Wells.
Ms. Vona’s work focuses on how web-based platforms can support training in and the implementation of evidence-based practices in schools. Ms. Vona is currently the program manager the Center for Resiliency, Hope, and Wellness in Schools. She also serves as a liaison to the NCTSN School Committee.
Dr. Langley is Director of the UCLA TIES for Families Program, Co-Director of the UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families and Director of Training for the Center for Resiliency, Hope, and Wellness in Schools. She has authored five evidence-based interventions, notably Bounce Back, SSET, ADAPT, and the recently released second version of CBITS.
Dr. Jaycox specializes in child, adolescent, and adult mental health problems, with a special emphasis on reactions to trauma exposure. Since developing CBITS, she has been actively engaged in creating and evaluating additional interventions and strategies and findings ways to extend the reach of the Center’s entire set of interventions.
Dr. Wong has provided education and consultation to thousands of school districts and educational institutions as well as community, state, province, national, and international agencies and ministries. She is one of the original developers of the evidence-based Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) and Psychological First Aid in Schools.
Prof. Villaverde is a clinical associate professor at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and an EdD candidate at Rossier School of Social Work. She is an approved national trainer for TISE, Psychological First Aid, SSET, and Bounce Back.
Dr. Stein served as the dissemination director for the Center for Resiliency, Hope, and Wellness in Schools. Dr. Stein is one of the developers of the CBITS program and was a coprincipal investigator in evaluating the effectiveness of CBITS in LAUSD.
Dr. Hydon is a clinical professor of field education and serves as director of the Social Work in Schools Program. He led the codevelopment of STAT, an online curriculum focused on secondary traumatic stress funded by SAMHSA, and he has provided trainings on Psychological First Aid.