Dr. Connor M. Kerns is a registered psychologist as well as an Associate Professor and Director of the Anxiety Stress and Autism Program (ASAP) at the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Kerns’ clinical practice and research are focused on the assessment and treatment of anxiety and stress-related disorders in children on the autism spectrum. She has spoken internationally and published extensively on these topics, including numerous articles, chapters and an edited book Anxiety in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence Based Assessment and Treatment. Dr. Kerns is the recipient of an early career development award from the National Institute of Child and Human Development (NICHD). She has also served on advisory boards for both the US and Canadian federal governments to guide public policy and research priorities related to supporting the mental health of children on the spectrum.
Dr. Anne Marie Albano, is the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CUCARD) Professor of Medical Psychology in Psychiatry, Founder of CUCARD, and past President of both the Society for Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. She served as Editor and Associate Editor of major journals, and as a Principal Investigator for two NIMH-sponsored studies, the "Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Treatment Study" (CAMS) and the "Treatments for Adolescents with Depression Study" (TADS), as well as their follow-up studies. Dr. Albano has over 200 publications and is co-author of several cognitive behavioral treatment manuals. She is an internationally sought teacher and mentor of clinicians and clinical scientists.
Dr. Wendy Silverman is the Alfred A. Messer Professor of Child Psychiatry, and Director of the Yale Child Study Center Anxiety & Mood Disorders Program. Dr. Silverman has been researching and treating anxiety disorders in children for four decades and she developed the
Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule when these disorders were first introduced in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 3rd edition (DSM-III). She has published many scientific papers, chapters, and books over the decades. She has been the principal investigator of National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) research- and career-awards to develop and evaluate treatments for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. She has served on NIMH grant review panels including as Chair. Dr. Silverman served as an Associate Editor and Editor of major journals in clinical psychology. She is also actively involved in training and supervising the current and the next generation of mental health professionals.