Personnel
Barbara A. Kahn, J.D., Assistant Professor
Barbara Kahn, the Clinic’s Director, received her J.D. from Northwestern University Law School in 1985 and is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and of Law at the Northwestern University Law School. She was Deputy Director of the Clinical Evaluation and Services Initiative; a research and reform project that led to the Clinic’s establishment, the Clinic’s Associate Director since its creation in June 1, 2003 and became the Clinic Director in May 2008.
Jennifer R. Clark, Psy.D., Assistant Professor
Jennifer R. Clark is Clinical Director for the Child Protection Division at the Cook County Juvenile Court Clinic and Assistant Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She obtained her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in 1999 and specializes in issues related to child abuse and neglect and assessment of parenting capacity in child protection cases. Dr. Clark oversees the forensic evaluation process for child protection cases and provides training to judges and attorneys involved in child protection proceedings on numerous clinical and forensic topics.
Rachel Tait, Psy.D., Instructor
Rachel Tait is the Clinic’s Juvenile Justice Clinical Director. She received her Psy.D. from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and is an Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship with the Isaac Ray Center at Cermak Health Services of Cook County Jail, and her pre-doctoral internship with GEO Care, Inc. at South Florida State Hospital. She is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in forensic evaluation of adolescents and of adults. Since joining the clinic in December 2006, Dr. Tait has conducted and provided expert testimony concerning forensic evaluations of minors in delinquency proceedings and of parents in child protection cases.
Christine Payne, Ph.D., Instructor
Chris Payne is Director of Program Evaluation and Resources for the Clinic and an Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. She obtained a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology (APA-approved) from Loyola University Chicago in 2002, and has been a licensed clinical psychologist in Illinois since 2005. As a forensic psychologist at the Clinic from 2004-2007, Dr. Payne conducted court-ordered evaluations for both the child protection and juvenile justice sides of Cook County Juvenile Court. From 2007-2011, she was an Assistant Professor in the Forensic Department at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, where she developed an academic mentoring program for youth incarcerated in state and county facilities, and evaluated an academic program for youth involved in the child welfare system. In 2011, Dr. Payne returned to the Clinic to serve as the Director of Program Evaluation and Resources.
Clinic Staff
The Clinic includes employees of Northwestern University and of the Office of the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County. County employees are denoted with a * in the list below.
Sweety Agrawal, Psy.D.,* Staff Pychologist
Nereasa Bello-Sykes, M.J., M.A., Clinical Coordinator
Jennifer Boston, M.A., L.P.C., Clinical Coordinator
Heather Cintron, Psy.D.,* Staff Psychologist
Michael Clements, M.S.W., Clinical Coordinator Supervisor
Stephanie Cornette, Psy.D.,* Staff Psychologist
Shante Davis, B.S., Intake and Record Gathering
Anne Devaud, Psy.D.,* Staff Psychologist
Priscilla Dubois, Psy.D.,* Staff Psychologist
Krissie Fernandez Smith, Ph.D., Staff Psychologist
Tamara Friday, L.C.S.W, Clinical Coordinator
Michael Igaravidez, Psy.D.,* Staff Psychologist
Christina Kadziela, B.A., Assistant to the Director
Ascher Levy, Psy.D.,* Staff Psychologist
Katie Migala, L.C.S.W., Clinical Coordinator
Martin Nkansah, Ms.Ed., Data Specialist/Resource Liaison
Yvonne Poole-Holloway,* Receptionist/Records Custodian
Julie Walden, L.C.S.W., Resource Social Worker