Our People
Meet The Team
Maggi Price, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Principal Investigator
Dr. Maggi A. Price is a licensed psychologist and Assistant Professor at Boston College. She specializes in developing and testing multilevel implementation strategies and clinical interventions to reduce mental health disparities for youth exposed to trauma and adversity. Her research specifically centers on populations with disproportionate exposure to adversity, including LGBTQ+ youth, girls, youth of Color, and foster youth. Dr. Price has secured over $2 million in research funding, primarily serving as Principal Investigator on grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Her work focuses on improving services in high-reach settings, including mental health care and schools. Details are in her curriculum vitae (CV), linked on the left.
Awards
Dr. Price has received several national research awards from top organizations such as the American Psychological Association and the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
Teaching and Mentoring
Dr. Price is a passionate and dedicated teacher and mentor, qualities that have been recognized in awards from Yale University and Boston College (see CV for details).
Clinical Expertise
Dr. Price has a private practice where she treats clients struggling with the effects of trauma and other stressors and/or parents of trauma-exposed children. She has clinical expertise in trauma, anxiety, and parent skills training.
Personal identities and experiences:
Dr. Price is biracial (Filipina and White), the daughter of an immigrant, a foster-to-adopt (and bio, and dog) mom, and a cisgender woman.
Patrick Mulkern
B.A., MSW
(they/he)
Project Coordinator
Patrick is a Project Coordinator in the Affirm Lab, a doctoral student at the Boston College School of Social Work, and a licensed independent clinical social worker. Their research focuses on the intersections of mental health, education, and policy, exploring how individual, interpersonal, and structural factors contribute to health disparities among youth with marginalized identities. With over a decade of experience in clinical practice, policy advocacy, and leadership, they are committed to using implementation science to bridge the gap between research and practice. Before returning to school, Patrick coordinated a high school Wellness Center in San Francisco Unified School District and later provided district-wide crisis support and policy guidance on supporting students and families experiencing homelessness. Their leadership in the field has earned them roles on national professional boards, invitations to train school-based mental health professionals, and opportunities to advise policymakers on youth mental health initiatives. As a researcher, Patrick has successfully coordinated multiple NIH-funded studies, authored peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and presented their work at national conferences. Their scholarship aims to develop and implement evidence-based interventions that create safer and more supportive environments for youth while informing policies that promote youth mental health.
Caelyn N. Nordman B.S., B.A.
(she/her)
Project Coordinator
Caelyn (she/her) is a Project Coordinator in the Affirm Lab and a current master’s student in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. She also serves as City Connects Graduate Assistant at The Center for Thriving Children. Caelyn’s passion for research began through her work in the Individual Differences in Development Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Kirby Deater-Deckard. She graduated with honors from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a B.S. in psychology and a B.A. in English, earning the highest honors distinction on her senior thesis entitled, SEL Education in Pre-K Through 3rd Grade: Reducing the Lifelong Effects of Childhood Trauma within Foster Care. Alongside work at the Affirm Lab, Caelyn is studying the impact of systemic school-based interventions (e.g., MTSS, Integrated Student Support) on student developmental outcomes, focusing on under-resourced communities. Caelyn plans to pursue doctoral work to study the impact of reading and writing on social competence in children and adolescents, fostering her love for developmental psychology and literature.
Maddi Condon B.A.
(she/her)
Project Coordinator
Lab Manager
Maddi is the GAPS project coordinator Affirm Lab. She has dual degrees in Psychology and English from Boston Colleg. While working as an intern and administrative assistant at Wellness Therapies Spokane, she developed an interest in counseling and clinical psychology. She is passionate about children and creating safe spaces for them to grow and has worked closely with them over several years. Her dedication to fostering healthy environments for growth and interest in psychology are what brought her to the Affirm Lab. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in clinical or counseling psychology, specifically working with youths.
Daniela Abramov
Research Assistant
Daniela is a research assistant in the Affirm Lab and a current undergraduate student in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences at Boston College studying Psychology with a minor in philosophy and ancient civilizations. With a passion for working with stigmatized youth and mental health, Daniela plans to get a M.A in mental health counseling and eventually pursue a career in counseling psychology with a focus on youth.
Xiyan Chen B.S.
(she/her)
Research Assistant
Xiyan (she/her) is a current Master of Social Work student at Boston College and a Research Assistant in Affirm Lab. Currently, she balances her academic rigor with a role as a School Counseling Intern at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts, where she provides clinical support and emotional regulation strategies to high school students. Xiyan’s journey into the mechanics of human behavior began at the University of Pittsburgh, where she completed her B.S. in Psychology alongside a minor in Economics. Her foundational research training took place in Dr. Michele Levine’s Phab lab at UPMC. There, she developed a unique technical toolkit to better understand the intersections of physical and perinatal health. With a global perspective in China, Xiyan brings a cross-cultural lens to her work. She is particularly interested in merging data-driven insights with empathetic care, utilizing her bilingual fluency in Chinese and English and her training in CBT and DBT to support under-resourced communities. Xiyan is dedicated to fostering resilience through evidence-based practice and integrated student support systems.
Stacey Nguyen, B.A.
(she/her)
Research Assistant
Stacey (she/her) is a Research Assistant in the Affirm Lab and a current Licensed Mental Health Counselor master’s student in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. She is passionate about fostering safe, supportive environments for children and has several years of experience working with youth. She plans to pursue a career in clinical or counseling psychology, focusing on youth mental health.
Bonnie
(she/her)
Bonnie is one of the longest-term lab family members. Though she often sleeps through lab meetings and events, she provides critical emotional support and affection.
Cecilia Rabayda, B.A. (she/her/hers)
August Wei, B.S. (he/him/his)
Justine Lee, B.A. (she/her/hers)
Moumina Khan, B.A. (she/her/her)
薛雯青 (Wenqing Xue) “Shelly” (she/her/hers)
Yang Fan, M.A. (she/her/hers)
Gabi Ortiz, B.A., M.A. (she/her/hers)
Gabrielle Kaufman, M. A. (she/her/hers)
Colleen Johnston, B.A., M.S.W. (she/her/hers)
Nathan L. Hollinsaid, B.S. (he/him/his)
ResearchGate | Twitter | Email
Lindsey Bruns (she/her)
Kara Johansen, B.A. (she/her/hers)
LinkedIn | Email.