Jean Rhodes, PhD

Jean Rhodes, PhD

Principal Investigator & Director

Jean Rhodes is the Frank L. Boyden Professor of Psychology and the Founder and Faculty Advisor of the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She has devoted her career to understanding and advancing the role of intergenerational relationships in the intellectual, social-emotional, educational, and career development of marginalized youth. She has published three books, four edited volumes, and over 150 chapters and peer-reviewed articles on topics related to positive youth development, the transition to adulthood, and mentoring. Dr. Rhodes is a Fellow in the American Psychological Association and the Society for Research and Community Action, as well as a former Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow and Distinguished Fellow of the William T. Grant Foundation. She has been awarded many campus-wide teaching awards for her advances in pedagogy and scholarship, including the the Distinguished Academic Leadership and Outstanding Service to the Students of UMass Boston Award, the Vice Chancellor’s Teaching Scholar Award, and the Chancellor’s Distinguished Scholar Award. Rhodes completed her Ph.D. in clinical/community psychology at DePaul University and her clinical internship at the University of Chicago Medical School.

Alexandra Werntz, PhD

Alexandra Werntz, PhD

Associate Director

Alexandra Werntz received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Virginia. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the University of Virginia and was funded in-part by AIM Youth Mental Health. Her recent research has focused on understanding how mentors can provide supportive accountability to mentees engaging in digital mental health interventions. Dr. Werntz is also a licensed clinical psychologist practicing in Virginia, specializing in anxiety, depression, end-of-life issues, and trauma. She feels passionately that evidence-based mental health skills do not need to be taught by trained mental health providers, but instead can be taught by and practiced with trained paraprofessionals. With the CEBM team, she is excited to advance the science of training mentors to support their mentees in reaching their full mental health and wellbeing potential.

Megyn Jasman

Megyn Jasman

Assistant Director

Megyn Jasman is the Assistant Director and Research Coordinator of the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring at the University of Massachusetts Boston, investigating how the mentoring field can be revolutionized to best support today‘s youth. In the Spring of 2021, Megyn graduated with her Bachelors in Psychological Science from Central Connecticut State University as the Valedictorian in her department. She is furthering her education by working towards a Master’s degree with a specialization in Community Psychology to understand how community-based programs can help prevent the development of adverse mental health conditions, as well as bridge gaps in mental health care. Megyn started as the Lab Manager of the Rhodes Lab working with Dr. Jean Rhodes in the Summer of 2021 and has continued in this role through the Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring.

Current Graduate Students

Justin Preston

Justin Preston

graduate student on internship
Cyanea Poon

Cyanea Poon

graduate student
Monica Arkin

Monica Arkin

graduate student
Emily Hersch

Emily Hersch

graduate student
Saniya Soni

Saniya Soni

graduate student

Center Affiliates

Selen Amado

Selen Amado

graduate student
Benlina Aier

Benlina Aier

research affiliate with MentorHub
Jordan Cherry

Jordan Cherry

research affiliate with MentorHub

Lab Alumni

  • Adar Ben-Eliyahu, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Haifa
  • Samantha Burton, Aviva Psychology Service, Boston, MA
  • Kirsten Christensen, Assistant Professor, San Diego City College
  • Josefina Contreras-Grau, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Kent State University
  • Ernestine Briggs-King, Associate Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University
  • Christian Chan, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Hong Kong
  • Anita Davis, VP for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Trinity College
  • Katia Fredericksen, Pediatric Neuropsychologist, the Stixrud Group, Inc.
  • Christina Gee, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, George Washington University
  • Gillian Greene, Staff Psychologist, UCFS Medical Center
  • Matthew Hagler, Postdoctoral Associate at Yale University School of Medicine
  • Stella Kanchewa, Assistant Professor, Ballarmine University, Louisville, Kentucky
  • Elena Klaw, Professor, Department of Psychology, San Jose State University
  • Sarah Lowe, Assistant Professor, Yale University
  • Emily Manove, Licensed Clinical Psychology, Boston MA
  • Adena Meyers, Professor, Department of Psychology, Illinois State University
  • Elizabeth Raposa, Assistant Professor, Fordham University
  • Rachel Rubin, Postdoctoral Fellow, Child and Adolescent OCD Institute, McLean Hospital
  • Sarah Schwartz, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Suffolk University
  • Laura Yoviene Sykes, Instructor in Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine
  • Elyssa Weber, LifeStance Health, Boston, MA
  • Liza Zweibach, Assistant Professor, School of Medicine, Emory University