Team

Katherine Pickard is an assistant professor and licensed psychologist at the Marcus Autism Center. Katherine's main goal is for autistic children and their families to be able to access high-quality care in their own communities. Her two main interests are in developing interventions that are adaptable to the needs of families and communities, and developing strategies that help community providers more easily learn, use, and sustain high-quality care. Clinically, Katherine's work focuses on caregiver-mediated intervention for families of young autistic children, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for autistic youth with anxiety. Katherine lives in Atlanta with her family. She enjoys open water swimming, hiking, and spending time outside with her family and friends. 

Jocelyn Kuhn is an assistant professor at the Marcus Autism Center. Jocelyn aims to promote accessible,  high-quality, and evidence-based mental and behavioral health care for children and adolescents on the autism spectrum. Her work targets critical junctures across the lifespan, from the diagnostic odyssey to the transition to adulthood. She works together with partners in clinics, schools, and community settings that are well-positioned to adopt and implement practices that can better support all children and their families. Clinically, Jocelyn is a licensed psychologist with expertise in diagnostic assessment, family behavioral therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy for children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Outside of work, Jocelyn enjoys hiking, traveling, playing ultimate frisbee, and spending time with her family and friends. 

Karen Guerra is a bilingual, bicultural speech-language pathologist with experience working with culturally and linguistically diverse populations across a multitude of pediatric settings (outpatient clinics, schools, and university clinics). At the Marcus Autism Center, she has collaborated with researchers, clinicians, and caregivers on delivering culturally responsive interventions, supporting community providers, and creating accessible autism support/educational programming for Spanish-speaking Latino communities following an autism diagnosis. In her free time, she enjoys gardening,  playing with her dogs, and wandering through the North Georgia mountains

Cynthia Belfleur, a Miami, Florida native, is a Spelman College graduate and former Teach for America Memphis Corp member. Cynthia is a research coordinator at the Marcus Autism Center and was formerly the David Satcher Community Engagement Research Fellow. Her research at Marcus explores retrospective caregiver experiences of caretakers whose infants have participated in the Autism Center of Excellence (ACE) studies. Concurrently, Cynthia is a research fellow at Morehouse School of Medicine working on Project GRIT under the Grady Trauma Project, which focuses on capacity building, emphasizing resilience in African American women experiencing PTSD. In her free time Cynthia enjoys spending time with friends and family and watching action movies. After completing her time as the Community Engagement Fellow, Cynthia will pursue a Ph.D. in psychology, building on her passion for community engagement, education, policy, and mental health outcomes of marginalized communities.

Selena Valladares Ortiz is an ACCESS Fellow in Implementation Science at the Marcus Autism Center. Selena's current work focuses on addressing the needs of Latino Spanish-speaking families in autism services, identifying barriers to healthcare services, and assessing cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) programs for autistic youth with anxiety. In her free time, Selena enjoys embroidering, going to museums, and playing Minecraft.

Nailah Islam is a research coordinator at the Marcus Autism Center in the ACCESS Lab focusing on implementation studies and early social development studies. Nailah is passionate about supporting families with early intervention strategies and providing the community access to evidence-based resources. Nailah has 5 years of experience working with autistic children and their families as a behavioral therapist and research coordinator. Nailah continues her research career with the goal of joining a school psychology PhD program.

Alexa Gonzalez Laca is currently a research coordinator in the ACCESS Lab helping to coordinate projects in the early diagnostic space and related to our ABEJAS community advisory board. Her research interests are in early identification and cultural adaptations of autism screening tools. Alexa recently graduated with her MPH from the Rollins School of Public Health. In the ACCESS lab, she enjoys collaborating on the retrospective caregiver experiences study and the Spanish Community Advisory Board. In her free time, Alexa enjoys trying out new coffee spots and spending time with family and friends. In the future, she intends to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.

Jun Kim is an undergraduate student at Emory University, where he is majoring in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. His passion resides in increasing accessibility to high-quality healthcare and support services by analyzing existing barriers faced by autistic children and their families. Beyond the lab, he enjoys playing soccer, indulging in all genres of movies, and exploring different cultures through traveling. After graduating, he intends to pursue a predoctoral research fellowship program and eventually attend medical school.

Nina is a PhD student in clinical psychology at Emory University and a graduate student in the ACCESS Lab. She is passionate about reducing disparities in access to behavioral health services and working with communities to develop culturally responsive interventions. Nina is particularly interested in implementing interventions that increase access to timely autism diagnosis and treatment. In her free time, Nina enjoys cooking, baking, and dancing.

Lyric is an ACCESS Fellow in Implementation Science at the Marcus Autism Center. Lyric's current work focuses on addressing disparities within systems that cause an imbalance in receiving adequate care for underserved communities. She is passionate about health equity and bridging the gap(s) for receiving autism diagnosis referrals for children with intersectionality. Her goal is to investigate how interventions can be implemented within school(s) to expand access to care. In her free time, Lyric enjoys spending time with her mother and younger sisters. After completing the fellowship, Lyric intends to pursue a PhD in School Psychology.

Marycruz is a first-year research fellow at the Marcus Autism Center, working in the ACCESS lab. She focuses on integrating research and practical implementation to address systemic issues in autism research, particularly emphasizing the lived experiences of families of color. Her passions in the field include improving translation services, enhancing healthcare system understanding, and fostering a resilient perspective on disability. Outside of work, Marycruz likes dancing, cooking, and finding cute outfits on Pinterest.