Heidi Ellis, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in Psychology and Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, and a licensed clinical psychologist. She is also the Director of the Trauma and Community Resilience Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, a partner in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Dr. Ellis’ primary focus is on understanding and promoting youth mental health and well-being, with a particular emphasis on understanding how trauma exposure, violence, and social context impact developmental trajectories. Over the past 15 years she has conducted a Community Based Participatory Research program with Somali youth and was Principal Investigator of a multi-site, longitudinal research project examining developmental pathways to and away from violence, including ideological violence, gang involvement, and civic engagement. She is also conducting research to advance a public health approach to preventing violent extremism across the ideological spectrum. Dr. Ellis is co-developer of the trauma treatment model Trauma Systems Therapy, and is engaged in capacity building and training related to trauma-informed multidisciplinary approaches to the repatriation and reintegration of children from formerly ISIS-controlled territories. She also directs the Massachusetts Area Prevention Framework, a multidisciplinary team approach to preventing targeted violence and terrorism among adolescents.

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