Jean Kelly, Ph.D., Executive Director
Dr. Kelly is a Professor in the Department of Family and Child Nursing and Co-Director of the Center on Infant Mental Health and Development at the University of Washington. She is also Director of Promoting First Relationships, a training program for service providers and Director of NCAST-AVENUW Programs. She is an affiliate of the Center for Human Development and Disability, as well as the Chair of its Early Intervention Task Force. She is a past Co-Principal Investigator of the NICHD Study of Early Childcare and Youth Development. Jean is on the governing board of the Washington State Child Care Resource and Referral Network and is past Chair of the Governor-appointed Advisory Council to the Washington State Infant-Toddler Early Intervention Program. She has directed research and training programs focused on young children's social and emotional health for over two decades, and has published numerous articles and chapters on promoting children's social and emotional development.
Denise Findlay, RN, BSN, Director of Outreach and Education
Denise came to NCAST-AVENUW in Feburary of 2001 to mentor with Anita Spietz for the role of training our PCI Instructors and developing and promoting our programs and products. She brought with her twenty years of Public Health Nursing experience in Washington state in a variety of roles. she received her BSN from Seattle University in 1978. Denise is a skilled clinician as well as an enthusiastic and responsive instructor.
Being involved in the greater community is important to Denise. She has served as a March of Dimes board member, a National SIDS Foundation Board of Trustees member, an Early Head Start Advisory board member to name a few. Field testing the Promoting Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy program was very rewarding and cemented the belief in the need for intervention before birth.
Denise is a Northwest native and enjoys the outdoors of the beautiful Northwest by kayaking, hiking, and skiing. She treasures time with her children, family, and friends.
Vicki Long, BA, Business & Operations Manager
Vicki has worked in the education field for over 20 years, most of that time in continuing education programs for infant/early childhood development and assessment. For the last 15 years she has worked with numerous early childhood development professionals and faculty here at the University of Washington and throughout the United States and Canada while promoting NCAST-AVENUW Programs.Vicki attended Washington State University and obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology/Education at the University of Washington. Vicki handles program operations including publications production, promotional projects and student/client liaison.
In addition to her work with NCAST-AVENUW Programs, she has mentored single welfare mothers in the community returning to the workforce, served as an educational tutor for students at Jackson Park Housing Project, volunteered at Children's Regional Medical Center and is currently working on her certification as an ESL instructor. Vicki also enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing and adventurous travels throughout the world.
Vicki feels fortunate to be working with such a great team in developing and disseminating so many innovative programs that are making a difference in the lives of young children and their families.
Monica Oxford, Ph.D., Director of Program Development
Dr. Oxford is a Research Associate Professor of the School of Social Work at the University of Washington and the Director of Program Development of NCAST-AVENUW, an organization that develops and disseminates research-based practice originating from the Department of Family and Child Nursing and the Center on Human Development and Disability. Dr. Oxford's area of research focuses on parenting and child outcomes for vulnerable families living in challenging contexts. Dr. Oxford is interested in how context, child characteristics, and parenting practices combine to inform particular patterns of child outcomes and how intervention practice impacts to promote both parent and child well-being. She is co-principal investigator on two NIH funded grants and has published multiple articles on child and youth development.
Jennifer J. Duval, BA, Development Coordinator
