Elisa Vele, MA, PhD
Assistant Director, Research & Evaluation; Senior Staff Scientist, Boston Children's Hospital
Education:
PhD, Yeshiva University-Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Developmental Psychology
MA, Yeshiva University-Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, General Psychology
BS, Fairfield University, Psychology
Bio:
Dr. Vele, a developmental psychologist and researcher, joined BTC in 2004. As Assistant Director of Research & Evaluation and member of the senior management team, Dr. Vele offers program evaluation expertise, leadership, and oversight of customized research and evaluation projects from design to reporting. She has extensive working knowledge of community-based participatory research, program implementation and improvement science, formative and longitudinal evaluation designs, quantitative and qualitative methodologies, assessment tools, policy trends, and best practices in prevention and/or intervention research.
For two decades, Dr. Vele has worked as a mixed-methods researcher evaluating programs and systems of care for underrepresented children, youth, and families. She has worked as a researcher at the Westchester Institute for Human Development, New York Medical College, Rose F. Kennedy Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Education Development Center, Inc., and Wilder Foundation.
Dr. Vele serves as Secretary and Executive Board Member for the American Psychological Association Division 37- Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice, Section on Child Maltreatment. She is a member of the Consortium for Science-Based Information for Children, Youth, and Families and has held academic appointments at Providence College, Rhode Island College, Northeastern University, St. Catherine University, and the College of Mount Saint Vincent.
Areas of Interest:
Community-based participatory research
Early childhood development
Parent-child attachment
Infant and early childhood mental health
Family engagement
Developmental and relational interventions for young children and families
Trauma, trauma-informed care, trauma responsive systems and policies for children and families
T3 applied translational science and research
Home visiting
Early care and education
Selected Publications:
Ayoub, C. & Vele-Tabaddor, E. (2019). Enhancing Early Care Provider’s Capacity for Building Early Relationships with Families and their Children: Touchpoints Informed-Practice. In A. Sheffield Morris, & A.C. Williamson (Eds.) Building Early Social and Emotional Relationships in Infants and Toddlers: Integrating Research and Practice. (Chapter 11). New York: Springer.
Swartz, M.I., Dym Bartlett, J. & Vele-Tabaddor, E. (2016). Strengths-Based Education and Practices. In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Contemporary Early Childhood Education. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Inc.