Alana Riso

Alana is a fourth-year undergraduate psychology major in the Honors College at VCU and is thrilled to be part of the Center as a research assistant, under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Southam-Gerow. She has also been a member of the BEST in CLASS lab, researching Tier 2 school-based interventions for children with emotional or behavioral disorders. In addition, she has previously served as a mentor at John Marshall High School for the Health Sciences Academy, using psychological concepts and strategies to help high schoolers make productive choices for their future careers. Alana’s research interests include evidence-based treatments for dysfunctional marital and family systems, implementation of mental health interventions in rural and underserved communities, and early childhood trauma. She looks forward to pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology, with the goal of building her cultural competence in these research areas. Alana enjoys many hobbies such as singing, cooking, rock climbing, and performing on VCU’s Bollywood fusion dance team.