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Overview


Savannah is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at Duke University. Her research focuses on developing and implementing community-embedded interventions that target child and adolescent mental health and relationship behaviors. Savannah approaches her work through community based participatory research, and her dissertation aims to develop and pilot a mental health promotion and intimate partner violence prevention program for adolescents in rural Kenya. In the lab, she works on the Tuko Pamoja Family Intervention and Coping Together Intervention projects.

Prior to coming to Duke, Savannah obtained a bachelor’s degree from Belmont University double majoring in Psychological Science and Education. After graduating she completed an internship at WISER Girls Secondary School in Muhuru Bay, Kenya and worked as the DukeEngage site-coordinator at WISER for two consecutive summers. Most recently, she worked as a Research Coordinator for the Evidence Based Practice Institute (EBPI) at the University of Washington. EBPI supports and promotes the use of evidence based practices in children’s mental health.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Recent Publications


Social Vulnerability, COVID-19, Racial Violence, and Depressive Symptoms: a Cross-sectional Study in the Southern United States.

Journal Article Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · December 2024 BackgroundIn March 2020, the novel 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic. In May 2020, George Floyd was murdered, catalyzing a national racial reckoning. In the Southern United States, these events occurred in the context of ... Full text Cite

A Pilot Study of the Coping Together Virtual Family Intervention: Exploring Changes in Family Functioning and Individual Well-Being.

Journal Article Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · July 2024 In this pilot study, we tested a virtual family strengthening and mental health promotion intervention, Coping Together (CT), during the COVID-19 pandemic. We explored changes at the family and individual levels, as well as mechanisms of change. Participan ... Full text Cite

A global call for adolescent intimate partner violence prevention.

Journal Article The lancet. Psychiatry · April 2024 Full text Cite
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