About the presenters:

Dr. Becca Starr

Dr. Rebecca (Becca) Starr is an independent consultant specializing in early childhood education, parent education, and parent coaching. Becca holds a Ph.D. in child psychology from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota where she studied early cognitive development. She spent over a decade as a Research Scientist at Child Trends, a research institute focused on linking findings about child and youth outcomes with public policy. At Child Trends, Becca was the Deputy Director of the Minnesota Office and led the design and implementation of research examining the quality of early care and education settings (including Quality Rating and Improvement Systems), professional development opportunities for early care and education providers, and effects on children’s developmental outcomes. Prior to her role at Child Trends, Becca served as an Assistant Professor at two liberal arts colleges where she conducted child development research and taught undergraduate courses in research methods, statistics, and applied developmental psychology. Becca's current portfolio includes a variety of consulting projects related to early childhood development and parent education. She can be reached at starr28@gmail.com for more information or questions about potential consultation projects. 

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Dr. Katherine Lingras

Dr. Katherine (Katie) Lingras is an Assistant Professor and Licensed Child Psychologist in the Psychiatry Department of the University of Minnesota, where she specializes in early childhood mental health,  emotional/behavioral regulation concerns, and dyadic (parent-child) treatment. Her clinical work and research is focused on social-emotional development and building the capacities of the adults who care for them. Dr. Lingras directs the Psychiatry Department’s Early Childhood Clinic, which provides assessment and outpatient parent-child treatment, and also works within the community providing mental health consultation and professional development training in early care and education settings and primary care clinics. Dr. Lingras is a certified group leader in the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management training and has led child, parent, and teacher groups, and provided mental health consultation for HeadStart/preschool programs and school districts around the country.  Dr. Lingras completed her undergraduate and co-terminal Master’s degrees in Psychology at Stanford University and her doctoral work at the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Child Development, and is happy to be back in the Twin Cities after several years training and working on the East Coast.