Dr. Perfect is Professor in the School Psychology Program at the University of Arizona. Dr. Perfect received her doctorate in Educational Psychology (specialization: School Psychology) from the University of Texas at Austin and her master's degree in Psychology from New York University. She completed her APA-accredited pre-doctoral psychology internship at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark, NJ. Afterward, she completed postdoctoral fellowships in pediatric psychology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX and in health psychology and biostatistics at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, TX. She has been actively involved in the American Psychological Association Division 16 (School Psychology) having served as Convention chair, the Vice President of Publications and Communications, and now President-Elect. She will also serve on APA's Committee on Professional Practice Standards (COPPS). Dr. Perfect’s teaching interests include clinical supervision, research methods, mental health and therapy, development, and advanced assessment.
Dr. Perfect utilizes mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) to 1) examine the role of health behaviors and traumatic event exposure and symptoms in academic and health (physical and mental) outcomes for diverse students; 2) design and examine the benefit of sleep, behavioral medicine, positive psychology, technology-based, or mind-body interventions to improve school-related and neurobehavioral (learning, behavior, memory, attention, self-regulation) functioning; 3) utilize an intersectional approach to strengthen the critical and collaborative roles of systems (school, family, healthcare, fostercare, policy) in students’ lives; and 4) increase educational access and success for culturally and economically diverse students to mitigate effects of adversities. Her research has been funded by the American Diabetes Association, National Institutes of Health, Institute of Education Sciences, and National Science Foundation).
