Meet the Team
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We provide targeted care for pediatric, adult and geriatric patients. Call 800-825-9989 or 310-825-9989 to learn more about our psychiatry services.
Meet Our Parenting Program for Children and Adolescents Clinic Team
Director
Dr. Shilpa Baweja is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Clinical Professor at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. She directs the Parent Training Programs for children (ages 2–12) and adolescents (ages 12.5–16), as well as the Children’s Friendship Program.
With over 28 years of experience as both a researcher and clinician, Dr. Baweja has worked extensively with children and adolescents in diverse settings, including outpatient psychiatry, intensive outpatient programs, residential treatment, and school-based mental health services. She specializes in the assessment and treatment of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions and co-occurring mood disorders, and is extensively trained in evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), exposure-based therapies, and trauma-informed care.
Her expertise lies in supporting families navigating the complexities of parenting children with neurodevelopmental conditions and severe behavioral challenges. Drawing on both her clinical training and her own lived experience as a parent, Dr. Baweja offers a compassionate, science-based perspective that bridges research and real-world family life.
Dr. Baweja earned her Master’s degree from Columbia University and her Ph.D. in Human Development and Psychology from UCLA. Her research focuses on the psychological effects of peer victimization and community-partnered initiatives to expand access to school-based mental health services.
Director of Training
Dr. Reina Factor is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Director of Training. With over 20 years of experience providing individual, group, and family-based interventions, she has extensive expertise working with autistic and neurodivergent individuals across the lifespan, particularly children, and those with co-occurring challenges such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, OCD, ODD, early psychosis, and mood disorders. She is trained in a number of evidence-based parent-mediated and focused interventions and both her clinical and research work focuses on the social and emotional development of autistic children, examining family and peer systems, mechanisms of change, and treatment outcomes.
Dr. Factor additionally serves as a staff psychologist at the UCLA Child OCD Intensive Outpatient Program. She completed her undergraduate degree at Emory University, where she studied early social responsiveness in children. She earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Virginia Tech, and completed both her predoctoral and postdoctoral training at the UCLA Semel Institute. A Los Angeles native, Dr. Factor is a third-generation UCLA Bruin and fourth-generation Californian.
Clinician
Neila Wolff, MA, MAEd is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior with over 12 years of experience working with children, adolescents, and their families. She specializes in supporting neurodivergent school-aged children and their caretakers, with expertise in Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, learning differences, and anxiety and mood disorders. Neila also has extensive experience navigating California’s special education systems and resources, including IEPs and Regional Center services, and is passionate about helping families access the supports available to them.
She has provided individual and group clinical care in schools, social service agencies, and pediatric clinics. She also trained at The Help Group and worked as a clinician at one of their nonpublic schools. In addition to her Master’s in Clinical Psychology, she holds a Master’s degree in Education. Before transitioning to clinical practice, she served as Assistant Director of Global Education at a Los Angeles high school, where she taught and traveled internationally with students. A Los Angeles native, she earned her bachelor’s degree from USC and is proud to work with her team at the UCLA Semel Institute.
Program Founder
Professor Emeritus
Dr. Fred Frankel is the founder of the Parenting and Children’s Friendship Clinic. He directed the Parent Training and Children’s Friendship Programs since its inception in 1982. Dr. Fred Frankel is a Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA. He is internationally recognized for his work on evidence-based social skills and friendship interventions. His current research extends Children’s Friendship Training to community settings with diverse populations, including children with autism, ADHD, obesity, and fetal alcohol syndrome. He is Principal Investigator of the CART project, Parent-Assisted Friendship Training in Autism, focused on children in elementary school. This work builds on his widely used treatment manual, Children’s Friendship Training (2002). Dr. Frankel received his Ph.D. in psychology from UC Irvine in 1971 and joined the UCLA faculty in 1973.
Perry Hotchkis, M.A.
Doctoral Trainee
Perry Hotchkis, M.A. is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology PsyD program at the University of La Verne. She is currently a therapist trainee at the Parenting and Children’s Friendship Clinic where she co-leads evidence-based parenting groups. Her prior clinical work has focused on providing care to children, adolescents, adults, and families in both community mental health and inpatient hospital settings.
Her graduate research aims to deepen understanding of the family unit and risk factors for mental health challenges. Her doctoral dissertation investigates the influences of perinatal stress on children’s socioemotional development, with the hope of informing effective strategies and interventions for mothers. Through both her clinical and academic work, Perry strives to advocate for equitable, accessible mental health care to ensure that individuals and families receive the treatment they deserve.
Jordin (Jo) Rodondi
Doctoral Trainee
Jordin (Jo) Rodondi (they/she) is an advanced clinical psychology doctoral student at Palo Alto University in neuropsychology and pediatric behavioral health. They have a background in educational neuroscience developing novel cognitive assessments and conducting large-scale multidisciplinary field investigations at UCSF and Stanford using digital health and human-centered design for typically developing children, and children with ADHD and depression. They have extensive clinical experience working with vulnerable youth and families with diverse clinical populations across the lifespan.
Jo is currently a clinical psychology doctoral trainee at the UCLA Child OCD, Anxiety, and Tic Disorders Program, and Parent Training Program at the UCLA Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Human Behavior and Neuroscience. They also conduct neuropsychological assessments across the lifespan for children, young adults, and adults with complex medical conditions at the UCSF Dyslexia Center and the Sexuality and Gender Identities Clinic (SGIC), Palo Alto. Their research interests include participant-informed R & D, interoception, anxiety, and mental health policy. Their current research is centered on developing real-world socio-emotional interventions for children with Autism and co-occurring mood conditions, and is co-principal investigator of Yoga for Autistic Youth (YAY), a randomized control trial that explores mental health outcomes of novel clinical yoga and movement interventions for Autistic children and adolescents.
Ari Rubin
Clinic Coordinator
Ari Rubin joined the Children’s Friendship Program as Clinic Coordinator in 2025 after graduating from Denison University with a B.A. in Psychology. His role includes managing scheduling, program organization, and day-to-day operations to ensure smooth delivery of clinic services. Ari’s interests focus on child development, with a particular emphasis on social and behavioral growth.
Fernanda Sandoval
Doctoral Trainee
Fernanda Sandoval, B.A., is a third-year student in the APA-accredited Clinical Psychology doctoral program (Psy.D.) at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Anaheim. At the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, she receives supervised training through the Children’s Friendship Program and co-leads evidence-based social skills and behavioral parent training groups for children with diverse neurodevelopmental needs and their families.
Her clinical experience includes providing play-based, individualized ABA therapy to young children with autism in home and school settings, with a focus on peer socialization, activities of daily living, and collaboration with teachers and caregivers. She is also trained in neuropsychological assessments for children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as for young and older adults with neurocognitive disorders, in both English and Spanish.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a minor in public policy, from the University of California, Riverside. Her undergraduate research examined parenting, particularly father-daughter relationships, and their implications for mood, anxiety, and self-esteem among school-age Latina girls. She is passionate about using neuropsychological profiles of cognitive and daily functioning to tailor evidence-based interventions and psychoeducation for children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their families, as well as for caregivers of older adults with neurocognitive impairments.
Ava Swanstrom
Doctoral Trainee
Ava Swanstrom is a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at Loma Linda University and an extern at the UCLA Behavioral Parent Training and Children’s Friendship Program Clinic. At UCLA, she provides evidence-based therapy and assessment for individuals across the lifespan, with a special focus on supporting neurodiverse children and families.
Her graduate research examines ways to reduce parenting stress through accessible, family-centered interventions and to address disparities in services for families of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Through both her clinical and academic work, Ava is committed to strengthening service systems and promoting equity by integrating research, clinical practice, and community engagement.
UCLA Undergraduate Research Assistants
Arianna Barik
Anjana Chandrasekhar
Alisha Chowdhary
Andrea Rodriguez
Kathleen Shang
Leah Shahmoradian
Samya Sharma
Matthew Wong (Senior RA)
Shanjita Paul (Senior RA)
Kaden Phan
Rohan Thadwal
Jules (Juliette) Walsh