About Judge Baker
Founded in 1917, Judge Baker Children's Center is a Harvard Medical School affiliate dedicated to improving the lives of children whose mental health problems threaten to limit their potential. Integrating education, service, research, and training, the Center is the oldest child mental health organization in New England and a national leader in the field of children's mental health.
Our mission
The Judge Baker Children's Center promotes the best possible mental health of children through the integration of research, intervention, training and advocacy.
- Through research we identify best practices.
- Through intervention we bring those practices to children and families of diverse communities.
- Through training we disseminate skills in research and quality care.
- Through advocacy we use scientific knowledge to expand public awareness and inform public policy.
Our history
The 19th century was a period of great change for the United States. A civil war ravaged the nation, waves of immigrants flocked to our major cities, fleeing the hardships of their native lands, and the industrial revolution forever changed the life of the American worker. As Boston roared into the 20th century, the city faced many challenges which accompanied this great population influx and burgeoning industrial life. Young Bostonians often struggled to survive, both physically and emotionally, in this new community. Through the remarkable insight of one man, The Honorable Harvey Humphrey Baker, many of the troubled youth of Boston were offered the support they so desperately needed. Read more.
Our management
John R. Weisz, PhD, ABPP, President
Michele Urbancic, Vice President
of Advancement
Program Directors
Todd Anderson, Information Technology
Anthony M. Bono, Finance
Elizabeth Fitzsimons, Development
Alvin Poussaint, MD, The Media Center
James Prince, MSW, Manville School
Nina Rodriguez, Facilities
Julie Sweeney Springwater,
New England Association of Child Welfare Commissioners and Directors
Rachel Sudikoff, Human Resources
Richard Young, Child At-Risk Hotline
Principal Investigators
William R. Beardslee, MD, Teen Achieving Mastery over Stress [TEAMS]
Stuart T. Hauser, MD, PhD, Paths Over Time and Across Generations Project
Jerome Kagan, PhD, Biological Markers of the Autistic Disorders
Claudio Toppelberg, MD, Child Language & Developmental Psychopathology
John R. Weisz, PhD, ABPP, Teaching Middle-School Youth Coping Skills for Depression: A School-Based Intervention Study
Janina R. Galler, M.D.
Matthew Nock, Ph.D. , Measuring Implicit Associations About Suicide
Our Board of Trustees
Please click here to view our Board of Trustees and Members of the Corporation.
Affiliations
Judge Baker Children's Center benefits from active affiliations with the
following academic organizations:
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Graduate School of Education
The Center benefits from collaborations with the following institutions:
Harvard School of Public Health
Harvard Law School
Children's Hospital Boston
The Massachusetts Department of Social Services
Boston Public Schools
While research and program affiliations add to the capacity and scope of
Judge Baker activities, the Center is financially and administratively independent
from its affiliates.
Where We Are
Click here for address and directions.