Our Vision
A world where all adolescents and young adults are supported in developing the social and emotional skills they need to be successful in school and in life.
Our Mission
To innovate in the creation and delivery of behavioral health services responsive to the needs of adolescents, young adults and their families and communities.
Leadership
Nadia Ward, M.Ed, Ph.D.
Director of the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise
Professor of Practice, Education Department
and Frances L. Hiatt School of Psychology
1-508-421-3870
Nadia L. Ward, M.Ed., Ph.D., came to the Mosakowski Institute from Yale University, where she served as Associate Professor of Psychiatry (Psychology) and the Deputy Director of Clinical Training in Clinical and Community Psychology, Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry; and the Director of Urban Education & Prevention Research and Senior Evaluation Consultant with YaleEVAL at the Consultation Center at Yale.
Her extensive work in the area of academic achievement for racial and ethnic minority students has spanned more than 20 years and has included training and consultation to universities, public school systems, and private organizations; curriculum development; program development; implementation; and community-engaged research and evaluation.
Dr. Ward has worked extensively with high-risk as well as high-achieving urban youths and their families in a variety of capacities. She has designed and evaluated academic enrichment and competence-enhancing substance abuse and violence prevention programs in school and community settings.
Additionally, Dr. Ward is a leader in comprehensive urban school reform efforts where she engages schools and communities in the development, implementation, and evaluation of systemic interventions designed to improve school climate, academic performance, and educational trajectories of low-income and minority youth.
Dr. Ward’s areas of expertise include school-based mental health, substance abuse prevention among youth, social-emotional learning, academic achievement, educational disparities, urban school reform, education policy, and school-based prevention.
Dr. Ward has presented at regional, national, and international conferences on topics related to systemic school reform, educational disparities, social-emotional learning, educational aspirations and attainment among urban adolescents, and school-based prevention. Her research has been published in recognized peer-reviewed journals. She has appeared on National Public Radio (NPR), CNN Money, and has been quoted in the New York Post, U.S. News & World Report, and SHAPE magazine. She has received numerous awards for her research, teaching, mentoring, and service to the community.
Aaron Haddock, M.Ed., Ph.D.
Director of Behavioral Health Initiatives, Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise
Associate Professor of Practice, Frances L. Hiatt School of Psychology
Aaron D. Haddock, M.Ed., Ph.D. has worked in school and community settings as a teacher, school psychologist, program evaluator, and consultant. Dr. Haddock’s areas of expertise include social-emotional learning, child and adolescent behavioral health, and school-based prevention and intervention.
By linking his extensive experience in multi-tiered systems of support, program evaluation, academic achievement, and education policy directly to issues of social justice and education, Dr. Haddock leverages the reciprocal relationship between research and practice to promote positive outcomes for all youth.
Dr. Haddock received his doctorate degree in Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and completed his clinical internship at Yale University. Dr. Haddock also holds a M.A. in School Psychology from UCSB, a M.Ed. and Teaching Credential from Antioch University, and a M.A. in Liberal Studies from Columbia University. He is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship to Vienna, Austria, where he attended the University of Vienna and taught in a local school.
Staff
Nicholas Matthews, M.S. Ed, M.Phil.Ed
Assistant Director of Behavioral Health Programs
Nicholas Mathews, M.S.Ed, M.Phil.Ed, joins the Mosakowski Institute of Public Enterprise team from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after completing two master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in counseling/mental health services and professional counseling, respectively. Nicholas previously worked as a consultant for the Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation, assisting with capacity building for grassroots, non-profit organizations focused on reducing community violence among young men of color.
Nicholas has experience positively impacting college access programs, student development, and being an overall change agent. He also has an extensive history of creating safe, inclusive spaces for young men of color to feel more connected to educational systems. He establishes this connection through culturally relevant student empowerment, mentorship, and connecting young people to positive role models. His background in mental health services and working with disenfranchised communities makes him a great fit for Clark Universities’ Mosakowski Institute of Public Enterprise. In his role, he will help provide behavioral health programs and initiatives for students, educators, and community partners.
Katherine Esparza
Department Administrator of the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise
Executive Assistant to Nadia Ward
Katherine Esparza is a daughter of the Andes, born in Quito, Ecuador, and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts. She is an immigrant, a youth worker, a community weaver, and a storyteller. Kathy is a mujerista – and deeply influenced by mujeristas who have paved the way for us to breathe a bit lighter today.
She believes in a collective liberation centered on rest, joy, love, reparation, and re-imagination of the impossible becoming possible. Kathy is also a mixed medium artist who writes and creates pieces in Spanglish and in the mixness of her essence. Her work discusses intersectional identities as well as the joys and aches of her human experience.
Kathy holds a BA in International Development and Women’s and Gender Studies as well as a Certificate in Youth Work from Clark University and has over ten years of experience in non-profit, government, higher education, and philanthropy.
Shelley Grover, MBA
Research Associate
1-508-421-3873
Shelley Grover, MBA, a graduate of Clark University returned to her alma mater in 2019 to join the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise. Shelley serves as a Research Associate, where she oversees the project management of research initiatives for the Mosakowski Institute, coordinates research studies, and assists with various special projects.
Shelley holds a BA in Psychology and an MBA with a focus in Marketing from Clark University, which lends itself to the unique work of the Mosakowski Institute, creating a strategic alignment between the Institute’s focus on developing behavioral health interventions for adolescents and young adults and the development of marketing campaigns to highlight and communicate these important goals.
Our Benefactors
William S. Mosakowski ’76 and Jane Mosakowski ’75
William Mosakowski ’76 is president and CEO of Public Consulting Group, a national leader in providing consulting services to state and local government that dramatically improve financial and operational performance.
Our Benefactor
Dr. Lee Gurel ’48
Dr. Lee Gurel ’48 is a generous and enthusiastic supporter of Clark and the Mosakowski Institute. Lee grew up in Worcester and went on to a distinguished career as a research psychologist.