Sonia Alves is a doctoral student in the Human Development and Education concentration at HGSE. Prior to coming to HGSE, Sonia served as a clinical research coordinator for the Stress and Development Laboratory at Boston Children’s Hospital. Her research interests include understanding the longitudinal effects of community violence exposure on academic functioning. As part of the Language Diversity and Literacy Development Research Group, Sonia assists with coordinating developmental cognitive research studies focusing on the development of academically vulnerable children’s cognitive, social-emotional, and literacy skills from early childhood through middle childhood; conducts assessments of language, cognitive abilities, working memory and inhibitory control; assists with preparing materials for IRB review, grant and research proposal submissions; and manages and analyzes data. Sonia earned her B.A. from Smith College and is currently pursuing an Ed.M. from HGSE in Prevention Science and Practice, Counseling Strand.