John F. Clabby, Ph.D., is a Clinical Associate Professor at the Department of Family Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Co-Developer of the Improving Social Awareness-Social Problem Solving Project (currently the Social Decision Making/Problem Solving Program). He was formerly the Clinician-Administrator of the SDM/PS Program at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) where he also served as Chief Psychologist for University Behavioral HealthCare - Piscataway. Among his publications, Dr. Clabby, with Maurice Elias, Ph.D., has co-authored an award-winning book for parents called Teach Your Child Decision Making (Doubleday, 1986); a book for teachers entitled Social Decision-Making Skills: A. Curriculum Guide for the Elementary Grades (Rutgers Center for Applied Psychology, 1997), a textbook entitled Building Social Problem-Solving Skills: Guidelines from a School-Based Program (Jossey-Bass, 1992), and many journal articles and book chapters on this topic.

He presents frequently at conferences and professional development workshops. Dr. Clabby is a recipient of the Lela Rowland Prevention Award from the National Mental Health Association for long-term excellence in the area of problem prevention and health promotion. He is also the recipient of the National Psychological Consultants to Management Award for Excellence in Consulting Psychology, awarded by the American Psychological Association. Dr. Clabby also holds an appointment as a Clinical Associate Professor with the Department of Psychiatry of the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and has a joint appointment with the UMDNJ-RWJMS Department of Family Medicine and with the Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied Professional Psychology.

Maurice J. Elias, Ph.D. is Professor, Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, and Co-Developer of the Improving Social Awareness-Social Problem Solving Project (currently the Social Decision Making/Problem Solving Program). Dr. Elias is also Co-Founder of the Consortium on the School-Based Promotion of Social Competence, a research consortium comprised of nationally prominent scientists. Most recently, Dr. Elias was named to the Leadership Team of the Collaborative for the Advancement of Social and Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace, funded by the Fetzer Institute and co-chaired by Dan Goleman. With Dr. John Clabby, Dr. Elias has written a practical guide for parents, educators, and mental health professionals, Teach Your Child Decision Making (Doubleday, 1986). Dr. Elias has authored a column, Parenting Matters, for the Central New Jersey Home News. Dr. Elias's other books include Social Decision Making Skills: A Curriculum Guide for the Elementary Grades (co-authored with John Clabby and published by the Rutgers Center for Applied Psychology), Problem Solving/Decision Making for Social and Academic Success: A School-Based Approach (National Education Association Professional Library), Building Social Problem Solving Skills: Guidelines from a School-Based Program (co-authored with John Clabby and published by Jossey-Bass), Social Decision Making and Life Skills: Guidelines for Middle School Educators (Aspen), Promoting Student Success Through Group Intervention (Haworth), and Social Problem Solving Interventions in the Schools (Guilford). Dr. Elias's most recent book, co-authored by Steven Tobias and Brian Friedlander, Emotionally Intelligent Parenting: How to Raise a Self-Disciplined, Responsible, and Socially Skilled Child was released in January 1999 by Harmony Books/Random House.

Linda Bruene Butler, M.Ed. has worked on the development of school-based programs in social and emotional learning for many years. She is currently the Clinician-Administrator at the University of Medicine and Dentistry - University Behavioral HealthCare's Social Decision Making/Problem Solving Program (SDM/PS). She is also adjunct faculty for courses through The Project for Social and Emotional Learning, Teachers College, Columbia University and the Department of Psychology, Rutgers University.

Ms. Bruene Butler has published in the social problem solving area, has lectured extensively in the field, and has trained many others to become SDM/PS consultants and trainers. Ms. Bruene Butler co-developed the program's training manual for teachers and certified trainers. She was a major contributor to the monograph entitled Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for the Educator that was published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) in 1997. She is also the first author of a chapter in an ASCD follow-up publication (in press) entitled, Institutionalizing Social and Emotional Learning Programs: Lessons from the field. Other recent publications include, lead author of a 1997 chapter in Primary Prevention Works: Issues in Children's and Families' Lives, and a co-authored chapter entitled, Social Decision Making and Problem Solving - Essential Skills for Interpersonal and Academic Success in J. Cohen (Ed.) (1999), Educating Minds and Hearts: Social emotional learning and the passage into adolescence. NY: Teachers College Press. Ms. Bruene also was the lead author on an article entitled, Decision Making and Problem Solving: A Framework for Organizing Social and Emotional Learning in R. Reisman (Ed.) Social and Emotional Learning - New York State ASCD Newsletter published in May 1999.

Erin Bruno, MA has been working in the field of conflict resolution and anger management for many years. She currently is the Clinician Supervisor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey -University Behavioral HealthCare's Social Decision Making/Problem Solving Program (SDM/PS). From 1994-1997, Ms. Bruno worked for a researched validated social and emotional learning program developed in New York City called the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program. After receiving her Master's Degree in Drama Therapy from New York University in 1997, Ms. Bruno went to work at Elizabeth General Medical Center in Elizabeth, NJ. as the Child-life Specialist Coordinator. While at Elizabeth General, Ms. Bruno created and facilitated many outreach programs for the inner-city schools covering a wide range of programming for social and emotional learning. She also received an award from the Association for the Health of Children in New Jersey for outstanding programming in self esteem and conflict resolution.

Dr. Shapiro’s educational background is in the area of applied educational psychology. She holds M.Ed., M.Phil., and Ph.D. degrees in developmental and educational psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. At Columbia, Dr. Shapiro conducted research on the interaction of social and cognitive factors on suggestibility in children’s eyewitness testimony. Current research interests in social emotional learning involve school systems delivery, including teacher variables impacting program effectiveness, and implications for intervention with child/adolescent populations identified with neurological deficits in social skills.