Margo Candelaria, Ph.D.

Margo Candelaria, Ph.D.

Margo Candelaria, Ph.D., is an Associate Research Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, Innovations Institute. She co-leads the Innovation Parent, Infant, Early Childhood team at Innovations. Dr. Candelaria holds a B.A. in Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Dr. Candelaria has extensive research and clinical experience with early childhood development and mental health, parent-child interactions, and community systems. She has worked with children and parents in medical systems, community mental health agencies, early intervention agencies, Head Start/Early Head Start, and school systems, including as an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) provider and as an embedded psychologist within the Part C early intervention system. She served as the PI for several contracts with the Maryland State Department of Education focusing on implementation, workforce development, and evaluation of IECMHC, and National Pyramid Model practices to promote social emotional skills and address behavioral concerns in young children, overseeing all evaluation efforts. Dr. Candelaria has also served as the evaluation PI on several federally funded projects focusing on IECMH systems and promotion of parent-child interactions in a variety of settings.