Dr. Shahmoon-Shanok is Founding CEO and Academic Director of Collaborations for Growth (CG), a new nonprofit created to spread diversity-sensitive support for vulnerable babies, children and their parents, especially those living in poverty. With prevention at its center, CG reaches significantly at-risk and diagnosable youngsters heading for academic or social trouble because of trauma and-or developmental challenges, while it also effectively connects with their parents. While CG is new, each of the three initiatives that are part of the CG family have successes documented over decades. Dr. Shahmoon-Shanok also currently serves as Senior Research Associate for Relationships for Growth & Learning, Center for Attachment Research-New School for Social Research.
A widely published author and sought-after speaker as well as an expert in Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) for both trauma and for developmental challenges, Dr. Shahmoon-Shanok has been part of a national workgroup within the Irving Harris Foundation’s Professional Development Network addressing Tenets for Diversity-Informed Practice since 2011, and had participated in Undoing Racism trainings from the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond over a dozen years prior. A pioneer in integrating mental health consultation with direct services in childcare and Head Start, Rebecca established peer play psychotherapy as effective identification, outreach and intervention for young children with widely varied challenges. With degrees and experience in clinical psychology, social work, early childhood education and extensive experience in psychoanalysis and infant mental health,
Dr. Shahmoon-Shanok was an active board member of Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families for 36 years, and is founder and past co-president of the New York Zero-to-Three Network. With colleagues within the national Zero to Three, she developed and has written extensively about Reflective Supervision (R S) since its inception in the late 1980’s, more recently integrating mindful practice and staff wellness on behalf of the early childhood field. She co-chairs a national workgroup which is developing the first long-term training in R S.
Until recently Founding Director, Institute for Infants, Children & Families, JBFCS in NYC, Dr. Shahmoon-Shanok has trained professionals from all relevant disciplines together since the late 1970’s. The Institute reached young, underserved children from zero through six and their families with transdisciplinary, model services, post-degree training for providers of all disciplines and state-of-the-science consultation to government, systems and agencies.
