Paulette is the founder and Executive Director Emerita of the
Center for Healthy Schools, Families & Communities, former Director of the Office of
Prevention Services & Research as well as Chief Psychologist at the former University
Behavioral HealthCare (now known as Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, Rutgers
University Medical School). She continues to serve as a Clinical Assistant Professor for the
Department of Psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Paulette is a
member of the founding faculty of the Multi-Cultural Family Institute of New Jersey and former
Co-Director of the Cultural Competence Training Center of Central New Jersey. Paulette’s
experience and expertise spans clinical practice, training, supervision and consultation as well as
prevention-oriented program administration, design, implementation, and research. She has
served as the principal or co-investigator on numerous competitive federal, state and foundation
grants.

Paulette is known as a visionary change leader and trailblazer who sees beyond the status
quo, promoting well-being and equity for vulnerable families and communities and building the
capacity of larger systems. Connecting her numerous endeavors is a dedicated focus on
culturally responsive clinical and preventive interventions for historically marginalized
populations. Paulette has presented widely and has authored over 40 publications in large part on
African American families and related topics including the family life cycle, economically
fragile African American families, hope and hopelessness, healing from trauma exposure, and
spirituality in family therapy. She has advanced thinking about applications of systemic thinking
beyond the therapy room, and successfully championed the design, research and dissemination of
numerous innovative, replicable clinical and prevention-oriented culturally tailored interventions
and partnership models. SANKOFA, for example, designated by SAMHSA as an evidence-based
violence prevention program for African American youth and parents has been disseminated
across the United States and beyond.

Paulette served as President of the New Jersey Association of Black Psychologists from
1983 to 1987 and as President of The American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA) from 2005-
2007. She was awarded AFTA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. She also received
AFTA’s Distinguished Contributions to Cultural & Economic Diversity Award in 2001 and the
American Psychological Association's Carolyn Attneave Award for Distinguished Services to
Diverse Families in 2008. She served as President of AFTA from 2005-2007. Over her career,
she has chaired and served on numerous boards and committees. Paulette currently serves on the
Board of Directors for the Family Process Institute.

Paulette is a licensed clinical psychologist and maintains a private practice in Highland
Park, NJ where she specializes in the treatment of couples and families; she also works with
individuals, pre-teen through later life. She resides in Central NJ with her husband of 44 years
and is the proud mother of two sons and ‘Nanna’ to three grandchildren she adores.