Faculty & Staff

Dr. Dawn Anderson-Butcher is a Professor in the College of Social Work at The Ohio State University (OSU) and a Licensed Independent Social Worker-Supervisor (LISW-S) in the State of Ohio. She also holds a courtesy appointment in Kinesiology at OSU and co-leads the university-wide Learning in Fitness and Education through Sports Initiative (LiFEsports) at OSU (a national exemplar sports-based youth development program). Her primary research interests focus on positive youth development in various social settings such as schools, afterschool programs, and youth sport. Her secondary research interests include exploring how school-family-community partnerships maximize school- and community-based resources for learning and healthy development, especially in communities serving vulnerable children and families. Anderson-Butcher has provided technical assistance, capacity-building, and research/evaluation services to LEAs, SEAs, and other youth serving agencies across the nation, such as the Ohio Department of Education, Utah State Office of Education, Mansfield City Schools, Columbus City Schools, The Cardinal Health Foundation, the United Way of Central Ohio, and the Knowledge Works Foundation. She also chairs the national Mental Health-Education Integration Council, a network of interdisciplinary scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and graduate students focused on workforce preparation issues related to addressing barriers to learning in schools and other youth serving agencies. Dr. Anderson-Butcher also is a Research Fellow in the Society of Health and Physical Education (SHAPE, formerly the American Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Sport). Website: Anderson-Butcher, Dawn, Ph.D. | College of Social Work- The Ohio State University (osu.edu) Twitter: @ Dawn_AB

Javier Negrete Jr is the School-Family-Community Coordinator for Hamilton STEM. During his undergrad, Javier was a Coordinator for Latino Student Services (LSS) housed under the Dean of Student’s Office of UNC Charlotte. As a Coordinator for LSS, Javier worked with the campus community to develop programs that celebrate, elevate, and advocate for the needs of UNC Charlotte’s rising Latine community. After completing his Bachelor of Social Work Degree at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Javier was hired as a program coordinator for The Arts Empowerment Project in Charlotte. At The Arts Empowerment Project, Javier worked with Charlotte’s local art community, Charlotte’s Juvenile Court, and Mecklenburg County Youth Coalition to help young people build social and emotional skills through engaging and culturally responsive art instruction. Javier moved to Columbus, Ohio in 2020 to work for the YMCA of Central Ohio as a Permanent Supportive Housing Case Manager. There, Javier provided individualized case management for men who, prior to finally being housed at the YMCA and signed a lease, experienced chronic homelessness, and a severe disability. Javier joined The Ohio State University College of Social Work as a School-Family-Community Coordinator for Hamilton STEM in November 2021 and is thrilled to serve in the One Linden Schools Initiative aimed at getting the conditions right for learning for the nearly 2,300 students attending Linden schools. Javier and his team implement the Community Collaboration Model for School Improvement to maximize school and community resources to support students and families in Linden.

Dr. Samantha Bates is a licensed social worker with more than six years of experience working with socially vulnerable youth in various settings including schools, communities, afterschool programs, and sport. Her research focuses on equity-minded positive youth development and seeks to draw attention to patterns of inequity in youth outcomes. This work includes exploring how to leverage sport as a context for social-emotional learning, identifying evidence-based and culturally responsive mental health interventions, and examining how adults in youth-serving organizations become race-conscious and aware of the social and historical context of exclusionary practices in education. Bates has co-authored 20 peer-reviewed publications, five book chapters, seven community-based evaluation reports, and over 30 national conference presentations. Her teaching experience includes the instruction of courses in areas such as positive youth development in sport, generalist social work practice, and school social work.

Website: Bates, Samantha, Ph.D. | College of Social Work- The Ohio State University (osu.edu) Twitter: @drsamanthabates

Sean Delaney serves as the on-site coordinator of the CAYCI-Dublin City Schools partnership which was developed to support infrastructure development, assessment and progress monitoring, and program design related to student services and school climate, provide additional personnel to expand service delivery, and collaborate on professional development opportunities across the district. She fulfills the role of supervisor for the OSU Interns on-site as well as other undergraduate and graduate students completing their field placements through the College of Social Work. In conjunction with her role at OSU, Sean works as a private therapist at Lowenstein & Associates specializes in supporting individuals in finding their voice, their power, and their confidence to navigate this increasingly complex world. As well as in a consulting role with S4 Consulting serving as an Alift project team member. Additionally, she is headed into her 10th season as the Head Girls Tennis Coach at Columbus School for Girls. Prior to her role at OSU, Sean worked for Columbus School for Girls as their Director of Counseling, Wellness, and Support Services -- a role that included: chairing the Support Services Department, conducting individual and small group counseling sessions, implementing school-wide programs to address issues of the emotional health of students, supporting faculty advisors in their work with individual students, and providing professional development opportunities. She also worked for Worthington City Schools as the District Mental Health Specialist, providing social work services to students who receive special education supports due to emotional and behavioral disabilities in the district's Behavior Learning Centers. Outside of work, Sean volunteers at a local food pantry, enjoys time in her garden and with family and friends, and loves traveling with her husband and dogs.

Taylor is currently a School-Based Mental Health Therapist at Preble Shawnee Middle School in Camden, OH. She is a research consultant who provides support related to CAYCI School Experience Surveys (CAYCI-SES) and Community Collaboration Model design and implementation efforts with partner school districts. Taylor is a recent 2021 graduate who worked for CAYCI to support schools utilizing our CAYCI-SES. She graduated from Miami University with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2019. While at Miami University, she was also a member of the Women's Cross Country and Track and Field teams.

Olivia is CAYCI’s Assistant Director of School Partnerships. In her role, Olivia leads several of our state and national outreach efforts by consulting with schools and districts using our CAYCI School Experience Surveys. She supports our partner schools with school improvement planning processes and implementation practices related to designing comprehensive strategies to strengthen their overall systems of support. Olivia also co-leads a grant project in Granville Exempted Village Schools focused on supporting student-athlete mental health. In the district, Olivia manages and facilitates efforts to train parents/guardians, coaches, and student-athletes on practices that will improve Granville’s readiness to respond to and prevent mental health concerns. She also manages other grant administration tasks and relationships among students, staff, consultants, and faculty. Prior to her role at OSU, Olivia worked at Pelotonia, supporting fundraising, recruitment, and community engagement efforts to raise $27 Million annually for cancer research. She also worked as a development manager for HandsOn Nashville, leading revenue-generating activities and cultivating funding relationships to respond to three devastating disasters in 2020 and 2021. Outside work, Olivia enjoys spending time outdoors and being with family and friends, traveling with her husband, and walking with her dog.

Dr. Kylee Ault-Baker is a Postdoctoral Scholar working with the LiFEsports and Coach Beyond Initiative. She has a PhD and Master’s degree in Kinesiology with a focus in Sport Psychology, and she has worked as a mental performance coach for the past 6 years. Her research addresses how sport can be a tool for positive youth development and the role of sport coaches and administrators in education-based athletics. She joins the research team with the goal of furthering our understanding of how LiFEsports contributes to the growth and development of youth throughout Columbus, and is excited continue to provide programming for coaches and athletes on the development of leadership and life skills.