Project SPARK

About the Project

Hedgehog Project SPARK (Supporting Parent Action for Resilient Kids) is a brief, self-guided, digital tool designed to empower caregivers to support their young children’s positive emotional development. Based on decades of research on single-session interventions (programs designed to benefit patients and families through a single encounter). Project SPARK will streamline families' journeys from primary care-based detection of risk in their young children, to accessing prevention resources in their communities.

By bridging the 'risk detection to care' gap, Project SPARK will help ensure that families are empowered to protect and promote their children’s positive emotional development as quickly and easily as po ssible. Critically, Project SPARK’s content is being co-adapted with caregivers of toddlers, pediatricians, and developmental experts, to ensure its developmental and cultural fit for the families the Center serves.

A graphic with four squares containing text about Project SPARK, on a gradient pink background.

Project SPARK Team

Jessica Schleider(she/her/hers)

Project Lead

Jessica Schleider, PhD, is the Director of the Lab for Scalable Mental Health and the Project Lead for Project SPARK. Dr. Schleider's professional mission is to build, test, and disseminate scalable, evidence-based mental health solutions that bridge previously unfillable gaps in mental health ecosystems, with a focus on single-session interventions (SSIs). She is thrilled for the chance to leverage the science of single-session support to promote mental health and care connections as early as possible in children's lives!

Alyssa Gorkin(she/her/hers)

Research Coordinator

Alyssa Gorkin, BA, is the Research Coordinator for Project SPARK. She has a background in psychology and has worked closely with children and families, supporting kids with learning and developmental differences. In her role, Alyssa helps build and test digital tools that make mental health support easier for families to access. She is especially excited about creating tools that are practical, freely available, and easy for caregivers to use in everyday life.

Andy Rapoport(he/him/his)

Research Manager

Andy Rapoport, MPH, supports the work underway for Project SPARK. He has a background in public health and healthcare technology, and is happy to be supporting work promoting early childhood development and mental healthcare access.

Shannon Hill(he/him/his)

Operations Manager

Shannon Hill, MPH, is the Operations Manager for the Lab for Scalable Mental Health and supports the Project SPARK team with day-to-day operations. He has a background in public health, earning his MPH from Indiana University, and previously worked directly with families in the Chicagoland area with children with autism. Shannon is most excited about how Project SPARK will bring parents closer to their children while promoting early emotional development and mental health