Leadership

Carla Allan, PhD Division Chief

Dr. Carla Allan joined the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's in January of 2021 and currently serves as the Division Chief of Psychology and the Hagenah Family Endowed Chair, making her the first woman at Phoenix Children’s with an endowed chair position. Previously, she served as the Director of ADHD Programs at Children's Mercy-Kansas City. Dr. Allan earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Michigan State University in East Lansing, and her master's degree and doctorate in clinical psychology from Florida State University in Tallahassee. She completed her internship in clinical psychology at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri.   Dr. Allan served on the ADHD Clinical Practice Guidelines Subcommittee of the American Academy of Pediatrics and was the associate editor of the Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings. She is also a member of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, American Psychological Association, Society of Pediatric Psychology (SPP, APA Division 54), and Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (SCCAP, APA Division 53).
 

Lindsay Anderson, PhD Hematology/Oncology
 

Tava Arnold, PhD Outpatient Clinics

Tava Arnold, PhD, serves as the psychologist for several interdisciplinary teams at Phoenix Children's such as: Complex Headache Clinic, Cochlear Implant Clinic, Ketogenic Diet Clinic, Spina Bifida Clinic, Breast Reconstruction Clinic.  Dr. Arnold's expertise includes helping children and their families navigate medical treatments, surgeries, and other challenges associated with complex health conditions. She has specialty training in pediatric psychology which includes pre-surgical evaluations, psychotherapy, and medical team consultation. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Society of Pediatric Psychology, and American Cochlear Implant Alliance.  Dr. Arnold earned her doctorate degree in counseling psychology with an emphasis in health psychology from Georgia State University. Dr. Arnold completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Children's Hospital of Orange County in Orange, CA, and post - doctoral fellowship at the Rocky Mountain Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Program in Denver, CO.
 

Ginger A. Carlson, PhD, ABPP Outpatient Psychology, Mercy Gilbert

Ginger A. Carlson, PhD., ABPP is a clinical psychologist in the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.  She obtained her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from DePaul University, and completed an internship at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and a postdoctoral fellowship with the Arizona Psychology Training Consortium.  Dr. Carlson has published articles in several peer-reviewed journals and has been licensed as a psychologist in the state of Arizona since 2006.  She provides evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy, including individual, parent-child, family, and group therapy, for children and adolescents with medical and psychiatric disorders.  Practice focus includes adjustment to chronic illnesses and new medical diagnoses, adherence to medical treatment, post-transplant care and adjustment, pain management, treatment of somatic symptoms and somatic symptom disorders, and treatment of posttraumatic stress and adjustment symptoms secondary to medical diagnoses and procedures.  Dr. Carlson is the Legislative Representative for the Arizona Psychological Association.    
 

Stacey Halverson, PhD Consultation/Liaison
 

Marco-Antonio S. Hartmann, PhD Pain Service

Dr. Hartmann, PhD, is a licensed pediatric clinical psychologist with Phoenix Children's Multidisciplinary Pediatric Pain Treatment Clinic. He has expertise in cognitive behavioral therapy of child anxiety and depression disorders as well as in pediatric behavioral health treatment for sleep and gastrointestinal disorders. Dr. Hartmann specializes in assessing and treating children and adolescents with chronic pain conditions. Additionally, he specializes in parent management training of parents with children with acute and chronic illness. The growth opportunities and the division's inspiring leaders and team led him to Phoenix Children's.  After earning a three-year degree in social work at the Catholic College for Applied Social Pedagogics in Karlsruhe, Germany, Dr. Hartmann completed his bachelor's degree with summa cum laude in psychology at Florida State University. He earned a master's in clinical child psychology and a doctorate in clinical and pediatric psychology at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Hartmann completed his residency at Case Western Reserve Medical School's MetroHealth Medical Center in pediatric health service psychology and his fellowship in pediatric pain management and treatment at Stanford University School of Medicine.
 

Rosemary P. Hodges, PsyD Gastroenterology (GI)

Dr. Hodges is a graduate of the Stanford consortium in Palo Alto, California.  She completed her internship training at Jackson Health System/University of Miami School of Medicine.  Her fellowship was completed at Children's Health in Dallas Texas.
 

Emma Khatami, PhD Associate Division Chief, Palliative Care

Dr. Khatami is a staff psychologist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital who performs inpatient consultation and liaison services for the inpatient medical floors. She is also the dedicated psychologist on the palliative medicine team. Her work involves responding to a variety of psychological concerns among patients on the inpatient medical floors, as well as performing advance care directives with teens and young adults with chronic and/or life-limiting conditions. In 2022, Dr. Khatami began serving as the Associate Division Chief of Psychology at Phoenix Children’s. As part of this role, she is responsible for leading the inpatient behavioral health consultation/liaison service comprised of both psychologists and mental health therapists. Dr. Khatami is also the psychology representative on the hospital’s biomedical ethics committee.  Dr. Khatami graduated from the University of Nevada Las Vegas doctoral program with specialty in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and did both her internship and postdoctoral residency/fellowship at Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s.  Dr. Khatami was the recipient of the Arizona Psychological Association Resident of the Year award.
 

Sarah Anais Mejia, PhD Cardiology/Cardiovascular ICU (CVICU)

Dr. Anaïs Mejía collaborates with the interdisciplinary teams in Cardiology and Heart Transplant to support pediatric patients and their families manage the unique psychological and emotional factors associated with cardiac complexity. Dr. Mejía applies developmental, preventative, ecological, trauma-informed, and culturally informed interventions to promote psychological wellbeing and coping during and post cardiac intervention. Dr. Mejía earned her PhD as a Dean’s Fellow in the Counseling and Applied Human Development program at Boston University. She completed her internship in Clinical Psychology at University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Center. She completed her fellowship in Clinical Child Psychology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles embedded in The Heart Institute (Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit, Cardiovascular Acute Unit, Fetal Cardiology, and Outpatient Cardiology Clinic) and Neonatal Intensive Critical Care Unit (NICCU). Dr. Mejía is a rostered practitioner in Child Parent Psychotherapy, an evidence-based treatment to promote attachment between caregivers and children birth to five who have experienced adversity. As a bilingual provider, Dr. Mejía practices clinically in Spanish and is passionate about expanding bilingual training opportunities. 
 

Zorash Montano, PhD Consultation/Liaison (CL)  

Dr. Montano joined Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's (PC) as a staff psychologist as part of the Consultation and Liaison Psychology Service in March 2020.  Dr. Montano earned her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from Arizona State University (ASU). She completed her internship in Pediatric Psychology at Boston Children’s Hospital and her post-doctoral fellowship in Pediatric Psychology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).  Before arriving in Phoenix, Dr. Montano was the psychologist in the Division of Urology at CHLA. Stemming from her training at ASU, Dr. Montano is particularly interested in parenting interventions and how these can be applied in the medical setting. Further, she is passionate about working with multidisciplinary teams in the care of patients and is excited to continue this work at PC. Dr. Montano also provides her clinical services in Spanish.  She is Early Career Psychologist representative for the Arizona Psychological Association. 
 

Randi Phelps, PhD Autism Spectrum Disorders Program

Dr. Phelps is a psychologist specializing in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). After acquiring her bachelor's in psychology from Montana State University, Dr. Phelps went on to earn her master's and PhD from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She completed an internship and fellowship in pediatric psychology at Oregon Health and Science University. Dr. Phelps has conducted research in various areas of mental health, including anxiety and autism spectrum disorder. She has published many of her findings, including an article about virtual diagnosis of ASD. She also presented at a 2021 ECHO Autism meeting on the topic of Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA).
 

Synthia Puffenberger, PhD Endocrinology

Dr. Puffenberger is a graduate of our psychology internship at Phoenix Children’s. She works as the dedicated outpatient psychologist in the Division of Endocrinology, primarily working with patients with diabetes and their families.
 

Jenna Rudo Stern, PhD Gender Support Program, IBD Clinic, and Combined Allergy/Immunology and Dermatology (CAD) Clinic

Dr. Jenna Rudo-Stern is a licensed clinical psychologist and Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. She serves both the Gender Support Program, the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Clinic, and the Combined Allergy/Immunology and Dermatology Clinic at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. She uses humor and playfulness to help people apply the principles of behaviorism, cognitive behavior therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and mindfulness to their own lives.  Dr. Rudo-Stern earned her doctorate from Arizona State University and completed a doctoral internship at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. She completed a postdoctoral residency/fellowship in pediatric psychology at Phoenix Children's. Her research focuses on ways to expand access to effective care. She is now collaborating with partners at Arizona State University to explore ways to implement as a waitlist intervention an online intervention for parents of gender-diverse youth.
 

Jeanette Smith, PhD Cystic Fibrosis

Dr. Smith has been providing assessment and treatment to children and families as a licensed psychologist for more than 19 years, working in both outpatient settings and medical inpatient settings.  She completed her doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship at Children’s Hospital, Boston.  Dr. Smith received her PhD in clinical psychology at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia.  Dr. Smith practices all aspects of pediatric psychology with a special interest in helping children cope and adjust with chronic illness, treatment adherence and non-pharmacological pain management. Some of the procedures she uses includes cognitive behavioral therapy, emotion regulation skills training, relaxation techniques and biofeedback.  She provides postdoctoral resident/fellow and intern training and developed the American Psychological Association accredited doctoral internship program at Phoenix Children's.
 

Arie Zakaryan, PhD Pain Service

Dr. Zakaryan is a psychologist with clinical specialization in Pediatric Psychology and Pain Management. He currently supports the Psychology Training Program as Program Director for the Postdoctoral Residency/Fellowship. Dr. Zakaryan is also Site Director for the Comfort Ability Program (CAP), which is a day-long workshop for kids and teens ages 10-17 who have recurring symptoms such as chronic pain, nausea, dizziness, fatigue and muscle weakness, along with concurrent experiences for their parents or caregivers.

With the help of Dr. Amy Schaefer, Psychology Postdoctoral Resident/Fellow, Dr. Zakaryan is establishing an ongoing, weekly CHIRP (Chronic Health and Illness Recovery Program) teen group to help provide tiered care for these patients.

With his physician and physical therapy colleagues in Pain Medicine, Dr. Zakaryan also helps run the Weekly Rehabilitation and Pain Program (WRAPP) for adolescents suffering from chronic pain in the Mercy-Gilbert and Thomas Campus clinics.

He received his doctoral degree with a child clinical subspecialty from Loyola University Chicago in Chicago, IL.  He went on to conduct his pediatric psychology internship at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL.  Dr. Zakaryan completed his fellowship in pediatric psychology at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) in their Co-Occurring Clinic with a focus on treating patients with co-occurring medical and mental health diagnoses, especially for youth diagnosed with cancer.  He also is fluent in Spanish and Armenian and conducts assessment and intervention in Spanish. Dr. Zakaryan joined Phoenix Children's Hospital in 2017 and is a psychologist as part of the Pain Medicine Program.  He is the Treasurer for the Arizona Psychological Association.
 

Neuropsychology Faculty:

Brianne Butcher, PhD 

Dr. Butcher is a pediatric neuropsychologist at the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s and serves as the primary supervisor of the Neuropsychology Track for the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Internship Program. Dr. Butcher earned a PhD at the University of Texas in Austin in 2009 where she completed specialty training in pediatric neuropsychology. She completed a doctoral internship at Miami Children’s Hospital with a pediatric neuropsychology focus. Following internship, Dr. Butcher completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Butcher’s current clinical focus is neuropsychological assessment of pediatric patients with acquired brain injuries and medical conditions that impact the central nervous system. Dr. Butcher is also an assistant professor in the clinician-scholar track at the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s. 

Kristin Crocfer, PsyD

Dr. Crocfer is a licensed psychologist and the practicum program coordinator for the Neuropsychology Department at Phoenix Children's.  She teaches Biological Basis of Behavior and Neuropsychology graduate courses at Arizona State University.  Dr. Crocfer also serves as the Wellness Director for the Neuropsychology Department and can frequently be found on Fridays at 5 pm telling practicum students, interns, and fellows to go home. 
 

Karlie Krause, PsyD

Dr. Krause is a staff neuropsychologist in the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's.
 

Aimee Hammer, PhD

Dr. Hammer is a staff neuropsychologist in the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's.
 

Michael Lavoie, PhD

Dr. Lavoie is the Division Chief of Neuropsychology, has been a licensed psychologist for 20 years and had two years of postdoctoral experience in Neuropsychology. He has been training students and conducting neuropsychological evaluations for the past 20 years. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Brain Development, Brain and Behavior Relationships, Anatomy and Physiology, Human Physiology, and Clinical Neuropsychology at Assumption College and Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and at Arizona State University. Dr. Lavoie has lectured at local and state conferences and has presented at national conferences. He is a member of the Neuroscience Advisory Committee and the Professional Health Committee at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and is the past president of the Arizona Neuropsychological Society. 
 

Kimberly Painter, PsyD

Dr. Painter is a staff neuropsychologist who is responsible for the inpatient neuropsychology service at Phoenix Children’s. Her primary role is as a member of the multidisciplinary team on the CARF accredited inpatient rehabilitation unit. Dr. Painter completed her pre-doctoral internship at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and her APPCN Neuropsychology fellowship at St. Louis Children’s Hospital/Washington University Medical School. She holds academic appointments at University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix and Barrow Neurological Institute as an Assistant Professor, and is involved in clinical teaching of practicum students, interns, and medical residents.