Melanie Pellecchia, PhD, BCBA, NCSP

Dr. Pellecchia is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Psychiatry Department at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. She is a licensed clinical psychologist, Nationally Certified School Psychologist, and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Dr. Pellecchia's clinical and research interests lie in improving the implementation of evidence-based treatments for children with autism spectrum disorders in under-served communities. She is an expert in delivering, and training others to deliver, high quality treatments for young children with autism. She has extensive experience developing and evaluating publicly-funded programs for children with autism spectrum disorder, and working with teachers, staff, and administrators to improve their implementation of evidence-based practices. Dr. Pellecchia's research is focused on partnering with community-stakeholders to develop implementation strategies that are feasible, sustainable, and appropriate for use in community settings, and that increase the use of evidence-based intervention strategies. Her most recent body of work is centered around developing strategies to improve the implementation of parent coaching and successfully engaging parents of young children with autism in their child's treatment.