Education

Degree	Institution	Major
B.A.	University of California, Santa Barbara	Organizational Psychology
M.A.	University of California, Los Angeles	Educational Psychology
Ph.D.	University of California, Los Angeles	Higher Education & Organizational Change

Co-taught a class in the Graduate School of Public Health on Strategic Planning and Program Evaluation and focused on logic models, research design and measurement, community based participatory research, qualitative methods and needs assessment.

Name & Description	Category	Role	Type	Scope	Start Year	End Year
Connecticut Zero Suicide Learning Collaborative	Advisory Committee	Member	External	State	2015
American Association of Suicidology	Professional/Scientific Organization	Member	External	National	2014
American Evaluation Association	Professional/Scientific Organization	Member	External	International	2012
Connecticut Suicide Advisory Board (CTSAB)	Advisory Committee	Member	External	State	2011
American Public Health Association	Professional/Scientific Organization	Member	External	International	2010

Dr. Wakai has designed and conducted several evaluations on programs related to public health. She is currently conducting an evaluation to identify barriers, incentives and best practices for implementing environmentally preferable products among custodial workers at state agencies. She is the evaluator for two DMHAS funded state initiative: Connecticut Healthy Campus Initiative (to reduce underage and binge drinking on college campuses across Connecticut) and the Connecticut Campus Suicide Prevention Initiative. She is conducting the evaluation for the educational component of the Hartford Neighborhood Healthy Homes project, a HUD funded-project. Dr. Wakai has also conducted research and evaluation on mental health within correctional facilities. She conducted the evaluation for START NOW, an evidence informed skills training treatment intervention currently being implemented in Connecticut Department of Corrections (CDOC). She has also worked on a study to develop a valid and reliable assessment of serious mental illness for national use by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in jails and prisons. She has conducted research on The Texas Implementation of Medication Algorithms (TIMA), a rule-based, deductive system to aid in decision-making for prescribing medication.

Journal Articles

Book Chapters

Abstracts

Conference Papers

Monographs

Title or Abstract	Type	Sponsor/Event	Date/Year	Location
Variations in State Laws Regulating Medical Marijuana	Poster	APHA	2017	Atlanta, GA
Medical Marijuana Legislation and College Students' Marijuana and Alcohol Use and Perceived Social Norms	Poster	APHA	2016	Denver, CO
Evaluating a State Health Program: Lessons Learned.	Talk	American Evaluation Association	2016	Atlanta, GA
College student alcohol and drug use: Results from the Connecticut Healthy Campus Initiative evaluation. Connecticut Healthy Campus Initiative.	Talk	Central CT State University	2015	New Britain, CT
Evaluating a transition to safer chemicals for managers and workers.	Talk	Safer Chemicals Conference; University of Washington	2015	Seattle, WA
Trends in perceived social norms of marijuana use among college students	Poster	APHA	2015	Chicago, Il
Evaluating program implementation	Talk	American Association of Suicidology	2014	Los Angeles, CA
Effects of perceived social norms on college students' frequency of alcohol consumption and binge drinking	Talk	National Prevention Network	2014	Hartford, CT
Suicidal ideation and behavior: Using state and national data to identify trends and risk factors	Talk	American Evaluation Association	2014	Denver, CO
An index to identify differences in custodians' exposures to cleaning chemicals	Talk	APHA	2014	New Orleans, LA
Cleaning chemical exposures and respiratory, dermatological and muscularskeletal symptoms among custodians using traditional and green cleaners	Talk	APHA	2014	New Orleans, LA
Effects of training on custodians' satisfaction and acceptance of environmentally preferable products	Poster	APHA	2014	New Orleans, LA
Influence of perceived social norms on high risk alcohol consumption among college students	Poster	APHA	2014	New Orleans, LA
An evaluation of the design and implementation of a green cleaning professional development program using community based participation research.	Talk	APHA	2013	Washington DC
Urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations among custodians using green cleaners	Talk	APHA	2013	Boston, MA
Evaluation of a green cleaning program and practices training curriculum for custodians	Talk	APHA	2013	Boston, MA
Alcohol use predicts increased risk of victimization among college students	Talk	APHA	2013	Boston, MA
An Academic and Labor Union Partnership: Worker Cleaning Chemical Exposures Following State Mandated Green Cleaning Program.	Poster	Annual Meeting of Partnerships for Environmental Public Health	2012	Bethesda, MD
Farm Health and Safety Promotores	Poster	American Public Health Association Annual Meeting	2012	San Francisco, CA
Instrument Development: The Corrections Modified Global Assessment of Functioning	Poster	National Commission on Correctional Health Care	2010	Nashville, TN
A Process Evaluation of the Implementation of START NOW	Poster	40th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Conference	2009	Baltimore, Maryland
Evaluation of Algorithm-driven Treatment Of Bipolar Disorder In Connecticut Prison: Preliminary Findings from Phase II.	Poster	NCDEU (New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit) Conference	2009	Fort Lauderdale, FL
Evidence-Based Decision Support for Bipolar Disorder Treatment in Corrections	Poster	Ninth Annual International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services Conference	2009	Edinburgh, Scotland
Functional Analysis of Behavior in Corrections.	Poster	Ninth Annual International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services Conference	2009	Edinburgh, Scotland