Dr. Maite Schenker was born in Cuba and immigrated to the Unites States at the age of 12. Her own struggles as an immigrant, learning English, assimilating into a new country and culture, contributed to her desire to help others who may be going through difficult times. She discovered her love for psychology and working with children while doing volunteer work in high school. Early in her career as a psychologist, she realized that while everyone no matter the age can benefit from mental health services, early intervention is crucial. She believes that we can make a bigger impact when we can intervene early and help caregivers and young children build healthy relationships. This realization motivated her to pursuit additional training and funding for services for young children and families. The education of psychology/mental health students and clinicians has also been an important component in her career. She believes that it’s only by building capacity that we can make sure young children receive the services they need from qualified professionals.
Dr. Schenker is Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Psychology Division at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. Social and racial equity has been an important component of her work at UM, being co-chair of the Social Equity Workgroup at the Mailman Center for Child Development and a member of the Dean’s Diversity Council. She also organizes a 12-weeks seminar series on cultural topics for psychology students, faculty and staff. Dr. Schenker is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Association for Infant Mental Health (FAIMH), a former Co-Chair of the Miami Chapter and a member of Zero to Three, Inc. She is also endorsed by FAIMH as an IMH Clinical Mentor. Prior to her current position at UM, Dr. Schenker worked at the Institute for Child and Family Health, Inc. (ICFH) for 18 years, where she was Director of Early Childhood Services. Through grant writing and supervision Dr. Schenker developed specialized services for young children at ICFH, encompassing prevention as well as treatment services, and a 9-month intensive Infant Mental Health Training Program for clinicians in the Miami-Dade community. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 1997 from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG).
