With a decade of experience serving children and families from diverse backgrounds, Dr. Lexie brings specialized training across multiple evidence-based approaches:

Parent and Family Interventions:

• Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC)

• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)

• Parent Management Training (PMT)

Child-Focused Interventions:

• Comprehensive psychodiagnostic assessment

• Anxiety, mood, and behavioral treatment (Unified Protocol, Coping Cat, Exposure and Response Prevention)

Specialized Training and Collaboration: Dr. Lexie has trained directly with internationally recognized leaders in the field, including Dr. Mary Dozier (attachment and trauma-informed interventions) and Dr. Darius Tandon (perinatal and maternal mental health). These collaborations with leading researchers ensures her practice incorporates cutting-edge, scientifically-validated approaches.

Her clinical insight—recognizing that parents' mental health often becomes secondary when seeking help for their children—drives her comprehensive approach to family wellness at Secure Start.

Dr. Lexie serves as Assistant Professor and Team Scientist in the Department of Medical Social Sciences and Center for Community Health at Northwestern University. Her research employs a innovative two-generation approach, simultaneously examining both parent and child outcomes to enhance family well-being through targeted prevention and intervention programs.

Research Focus Areas:

• Sensitive and responsive parenting as a protective factor in child development

• Secure attachment relationships and their impact on family resilience

• Health equity and intervention effectiveness with marginalized and underserved populations

• Neurobiological impacts of early caregiving relationships on infant and child brain development

Academic Impact: Dr. Lexie has established herself as a rising leader in developmental science, with an extensive publication record in top-tier journals and competitive research funding from the National Institutes of Health. Her dissertation research earned recognition through publication in Developmental Psychobiology and received a distinguished paper award.

Her research directly informs her clinical approach at Secure Start, ensuring that families benefit from the most current scientific understanding of child development and family dynamics.

A.B., University of Chicago, 2012

M.S., Villanova University, 2016

PhD, University of Delaware, 2021

Internship/Residency, University of Illinois Chicago 2021-2022

T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Illinois Chicago, 2022-2023

Originally from Pennsylvania, Dr. Lexie now calls Evanston home, where she lives with her husband, baby, and three cats. She enjoys practicing yoga, taking walks along Lake Michigan, and gaming.

Dr. Lexie brings personal insight to her work as a white, cisgender Jewish woman navigating life with chronic illness and a larger body. These experiences deepen her understanding of the complex realities families face and inform her commitment to creating inclusive, accessible care for all families, regardless of background or circumstances.

Her own journey through parenthood while managing professional demands gives her firsthand appreciation for the challenges parents encounter when trying to balance their own well-being with their children's needs.