Matia Finn-Stevenson

Matia Finn-Stevenson is a Researcher at the Child Study Center within Yale School of Medicine. She serves as Associate Director of the Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy and Director of the School of the 21st Century. Her work focuses on integrating school-based childcare, family support, and socio-emotional learning through initiatives like the Mutt-i-grees Curriculum, which leverages human-animal interaction to enhance child development.

• PhD in Child Development, Ohio State University (1978)
• Advisor to White House Office of Policy Development and Connecticut legislature

Her research spans Education, Psychiatry, and Social Policy, examining demographic impacts on schools, brain development, and curriculum design. Current projects include studying pets' role in children's mental health and scaling the School of the 21st Century model across 1,300+ schools.

Recent publications emphasize Animal-Assisted Therapy in mental health, Brain Development policies, and Early Childhood Interventions. She collaborates extensively with Edward Zigler and works with state/federal policymakers.