Dr. Tara Raines joined the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health in 2025 as Senior Director for Child Behavioral Health Dissemination. She brings more than two decades of experience in children’s mental health, education, and policy, with a career spanning academia, nonprofit leadership, and statewide advocacy.
Before coming to the Ballmer Institute, Dr. Raines served as Deputy Director of the Children’s Advocacy Alliance of Nevada, where she advanced policies to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and families. She previously held faculty appointments at the University of Denver, where she was the Director of Clinical Training in the Child, Family, and School Psychology program, and at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her research has focused on the early identification of behavioral and emotional disorders, school-based pathways to incarceration, and building equitable, culturally responsive systems of care.
Dr. Raines earned her Ph.D. in School Psychology from Georgia State University, along with earlier degrees in special education and school psychology from Florida State University and Nova Southeastern University. Recognized nationally for her leadership, she has received honors from the National Association of School Psychologists and the American Psychological Association, and received the honor of Citizen of the Month by the City of Las Vegas in 2024 for her work in children’s mental health.