Nina A. Murphy, PsyD, is a practicing school psychologist in Three Village Central School District, adjunct professor at St. Joseph’s College, and Senior Consulting and Field Expert at the Social-Emotional and Character Development (SECD) Lab at Rutgers University. Dr. Murphy has had a commitment to supporting positive youth development since she can remember but learned, during her graduate work at Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology and in the SECD Lab that this passion was targeted in helping youth develop positive character and purpose. She worked as a consultant in an urban school, opening her eyes to the intricacies of systems-level work and the importance of collaborative change.
Dr. Murphy has worked as a school psychologist for Grades K through 12 and feels inspired each day by the potential of her students to be the leaders of the future. Whether facilitating groups, individually counseling, consulting with teachers, coaching parents, or engaging in committee discussions, Dr. Murphy embeds her passion for social-emotional learning and development within each part of her work. At St. Joseph’s College, she teaches classes based on adolescent development and personality, which align with her passion for supporting student growth.
Dr. Murphy’s research targets youth leadership, self-efficacy, perseverance of effort, and student voice. She has trained teachers, administrators, and fellow psychologists in social-emotional curricula, embedding behavioral, emotional, and social competence into multitiered systems of supports and formulating social-emotional character development plans. Dr. Murphy has presented at conferences such as the National Association for School Psychology and APA Division 36 (Religion and Spirituality). She has been published in professional journals such as The Middle School Journal and Evaluation and Program Planning, highlighting a preventive youth leadership “Ambassador” program and the importance of preparing youth for social action. With experience in training youth leaders and supporting the implementation of social-emotional curricula, she is committed to ensuring youth establish positive character skills through programming and intentional, coordinated school supports.
