YoCo Staff

IU School of Medicine

We are adult partners who work alongside the YoCo members to help assist in meeting the members identified needs and host the monthly meetings. We also engage in mental health and substance use advocacy, research, clinical practice, and policy, as well as partner with others in the community focused on youth mental health and substance use initiatives. Please see our profiles below!

Director

Dr. Tamika Zapolski

tzapolsk@iu.edu

Dr. Zapolski is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine, with a dual appointment in the Department of Psychology at Indiana University - Indianapolis. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Kentucky in 2013 and completed her clinical internship at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Her research focuses on risk for substance use and other health behaviors among racial/ethnic minority youth and young adults, particularly Black youth and young adults.

Dr. Zapolski is the director of Community Engagement within the BHP, as well as the director of the Youth Coalition, a youth-led program aimed at providing leadership and training opportunities for youth aged 13-18 in the Indianapolis area.

Assistant Director

Jala Nolen

janolen@iu.edu

Jala is the Assistant Director of YoCo and a Clinical Research Specialist with the PRISM lab. She works on community engagement research including the youth coalition which engages youth aged 13-18 in mental health research and community-based projects. Her research interests include culturally-grounded interventions for mental health and substance use concerns.

Jala attended Indiana University Indianapolis where she earned a degree in Psychology.