Introducing Jonathan Iris-Wilbanks, M.A., New Program Director/Lead for New Infant and Early Childhood Development Master’s Program 

Jonathan Iris-Wilbanks, MA

Fielding welcomes Jonathan Iris-Wilbanks as the Program Lead for developing two Infant and Early Childhood Development Master’s Programs (Child Life & Social Work). In his role, he will oversee these Master’s Programs under the IECD umbrella and work closely with the Infant, Child,  Family Mental Health and Development master’s program faculty/Lead.

“Throughout my career, my professional roles have centered on a theme of support and development,” he said. “From the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Lucile Packard Stanford Children’s Hospital to therapy rooms with young children and their families and supervision meetings with graduate students in their first clinical rotations, I have always focused on helping others identify their strengths and areas of growth. Through my clinical practice, I discovered a love of teaching and walking alongside students who were chasing their professional dreams and sharpening their knowledge and skills.

“Directing one of the nation’s finest and historical child life programs at Mills College, my alma mater, I had the opportunity to transform child life education through a new curriculum that pushed students to know themselves, develop strong understandings of trauma, and develop critical lenses of self-reflection. We charted new pathways and opportunities for students through partnerships with major pediatric institutions for research and clinical training. We focused on nurturing one-of-a-kind volunteer opportunities for our students in their communities to serve vulnerable populations of young children, such as at the nation’s first palliative and hospice care home for children. Through collaborative professor and director partnerships I built relationships across university programs to bridge the learning gaps between students in various degree pathways seeking differing clinical training outcomes. For the first time, infant mental health, early intervention, and child life students trained with future nurses and doctors to complete doula certification or participate in medical information courses taught by chief residents in our local hospitals. Our early childhood programs developed opportunities to share our programs with professionals and students at every stage of their journey through career fairs, guest speaking, and direct-to-student open houses to boost enrollment.

“My previous clinical and academic work has taught me that students deserve opportunities to learn alongside each other, share various perspectives, and to receive the care and support from their academic mentors toward their dreams. I’ve learned that trust, collaboration, and respect can help all members of an academic program find support and encouragement to continue innovating and succeeding together.”

Dr. Jenene W. Craig, Program Director for the IECD Ph.D. and master’s programs, extends her welcome to Jonathan Iris-Wilbanks. “As the Program Director for the IECD Ph.D. and master’s programs, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to the newest staff member of the IECD programs. Jonathan Iris-Wilbanks joins us with a master’s degree in counseling psychology and is a certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS). Jonathan will be serving IECD as the Program Lead for the development of a Child Life Specialist (CLS) master’s program expected to start SU25 and the development of an anticipated master’s in social work (MSW) program. Jonathan will additionally work closely with the IECD ICFMHD master’s program lead. Jonathan serves as a valuable member of the team in this capacity! Welcome, Jonathan!” 

About Jonathan Iris-Wilbanks

Jonathan has worked with children, families, and students for over 25 years. From summer camps to pediatric intensive care units and therapy rooms, his work is guided by a basic principle: Children have rich inner lives and deserve to be listened to, as well as treated with dignity and respect. He’s worked alongside students in clinical and academic settings to help them unlock their professional capabilities and dream big for their future careers. Along with his work with hospitalized children as a Child Life Specialist, he has also served as the Director of the Mills College at Northeastern Child Life Graduate Program and the Executive Director of the oldest Pediatric Cardiac Heart Surgery Camp, The Madden Open Hearts Camp.

He earned Graduate degrees in Education and Counseling Psychology from Mills College and The Wright Institute. He takes pride in educating future professionals and building collaborative relationships with all stakeholders of academic programs to advance common goals. His core belief in academia is: at the end of the day, we educate folks to support young children and their families through trusting therapeutic relationships and to find fulfillment and purpose in their career. We do this through our own modeling and support.