Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus, Ph.D.

Dr. Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus is the co-founder and executive director of The UCLA Family Commons and the Global Center for Children and Families, as well as serving as our Chief Scientist. She is the Bat-Yaacov Professor in Child Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA and is one of the country’s leading research psychologists. Mary Jane has spent the past 30 years using her scientific expertise in innovative ways to improve the lives of children and families. Her lifelong dedication to children’s well-being has inspired her to develop the first evidence-based social skills training programs for 3rd through 5th graders; work with adolescents at risk for substance abuse, HIV, homelessness, depression, suicide, and long-term unemployment; and design, evaluate and implement numerous landmark behavior change programs that support families in risky situations. Mary Jane loves to swim at California’s beautiful beaches and travel to exotic places, and she’s the mother of a grown daughter. She’s made peace with the fact that she feels better when her home is clean and welcoming, and having a housekeeper and gardener seems to be the only way to maintain that. She’s trying to change her habit of eating more ice cream than is good for her.