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W. Carl Sumi

Senior Education Researcher

W. Carl Sumi, Ph.D., co-directs the National Behavior Research Coordination Center, which supports randomized trials being conducted by four university partners to build the evidence base for interventions designed to improve the behavior and academic achievement of young students with severe emotional and behavior disorders. Dr. Sumi also is the co-principal investigator of the National Effectiveness Study of First Step to Success, a large-scale, randomized-control trial of the First Step to Success intervention. He is a certified reviewer for the What Works Clearinghouse and has participated as a data analyst for the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2.

Dr. Sumi has worked with families and children with emotional and behavioral disabilities in a variety of capacities, from direct service in the classroom to research and statewide policy development in the fields of education and mental health. He is the author or coauthor of numerous articles, monographs, and presentations on research and evaluation in systems of care, intervention strategies, and long-term outcomes for children with severe emotional and behavioral disturbances.

Before joining SRI, Dr. Sumi was the behavior specialist for the State of Hawaii, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division. His primary responsibilities included providing statewide consultation and training on evidence-based interventions, positive behavior interventions and supports, functional behavioral assessments, and individualized behavior intervention plans to education and mental health professionals who provided a wide range of services to families and children with emotional and behavioral disabilities.

Dr. Sumi received his Ph.D. in special education from the University of South Florida, Tampa, while working at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute.