Jeffrey Vanderploeg, Ph.D. has been announced as the Child Health and Development Institute’s (CHDI) new president and CEO. The Connecticut-based institute was first created and funded by the Children’s Fund of Connecticut in 1997. It officially became a subsidiary of the Children’s Fund in 2002, although it retained its independent nonprofit status. Having joined CHDI in 2009, Vanderploeg first served the institute as associate director at its Connecticut Center for Effective Practice and then went on to become vice president for mental health. In this position he was instrumental in developing the basis for Connecticut’s current children’s mental health plan. While working at CHDI, Dr. Vanderploeg has also conducted research and taught as an assistant clinical professor at the Yale University School of Medicine since 2004.
His own education includes a bachelor of arts in psychology from Calvin College and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Bowling Green State University. He completed his predoctoral training at Yale University and then his postdoctoral work there as well during his tenure as an assistant clinical professor. Since 2009, Dr. Vanderploeg has also been the owner of J.P. Behavioral Health Consulting, LLC, a firm which specializes in advising children’s mental health and juvenile justice service systems. Additionally, he serves on the Behavioral Health Plan Implementation Advisory Board and co-chairs the Quality, Access and Policy Subcommittee of the Connecticut Behavioral Health Partnership. CHDI’s board approved his appointment as its second president and CEO effective Oct. 1, 2017. Dr. Jeffrey Vanderploeg, Ph.D. succeeds longtime president and CEO Judith Meyers, who has led the Child Health and Development Institute since it officially began operations in 1999.
