Karen Peifer, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Karen Peifer, Ph.D., M.P.H., RN, became the program evaluation coordinator for the San Mateo County Prenatal To Three Initiative soon after finishing her doctorate in public health from the University of California at Berkeley. The Prenatal To Three Initiative is one of the premier multidisciplinary home visitation programs in the state of California that serves high- and moderate-risk low-income families. She directed and coordinated the evaluation efforts of this program. It is from this experience that she started working with Linda Wollesen on the Life Skills Progression (LSP) instrument and the writing of this book. She has taught nursing students at San Jose State University and has taught research methods to students in its Justice Studies Department. Currently, she is teaching graduate student nurses at the University of Colorado in Denver. Her research interests continue to be the social and emotional development of young children and the advancement of nursing in the field of infant mental health.