Digital Media and Marketing
“I’m so grateful to have spent the past few years growing with the San Diego Kids First team. I’m passionate about this amazing organization and am inspired by each clinician’s hard work and dedication. I’m excited to continue working alongside Dr. Pontillo and the SDKF team, supporting our community outreach efforts to help provide the highest level of care for each of our families”
Brooke is a dedicated and compassionate doctoral student specializing in child and family psychology. She obtained her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Alliant International University, where she is also pursuing her doctoral degree. Brooke also holds a dual Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Psychology from the University of California, Davis.
Brooke began working with San Diego Kids First in 2020 as the clinic coordinator, where she gained valuable experience supporting families and managing day-to-day operations. Her passion for the work led her to pursue formal clinical training at SDKF, where she completed two years of hands-on practicum experience under the direct supervision of Dr. Deborah Pontillo. During her time as a practicum student, Brooke received in-depth training in developmental, psychological, and academic assessment for children and adolescents, as well as collaborative consultation with caregivers and multidisciplinary providers.
Brooke is currently completing her APA-accredited internship at Western Youth Services in Orange County, a community mental health agency offering trauma-informed and culturally responsive services to youth and families.
Today, Brooke continues her involvement with San Diego Kids First through her role in digital media and marketing, helping to expand the clinic’s outreach and share accessible, evidence-based resources with the community.
In her free time, Brooke enjoys going to the beach, listening to podcasts, exercising, and traveling.
What Others Say About Us
Dr. Pontillo is an exceptional, and one-of-a-kind child psychologist. I have referred many children of my patients to Dr. Pontillo and she has always given them the best care and attention. Referring a patient to another professional is a big responsibility. I always look for a colleague who is efficient, professional, experienced and one who is able to come up with a clear diagnosis. I keep referring to Dr. Pontillo because of her expertise, efficiency and especially her warm and caring personality that is extremely necessary when dealing with children. I very highly recommend Deborah Pontillo, Ph.D as a child diagnostician, developmental and behavioral specialist, and therapist.
I am a general pediatrician with a special interest in ADHD, spending about 20% of my clinical time caring for ADHD patients. I have known Dr Pontillo since 2005 and have an enormous respect for her clinical skills and insights. She is my “go to” psychologist for more complicated developmental issues and for diagnosis of subtle high functioning disabilities. Dr. Pontillo’s interest in her patients and her ability to clearly delineate developmental problems allows parents to move forward with establishing a treatment plan. She is an invaluable resource to the San Diego Pediatric community.
I’ve been referring my patients to Dr. Pontillo for the past several years with the utmost confidence that she will care and understand their developmental needs. Dr. Pontillo always provided them with a balanced and age appropriate intervention to help not only the child but the family as a whole.