Kelley Gavel

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT KELLEY GAVEL

Kelley Gavel, MS, NCC, CCLS is currently a Certified Child Life Specialist at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Gavel completed her child life internship at Penn State Health Children\'s Hospital in their child life department after completing her graduate degrees at The University of Pittsburgh. She completed her first masters in Applied Developmental Psychology with a concentration is in Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) and Child Life in 2020. Gavel completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education at The Pennsylvania State University where she earned a nomination of Student Teacher of the Year in 2017. From 2017 to 2018, Gavel taught 5th grade in Galway, Ireland and elementary gifted students in Central Bucks School District located in Doylestown, PA. After careful career consideration and direction, prompted by inspiration and medical personnel at the Double H Ranch, a summer camp designed for children with chronic or life threatening illnesses, where Gavel worked as the Aquatics Director, Gavel decided to leave the classroom and pursue a career in healthcare. Gavel has interned with a Pittsburgh based non-profit, Connecting Champions, primarily working with children undergoing and in remission from cancer. Gavel completed her second masters degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 2021 in Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling with a focus in pediatrics. She looks forward to practicing as both a Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) and in the future as a licensed professional counselor (LPC) with child life practices at the focus of her treatment plans.