Western Washington University

08/19/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/19/2026 13:13

BRAIN Studio set to launch this fall with executive functioning support for students

BRAIN Studio set to launch this fall with executive functioning support for students

The pilot program will offer three levels of support to students

August 19, 2026

By Mary Gallagher

University Communications

Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Professor Kelli Evans is building on her research work in language, cognition and brain function to offer executive functioning support to Western Washington University students.

Evans has devoted a portion of her research lab to the BRAIN Studio (Building Regulation, Awareness, Initiation and Neuroplasticity) to serve students who would benefit from support with planning, prioritizing competing demands, getting started with assignments and other management tasks.

"My clinical and professional academic training has been in traumatic brain injury, and I have moved into the area of executive function more generally, not just in brain injury," Evans said. "I started a clinic last year to serve Western students who have executive function support needs, and it just sort of blossomed."

Beginning fall quarter, the BRAIN Studio will be open Monday afternoons from 2 to 6 p.m. with graduate clinicians and trained undergraduate peer mentors. The studio will operate on a pilot basis with limited appointments at first, and Evans hopes the studio hours will grow if funding allows.

Students will find three levels of support at the BRAIN Studio:

  • BRAIN Core: Weekly small group sessions with speech-language-pathology graduate clinicians sharing executive functioning strategies.
  • BRAIN Boost: Short drop-in sessions with undergraduate peer leaders working with students on a specific topic or project.
  • BRAIN Space: A monthly peer support group for sharing experiences and connections with other students.

All services are free and no diagnosis is required. Students can sign up by filling out the BRAIN Studio Registration and Interest Form.

The BRAIN Studio is a service-oriented wing of Evans's Executive Function and Communications Lab. Evans's clinical and academic training is in helping people recover from traumatic brain injury, and rebuilding executive function skills is often part of that recovery.

With growing awareness of the needs of people with autism, ADHD and other neurodiverse conditions, interest is also expanding in support for executive functioning skills.

Other offices on campus help students with executive functioning and study skills issues, but Evans brings a clinical, rehabilitation-oriented approach, she said.

"We all know the same things, but we come at them from different perspectives," she said.

Evans is working with campus partners like the Counseling and Wellness Center, the Disability Access Center and the Student Health Center who have referred students to the clinic. But students don't need a referral to visit the clinic, Evans said.

"The Western students that have come through this program have been so interesting, creative and engaged," Evans said. "It's been so joyful and fulfilling to watch everybody grow each quarter. I'm really excited to just continue that."

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