Dr. Clay Cook holds the John and Nancy Peyton Endowed Chair in Child and Adolescent Wellbeing at the University of Minnesota and is a Professor of Educational Psychology in the College of Education and Human Development. He has extensive research and practical experiences involving the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support to promote children's social, emotional, and behavioral wellbeing as the foundation for academic and life success.

He co-founded the School Mental Health Assessment, Research and Training (SMART) Center at the University of Washington and is a core faculty member who helps direct the Institute of Translational Research in Children's Mental Health at the University of Minnesota. He has received over 12 million dollars in external grant funding from multiple agencies and foundations to conduct research on educational program and practices that promote student social, emotional, and behavioral competencies. In addition to his research, he consults with several school systems throughout the US to integrate a continuum of social, emotional, and behavioral supports to enhance student academic and life success.