December 2012
Detrina Crawley ’11, an M.S. in Psychology graduate and M.S. in Mental Health Counseling student, recently received the 2012 Robert E. Shepherd Jr. Professional Development Scholarship from the Virginia Juvenile Justice Association in recognition of her continued pursuit of education. Crawley is a transitional parole officer for the Thirteenth District Court Service Unit in Richmond.
November 2012
Dr. Linford Pierson ’12, a Ph.D. in Psychology graduate, presented his dissertation Working Memory Training to Improve School Preparedness of Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder during an October event in George Town, Cayman Islands, to Rolston Anglin, minister of education, and Roy Bodden, president of the University College of the Cayman Islands. Dr. Pierson previously served as the speaker of the Cayman Islands’ Legislative Assembly, 2003–2005; the director of finance for Cayman Airways; and as the principal secretary for health, education, and social services for the Cayman Islands Civil Service.
October 2012
Joanne Souza ’09, an M.S. in Psychology graduate and a Ph.D. in Psychology student, co-authored “Ultimate Causation in Evolved Human Political Psychology: Implications for Public Policy” in the Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology (Vol. 6, Issue 3).
July 2012
Dr. Molly Barrow ’98, a Ph.D. in Psychology graduate, attended Give an Hour’s 2012 Inaugural Gala in May at the Mandarin Oriental in Washington, D.C., to give an hour of free mental health therapy to U.S. troops and their families. Dr. Barrow currently works with the Department of Defense to provide a new, noninvasive treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
June 2012
Gloria Fowles ’12, a B.S. in Psychology graduate best known as pop music legend Gloria Gaynor, plans to open a center to benefit teenage parents in mid-2013.
March 2012
Dr. Darcel Harris ’10, a Ph.D. in Psychology graduate, was featured in the video and article “A Woman’s Calling to Change Young Lives” in the Westminster Patch (Jan. 25, 2012), detailing her work for Wee Can Help, an after-school program for preschool through middle-school students she launched in 1992 to provide tutoring and emphasize problem-solving and communication skills.
Dr. Christine Feeley ’09, a Ph.D. in Psychology graduate, was named the 2011 Adjunct Professor of the Year in Psychology at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y. She also recently published “Athletic Involvement: An Increased Risk for Developing an Eating Disorder” in the Nassau Community College’s Journal of the Social and Behavioral Sciences.
February 2012
Michelle J. Watson ’07, a Ph.D. in Psychology graduate, co-authored “Self-Forgiveness in Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa” in the journal Eating Disorders (January 2012). The study investigated the extent to which low levels of self-forgiveness were associated with eating disorder symptomatology.
January 2012
Joanne Souza ’09, an M.S. in Psychology graduate and a Ph.D. in Psychology student, was interviewed on BlogTalkRadio about her dissertation, The Impact of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising on Health Seeking Behavior for Depressive Symptoms (Nov. 22, 2011). Souza is a recipient of Walden’s 2010 Fellowship in Research and Applications for Social Change for her investigation of how drug company advertising influences consumers as they pursue treatment.
Sandy Maynard ’06, an M.S. in Psychology graduate, was a guest on Attention Talk Radio for its episode, “ADHD: Go Ahead, Make a Mess!” Maynard discussed how visual learners with ADHD think and perform best.
November 2011
Dr. Mekonnen H. Birru ’11, an M.S. in Psychology and Ph.D. in Psychology graduate, wrote Deep in True Self: Where You Find Purpose and Joy in Life (CreateSpace, 2011), a self-help book loaded with insightful questions to teach readers to discover their authentic personalities. Dr. Birru is a clinical director at Health Corporation of America in Houston.
October 2011
Dr. Jamie Kenney ’10, an M.S. in Psychology and Ph.D. in Psychology graduate, received her license to practice as a psychologist in the state of Colorado in July. Dr. Kenney is a psychologist for Larimer Center for Mental Health, has a part-time practice providing social skills training to people with autism spectrum disorders and consultation to their caregivers, and is a faculty affiliate at Metropolitan State College of Denver.
Dr. Terry R. Tinsley ’10, a Ph.D. in Psychology graduate, was appointed by Gov. Robert McDonnell to the Virginia Board of Counseling in July. Dr. Tinsley is director of clinical services for Youth for Tomorrow in Bristow, Va. Youth for Tomorrow provides counseling, education, and housing for at-risk youth.
Michael W. Hubbell ’09, an M.S. in Psychology graduate, published his third book, The Fundamentals of Nuclear Power Generation (AuthorHouse, 2011). Hubbell recently joined the faculty of the College of Southern Maryland as a nuclear technical training instructor.
August 2011
Dr. Celeste H. Bryson ’10, a Ph.D. in Psychology graduate, is now in private practice with two other psychologists and recently became a mental health director for MHM Services, where she oversees two other psychologists and master’s-level mental health clinicians at the largest correctional institution in Delaware.
Dr. Michael A. Verro ’09, a Ph.D. in Psychology graduate and program director of Criminal Justice at Excelsior College in Albany, N.Y., presented his dissertation research at the Criminal Justice Educators Association of New York State conference in 2010 and was invited to present at the Northeast Association of Criminal Justice Sciences conference in Rhode Island.
April 2011
Dr. Stacey A. Anderson ’07, a Ph.D. in Psychology graduate, authored the article “Effect of Music on Reading Comprehension of Junior High Students,” in School Psychology Quarterly (September 2010).
March 2011
Dr. Shantay Bolton ’10 and Dr. Darcel Harris ’10, Ph.D. in Psychology graduates, will co-present “Restructuring the Graduate Student’s Experience Through Diversity: A Multifaceted Approach” at the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education conference in Atlanta, March 30–April 2, 2011.
Dr. Terry Overton ’10, a Ph.D. in Psychology graduate, was named the dean of University College at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.
Dr. Billy Kidd ’09, a Ph.D. in Psychology graduate, was cited in the March 2011 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine (“For Keeps,” p. 128) for his insights on marriage, including mention of his book, Low Stress Romance (BookSurge Publishing, 2009).
Diane Zanetti ’06, an M.S. in Psychology graduate, was named executive director of Turning Point of Lehigh Valley, an organization committed to ending domestic violence.
December 2010
Joanne Souza ’08, who earned an M.S. in Psychology, co-authored Death from a Distance and the Birth of a Humane Universe: Human Evolution, Behavior, History, and Your Future (BookSurge Publishing, 2009).
November 2010
Dr. Billy Kidd ’09, who earned a Ph.D. in Psychology, was interviewed by Dr. Beth Erickson on WebTalkRadio.net about his book, Low Stress Romance (BookSurge Publishing, 2009).
October 2010
Dr. Lisa Lamb ’10, who earned a Ph.D. in Psychology, was presented with a proclamation from the mayor of North Las Vegas, Nev., declaring August 14, 2010, as a day in her honor acknowledging her lifelong learning, her efforts as an administrator in the Clark County School District, and her goal to open a comprehensive counseling facility.
Dr. Jonna Cooley ’09, who earned a Ph.D. in Psychology, co-presented “Contact Theory and Attitudes Toward Gay Men and Lesbians” at the 118th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association.
July 2010
Dr. Joanne DeVeaugh-Geiss ’10, who earned a Ph.D. in Psychology, co-authored “Feasibility and Diagnostic Validity of the M-3 Checklist: A Brief, Self-Rated Screen for Depressive, Bipolar, Anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders in Primary Care” in the Annals of Family Medicine (2010: Vol. 8, Issue 2). In June 2010, DeVeaugh-Geiss—who serves as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s Department of Psychology—presented a poster at NCDEU, a meeting co-sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health and the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology in Boca Raton, Fla.
March 2010
Dr. Molly Barrow ’98, who earned a Ph.D. in Psychology, has authored Malia and Teacup Awesome African Adventure and Malia and Teacup Out on a Limb. These self-esteem books for young readers have been nominated for the 2010 Sunshine State Young Readers’ Award.
January 2010
Dr. Leslie Capehart ’00, who earned a Ph.D. in Psychology, is the vice president of Missions Frontier, a nonprofit organization that focuses on leadership and economic development in Guatemala. Capehart has served the indigenous Mayan population in Chichicastenango, Guatemala, since 2003.
November 2009
Dr. Erica King ’09, who earned a Ph.D. in Psychology with a specialization in Health Psychology, currently works as the director of Little Hands Therapy, LLC, based in Avondale, Ariz. Her future plans include expanding her free Internet-based stress management program to include working and stay-at-home moms and businesses in the West Valley that are interested in easily improving their overall health and well-being.
Dr. Wilfredo Nieves ’04, who earned a Ph.D. in Psychology, was hired by Webster University in St. Petersburg, Fla., to be their statewide counseling coordinator. He is a qualified Florida state supervisor for clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, and mental health counseling. He also serves as a psychologist for the federal government’s Disaster Medical Assistance Team.
September 2009
Trista Dunsmoor ’08, who earned an M.S. in Psychology, is now the outreach services coordinator for Kilian Community College in Sioux Falls, S.D.
July 2009
Dr. Frank Wood ’07, who earned a Ph.D. in Psychology with a specialization in Clinical Psychology (Licensure), is slated to become a licensed psychologist in Ohio. In addition, Wood is working on two notable collaborations. The first involves crafting a modification of the traditional functional behavioral assessment that will emphasize rewarding adaptive behaviors in concert with efforts to extinct maladaptive behaviors. The second collaboration is with Ted Wiard and Golden Willow Retreat, an organization that serves people dealing with grief and loss. They offer grief support groups, retreats, and training and education on grief.
Dr. Austin Lane ’03, who earned a Ph.D. in Psychology, has been appointed to serve as the next president of Lone Star College–Montgomery. Lane has been vice president for student affairs at Tyler Junior College, Tyler, Texas, since November 2005.