Lexi Bird is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program. She graduated in 2019 from Viterbo University in Wisconsin with a B.S. in Psychology and minors in Ethics and Family Studies. During her undergraduate career, she received a summer research fellowship to study the effects of empathy on increasing children’s connection with nature. She also interned at Partners in Excellence, an autism therapy center, as a behavior therapist aide. Currently, she is a School Psychology Program Assistant and a Research Assistant for Dr. Woods. Email: alexis.bird@uky.edu
Jessica Blake is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program. She graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2020 with a B.A. in Psychology. During her undergraduate career, she worked in Dr. Peggy Keller’s Family and Child Development Lab. Additionally, she worked in Dr. Pooja Sidney’s Cognition and Development Lab, where she completed a senior honors thesis examining the effects of different problem contexts on children’s understanding of division. As a graduate student, she is interested in ability grouping within the classroom and how this can affect children’s self-efficacy. Currently, she is a Teaching Assistant in the Psychology Department. Email: jessica.blake@uky.edu
Destiny Coleman is a second year doctoral student in the School Psychology program. She graduated in 2021 from the University of Kentucky with a B.A in Psychology and Family Sciences. Her current research interest broadly focuses on how early childhood adversity can impact students’ relationships and ability to learn in the classroom. In addition, she is interested in strategies and interventions that support the social skill development for students with Autism. Destiny is also a recipient of the Lyman T. Johnson Fellowship for the second academic term.
Email: destiny.coleman@uky.edu
Sara Ebner is a doctoral student in the School Psychology PhD program. She graduated with her B.A. in Neuroscience and Neuropsychology from the University of Cincinnati in 2016 and her M.A. in Applied Psychology from the University of Cincinnati in 2017. During her graduate career, she worked in the Laboratory for Cognitive and Affective Neuropsychology researching the neuropsychology of cognitive-emotion interactions and learning across the lifespan. Through this research she completed her thesis examining affective contributions to key reading skills in learning-disabled adults. After graduating she worked as a School Psychologist Assistant from 2017 to 2019 at various Cincinnati charter schools. Her current research interests include exploring the scope of why minority and underprivileged students develop learning disorders from a physiological, emotional, and environmental perspective, examining the impact that emotions and behavioral disturbances have on learning disabilities, and developing targeted interventions to remedy these difficulties when given limited resources. Email: saraebner@uky.edu
Jordan Findley is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program. She graduated from the University of Kentucky with a B.S. in Psychology. During her undergraduate career she worked in a developmental lab studying infants’ processing of emotional body language. She additionally worked in the P20 Motivation and Learning Lab where she assisted a scale development project looking to measure teacher self-efficacy when teaching students with autism. Her current research interests are in intervention strategies for students with ASD and supports for parents and teachers of students with ASD. Email: jordan.findley@uky.edu
Sarah Glenn Insko is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program. She graduated from Centre College in 2022 with a B.S. in Psychology, where she worked with Dr. Jan Wertz to study different support systems for transgender and gender diverse individuals. She also interned at a bilingual school in Merida, Mexico, and mentored students learning English in the Danville Independent School District. As a graduate student, she is interested in studying early intervention and institutional support for minority and multilingual students. Currently, she is a Teaching Assistant in the Psychology Department. Email: sarahglenn.insko@uky.edu
Mona Goggins is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program from Indianapolis, Indiana. While in Indiana, Mona obtained her B.S. in Psychological Science and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) at Ball State University in 2021. She also was able to work in the Personality and Psychopathology Lab at Ball State where she further developed her passion for underserved populations and their performance in different assessments. In graduate school, Mona hopes to dig deeper into the science of ABA and learn how to provide equitable services in schools. Email: monagoggins@uky.edu Twitter: @mkgoggins
Rachel Jacob is a doctoral student in the School Psychology PhD program. She graduated cum laude from Binghamton University in New York with a B.A. in Psychology. During her undergraduate career, she worked in a clinical psychology lab studying schizotypal personalities. After graduation she worked as a teacher’s assistant in a school for children with special needs. Her current research interests focus on the validity of measuring the intelligence of children with autism spectrum disorders. Email: Rachel.jacob@uky.edu
Julie Coy Martinez (she/her) is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program. She graduated in 2022 from the University of Kentucky with a B.A. in Psychology and minor in English. During her undergraduate career she became a University of Kentucky Women’s Club Scholarship recipient and was a research assistant in Dr. Christia Spears Brown Social Inequality in Development Research lab exploring Latino Students perception of teacher discrimination and its relationship with academic belonging and achievement. Email: julie.martinez@uky.edu
Maggie Richardson is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program. She graduated from West Virginia University with a B.A. and M.A. in Education. She completed her master’s thesis on mindfulness and its impact on reading comprehension for neurodiverse students. After graduating, Maggie taught in both the general and special education setting. Her most recent role was in Sayre School’s Academic Services department where she was a Learning Specialist for middle and upper school students. Currently, Maggie is a Graduate Assistant at the UK’s Disability Resource Center. Her research interests include motivation, behavior regulation, and mental health especially in ASD and ADHD populations. Email: maggie.richardson@uky.edu
Photo coming soon!
Clair Tischner is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program. She graduated from Northern Kentucky University in 2017 with a B.A. in Psychology. After graduating she worked as a clinical research coordinator on various research studies examining attention-deficit\hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sluggish cognitive tempo, and sleep in children and adolescents. Her current research interests focus on early intervention strategies and risk and resiliency in correlation to academic success. Email: clair.tischner@uky.edu
Lizeth Tomas is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program. She graduated in 2017 from the University of Central Arkansas with a B.A. in Psychology. During her undergraduate career, she worked in two research labs as an assistant to the Behavioral and Social Decisions Lab and as a mentor to court-ordered juveniles for a research study focused on career exploration, as well as an intern at the Faulkner County Juvenile Court in Arkansas. After graduating Lizeth began working as a Mental Health Paraprofessional at a youth residential day school. Later, Lizeth moved to San Diego where she worked as an ABA therapist for children with ASD and a High School Academic Advisor for the Chula Vista Promise Neighborhoods, a grant under the Department of Education. Email: Lizeth.Tomas@uky.edu
Madison Yee is a fourth year doctoral student in the School Psychology program. She graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2017 with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience. During her undergraduate career she worked in Dr. Rachel Farr’s Developmental Psychology Laboratory as well as Dr. Nathan DeWall’s Social Neuropsychology Laboratory, where she studied the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on motivation. In addition to academics, Madison was a member of the University of Kentucky’s Cheerleading program from 2013-2017. More recently, Madison was a Research Assistant in Dr. Lisa Ruble’s autism focused lab. Currently Madison is a member of Dr. Isaac Woods’ laboratory and is a Teaching Assistant for the Psychology Department. Her research interests focus on early intervention and early identification for students with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Email: madison.yee@uky.edu
Lauren Zahrn is a doctoral student in the School Psychology program. She graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2020 with a B.A. in Psychology and Spanish, and a Certificate in Social Science Research. During her undergraduate career, she was a research assistant in Dr. Ellen Usher’s P20 Motivation and Learning Lab. Additionally, she served as the Lab Manager for Dr. Pooja Sidney’s Cognition and Development Lab. During her time working with Dr. Sidney, Lauren completed a senior honors thesis exploring brief interventions for math anxiety in undergraduates. Current research and learning interests include neurodevelopmental conditions, specifically autism, and how to best support learning and behavioral differences across the lifespan. Email: lauren.zahrn@uky.edu
Specialist Students in School Psychology
Emily Alfaras is a first-year Ed.S. student in the School Psychology program. She is from Marietta, Georgia and graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2021 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Child and Family Studies. During her undergraduate career she worked in research labs focused on infant development and couples interventions. Her research interests include developmental disabilities and family dynamics. Emily is currently a Teaching Assistant within the Psychology Department. Email: emily.alfaras@uky.edu
Brie Alsip is an Ed.S. student in the School Psychology program. She is from Owensboro, Kentucky and graduated from Transylvania University in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Education and Social Change. Brie has worked at Skaggs Psychological Services as an administrative assistant, helping administer and score psychological assessments alongside therapists in the office. Previous research topics include social media’s effects on adolescents and the implementation of trauma-informed care in schools. Email: brienna.alsip@uky.edu
Alicia Boone is an Ed.S. student in the School Psychology program and currently serves as a Graduate Assistant for UK’s Student Center, where she co-leads a team of around 60 student employees. She graduated from UK in 2017 with a B.A. in Psychology and, in her undergraduate, worked with Dr. Ellen Usher as a first-author on several projects, including her thesis. As a graduate student, she is interested in the complex relationships among developmental disabilities and student success both in and out of the classroom. Email: aliciaboone2@gmail.com
Aaron Brooking is an Ed.S. student in the School Psychology Program. He is from Crestwood, KY and received his B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Religious Studies from the University of Louisville in 2021. As an undergraduate, Aaron worked as the Chieftain of student researchers for Dr. David Simpson and Dr. Sandra Sephton’s Human-Canine Dynamics Lab. The HCD Lab explored potential mental health benefits of canine companions in the college setting. Aaron was able to give presentations at two formal research conferences as well as successfully defend an honors senior thesis based on the lab’s research. Aaron is a scholar for the ABA RESPECT Grant at UK, where ABA and School Psychology students collaborate on real-world problem behavior cases. Email: asbr240@uky.edu
Julia Decre is a first-year Ed.S. student in the School Psychology program. She is from Elkridge, Maryland and graduated from the University of Kentucky summa cum laude in 2019 with a B.A. in psychology and a minor in studio art. After graduating she worked in the Fayette County Public School system as a counselor in an after-school program and as a substitute teacher. She is interested in how less traditional means of therapy (art and music therapies for example) can be utilized more widely in working with children with developmental disabilities. Email: jlde236@uky.edu
Chloe Hayes is an Ed.S in the school psychology program. She is from Reno, Nevada and graduated in 2021 from the University of Nevada, Reno with a B.A. in Psychology, and a B.A. in Spanish. While obtaining her undergraduate degrees, Chloe worked with children diagnosed with ASD as a Registered Behavior Technician. This Fall, Chloe will be a teaching assistant at the Early Childhood Lab. Her research interests include ABA and the correlation between anxiety and ASD. Email: chloehayes@uky.edu
Amelia Holloway is an Ed.S. student in the School Psychology program. She is currently a Teaching Assistant in the a Education department as an instructor for EDP 203. Amelia graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2014 with a B.A. in Spanish and a B.A. in Linguistics. Before rejoining the Big Blue Nation, Amelia was a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama, where she furthered her interest in working with students in a school setting. She is particularly interested in social justice within the school and how such factors affect students’ behavior in the classroom. Email: akho224@uky.edu
Megan Hurley is a first-year Ed.S. student in the School Psychology program. In May 2020, she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in psychology and a minor in Spanish from Eastern Kentucky University. She was a research assistant in a psychophysiological lab and with her mentor, Dr. Adam Lawson, completed a senior psychology thesis researching empathy and storytelling, and an honors thesis developing a paradigm for the measurement of cortisol. After graduation, she lived in Madrid, Spain, for two years where she worked as a teaching assistant in a bilingual public school and as an English teacher at a private language academy. For the 2022-2023 academic year, she is the Operations and Conduct Coordinator Graduate Assistant with the Office of Residence Life. Email: megan.hurley@uky.edu
Vivian Jeffries is an Ed.S student in the School Psychology program. She is from Radcliff, KY and graduated from the University of Kentucky in May 2020 with a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. During her undergraduate career, she worked along with Dr. Rachel Farr in her ongoing, successful research program called the Families, Adoption, and Diversity (FAD) Lab, which focus on family dynamics particularly among those with racial-ethnic, sexual, and minority identities as well as adoptive families. She is interested on how we can help children express and manage their own vulnerability, understand how their coping strategies vary across different cultures, and how we can properly intervene to support children that may suffer from a comorbidity. Email: vrje223@uky.edu. Website: https://vivianjeffries.wixsite.com/website
Yazmeine Johnson is an Ed.S student in the School Psychology program. She is from Lexington, KY and graduated in 2020 from Eastern Kentucky University with a B.S. in psychology and minors in sociology and anthropology. After graduating from EKU, she began working as a registered behavior technician. She is a scholar for the RESPECT Grant at UK. Yazmeine’s interests include social/cultural psychology, social justice within school systems, and ABA. Email: ymjohnson@uky.edu
Shaolin Lagaert is an international Ed.S. student in the School Psychology program. She is from Belgium and received her B.S. in secondary education from Howest in 2020. During her bachelor’s program, she was able to study abroad in Norway for a semester. After graduating she worked as a special education teacher in a school for students with emotional- and behavioral disorders, where she taught history, cultural science, and morals/religion. Her interest areas include hisotry, LGBTQ+ youth, social justice, counseling as well as effective teaching, and behavioral intervention strategies. Email: Shaolin.Lagaert@uky.edu
Hallie Nicks is an Ed.S. student in the School Psychology Program. She is from Bowling Green, Kentucky and graduated from the University of Louisville in 2019 with a B.A. in psychology. After completing her undergraduate degree, she worked in education as an elementary school teacher in Memphis, Tennessee and Louisville, Kentucky. This fall, Hallie will be joining other graduate students as a first-year RESPECT grant recipient. Email: hallie.nicks@uky.edu
Laura-Leigh Phelps is a first-year Ed.S. student in the School Psychology program. She is from Louisville, Kentucky and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Kentucky in 2021 with a B.A. in Psychology. During her undergraduate career she served as an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Joseph Hammer’s Help-seeking And Multicultural Measurement Evaluation Research lab where she worked on projects including, “It’s Hard to Know if Someone’s Being Racist or Sexist or Both”: Effects and Responses to Gendered Racism (in preparation) and Sport psychology practitioners’ perceptions of athlete activism. She also completed internships with New Vista’s Children’s Review Program and the University of Kentucky’s mock therapy client internship. Beginning in Fall 2021 Laura-Leigh will be a scholar in the ABA/SPY training grant and will also begin her practicum in Boyle County Schools. Email: laura.phelps37@uky.edu
Brooke Saurer is a first-year Ed.S student in the School Psychology program. She is from Partridge, Kentucky and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Kentucky in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Family Sciences. During her undergraduate career, she completed an internship with the YMCA of Central Kentucky, working closely with the After School Programs. Email: brooke.saurer@uky.edu
Lauren Thrasher is an Ed.S. student in the School Psychology program. She is from Ridgefield, Connecticut and graduated from the University of Delaware in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology and minors in Human Development and Family Sciences and Educational Studies. As an undergraduate, Lauren worked as a substitute paraprofessional for Ridgefield Public Schools at the preschool and elementary levels. She also worked as a paraprofessional for the Extended School Year program with 5th and 8th grade students. As a graduate student, Lauren’s interests include early intervention and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Email: lauren.thrasher@uky.edu