Biographical Notes on the 2008 Conference Participants: RU Center for Gender Studies

Gender Scholarship in 2008 at RU¹

Speakers' Biographies by Courtney Fletcher ~ Graduate Assistant ~ Center for Gender Studies

Dr. Jeff Aspelmeier is a member of the Department of Psychology at Radford University. His research focuses on close relationships, adjustment, and cognitive processes. He has been collaborating with Dr. Ann Elliott to study predictors and consequences of childhood sexual abuse among women. Dr. Aspelmeier currently teaches courses in research, social psychology and the psychology of diversity. { Ru: Web Email: jaspelme@radford.edu }

Ms. Erin Carroll is a senior psychology major at Radford University, who will be graduating at the end of the summer. Erin is the treasurer of Psi Chi and has been asked to be this year’s Dean’s Scholar for the psychology department. She hopes to continue her education at Radford University and earn her master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.
{ Email: ekcarroll@radford.edu }

Dr. Niels Christensen earned his B.A from the University of Notre Dame and earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. An associate professor, he has been with the university since 2004 following a five year appointment at San Diego State University. Trained as a social psychologist, his interests also include clinical psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Although he has published articles on a variety of topics, a recurring theme is investigating how people perceive others and how people think they are perceived by others.{ Ru: Web Email: pchristen@radford.edu }

Ms. Sarah Clark is a third-year undergraduate psychology major. She is currently working with Dr. Ann Elliott and Dr. Niels Christensen. Her research interests include childhood sexual abuse, social anxiety disorder, and interpersonal perception. In the future Sarah hopes to attend graduate school in the field of Industrial/Organizational psychology. { Ru: Web Email: sclark22@radford.edu }

Dr. Tracy Cohn is an Assistant Professor of Psychology. His research and clinical interests are in the areas of gender, sexual behavior, and serious and persistent mental illness. { Ru: Web Email: cohn.tracy@gmail.com }

Dr. Ann Elliott is a Professor of Psychology at Radford University. She completed her doctoral work in clinical psychology at Northern Illinois University and her clinical internship at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina. Her research and clinical interests include issues related to child maltreatment and PTSD.
{ Ru: Web Email: aelliott@radford.edu }

Ms. Maria Falcioni is a psychology major in her junior year. She plans to graduate in May 2009 and go on to graduate school for either clinical psychology or counseling psychology. Her hope is to one day get her doctorate degree and work with children.
{ Email: mfalcioni@radford.edu }

Ms. Rachel Hammond is a senior at Radford University majoring in psychology. She plans to gain her master's degree in school psychology following her graduation in December 2008. { Email: rhammond4@radford.edu }

Dr. Arnold S. Kahn earned his doctorate degree from Southern Illinois University in psychology and currently teaches psychology of gender and social psychology at James Madison University. Dr. Kahn focuses his research on sexual assault, social psychology of gender and the impact of gender on social behavior. {JMU: Web Email: kahnas@jmu.edu }

Ms. Katie Lawson has a BA in psychology from the college of Notre Dame of Maryland and is currently in the experimental psychology program at Radford University. She hopes to continue her education in a social psychology doctorate program and ultimately would like to teach and conduct research in psychology, focusing on gender issues.
{Ru: Cgs Email: kmlawson@radford.edu }

Dr. Valerie Stephens Leake received her Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky in Counseling Psychology and currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Radford University’s Psychology Department. Her research interests include the sense of belonging, particularly family belonging, stepfamilies and stepfamily adolescents, and PTSD.
{Ru: Web Email: vleake@radford.edu }

Ms. Melissa Lerch is from West Virginia and is currently a junior psychology major. Following her graduation in May 2009, she wants to go to graduate school and specialize in school psychology. { Email: mlerch@radford.edu }

Dr. Hilary M. Lips is a social psychologist who has spent her career studying gender issues with particular emphasis on the interaction of gender with power, and with academic and career choices. She is the Director of the Center for Gender Studies and Chair of the Psychology Department at Radford. {Ru: Web Email: hlips@radford.edu }

Ms. Heather Littrell is from Lee County, Virginia. She is a psychology major and plans to go on to graduate school to earn an Ed. S. and become a school psychologist. { Email: hlittrell@radford.edu }

Ms. Melissa Londry is currently a graduate student in the clinical psychology master's program. She obtained her bachelor's degree in psychology from Saginaw Valley State University in 2006. She anticipates to graduate from Radford University in May 2008 and to continue to gain clinical work experience after graduation. Melissa also anticipates pursuing a doctoral degree in counseling or clinical psychology after gaining a variety of experience in the mental health field. { Email: mlondry@radford.edu }

Mr. Dan Mulrooney is a senior psychology major with an interest in experimental psychology and research. His interests also include: philosophy, music, art, reading, writing and the outdoors. { Email: dmulroone@radford.edu }

Ms. Chelsea Newton is a senior currently pursuing her B.S. in Psychology. Her future aspirations include attending graduate school next fall in pursuit of a PHD or PsyD in Clinical Psychology. { Email: cnewton11@radford.edu }

Ms. Rebecca Nightingale is currently a sophomore at Radford University. She is a psychology major and plans on going to medical school after graduation. Rebecca's goal is to one day become a psychiatrist. { Email: rnighting@radford.edu }

Dr. Nora Reilly (Ph.D., Dartmouth 1985) is an organizational social psychologist who has been at RU since 1993. As a member of the Industrial and Organizational Psychology concentration, her main areas of interest have been in the behavioral expression of commitment - particularly organizational citizenship behaviors, stigmatizing conditions in the workplace, and everyday mood regulation through social activities. Her most recent work, in collaboration with Dr. Joe Sirgy from Virginia Tech, is on quality of work life. {Ru: Web Email: nreilly@radford.edu }

Ms. Jennifer Varley is a Junior at Radford University majoring in Psychology and Spanish. She is aspiring to attend graduate school to pursue a career in counseling specializing in police psychology. { Email: jvarley@radford.edu }

Conference 2008 Keynote Speaker Presentations & Events Speakers' Biographies Kemp Awards

On-line Registration Mail-in Registration Previous Conferences

Center Home Psychology Radford University