Something about me…
Curious about everything? Me too!
Some fun facts about me…I once tried to nail a worm to a board so I could better understand how they worked (at the same time my dad was making me put them on a hook to fish). My parents gave me a sand shark they caught (frozen) and when I cut it open, it had been pregnant! Curious about everything! Ok – now for what you expected when you visited here. I was a clinical social worker and director of family support, with multiple programs under me, for a large agency serving people with Autism Spectrum Disorder before returning to school to complete my PhD. My clinical supervisor (2 years) for my license held both a PhD in psychology and social work. My MSW and PhD are from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, a powerhouse for social work and public health. I also earned a graduate certificate in management, and my PhD in social work was multidisciplinary and funded by an NIMH predoctoral fellowship. I worked for Dr. Enola Proctor and then Dr. Arlene Stiffman, two fantastic people and mentors. My dissertation was funded by an R03 from NIDA. For my postdoc, I attended Washington University School of Medicine, in Psychiatry in Dr. Linda Cottler’s Epidemiology and Prevention Research Group. As part of my postdoc, I earned a master's degree in psychiatric epidemiology. I’ve been working with Dr. Cottler since then, becoming faculty at WUSM before moving to UF in 2011. I conduct research through UF HealthStreet, with Dr. Cottler, and in my own group.
