Professional Biography

After my Bachelor's I obtained a provisional teaching certificate in special education. I taught at Rutland Psychoeducational Center in Athens, GA. My job was to teach a self-contained middle school class for severely emotionally and behaviorally disordered students from 1996-1998.

From 1998-2000 I earned a Masters degree in Community Agency Counseling at UGA. I completed my clinical practicum and internship in the Juvenile Counseling and Assessment Program at UGA, specializing in juvenile forensic counseling and psychotherapy. I went on to enter the Counseling Psychology Ph.D. program at UGA and received my degree in 2004. My research focus as a doctoral student was in adolescent and family mental/behavioral health, particularly in regards to externalizing problems and female delinquency. I completed my pre-doctoral psychology internship at the University of Virginia's Smith Memorial Center for Counseling and Psychological Services. Here I received advanced training in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Mood Disorders and Anxiety Disorders as well as training in Interpersonal Therapy and Brief Psychodynamic Therapy. I also completed a clinical rotation in the UVA Learning Needs Evaluation Center where I received advanced training in the assessment of Cognitive/Learning Disorders.

My first post-degree position was at Auburn University Montgomery in the Department of Psychology. There I served as the Director of Clinical Training for the Masters program in Applied Psychology from 2004-2007. While a faculty member at AUM I developed additional interests in research questions in the area of psychology of religion. In 2005-2006 I won the School of Sciences Teaching Award.

In 2007, I accepted my current position as Assistant Professor of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology in the Department of Professional Studies at the University of South Alabama. I serve as the Practicum & Internship Coordinator for the Community Counseling Masters program, and am on core faculty in the Combined-Integrated Clinical/Counseling Psychology program, whichis jointly administered by the Dept. of Professional Studies and the Dept. of Psychology at USA.

In Fall of 2008 I was appointed as an adjunct faculty member in psychiatry and tasked with teaching a psychotherapy seminar and supervising a therapy practicum for 2nd year residents within the psychiatric residency program. I served in this capacity until fall of 2011.

Also in Fall of 2008 a memorandum of agreement I submitted in 2007, with support from Dr. Jenny L-R of the USA Youth Violence Prevention Program, for a project called the Mobile Juvenile Court Collaborative was approved as a USA sponsored program. This project is a training/service/research collaboration with the Mobile juvenile court. The intent of the MJCC is to create a field-based laboratory to study developmental psychopathology, externalizing problems, as well as organizational and policy-level issues in juvenile justice. The MJCC is additionally a vehicle to provide training to masters and doctoral students in evidence-based interventions for court-involved youth and their families. Lastly the MJCC is intended to provide consultation and program evaluation resources to the juvenile court in an effort to affect broad-based community change in regards to improving services for youth placed at-risk.

In the Fall 0f 2011 I was appointed as Counselor Education Graduate Programs Coordinator and was granted Tenure and Promotion to the rank of Associate Professor. I stepped down as coordinator in fall of 2012. The program received CACREP accreditation in 2014.

In the Fall of 2010 I was appointed the Associate Director of Clinical Training for the Combined-Integrated Clinical & Counseling Psychology (CCP) Ph.D. at USA. This program began in 2009. I served as the Director of Clinical Training for the CCP program beginning in the summer and fall of 2013. The program was accredited by APA in April 2014.

In January of 2014 I was appointed Chair of the Department of Professional Studies in the College of Education at USA. Since then I have been working with the department faculty and COE administrators to build new programs such as a bachelors program in Instructional Design & Human Performance Improvement and a masters program in Educational Technology as well as complete the final stages of CACREP accreditation for our counseling programs. I also continue to co-coordinate the MJCC alongside my colleague, Dr. Valerie Bryan, from the social work program at USA. I continue to serve as a Core Faculty member of the CCP program and continue to accept doctoral mentees interested in community-based research with at-risk youth and families.

In August of 2020 I was appointed Interim Associate Dean of the College of Education & Professional Studies, and then Associate Dean in January of 2021. I was granted the rank of full professor in May of 2021. In my Associate Dean role I am responsible for overseeing the development of faculty skills in teaching, research and service, graduate studies, enhancing the capacity of the college to pursue research and procure external grants and contracts. In addition I oversee the development of external relationships and serve as the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Coordinator for the College.