
I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at Marist College, where I teach Health Psychology, Research Methods I and II, and Introductory Psychology. I also teach an honors seminar on stigma and health disparities and a First Year Seminar course on global LGBTQ+ issues. Prior to coming to Marist, I completed my PhD in Experimental Psychology at East Tennessee State University, where I worked in the Social Issues and Relations Lab and taught Intro to Psychology, Social Psychology, and statistics and writing lab courses. I then was a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at St. Lawrence University for two years, where I taught Introductory Psychology, Health Psychology, and a seminar course on stigma and health disparities.
My research and teaching interests lie at the intersections of social and health psychology. In particular, my research focuses on the ways that various forms of stigma impact the mental and physical health of minorities, particularly sexual and gender minorities. My current lines of research use quantitative and qualitative data to explore: (1) queer and trans health care and social support access, (2) queer and trans individuals’ experience of public, structural, and internalized stigma and coping mechanisms that are developed, (3) queer and trans student experiences on campus, and (4) queer and trans identity development and mental health as they relate to religious and spiritual upbringing. In scholarship and teaching, my goal is to connect psychological concepts to the real world, to help grow understanding of how our sociocultural environment influences our quality of life and connection to others. For me, teaching and research are acts of resistance and are tools for fighting for social justice.
