Graduate Students

Amanda earned her B.A. at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. As an undergraduate, she became involved with several research projects on Alzheimer’s Disease, including several projects on potential treatments and research with members of the Maasai. After graduation, Amanda worked at a group home, providing care to adults with mental illness, primarily veterans diagnosed with schizophrenia. Many of the residents she worked with had experienced homelessness; this led Amanda to switch her primary area of interest to homelessness and trauma. At the University of Dayton, her research centered around interventions at a local homeless shelter and how they impacted both the residents and undergraduate students who participated in the interventions. Her Master’s Thesis assessed changes in civic-related outcomes (i.e. social stigma, attitudes towards homelessness, community service self-efficacy) in undergraduate students as they worked with guests at the homeless shelter. Amanda also is interested in trauma, particularly traumatic experiences that occur during periods of homelessness.

Camilla completed her undergraduate degree at Portland State University in Psychology and Sociology. In Portland, she worked in collaboration to complete program evaluations for Central City Concern, the largest provider of social services in Oregon for homelessness, poverty, substance abuse, and serious mental illness. She also worked in the Community Inclusion Research Group, on a study examining community members’ attitudes about residing near supportive housing programs for adults with psychiatric disabilities. As a HARC Lab member, Camilla manages the Long-Term Shelter-Stayer study and the Coordinated Entry study. Camilla’s thesis is a study examining the psychometric properties of the Self-Sufficiency Matrix, an assessment tool used to inform housing and support service decisions for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

Erin is pursuing her Ph.D. in clinical-community psychology at DePaul University. She received her B.A. in psychology from Southern Connecticut State University in 2014. After graduating, she worked at The Consultation Center at Yale University managing several community-based research projects focused on program evaluation, health promotion, and trauma-informed care. Erin’s research is centered around community response to sexual violence and trauma-informed care within the medical and criminal justice systems. Her current research focuses on law enforcement’s response to sexual assault with particular emphasis on sexual assault case processing decisions.

Mackenzie completed her B.S. in psychology at Lamar University. As an undergraduate, she conducted research on lifestyle factors and diet that contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. She interned at M.D. Anderson hospital where she investigated the role of stress in the progression of breast cancer. Mackenzie found herself frustrated with the lack of dissemination efforts for the basic research she conducted and felt drawn toward more community-focused projects. As a HARC Lab member, Mackenzie manages the Long-Term Shelter Stayers project. Her thesis uses data from this project to examine the housing trajectories and housing preferences of people with extensive histories of shelter use.

Quin graduated from the University of St. Thomas located in St. Paul, Minnesota with a B.A. degree in Psychology. As an undergraduate, they became involved with several research projects on mindfulness meditation and sleep quality;  affective disorder diagnosis, tobacco use and sleep quality; self-compassion and body image; and maladaptive coping and suicide ideation in Native American populations. They also volunteered with several local community-based organizations such as Avenues for Homeless Youth–a nonprofit organization supporting youth experiencing homelessness with emergency shelter, transitional housing, and supportive services; and CTUL– a workers’ rights organization that organizes low-wage workers from across the Twin Cities to develop leadership and fight for equitable wages, better working conditions, and basic workers’ rights.

Martina completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees at DePaul University. Her research focus broadly intersects trauma and crisis response. She has had the opportunity to be involved in projects on trauma-informed care across settings, interdisciplinary crisis response, and organizational support for providers. She is currently working on her dissertation centered on trauma-informed care within homelessness services.

Justine is currently pursuing her Doctor of Psychology at Wheaton College. She completed her B.A. in Economics at Brown University. Upon graduating, she joined the Inter-American Development Bank (Jamaica Country Office) as a Research Assistant. While there, she supported longitudinal, mixed-methods studies that identified factors predicting school dropout for at-risk youth. Justine eventually transitioned to community work with at-risk youth in Germany, where she was an academic tutor for refugee children for after-school programs. That experience made clear the need for trauma-informed care as a best practice. Justine’s research interest centers on the impact of trauma on development and well-being. As a fellow in Illinois’ Leadership in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) Program, her research examines the relationship between childhood trauma and school outcomes for children with developmental disabilities.

Cori completed her B.A. in Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of San Diego and her M.S.c with a specialization in global mental health at Duke University. She previously studied the use of mental health patient video narratives to destigmatize mental illness in Nepal. Her research broadly focuses on integrating mental health care and capacity building in community settings. At present, Cori is working on projects related to trauma-informed care interventions for educators, teacher-directed violence, and coordinated entry homeless service systems.