I am an Associate Professor in the College and Associate Director of the Division of Mental Health and Substance Use in the Center for Public Policy and Health. In primarily teach Program Planning, Implementation and Evaluation, in the MPH program.
What is your latest research/project?
I currently have several federally funded projects that focus on enhancing infrastructure to better support and improve student mental health. I also have one project that is a collaboration with the Computer Science Department that utilizes big data, social media and machine learning to monitor and identify substance use trends.
Favorite teaching moment?
I used to have my Program Planning, Implementation and Evaluation class plan and implement a program to help the local food pantry in Kent. We would spend the first part of the semester developing a program to collect food for the pantry and then we would implement the program and evaluate the program’s effectiveness. It was a great hands-on experience for the students while helping the Kent community.
If you could have three apps on your smartphone, which would you pick and why?
1. The Weather Channel app because I don’t like to be surprised by the weather.
2. News app because I can scan the day’s stories quickly and get caught up with what’s happening in the world
3. Waze app because it helps me avoid speeding tickets
What’s your favorite way to unwind after a busy day?
Spending time with my family, running and playing games on my son’s PlayStation 4.
What is the last TV show or book that you read?
I recently got hooked on and binge-watched the “The Uncanny Counter,” a Korean drama/action series on Netflix (with subtitles).
Complete the following sentence: “Key elements of leadership include:”
Knowing your strengths and weaknesses, admitting when you need help and trusting that your colleagues are capable of making great contributions.
What is something that you are looking forward to both personally and professionally?
I’m looking forward to being vaccinated so that things can get back to normal so I can travel and begin to interact with people again.