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Doctoral Students | Masters Students

Doctoral Students

Julia Beier

Doctoral Student

jbeier1@uky.edu

Education:

B.S. Psychology Missouri Western State University

Emphasis Area: Adolescent Development

Hometown: St. Joseph, Missouri

Interests: Being with friends and family, volunteering, and exploring new places and cultures.

Miranda Bejda

Doctoral Student

mlbe240@uky.edu

Education:

B.S. Human Development and Family Science, Illinois State University

Emphasis Area: Adolescent Development

Hometown: Naperville, Illinois

Interests: reading, dancing, and spending time with my bunny (Thumper)

McKenna Fey

Doctoral Student

mckenna.fey@uky.edu

Education:

M.S. Couple and Family Therapy, University of Kentucky
B.S. Human Development and Family Science, Oklahoma State University

Emphasis Area: Family Processes

Hometown: Plano, Texas

Interests: Cooking, hiking, house projects, board games, reading

Becca Johnson

Doctoral Student

rljo258@uky.edu

Education:

M.S., Criminal Justice, East Carolina University

M.S., Couple and Family Therapy

B.A., Psychology with a minor in Human Development and Family Sciences, East Carolina University

Emphasis Area: Family Processes (ACES, Juvenile Justice)

Hometown:  Scaly Mountain, North Carolina

Interests: Hiking, camping, kayaking, reading, and spending time with my dog.

Emily Johnson

Doctoral Student

em.johnson@uky.edu

Education:

M.S., Couple and Family Therapy, University of Kentucky

B.S., Human Development and Family Studies, Adult Life Programs, Auburn University

Emphasis Area: Family Processes

Hometown:  Roswell, Georgia

Interests include:  Cooking, reading, running, hiking, playing with my pup. 

Allison Leip

Doctoral Student

allison.leip@uky.edu

Education:

B.S., Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, University of Florida

Emphasis Area: Family Processes

Hometown:  Syracuse, New York

Interests:  Snuggling with my dogs, gardening, hiking, reading, and crafting.

Tiago Lobo-Dos-Santos

Doctoral Student

tiago-lobo-dos-santos@uky.edu

Education:

M.S. Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Porto

B.S. Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Porto

Emphasis Area: Adolescent Development

Hometown: Esposende, Braga, Portugal

Interests: development of antisocial behaviors; development of Romani children and youth; longitudinal & trajectory analysis;  early school absenteeism; social street work; community effects on developmental trajectories; racial/ethnic equity; developmental prevention projects' evaluation; poetry.

Lynn Maamari

Doctoral Student

Lynn.Maamari@uky.edu

Education:

M.S. Nutrition and Food Systems, University of Kentucky

B.S. Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Balamand

Emphasis Area: Adolescent Development

Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon

Interests: Travelling, Photography, Reading, Working out, Blogging ( I own a health and wellness Instagram account @yourhealthydiaryy), Spending time with family and friends.

Melinda Murdock

Doctoral Student

melinda.murdock@uky.edu

Education:

M.S., Couple and Family Therapy, University of Kentucky

B.A., Psychology, University of Memphis

Emphasis Area: Family Processes

Hometown:  Benton, Arkansas

Interests:  Running, working out, exploring the outdoors, writing, social justice advocate.

Portrait of Jacqueline Norman

Jacqueline Norman

Doctoral Student

jacqueline.norman@uky.edu

Education:

M.Ed., Moderate & Severe Disabilities, University of Kentucky

B.S., French Education, Georgia Southern University

Emphasis Area: Family Processes

Hometown:  Lexington Kentucky

Interests:  family time, swimming, hiking, baking, community service

Nicole Stork-Hestad

Doctoral Student

nsh@uky.edu

Education:

M.S., Family Studies, University of Kentucky

B.S., Psychology, Berry College

Emphasis Area: Family Finance and Economics

Samadhi Weeraratne

Doctoral Student

ThiliniS.Weeraratne@uky.edu

Education:

M.S., Applied Finance, University of Sri Jayewardenepura

B.S., Finance, University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Emphasis Area: Family Finance and Economics

Hometown : Colombo, Sri Lanka

Interests : Music and dancing, spending time with friends and family, travelling, working out,

Sara Yamini

Doctoral Student

s.yamini@uky.edu

Education:

M.S. Industrial Management, Kar University
B.S., Industrial Engineering, Mazandaran University of Science and Technology

Emphasis Area: Adolescent Development

Hometown: Tehran, Iran

Interests: going to concerts, watching movies, spending time with family and friends

Masters Students

Madalyn Cooke

Masters Student

mcbe243@uky.edu

Education:

B.A., Marriage and Family Studies, Brigham Young University-Idaho

Emphasis Area: Couple and Family Therapy

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky 

Interests: Reading, baking, playing board games, and spending time with my family 

Clark Courtney

Masters Student

Clark.Courtney@uky.edu

Education:

B.S., Career and Technical Education, University of Kentucky

Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky 

Interests: hiking, backpacking, canoeing, puzzles, environmentalism

Edith Del Moral

Masters Student

Edith.Delmoral@uky.edu

Education:

B.S., Child and Family Studies, Eastern Kentucky University

Emphasis Area: Couple & Family Therapy

Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky

Interests: Painting, hiking, running, reading, and dog lover

Lily Dunn

Masters Student

Lily.Dunn@uky.edu

Education:

B.A. Psychology, University of Kentucky

Emphasis Area: Couple & Family Therapy 

Hometown: Downers Grove, Illinois 

Interests: Reading, cooking, painting, and spending quality time with friends and family!

Justin Graham

Masters Student

justin.graham@uky.edu

Education:

B.S., Marriage and Family Studies, Brigham Young University-Idaho

Emphasis Area: Couple and Family Therapy

Hometown: Ammon, Idaho

Interests, Running, sports, watching movies, reading, spending time with family/friends.

McKinley Hall

Masters Student

McKinley.Hall@uky.edu

Education:

B.A., Marriage and Family Studies, Brigham Young University-Idaho

Emphasis area: Couple and Family Therapy

Hometown: Soldotna, Alaska

Interests: Cooking, working out, yoga, dancing, watching movies, and spending time with family

Claire Heaney

Masters Student

claire.heaney@uky.edu

Education:

M.A., English Literature, CUNY Queens College

B.A., English/Secondary Education, CUNY Queens College

Emphasis Area: Family Processes

Hometown:  Flushing, New York

Interest:  Honestly, just doing new things!  Since I've moved here two years ago I've joined the Mecca Dance studio, I'm part of a book club, swimming, cosplay, traveling (even though it has only been to the surrounding states recently, but hey, these are all parts of America I've yet to discover).

Ellen Keith

Masters Student

Ellen.Keith@uky.edu

Education:

B.S., Family Science, University of Kentucky 

Emphasis: Couple and Family Therapy

Hometown: Versailles, KY

Interests: spending time with friends and family, reading

Krystal King

Masters Student

knki227@uky.edu

Education:

B.A., Psychology, University of Kentucky
A.A., Bluegrass Community & Technical College
A.S., Bluegrass Community & Technical College

Emphasis Area: Couple & Family Therapy

Hometown: Lexington, Kentucky

Interests: Cooking, Watching movies, Going to concerts, Traveling, Spending time with friends and family, Animal lover, Coffee lover, and Roller skating!

Margo Munday

Masters Student

Margo.Munday@uky.edu

Education:

B.S., Family Sciences, University of Kentucky

Emphasis Area: Couple and Family Therapy 

Hometown: Lugansk, Ukraine  

Interests: painting with acrylics, knitting, walking dogs 

Claire Nickell

Masters Student

Claire.Macmichael@uky.edu

Education:

B.S., Family Studies and Human Development, Brigham Young University

Emphasis Area: Couple & Family Therapy

Hometown: Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

Interests: sports, writing, reading, swimming, hiking

Jessica Nincehelser

Masters Student

Jessica.Nincehelser@uky.edu

Education:

B.S., Human Development & Family Science, The Ohio State University

Emphasis Area: Couple and Family Therapy

Hometown: Johnstown, Ohio

Interests: Theatre, board games, scrapbooking, and hosting theme parties!

Haley Scuggs

Masters Student

haley.scruggs@uky.edu

Education:

B.S., Psychology, Murray State University

Emphasis Area: Couple & Family Therapy

Hometown: Paducah, Kentucky

Interests: Spending time with family and friends, listening to music, cross-stitching, playing sudoku, and loving on animals!

Liz Steering

Masters Student

elizabeth.steering@uky.edu

Education:

B.S. Sociology - Portland State University

Emphasis Area: Couple & Family Therapy

Hometown: Lake Forest, Califonia

Interests: Yoga, running, hiking, cooking and nutrition, traveling, journaling

Portrait of Natalie Tate

Natalie Tate

Masters Student

natalie.ohara@uky.edu

Education:

B.A., Psychology, University of Kentucky

Emphasis Area:  Couple & Family Therapyt

Hometown:  Palo Alto, California

Interests:  Walking my dogs, spending time with family and friends, cooking, hiking and yoga.

Portrait of Tory Thomas

Tory Thomas

Masters Student

tory.thomas@uky.edu

Education:

B.S., Family Sciences, University of Kentucky

Emphasis Area: Couple and Family Therapy

Hometown:  Seattle, Washington

Interests:  dance, disney movies, photography, drawing, animal lover, diet coke, and anything mint.

Portrait of Vanessa Vela

Vanessa Vela

Masters Student

vanessa.vela@uky.edu

Education:

B.S., Sociology, Abilene Christian University

Emphasis Area: Couple & Family Therapy

Hometown:  Fort Worth, Texas

Interests:  watching movies, hanging out with friends and family, working out, being a friend of the world, and ice cream!