I am a PhD candidate in social psychology at the University of Arizona. I hold a BA in neurobiology and behavior from Cornell University and an MS in the psychology of human-animal interaction from Purdue University. My career focuses on the role of service dog partnerships in biopsychosocial outcomes for people with disabilities. From 2010-2021, I worked for the world’s largest service dog provider, Canine Companions. I am an Assistance Dogs International (ADI) Certified Service Dog Instructor and, in 2016, I was promoted to the leadership role of National Director of Training and Client Services. In 2021, recognizing a need to build the empirical evidence base underlying the service dog intervention, I joined the Organization for Human-Animal Interaction Research Education (OHAIRE) under Dr. Maggie O’Haire as a PhD student. My research leverages a transdisciplinary approach to translate service dog partners’ lived experiences into actionable data. I am a University of Arizona One Health Research Fellow, a member of Psi Chi International Honor Society, and recipient of the 2024 APA/APAGS Award for Distinguished Graduate Student in Professional Psychology.
Experience
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2023–presentPhD Candidate, University of Arizona
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2021–2022Masters Student, Purdue University
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2016–2021National Director, Training & Client Services, Canine Companions
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2010–2016Service Dog Instructor, Canine Companions
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2006–2012Research Assistant, Cornell University
Education
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2022Purdue University, MS - Psychology of Human-Animal Interaction
Publications
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2024A preliminary analysis of psychiatric service dog placements and sleep patterns of partners of veterans with PTSD, Anthrozoös
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2023Psychiatric service dog placements are associated with better daily psychosocial functioning for military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy
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2023Chapter: Assistance and Emotional Support Animals, The Routledge International Handbook of Human-Animal Interactions and Anthrozoology
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2023Service dogs for autistic children and family system functioning: a constant comparative analysis, Frontiers in Psychiatry
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2022Assistance dogs for military veterans with PTSD: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-synthesis, PLoS ONE
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2022Survey of international academic centers and institutes focused on human-animal bond: Scope and landscape in 2021, Human-Animal Interactions
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2022Researcher-practitioner interaction: Collaboration to advance the field of human-animal interaction, Human-Animal Interactions
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2021Chapter: Changing Lives, One Service Dog at a Time, Career Paths in Human-Animal Interaction for Social and Behavioral Scientists
Professional Memberships
- Psi Chi International Honor Society in Psychology
- Arizona Psychological Association (AzPA)
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- American Psychological Association for Graduate Students (APAGS)
- International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ)
- Tucson, Arizona, United States
- Website
- Article Feed
- Joined
