While completing my degree in secondary education in social studies, English and psychology at Miami University (Ohio), I was introduced to the fields of both educational and school psychology.  After teaching high school in Cincinnati, Ohio at a large public high school, I realized that there were many students who needed specialized, individualized help.  I returned to higher education and earned my certification as a school psychologist and later my Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with a minor in infant and early childhood assessment at the University of Georgia.  I served as Coordinator of Psychological Services in the Clark County, Georgia schools while completing my degree.

 

I worked in the Champaign Count Special Education Cooperative in Illinois for a year before taking a position as a professor in the Psychology Department of Eastern Illinois University. While teaching courses in the school psychology program, I also served as the liaison between students with disabilities on campus and faculty and administrators. I continued to train both master’s and doctoral level school psychologists at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) as well as teaching teacher education candidates for 17 years.

 

As Director of the Child Study Center at IUP, I oversaw assessments and psycho-educational evaluations for children from preschool through college who came to the clinic from schools throughout western Pennsylvania. As I moved in higher education administration, I continued to assist parents with their children’s learning needs and to publish practical research for both parents, teachers, and school administrators. After my retirement as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Robert Morris University in 2022, I decided to expand my provision of services to parents, families, and schools. 

 

A frequent consultant to schools and agencies, my research interests involve strengthening independent learning skills in students, alternatives to retaining students, school readiness issues, and program and student learning outcomes evaluation.  I have authored several chapters in the frequently referenced Best Practices in School Psychology and Children’s Needs volumes published by the National Association of School Psychologists.   I am the author of Strategies for Learning and Remembering: Study Skills across the Curriculum (NEA Professional Library, 1993) and the author of Inspiring Independent Learning: Successful Classroom Strategies (1999, NEA Professional Library) and published over 40 refereed articles and made over fifty presentations at state, national, and international conferences in my career.