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MSU Denver Experts Guide
Children/Youth Issues
Kristen Atkinson
Department: Social Work
Title: Lecturer
Expertise: Positive youth development, Community youth development, Youth civic engagement, Youth leadership development, Participatory research
Lisa Badanes
Department: Psychological Sciences
Title: Associate Professor
Expertise: Depression/anxiety, Stress, Child development, Risk and resilience
Jo Daugherty Bailey
Department: Social Work
Title: Professor
Expertise: Children without parental care/institutionalized children (internationally), Training/preparing workers to be empowering with diverse clientele, Program development, management and leadership
Jennifer Bolton
Department: Nutrition
Title: Professor
Expertise: School nutrition, infant or childhood feeding, prenatal nutrition, breastfeeding, initiating solids, healthy foods for children, childhood obesity, trans fat
Annie Butler
Department: Human Services and Counseling
Title: Chair and Professor, Director of the Center for High Risk Youth Studies
Expertise: Ethics, LGBTQ issues, High-risk adolescents and youth, Gang issues, Addictions and recovery, Drugs and school districts, Underage drinking, Addictions (Substance abuse and behavioral addictions such as gambling and sex), Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (a trauma therapy), Grief, Domestic violence, Dating violence, Multicultural
Larry Curry
Department: Social Work
Title: Retired Faculty
Expertise: Child and family preservation, Addictive behaviors, Child welfare
Bethany Fleck Dillen
Department: Psychological Sciences
Title: Professor
Expertise: Education, Memory, College teaching, Child development, Early childhood education, Developmental psychology, College teaching pedagogy
Lisa Kindleberger Hagan
Department: Psychological Sciences
Title: Professor
Expertise: Child cognitive development, Infant attachment and temperament, Child emotional development, Use of psychological testing in child education, Child development of gender roles, Use of psychological theory to guide child education, Women's studies
Christina Huber
Department: Economics
Title: Professor
Expertise: Economics of the family, Maternal and child health, Intra-household bargaining
Tricia Hudson-Matthew
Department: Human Services and Counseling
Title: Associate Professor and Director, Center for Addiction Studies
Expertise: Mental health, domestic violence, self-esteem, addiction and substance abuse, motivational interviewing techniques and grief and loss, couples counseling
Katrina Little
Department: Nursing
Title: Lecturer
Expertise: Maternal-newborn health care, Community health nursing, Nursing faculty education
Lunden MacDonald
Department: Modern Language
Title: Assistant Professor
Expertise: Spanish language, Literature, Teaching, Contemporary trends in foreign language study, Translation, SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), SUDC (Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood), Investigative trends in SIDS and SUDC research
Andrew Mrkvicka
Department: Social Work
Title: Affiliate Faculty
Expertise: Child welfare, Abuse and neglect, Interfamilial sex abuse, Secondary trauma, Compassion fatigue
Nhu Nguyen
Department: School of Education
Title: Professor
Expertise: Physical Fitness
Marina Pereira
Department: Social Work
Title: Associate Dean - College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Expertise: Acculturation and assimilation changes in the U.S., Mental health issues of children, adolescents and families, Child abuse, Sexual abuse, Domestic violence, Loss and grief issues, Immigration, First-generation students, Service learning, Bilingual, Bicultural
Aaron Richmond
Department: Psychological Sciences
Title: Professor
Expertise: Educational psychology, Teaching Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), Teaching higher education, Memory, Mnemonics, Learning styles, Memory aids and memory development, Online education, Motivation, Science education, Adolescent education, At-risk youth education
Jessica Ritter
Department: Social Work
Title: Professor
Expertise: Child welfare, Child abuse and neglect, Children’s rights, Political activism
Marc Rodriguez
Department: School of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Family Literacy
Title: Parents as Teachers Coordinator, Parenting Coordinator
Expertise: K-12 Education, Parenting skills, Sheltered (ESL) Instruction, Educational Administration (Principal)
Susie Ryder
Department: Social Work
Title: Director of Undergraduate and Graduate Field Education
Expertise: Therapy with children, adolescents, couples and families, Supervision, Parenting, Solution focused brief therapy, School social work, Substance abuse, Suicide prevention
Darlene Sampson
Department: Social Work
Title: Clinical Field Faculty and Equity Specialist Coordinator, WEEAC
Expertise: Trauma, Issues related to children of color, Police and community interactions, Educational challenges, pedagogy and curriculum, Over suspension of children of color, School/community consultation-particularly with black/brown communities, Racial bullying, Diversity/equity/inclusivity, Mental Health, General social work
Dorothy Shapland
Department: School of Education
Title: Assistant Professor
Expertise: Early Childhood Teacher Education, Early Childhood STEM/STEAM & Social Emotional Learning
Eileen Starr
Department: Social Work
Title: Assistant Professor
Expertise: Clinical work with children, youth and families, Conflicted communities (sectarian violence in Northern Ireland)
Shawn Worthy
Department: Human Services and Counseling
Title: Professor
Expertise: Gender differences in extreme sports, Psychology and performance of high-risk/extreme sports athletes, Sports training and fear, Youth adventure therapy, Crisis intervention, Family dynamics, Family systems, High-risk youth, Teen suicide, Parenting, Workplace stress, Job-family balance
Jenn Zukowski-Boughn
Department: Theatre and Dance
Title: Affiliate Professor
Expertise: Children's literature, Fantasy and science fiction, Folklore (fairy tales, mythology), Theatre and performance of literature, Harry Potter