Born and raised in Missouri, I left home to attend Vanderbilt University to study Child Development and Cognitive Studies. While there I volunteered in labs that study social psychology (Dr. William P. Smith), cognitive psychology (Dr. Laura Novick), and child mental health services (Dr. Craig Anne Heflinger). After college I completed a master's degree in Risk and Prevention at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and had the pleasure of learning about the promotion of social awareness from Dr. Robert Selman. 

I was a Psychology Technician at the Boston VA Healthcare System in the National Center for PTSD with Dr. Brian Marx. After which I attended the University of California, Los Angeles for a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, working with Dr. Steve S. Lee in the ADHD and Development Lab and later with Dr. Nim Tottenham in the Developmental Affective Neuroscience Lab. This co-mentorship in developmental psychopathology and developmental neuroscience forged my interest in trying to understand how early experiences get "under the skin" and affect risk for later difficulties. 

My predoctoral and postdoctoral clinical psychology training was in Infant Mental Health at the Tulane School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. While at Tulane I joined the Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Lab under Dr. Stacy S. Drury. I also continue to collaborate on the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, with primary mentorship from Dr. Charles H. Zeanah. 

I am currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychology at Stanford University working in the Stanford Neurodevelopment, Affect, and Psychopathology Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Ian H. Gotlib. Click here to learn more about our current research.

​Starting in Fall 2018, I will be an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and Human Development at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College, Director of the SEA (Stress and Early Adversity) Lab, and a member of the Clinical Sciences faculty. When not in the lab I enjoy hiking with my husband, Robert, trying the diverse and delicious food options in the Bay Area, and getting research ideas from my two favorite sources of child development (Alice and Winslow).