About Us

I am a certified trainer and member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT), an international organization committed to promoting high-quality Motivational Interviewing practice and training. In 2016, I created the Motivational Interviewing Training Institute at the University of Colorado, School of Medicine, providing over 25 intensive beginning and advanced Motivational Interviewing (MI) trainings for healthcare professionals. Across the course of my career, I have taught hundreds of trainees and students to work from an MI approach through MI courses, trainings, supervision, and coaching. I have also developed and facilitated specialized MI trainings for diverse settings, including medical, community health, behavioral health, and criminal justice, among others.

No matter the starting point, I believe that all people have the potential and desire to live well. For many, it’s about having access to information and resources. For others, it’s about practicing new skills and building new habits. It doesn’t matter if the person is a healthcare provider or a patient, we all need to be mindful about our health behaviors in order to make the conscious decision each day to be well. Awareness is a solid first step. I feel deep appreciation for the opportunity I have to facilitate this process through my work at BHWP. It is a pleasure and a privilege.

My research portfolio spans both basic psychological science and applied community-based research and evaluation. I work across multiple states to oversee strategic development of sustainable research and program evaluation initiatives. I am also a certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist.

In my work as a behavioral scientist, I apply principles of evolutionary medicine, psychology, and psychiatry to the study of individual differences in human health and development.

Areas of interest include developmental psychobiology, behavioral endocrinology, behavioral health, addiction, and biometrical genetics. In particular, I am interested in effects of early childhood adversity on physical and neuropsychological development, how developmental trajectories in response to early adversity differ across individuals (including sex-specific effects), and how a better understanding of stress-mediated development may inform intervention efforts with children and families.

I also direct community-based research and evaluation projects with the goal of implementing, testing, and evaluating innovative and evidence-based strategies to support healthy behavior change. Projects are implemented both locally and nationally within behavioral health and integrated care clinics, hospitals, criminal justice systems, and other organizations or agencies serving vulnerable populations. Areas of focus include tobacco treatment, chronic disease prevention, health disparities, nutrition and physical activity, healthy sleep strategies, stress management, and family interventions.

I have been fortunate in my career to work with colleagues conducting sophisticated research on a broad range of human wellness topics, but I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to bring my research skills to bear in a more applied setting. When it comes to disseminating results and discoveries from academic research, I believe there often exists a gap between the “ivory tower” and the societal organizations that are in the best positions to utilize such information. It is a joy and a privilege to be part of a program committed to closing that gap!

I am an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry with the Behavioral Health and Wellness Program (BHWP) in the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus. I am a licensed psychologist, and I am board certified in Clinical Health Psychology with the American Board of Professional Psychology. My career has focused on providing evidence-based treatment to military Veterans for tobacco use, persistent pain, adjustment to medical illness, and health behavior change. I have an extensive background in program development and health system change to improve access to high quality, person centered, and culturally responsive care. I have over 10 years of experience teaching person-centered communication strategies such as Motivational Interviewing to learners of multiple disciplines and I am a dedicated educator for psychology learners. My primary research interests include the dissemination of real-world, innovative, and effective programs to address gaps in care for treatment of tobacco use, persistent pain, and other health behaviors.

I received my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 2013 from Seattle Pacific University and completed my psychology internship at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Health Psychology Track and my postdoctoral residency at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, Primary Care and Behavioral Medicine Track. I worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs for 12 years prior to joining the BHWP. 

It is my great honor to join the BHWP and contribute to the transformation of individual practices, programs, and institutions to provide evidenced-based and high-quality care through training, consultation, program development, and research. It is my philosophy that people engage in change when they feel supported, resourced, and confident in the changes they want to make. Whether the recipient is a health care worker who hopes to improve their effectiveness in patient care, an individual who wants to improve their life by making a health behavior change, or a system that plans to engage in organizational change to meet a need, it is my goal to aid in a transformation.

I am also employed by the Division of Addiction Science, Prevention, & Treatment, where I have participated in grants and contracts management, study coordination, IRB/human subjects research, budget development and monitoring, procurement, manuscript submission, and NIH and University systems. It has been my privilege to contribute to the University and the Department of Psychiatry for over 21 years.