Lab Members
Colleen R. O'Neal is lab director of the Emotions, Equity, and Education Lab and assistant professor of School Psychology in the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park (Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education).
Her primary research goals are to identify resilience processes among refugee, immigrant, and ethnic minority students with a focus on emotions and stress, and how to turn resilience processes into preventive interventions. She conducts research asking: (1) HOW stress impacts ethnic minority student mental health and academic functioning, (2) WHAT socioemotional learning (e.g., emotion engagement), motivation (e.g., grit), emotion regulation and relationship-based protective factors prevent the negative impact of stress on academic functioning, (3) WHO benefits from supports in the face of stress, and (4) HOW to promote socioemotional and systemic change via preventive interventions, with one of the goals being to facilitate emotionally supportive and culturally responsive schools.
Dr. O'Neal earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University in 2000 with NIMH predoctoral fellowship support studying emotions among minority youth facing community violence. She then completed an NIMH postdoctorate in Mental Health Statistics at NYU focused on multilevel, longitudinal analyses of change and psychometrics. She received her B.A. in Psychology at Cornell University and a master's degree in Child and Family Studies at Auburn University. Her work has been published in venues such as School Psychology International, School Psychology Quarterly, Child Development, Journal of Child Psychiatry and Psychology, and Development and Psychopathology. She recently completed minority stress and emotions research supported by a Brain and Behavior Foundation Young Investigator Award, a Fulbright Scholar Award, and a Fulbright New Leaders Group Award.
Kristin Meyering is a fifth year doctoral student in the school psychology program. Her research interests include the effects of stress on students academic outcomes as well as risk and resiliency factors related to achievement in minority populations. Kristin received a B.A. in Psychology from Georgetown University as well as an M.A. in School Psychology from the University of Maryland.
Shannon Martin (she/her) is a fourth year doctoral student in the School Psychology program. Coming to the program as a nationally certified school psychologist, Shannon has more than 7 years of experience as a school psychologist in elementary and secondary public school settings. That experience informed her research interests which include multicultural competencies and anti-racist attitudes and behaviors in teachers, participatory culture-specific consultation between schools and community entities, and mindfulness practices as intervention -- each with the broader goal of supporting resilience processes in K-12 settings for students with marginalized identities. Shannon is also a yoga practitioner and teacher, and received her B.A. in English Writing and B.S. in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, along with her MS.Ed and Advanced Graduate Certificate from the City University of New York, Brooklyn College.
Hayley Weinberg is a fourth year doctoral student in the school psychology program. Her research interests include the relationship between language abilities and emotion regulation skills in elementary school students. Hayley received a B.A. in Psychology and a B.S. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from the University of Rochester and an M.A. in Psychology from Boston University.
Stephanie Cerrato (she/they) is a third year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at UMD. Her research interests include resiliency, mental health outcomes, and achievement in students with marginalized identities. Stephanie received a BA in Psychology from William & Mary.
Anjali Sheth (she/her/hers) is a second year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at UMD. She attended Temple University in Philly where she earned her Bachelor's of Science in Neuroscience. Her research interests surround adverse experiences and their impact on youth's social-emotional development and their academic performance. She is also interested in culturally relevant interventions that support diverse youth.
Jonathan Irias-Puerto is a second year School Counseling M.Ed student. He received his undergraduate degree in Psychology from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. His research interest center around how intergenerational trauma affects social-emotional development and academic achievement among marginalized communities, and how grit factors into ending the cycle of trauma.
Bridget Moran (she/her) is a first year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at UMD. She attended the University of Virginia where she earned her Bachelor's of Arts in Psychology and Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. Her research interests include school-based interventions that support socioemotional learning development and bilingual education. She is also interested in school and family-based interventions that address mental health struggles in adolescent girls, specifically in relation to the interaction between social media usage and body image struggles.
Jessica Felix is a first year doctoral student in the School Psychology program. She has been a Nationally Certified School Psychologist for the last 9 years with public school experience at the early childhood, elementary, and middle school levels. Her research interests relate to the effects of resiliency factors on academic achievement. Jessica earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park, Magna Cum Laude, and her Masters of Arts and Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in School Psychology from Towson University.
Astrid Mendoza is a junior undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research interests include investigating factors related to self efficacy and resiliency within Latinx, immigrant, and undocumented populations. Astrid currently hopes to pursue a career in counseling psychology or school psychology.