Pictured left to right: Dr. Chris Knowles, Dr. James Sinclair, Dr. Geovanna Rodriguez, and Dr. Kate Bromley

James Sinclair, Ph.D. (He/him/his)
Principal Investigator
CV

James’ area of research is broadly focused on the promotion of positive post-school outcomes for individuals who have been traditionally minoritized, stigmatized, and excluded in accessing education. James primarily researches the intersection of adolescent mental health and educational disability, within a broader school-based mental health framework. Additional areas of focus include the identification of evidence-based and research-based practices that promote positive post-school outcomes for individuals with disabilities, as well as, researching how best to support adolescents from diverse backgrounds, systems involved youth, and access to sex education.

Geovanna Rodriguez, Ph.D. (She/her/ella)
Principal Investigator

Dr. Geovanna Rodriguez (she/her/ella) is an Assistant Professor of School Psychology in the Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences at the University of Oregon. Her research interests are housed between the intersection of neurodiversity and mental health with a special focus on supporting autistic youth and their families. Dr. Rodriguez’s work focuses on the promotion of school-based mental health prevention and programming and improving equitable mental health outcomes for students with disabilities and students from historically marginalized backgrounds, including Latino/a/x and Spanish-speaking communities. She is personally interested in consulting with schools on the implementation of culturally relevant practices that promote family-community-school partnerships among underserved communities. Dr. Rodriguez has diverse clinical and school experiences in the training of special educators and school professionals. As a first-generation Latina scholar, she utilizes multicultural and intersectional frameworks to help inform supervision and training of school psychology trainees.

Katherine Bromley, Ph.D. (She/her/hers)
Principal Investigator
CV

Dr. Bromley is a Research Associate in the Center on Human Development at the University of Oregon. She currently works on the analysis teams of multiple federally funded research projects focused on improving transition outcomes of youth with disabilities and English learners through interventions and systems-level change, and literacy measurement validation for students with Dyslexia. Her research focuses on understanding and leveraging the influence of social capital on education, employment, and health outcomes for adolescents and young adults with disabilities using quantitative and mixed methods. As the methodologist for Project SIMPLE, she is eager to ensure the systems developed by the project contribute to positive outcomes for students, and that assessment and intervention practices are useful to our practitioner partners.

Suzie Stadelman, M.S. (She/her/hers)
Project Coordinator

Suzie is a Research Assistant in the Center on Human Development. Her area of research is focused on suicide prevention and mental health promotion, primarily with youth in college and K-12 settings. Suzie has a background in mental health education and outreach, implementation of evidence-based programs, and leading gatekeeper trainings. Outside of work, Suzie is a big fan of ultimate frisbee, cribbage, her dog, and her cat (sometimes).

Chris Knowles, PhD
Co-Investigator

My research focuses on improving behavioral and social outcomes for children and youth experiencing disability, with an emphasis on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). My current research focuses on paraeducator professional development, student-teacher relationships, special education teacher burnout, and promoting equity and inclusion for those with disabilities in school and community settings. I am particularly interested in the development of interventions and strategies that are low-effort and can be embedded in classroom or community systems already in place.

Abby Sheppler (She/her/hers)
Website Manager

Abby works in the Center on Human Development (CHD) at the University of Oregon. She serves as the office manager for CHD and works directly with faculty and researchers within the Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences. She also contributes to the University of Oregon’s University Centers on Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD). Abby serves as a website manager for project SIMPLE. She helps with editing and making sure that things are updated with the most recent findings.

Jamie Yang
Doctoral Student / Research Assistant – Methodology

Jamie is a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of Oregon. Jamie is a keen methodologist who is devoted to telling more comprehensive, inclusive, and accurate sociological stories with quantitative social science research. Jamie’s research centers broadly around gender, sexualities, and health, with a particular focus on sexual well-being disparities in the population and gender inequalities in the context of romantic and sexual intimacy. Current areas of focus include queering sociological methods, mental health disparities, as well as sexual victimization among emerging adults. When not typing on a keyboard, Jamie is usually hiking, spending time with loved ones, or reading a good book.