Project Manager
Kimberly Kohler
Kimberly Kohler is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in Special Education within the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education at Penn State University. She earned her B.A. in French Literature and a minor in Psychology from Penn State in May 1995. After graduation, she worked in various roles for Bon Ton Department Stores, including General Sales Manager. In 2002, Kimberly went on to earn her M.Ed. in Special Education at Penn State and taught for over twelve years at Park Forest Middle School (6th grade Learning Support!). Her research interests include increasing retention rates of special education professionals through professional development/mentoring programs and strategies that address emotion regulation, mindfulness, stress management, physiological/psychological well-being, and resilience.
Team Members
Gwendolyn Deger
Gwendolyn Deger is currently serving as a research assistant for Project RESPECT. She is a first year doctoral candidate in the Special Education program within the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education at Penn State. Gwendolyn completed her Master’s degree in Reading in December of 2014 at Edinboro University. Prior to attending Edinboro University, she graduated with her B.S.E in Special Education and Elementary Education from Millersville University in 2009. Prior to and after graduating, she worked as a Family Supports Specialist at Lifepath, Inc, providing lifeskills and community based instruction for adults with disability for 2 years. In 2010, she was hired as a long term learning support substitute at Benner and Bellefonte Elementary Schools in the Bellefonte Area School District. She then was hired to work as a full time learning support teacher at the Philipsburg-Osceola Area High School for 5 years prior to entering her doctoral program. Gwendolyn is interested in developing both pre-service and in-service evidence based mentoring or induction programs to serve special education teachers to prevent attrition and burnout. She is also interested in technological advances in improving teacher delivery instruction and better understanding how to implement universal design for learning for students with disabilities (especially reading disabilities).
Lamiya Khan
Kimberly Kohler is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in Special Education within the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education at Penn State University. She earned her B.A. in French Literature and a minor in Psychology from Penn State in May 1995. After graduation, she worked in various roles for Bon Ton Department Stores, including General Sales Manager. In 2002, Kimberly went on to earn her M.Ed. in Special Education at Penn State and taught for over twelve years at Park Forest Middle School (6th grade Learning Support!). Her research interests include increasing retention rates of special education professionals through professional development/mentoring programs and strategies that address emotion regulation, mindfulness, stress management, physiological/psychological well-being, and resilience.
Julia Mahfouz
Dr. Julia Mahfouz is an assistant professor of Educational Leadership in Leadership and Counseling Department at the University of Idaho. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership with a minor in Curriculum and Instruction and Comparative and International Education at Pennsylvania State University. Her research agenda has been shaped by more than 10 years of educational work as an international educator in the capacity of high school teacher, principal (K-12), curriculum coordinator, and developer of a summer camp program. As an educator, she has always been intrigued by the idea of care, compassion, and trust and their impact on effective schools. She has considerable experience in international education, having worked in American International Schools and in USA-based education through research on Common Core, teacher preparation, and school-based mindfulness programs. Broadly, she uses qualitative methods to examine teachers’ and principals’ well-being and leadership within certain school context and how social emotional learning professional development programs could be implemented to ensure a positive school environment. For RESPECT project, she has been involved in video coding of teachers, students through CLASS and BOSS respectively..
Jared Morris
Jared R. Morris, M.Ed, is a doctoral candidate in Special Education at The Pennsylvania State University. He received his Master’s degree in special education in 2013 from University of Utah and a Bachelor’s degree in English from Brigham Young University in 2010. Jared is CLASS certified and proficient in conducting the BOSS assessment. He has 6 years of teaching experience in special education settings. His research interests focus on effective teaching (i.e., instructional approaches, teacher behaviors), practice, and academic and behavioral interventions for improving engagement for students with disabilities.
Victoria Petit
Victoria Petit is a first-year doctoral student in the School Psychology program. Victoria graduated from the University of Rhode Island in May of 2017 with a B.A. in Psychology, B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies, and a certificate in Applied Behavior Psychology. Her current research interest involves modifying a mindfulness intervention to reduce physical aggression exhibited by students with autism spectrum disorder.
Gretchen Schwarz
Gretchen Schwarz is working with Project RESPECT as a Graduate Assistant. She is a second-year doctoral student in the School Psychology program within the Department of Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education at Penn State. Gretchen graduated from Westminster College (PA) in May of 2016 with her B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Criminal Justice Studies. Her current research interests include barriers to parental involvement, as well as yoga in the schools.
Lauren Shields
Lauren Shields is a first year doctoral student in the School Psychology program within the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education at Penn State. She graduated from Stevenson University in May of 2017 with her B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Biology. Her current research interests include mindfulness and substance abuse in high school students.
Charishma Soni
Charishma Soni is currently serving as the Assistant Project Manager for Project RESPECT. She is a third year doctoral candidate in the School Psychology program within the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education at Penn State. Charishma completed her Master’s degree in School Psychology in May 2016 at Penn State. Prior to attending Penn State, she graduated with her B.S. in Psychology from The University of Pittsburgh in 2012. After graduating, she joined the 2012 Teach for America Northeast Ohio Charter Corps and taught 2nd grade in Village Preparatory School: Woodland Hills for two years prior to enrolling in her doctoral program. Charishma is currently interested in the development of effective evidence-based prevention programs to serve at-risk youth and associated stakeholders. She is also interested in researching the applications of positive psychology in schools.
Emily Sturtz
Emily Sturtz is working with Project RESPECT as a Graduate Assistant. She is a second-year doctoral student at Penn State in School Psychology, within the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education. Emily completed her undergraduate degree in May 2016 at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA with a B.S. in Psychology. She also is currently working as a teaching assistant and test librarian in the CEDAR Clinic at Penn State. Her current research interests include classroom management and conflict, with a particular focus on positive behavior supports.