After growing up in Ohio and South Carolina, I earned my BA in Psychology from the Univ. of Cincinnati in 1990 and my Ph.D. from Indiana Univ. in 1995. During college, I held many jobs including secretary, toy store employee, electric meter reader, newspaper reporter and editor, and summer camp counselor in Cincinnati (Fort Scott) and in Wolfeboro, NH (Camp Birchmont). Following grad school, I was a psychology professor at Penn State (1995-97) and at Michigan State (1997-2000) before coming to Miami Univ. in 2000, returning to my hometown of Cincinnati. Currently, I am on leave from Miami, serving as a Social Psychology Program Director at the National Science Foundation. I've also enjoyed my time as a visiting scholar at the Univ. of Chicago and at the Univ. of California, Santa Barbara.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with family (including the world's cutest puppy Leo), traveling, photography, seeing live music, exercise, cooking, architecture, college basketball and football, professional baseball and basketball, astronomy, and rollercoasters at Cedar Point and Kings Island. For several years, I served as an instructor in Miami's Earth Expeditions program, blending my love of nature and social psychology to serve environmental conservation efforts with our partners in India, Hawai'i, and Belize. 

Some of my favorite travel destinations include Costa Rica, the deserts of Arizona and California, the great US National Parks (including Yosemite, Maroon Bells, and the Grand Canyon), anywhere in Northern Italy, and amazing cities such as Paris, Prague, Sydney, and Vancouver. Also, I have an unabiding love for the US West Coast, ranging from Southern California to the Pacific Northwest. Finally, I enjoy spending time with my friends from summer camp and those in social psychology.