Meet the Team
Dorothy L. Espelage, Ph.D
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
espelage@unc.edu
Dorothy L. Espelage, Ph.D., is a William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of North Carolina. She is the recipient of the APA Lifetime Achievement Award in Prevention Science and the 2016 APA Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy, and is a Fellow of APS, APA, and AERA. She was recently elected to the National Academy of Education. She earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Indiana University in 1997. Over the last 22 years, she has authored over 200 peer- reviewed articles, six edited books, and 70 chapters on bullying, homophobic teasing, sexual harassment, dating violence, and gang violence. Her research focuses on translating empirical findings into prevention and intervention programming and she has secured over fourteen million dollars of external funding. She advises members of Congress and Senate on bully prevention legislation. She conducts regular webinars for CDC, NIH, and NIJ to disseminate research. She has conducted randomized clinical trials to evaluate K-12 social-emotional learning programs to reduce youth aggression, peer-led interventions to address sexual violence and suicidal behaviors, and virtual reality-based bully prevention programs. Findings of her research are guiding state, national, and international efforts to prevent youth violence and promote positive school climates. She authored a 2011 White House Brief on bullying among LGBTQ youth and attended the White House Conference in 2011, and has been a consultant on the stopbullying.gov website and consultant to the National Anti-bullying Campaign, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She has presented multiple times at the Federal Partnership to End Bullying Summit and Conference. She is a consultant to the National Institutes of Health Pathways to Prevention Initiative to address bullying and youth suicide. Dr. Espelage has appeared on many television news and talk shows, including The Today Show; CNN; CBS Evening News; The Oprah Winfrey Show, Anderson, Anderson 360 and has been quoted in the national print press, including Time Magazine, USA Today, People, Boston Globe, and the Wall Street Journal. Her dedicated team of undergraduate and graduate students are committed to the dissemination of the research through various mechanisms.
Graceson L. Clements 
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
graceson@live.unc.edu
Hi! I’m Graceson and I am a recent undergrad graduate at UNC Chapel Hill. I joined the team during my senior year at UNC as a research intern and have transitioned into the research coordinator for my gap year before heading to graduate school. I graduated in 2022 with a B.A. in Education in Human Development and Family Studies, with minors in Education and Social & Economic Justice. I identify as a straight, cisgender, white woman who grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. My research interests include identity formation, interventions to reduce disparities in academic, emotional, and behavioral development for children, mental health in higher education, and prevention science. In my free time I love to read, spend time with friends, play with puppies, and be in the outdoors!!
Luz E. Robinson
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
luzeli@unc.edu
Hi! I’m Luz and I am a third year doctoral student in School Psychology at the University of North Carolina. I joined the team during my 3rd year of undergrad at the University of Florida. I graduated in 2019 with a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in International Studies with a concentration in Latin America and the Caribbean. I was born in Miami, Florida and was raised in a multiethnic home with biracial parents. I identify as a straight, cisgender, Latina and my pronouns are she/her/hers. My research interests include youth violence prevention, mental health promotion, identity formation, and resilience among Latinx and other marginalized youth. I am a firm believer that research can inform policy to create more inclusive schools, where all students can thrive collectively. When I’m not working, you can find me practicing yoga, teaching English or traveling.
Alberto Valido
Pronouns: He/Him/His
avalia@unc.edu
I am Alberto Valido, I graduated from the University of Florida in 2016 and currently am a fourth year PhD student in Applied Developmental Science and Special Education at the Peabody School of Education, UNC Chapel Hill. I identify as a Latinx gay cisgender male. I was born in Cuba where I lived until I was 18 when I moved to South Florida with my family. I am deeply passionate about studying the mental health and well-being of gender and sexual minority youth and ethnic/racial minorities. My research focus is on intersectionality with a mental health prevention focus, specifically among adolescents who experience discrimination or are victimized at school due to their sexual, racial, or gender identities. Recently, I received a diversity supplement from the National Institute of Mental Health to study depression and suicide related behaviors in 21 preventive trials among youth with intersecting racial/ethnic, sexual, and gender minorities. Another one of my interests is programing with R and learning about quantitative methodology in applied research settings. When I am not working, I enjoy meeting with friends, going to the movies, or watching shows on Netflix!
Yutong (Alex) Gao
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
gyutong@unc.edu
Hi! I’m Alex and I am a first-year Ph.D. student in School Psychology at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. I’m from China and identify as a straight cisgender woman. After graduating from college, I worked as a tutor and academic counselor in Beijing, during which I became interested in youth mental health research. In May 2022, I graduated from the Graduate School of Education at University of Pennsylvania with a master’s degree in human development and statistics and research technology. Before UNC, I had also worked as a research assistant at Beijing Normal University on social emotional learning and gender equality education. My research interests include school violence prevention and mental health promotion and I’m particularly interested in addressing problem behaviors through a gender transformative approach. In my free time, I enjoy cuddling my cats and watching movies.
Katherine (Katie) Ingram
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
ingramkm@live.unc.edu
Hi everyone! My name is Katie Ingram and I’m a graduate student in the School Psychology PhD program. After completing two years in the Counseling Psychology PhD program at University of Florida, I transferred to UNC Chapel Hill with my advisor, Dr. Espelage to finish my graduate training here. I identify as a straight cisgender white woman, and grew up in the DC area until I moved to Florida in 2017. I chose Counseling and School Psychology because my primary goal is to help foster healthy relationships and prevent interpersonal violence among youth using school as a vehicle. With anti-oppressive and intersectional feminist approaches, I strive to use both data and clinical practice to serve individuals and communities, and continually improve and re-imagine systems. I also love to practice yoga, rock climb, hike, bike, and spend time with people I love!
Cagil Torgal-Aksoy
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
cagilt@ufl.edu
I am Cagil, and I’m a third-year doctoral student in Counseling Psychology program in the University of Florida. I’m from Turkey and I identify as a cisgender, straight woman. I’m broadly interested in prevention science. My research interests include online and in-person bullying and victimization with an emphasis on bystander behavior, and the links between adverse experiences and mental health among youth. In my free time, I like video chatting with my family and friends in Turkey. I also enjoy traveling and dancing.
America El Sheikh
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
americaelsheikh@ufl.edu
Hi! My name is America and I am a graduate student in the Counselor Education master’s program at the University of Florida. I have been working as a research assistant for Dr. Espelage and volunteering at a crisis and suicide hotline since 2017. I am a white, cisgender, straight woman with Palestinian roots. My interests include multicultural psychology and counseling, protective factors for minorities, post-traumatic growth, prevention science, the connections between mental and physical health, and understanding barriers and enablers for seeking mental health treatment and services (and how to break down those barriers!). I intend on becoming a culturally competent counselor that empowers individuals to live meaningful, fulfilling lives. One of my primary goals is to be conversational in at least three languages. In my free time, you can find me grounding myself in nature, traveling, dancing, practicing yoga, cooking/baking, and spending time with my beloved family and friends. Hope you join the Espelage lab family!
Kyle Nickodem
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Greetings! My name is Kyle and I joined the RAVE lab in the role of research statistician. I earned my doctorate in Quantitative Methods from the Educational Psychology program at the University of Minnesota in 2020. I identify as a straight cisgender white man who grew up in both Wisconsin and North Carolina. My primary goal is to improve the methodological and statistical rigor of educational research, especially research focused on educational equity. I have training and experience with a myriad of research designs, analysis methods, and statistical programs. My free time is mostly spent with my loving wife and our two active and goofy kids. We love being in nature and are often out running, hiking, or swimming.
Anne Drescher
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
annedrescher@unc.edu
My name is Anne, and I am a third year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at UNC Chapel Hill. After graduating from Duke University, I taught early elementary school in New Orleans, Louisiana. Following teaching, I worked as research coordinator in a child development lab at Tufts University. In Spring of 2020, I graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a Master’s degree in Human Development and Psychology. I am a white, cisgender, straight woman and use she/her/hers pronouns. I was born, raised, and educated in public schools in North Carolina, and I am passionate about making high-quality, equitable education accessible for all. My research interests include trauma-informed schooling, socio-emotional learning, and interventions to reduce disparities in academic, emotional, and behavioral development for children who have experienced violence. In my spare time, I enjoy baking, running, practicing yoga, and hanging out with my two crazy rescue dogs.