Meet the Visit Committee 2007

Back row: Sara Spencer, Theresa Lafavor, Adam Cassidy, Elizabeth
Oliva, Julie Markant, Danielle Bordeleau, Michelle Loman;
Front row: KC Haydon, Paloma Hesemeyer, Jessica Salvatore;
Not pictured: Lindsay Mathieson.

The visit weekend is planned by the Prospective Student Visit Committee with the goal of creating an experience that effectively helps you make your acceptance decision. The Institute of Child Development is a unique learning community with a warm and friendly atmosphere and we are excited to share that with you. We hope that the picture to the right (coming soon) and the following descriptions will give you a sense of who we are.

The visit weekend is planned by the Prospective Student Visit Committee with the goal of creating an experience that effectively helps you make your acceptance decision. The Institute of Child Development is a unique learning community with a warm and friendly atmosphere and we are excited to share that with you. We hope that the picture to the right and the following descriptions will give you a sense of who we are.

Danielle Bordeleau (borde021@umn.edu): Hi everyone! I’m the associate director of graduate studies here at ICD. It’s my job to help with just about everything related to the graduate program from admissions to graduation. I moved here a few years ago from Arizona, though I’ve also spent parts of my life in Florida and Idaho, and I can say that I just love Minnesota. The seasons are beautiful; winter really isn’t that cold most of the time, spring is bright, summer is lush and warm, and fall is full of gorgeous colors. When I’m not at work, I enjoy reading, spending time with my friends and my dog, watching movies, and going to museums and restaurants. I’m very excited about all of you coming to visit, and I can’t wait to meet you!

Adam Cassidy (cass0107@umn.edu): Hi everyone! My name is Adam Cassidy and I’m a third-year grad student in the child-clinical psychology program here at the Institute of Child Development. I earned my B.A. in psychology from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, and am currently working in Nicki Crick’s social development lab. My research focus is on child maltreatment and victimization as risk factors for the development of aggressive behavior problems.  In my free time, I enjoy playing the guitar, biking, camping, and indoor rock climbing.  I’m looking forward to meeting all of you!

K.C. Haydon (hayd0062@umn.edu): Hi! I'm a fourth year student here at ICD.

After I graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 2000, I worked for 2 years in Boston as an RA.  For the past 5 years, I've worked on the Parent-Child Project studying romantic relationships in early adulthood. My research interests include adult attachment processes, emotion expression, and developmental antecedents of competent functioning in romantic relationships.  When I'm not in the lab, you can find me cooking at home with friends, catching up on my TiVo, or roadtripping up north to Duluth and the Boundary Waters. My favorite part of the Cities? The eateries on Eat Street in Minneapolis - unbeatable food at grad-student prices.  Yum!

Paloma Hesemeyer (hesem001@umn.edu): Hello! I’m a third-year student here at ICD. I graduated from Mills College (a tiny women’s college in California) in 2004 with a BA in psychology. I currently work on the Parent-Child Project. My primary interest is in factors that predict parenting quality and continuity and change in parenting quality over time. I am also very interested in the influences parents have on their children’s social and emotional development.

Outside of school I enjoy spending time with my friends and my husband, watching movies, teasing my cats, knitting, and gardening.

Theresa Lafavor (lafa0017@umn.edu): Hi potential ICD-er's! My name is Theresa and I am a first year in the joint clinical program. I am originally from Minnesota, south Minneapolis to be specific, but I spent 8 years on the east coast and have only been back in the cities the past couple of years. I graduated from Smith College in western Massachusetts in 2001 with a B.A. in child clinical psychology.

After graduating I moved to Boston and spent 4 years working for a therapeutic program through Mass General Hospital. Currently, I work in the Project Competence Lab (Ann Masten's lab) as well as Megan Gunnar's lab on a variety of projects. My research interests include early adversity and trauma, processes of resilience, and stress reactivity. When not at ICD I can be found babysitting, playing a variety of sports, cooking and hanging out with friends. I am looking forward to meeting all of you!

Michelle Loman (loman004@umn.edu): Hello everyone!  I am a second year student in the joint child-clinical program.  I am originally from Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001 with a BS in Psychology and Spanish.  I then moved to Denver and worked for four years on a research project involving young children placed into out-of-home care.  Here at ICD, I am work with Dr. Megan Gunnar and Dr. Dante Cicchetti.  My general research interests surround the effects of early adversity, including early deprivation and maltreatment, on cognitive development.  During my free time, I enjoy checking out various locally-owned restaurants throughout the Twin Cities, spending time at coffee shops, seeing movies, drinking wine, and interior design.  During the summer, I like to spend time in the sun near the river, the lakes, and one of the local farmer’s markets.  I look forward to meeting you!        

Julie Markant (marka086@umn.edu): Hi!  I am a second-year student here at the Institute.  I am originally from western New York and I graduated from Cornell University in 2002 with a B.A. in Psychology.  Following graduation, I worked for several years as the lab manager for an infant perception lab at the University of Rochester.  Here at ICD, I am working with Katie Thomas and I am especially interested in pursuing research related to attention, learning, and brain development during infancy and early childhood. Outside of school, I enjoy attending concerts at the School of Music, running around the city lakes, hiking and kayaking during the summer, and maintaining my addiction to the show Lost (it’s so creepy!).  I’m looking forward to meeting you when you visit!

Lindsay Mathieson (mathi137@umn.edu): Hi! I’m a second year student in the joint child-clinical program. I am originally from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, and I completed my BSc there at the University of Victoria in 2004. I took a year off, working as an RA and a TA, before arriving here in Minnesota. Currently I am working in the Crick lab. My research interests are in relational victimization and aggression in children and adolescents, as well as internalizing problems such as depression. I am also interested in child maltreatment and children’s exposure to violence. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with friends and family, walking and biking around the lakes, reading books (I love Harry Potter), watching hockey, and learning to play hockey - my favourite thing about Minnesota in the winter is outdoor hockey!! I’m looking forward to meeting you all!

Elizabeth Oliva (oliv0136@umn.edu): Hello! My name is Elizabeth Oliva and I am a fourth-year student in the joint clinical and developmental program. I received my B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from UCLA and then worked for three years at Stanford University/Department of Veterans Affairs on a multi-site study of opiate substitution treatment programs. In terms of research, I am studying the adult developmental outcomes associated with adolescent substance use behaviors and am currently working in the Parent-Child and Project Competence labs at ICD and will be conducting my dissertation work with the Minnesota Twin Family Study in the Department of Psychology. In my free time (yes, you will have some as a first year!) I enjoy playing sports and have recently developed an appreciation for cross-country skiing. For those of you worried about the weather don’t let the cold scare you; there were 4 Californians in my cohort and we all adjusted just fine. Anyhow, I look forward to meeting you when you come to visit!

Jessica Salvatore (salv0041@umn.edu) Welcome to ICD! I graduated from Carleton College in 2006, and am now a first-year in the general child psychology program. I work primarily with Andy Collins on projects concerning the legacy of early social experience. Andy and I are also working with Jeff Simpson (Psychology) on a project of facial emotion processing in romantic couples. When I'm not studying or working in the Parent-Child lab, I'm usually running around the lakes of Minneapolis, training for whatever race is coming up.

Sara Spencer (spen0128@umn.edu): Hi! My name is Sara Spencer and I'm a first year student at ICD. I completed my bachelor's degree in May 2006 at Valparaiso University where I majored in Psychology and minored in Biology. Here at ICD I'm working with Katie Thomas on a longitudinal project examining attention and memory processes in 9 and 10 year olds using behavioral tasks in conjunction with EEG and fMRI techniques. As for future interests, I would like to study auditory memory processes, especially as they relate to music abilities. I am especially interested in the differences between memory for music as opposed to other forms of memory, as well as what parts of music (such as rhythm and melody) my contribute to enhancing memory development. In my free time (what free time?!) I sing in the National Lutheran Choir which is based here in the twin cities, I run around Lake Como when the weather isn't too awful, and I hang out with my friends.