Current Graduate Students
Patrice Arkfeld, MS
Patrice (she/her/hers) is a 6th year graduate student in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program. Originally from Iowa, she obtained her masters degree in clinical mental health counseling from the University of Nebraska, Omaha. Her research focuses on improving therapeutic outcomes among adolescents and college-aged individuals who engage in self injurious thoughts and behaviors. .
Emma Smith, MS
Emma (she/her/hers) is a 5th year student in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program. Her research focus is primarily on the therapeutic uses and associated impairments of cannabis use, with interests in how potency, methods of administration, and quantity converge to create both subjective and objective intoxication effects in humans. She also hopes to explore the associations between prolonged grief and a variety of cannabis use characteristics in grieving populations. Prior to moving to Fort Collins, she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Washington State University in Pullman, WA, and is originally from the Seattle area.
Tom Schlechter, MS
Tom (they/them) is a 5th year student in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program at Colorado State University. Originally from Pennsylvania, Tom completed their B.A. at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH and worked as a Project Coordinator with the SURF Lab at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee before starting at CSU. Tom’s current research focuses on psychological measurement and health disparities. Outside of graduate school, Tom enjoys open water swimming, painting, and going to vintage stores.
Naomi McFarland, MS
Naomi (she/her/hers) is a 4th year student in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program at CSU. She received her BS from the University of Washington, where she studied the reward system in mice. Since then, Naomi has shifted her focus to clinical research with broad interests in health behavior change, substance use prevention and intervention and polysubstance use. Naomi is also passionate about public health and aims to contribute to policy change. Outside of academia, you can find Naomi volunteering at local animal sanctuaries/rescues, cuddling up on the couch with her cat and dog, and enjoying the beautiful landscape that Colorado has to offer.
Brenna Carter, BS BA
Brenna (she/they) is a 4th year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at Colorado State University. Born and raised in Colorado, Brenna obtained a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Colorado State University. After graduating, Brenna served at an academic intervention non-profit under AmeriCorps, specializing in interventions with students at risk of dropping out of high school due to a variety of reasons, such as minority status, struggling with substance use, traumatic exposure, and low academic performance. After retuirning to Colorado State for graduate training, Brenna seeks to continue researching the intersections between substance use, traumatic exposure, and minority status on health disparities. Additionally, Brenna pursues additional research centered psychological research methods and academic performance among military veterans in higher education. Outside of CSU, Brenna loves watching and performing in the arts, yoga classes, and reading fiction.
Mohammad Habib, BA
Mohammad (he/him/his) is a 2nd year student in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program. Originally from Arizona, Mohammad completed his B.A. at the University of Colorado Boulder and worked as a Research Assistant at Dartmouth College, before starting at Colorado State University. Mohammad’s research focus is primarily on the therapeutic and impairing effects of cannabis consumption. He is also interested in creating standard measures of cannabis consumption in an effort to develop a standard cannabis doses. In his free time, Mohammad enjoys hanging out with friends, listening to music, and going to basketball games.
Carolyn Lorenzi, MA
Carolyn (she/her/hers) is a 2nd year in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program. Originally from New York, Carolyn obtained her B.A. in Psychology at Stony Brook University and her M.A. in Clinical Psychology at Western Carolina University. Her research focuses on borderline personality disorder (BPD) traits in adolescents and predictors of maladaptive behaviors, particularly risky sexual behaviors and self-injurious behaviors. She is also interested in improving access to treatment for individuals with BPD. In her free time, Carolyn enjoys hiking, cooking, and spending time with her dog.
Post-Baccalaureate Research Assistants
Kira Sturgess, BS
Kira (she/her/hers) is a post-baccalaureate student within the lab. She is currently in the Master’s Program in Psychology at William and Mary. In 2021, she began working in the lab as an undergraduate research assistant while completing her undergraduate degree and continues to volunteer in the lab since completing her BS in Psychology at CSU in 2023. Her current research involves investigating factors which decouple health risk behaviors and health outcomes in distinct populations (i.e. clinical populations, individuals with a chronic disease(s), histories of trauma). Specifically, she is interested in how mindfulness and other meditative practices impact risky behaviors such as cannabis use, medication adherence, and immune function. Originally from New Jersey, she enjoys surfing in her free time, training for half marathons and cooking for friends and family.Siena Ho Shue, BA
Siena (she/her/hers) is a post-baccalaureate researcher and a student in the Masters in Addiction Counseling Program. She completed her BA in Psychology and Criminology at the University of Southern Florida in 2021. Her research focuses on intimate partner violence and consent.
Graduate Students on Internship
Vanessa Stallsmith Shapiro, MS
Vanessa (she/her/hers) is completing her doctoral internship at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine in Family Medicine Louisville Integrated Primary Care. She is a student in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program. Her dissertation is on the impact of cannabis on physical activity among sedentary adults.
Alex Tyskiewicz, MACP MS
Alex (he/him/his) is completing his doctoral internship at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is a student in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program. He is originally from Rochester New York. He recently graduated with a Master’s in Addictions Counseling from CSU. Alex’s current research is concerned with predictors of cannabis use and cannabis use outcomes. He is particularly interested in the development of a standard dose of cannabis. Alex is interested in understanding variables that lead to both positive and negative cannabis outcomes. In his free time, he enjoys playing music and spending time with friends.
Previous Graduate Students
Deborah Essert, PhD
Debbie (she/her/hers) is currently the Director of Wahpikisik Integrated Health Division at the Rocky Boy Health Center on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation in Montana. She earned her PhD in 2017 in the Counseling Psychology doctoral program at Colorado State University. She completed her doctoral internship in Primary Care at A.F. Williams Health Center in the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, Colorado.
Rachel Eby, PhD
Rachel (she/her/hers) earned her PhD in 2018 from the Counseling Psychology doctoral program. Rachel passed away in 2026. Prior to that, she worked in private practice as a Licensed Psychologist. She completed her doctoral internship at Community Reach in Denver, Colorado. Rachel was an extraordinay psychologist who had the ability to make everyone feel loved and understood. She had immense warmth, a wicked sense of humor, she was incredibly smart, and she was deeply compassionate.
Morgan Sneed, MACP
Morgan (he/him/his) graduated from the Master’s of Addiction Counseling program at CSU in the Spring of 2020. He was also a graduate of the undergraduate addiction counseling program at CSU. He Morgan passed away in 2020. He was a Licensed Addiction Counselor and was pursuing licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor. Morgan was planning to apply to PhD programs to further his clinical and research experience in trauma treatment and substance misuse. He cared deeply about the work he was doing and the people he was helping. He was someone we should all aspire to be.
Jamie Parnes, PhD
Jamie (he/him/his) graduated from the Counseling Psychology doctoral program in 2021. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Massachutsettes, Amherst. He was formerly a Doctoral Intern and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University and Bradley Hospital.
Shane Kentopp, PhD
Shane (he/him/his) graduated from the Counseling Psychology doctoral program in 2021. He is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor, General Medicine Ambulatory in the University of Kansas Medical School. He was formerly a Clinical Child Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School. Shane completed his doctoral intenrship at Denver Health Medical Center in Denver, Colorado.
Ryan Rahm-Knigge, PhD
Ryan (he/him/his) graduated from the Counseling Psychology doctoral program in 2021. He is currently an Assistant Professor and the Director of Clinical Services and the
Program Coordinator for the Compulsive Sexual Behavior Program at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health, in the University of Minnesota Medical School. He completed his doctoral internship in Health Psychology/Behavioral Medicine at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Gemma Wallace, PhD
Gemma (she/her/hers) graduated from the Counseling Psychology doctoral program in 2023. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow on the NIMH Suicide Research T32 at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She completed her doctoral internship in Health Psychology/Behavioral Medicine at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Megan Gardner Weishaar, PhD
Megan (she/her/hers) graduated from the Counseling Psychology doctoral program in 2024. She is currently a Psychologist in the UCHealth Burn and Frostbite Center at the University of Colorado Hospital. She was formerly a Rehabilitation Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Washington School of Medicine, Harborview Medical Center.
Sam DiCecco, PhD
Sam (he/him/his) is currently working as a Postdoctoral Fellow on the NIDA T32 Training in Genetic and Neurobehavioral Mechanisms of Addiction Program at University of Minnesota. Sam graduated in 2024 from the Cognitive Psychology program through the Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Neurosciences program.
Elizabeth Lucci-Rimer PhD
Elizabeth (she/her/hers) is a post-doctoral fellow in the Oregon Health and Science University Behavioral Pediatrics program. She graduated in 2025 from the Counseling Psychology doctoral program and completed her doctoral internship at Denver Health Medical Center in Denver, Colorado.
Vanessa Joachin, PhD MPH
Vanessa (she/her/hers) is currently in private practice in Fort Collins, Colorado. Vanessa received her PhD in 2025 from the Counseling Psychology doctoral program. She completed her doctoral internship at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana, specializing in infant and early childhood mental health.
Laura Hogan, PhD
Laura (she/her/hers) is a counselor with the Argus Institute, providing emotional support for both pet families and veterinary providers. She graduated in 2025 from the Counseling Psychology doctoral program and completed her internship at the Health Network at Colorado State University in Fort Colins, Colorado.