Brenda Nash, PhD
Chair
Advanced Clinical Emphasis Area
Advisor
Full professor
[email protected]
Dr. Nash, a tenured professor, holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Kentucky. After completing her internship, she returned to her native Louisville and quickly became involved with Spalding, teaching as clinical faculty for nine years before joining the faculty full-time in 2006. From 2011-2020, she assumed the role of Director of Clinical Training, overseeing students’ practicum and internship placements. She was named the 2020 Spalding University Board of Trustees Faculty of the Year. Dr. Nash specializes in working with survivors of trauma, including sexual and physical abuse, childhood abuse, domestic violence, automobile accidents, catastrophic loss, etc. She approaches therapy from an interpersonal perspective and is also passionate about teaching students how to work effectively and compassionately with trauma survivors. She is licensed in Kentucky and maintains a small private practice where she routinely provides pro bono services. She is a member of APA and KPA, where she has also served as a past Executive Board member.
In 2020, Dr. Nash was appointed by Governor Andy Beshear to serve on the Kentucky Board of Examiners in Psychology and has served as Board Chair since January of 2022. Also in 2022, the Kentucky Psychological Association named her Kentucky’s Psychologist of the Year.
Norah Chapman, PhD
Associate Chair
Associate Professor
Dr. Chapman earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Kentucky. Her primary research interests are in evaluating components of psychotherapy process and outcome, both in person and via telepsychology, to develop evidence-based practices that increase the access to and quality of mental health care amongst underserved populations. Although Dr. Chapman uses an integration of interpersonal process, cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness theories to inform her work, her clinical approach is ultimately informed by a client-directed outcome-informed (CDOI) model. She is currently a member of the APA Division 17 Section for the Promotion of Psychotherapy Science, is involved with the Society for Psychotherapy Research and the KPA.
Claire Beaulieu, PsyD
Director for the Center for Behavioral Health
Assistant Professor
[email protected]

Tom Bergandi, PhD
Full Professor
[email protected]
Allison Fowler, PhD
Undergraduate Program Director
Assistant Professor
Dr. Fowler earned her Ph.D. from the University of Louisville in Educational Psychology, Measurement, and Evaluation, and is excited to be continuing her career as an Assistant Professor in the SOPP. A strong belief in the importance of education is at the core of Dr. Fowler’s research and teaching. Her background is rooted in the practice and pedagogy of a successful classroom, as she earned her B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Kentucky. That training was the catalyst for her research, which examines the relationship between developmental theory, achievement motivation, and learning. She centers her teaching around fostering a positive classroom community in which both the students and herself can learn and grow, using the latest research and evidence-based strategies to aid in the process.
Lucille Gardner, PsyD
Associate Director of the Collective Care Center
Assistant Professor
Dr. Gardner is an alumna of Rutgers University where she studied psychology and music. She earned a MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Indiana State University, and a MA and PsyD in Clinical Psychology from Spalding University. She completed her internship at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she worked with college students and survivors of political torture, before completing her postdoctoral fellowship within Student Wellness at The University of Chicago. Dr. Gardner has trained in a wide array of mental health settings including residential treatment, juvenile detention, community mental health clinics, private practice, and college counseling centers; settings in which she has used her strong generalist skills and training to wedge herself in between trauma and multiculturalism. Dr. Gardner is an integrationist. She believes in the nature of collective healing and the value of being grounded in both identity and community. Thus, her approach to therapy (thinking about, teaching about, and doing) is collaborative, contextually informed, trauma informed, justice oriented, affirmative, and prioritizes liberation. She seeks to center those marginalized by systems that have far long deferred fault. Dr. Gardner works to reconcile the relationship between evidence and practice for oppressed people as she establishes her place in the field of psychology through clinical work, leadership, and in the classroom.
Steve Katsikas, PhD
Office of Special Programs and Research (OSPRe) Director
Professor
Dr. Steve Katsikas obtained his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Arkansas. He has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in psychopathology, child/adolescent psychopathology, tests and measurement theory, advanced quantitative methods, and personality, culture and social structure. He served as the Chair of the School of Professional Psychology for 13 years. He has been an active member of the Kentucky Psychology Association, most recently as the representative for the Education and Training Interest Group. Dr. Katsikas’ clinical interests are in the area of child and adolescent assessment and treatment of children with behavioral difficulties. His research interests include psychometric properties of the Rorschach Inkblot Technique, attachment theory, child psychopathology and scale development. His most recent publications have been in the areas of juvenile fire setting, cross-cultural differences in childrearing practices, computer use among the elderly and the effects of psychostimulants on weight change in Hispanic children.
Dr. Katsikas, former program chair, is the 2020 Kentucky Psychological Association President.
Steven Kniffley, PsyD, MPA, ABPP, HSP
Chief Diversity Officer
Director of Collective Care Center in the CBH
Assistant Professor
[email protected]
Dr. Steven D. Kniffley Jr. received his doctorate and master’s degree in clinical psychology from Spalding University where he specialized in child, adolescent, and family therapy. He completed his post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kniffley also has a Master’s in Public administration from Wright State University. Dr. Kniffley's area of expertise is research and clinical work with Black males. Specifically, his work focuses on understanding and developing culturally appropriate interventions for Black male mental health as well as barriers to academic success for this population. As an educational consultant Dr. Kniffley has worked internationally with students and school administrators in South Africa and India. Dr. Kniffley also serves as an organizational diversity consultant and works with law enforcement departments on addressing conflicts between communities of color and police officers. Some of his books include: Knowledge of Self: Understanding the Mind of the Black male, Out of KOS (Knowledge of Self): Black male psychopathology and its treatment, and Black males and the Criminal Justice System. Follow Dr. Kniffley’s blog.
In 2020, Dr. Kniffley was recognized as an up-and-coming leader in Louisville Business First's "Forty Under 40".
Ken Linfield, PhD
Professor Emeritus
[email protected]
Willie McBride, PhD
Director of Adult Neuropsychology Emphasis Area
Assistant Professor

David Morgan, PhD
Professor Emeritus
[email protected]
Hannah M. Richardson, PsyD
Director of Pediatric/Adolescent Neuropsychology Emphasis Area
Assistant Professor

Mike Starling, PhD
Assistant Professor

Andrea S. Westfall-King, PsyD
Director of Health Psychology Emphasis Area
Assistant Professor
[email protected]

DeDe Wohlfarth, PsyD
Full professor
[email protected]
Amy Young, PsyD
Director of Clinical Training
Associate Professor
[email protected]
