About New2Neuropsychology

The New2Neuropsychology (N2N) Mission

N2N aims to facilitate greater equity and inclusion in neuropsychology through outreach to historically underrepresented students, with the ultimate goal of improving access and representation for underserved communities.

 Objective

To support students in successful matriculation through neuropsychology training programs by providing the following:

    1. Easy access to practical resources about neuropsychology training
    2. Connections to neuropsychologists from underrepresented backgrounds
    3. Warm hand-offs to mentorship and networking opportunities


N2N Committees

Outreach Program

The N2N Outreach Program Committee partners with colleges and universities in the United States and Canada to educate historically underrepresented college students about the field of neuropsychology and the training pathway. The Outreach Program Committee is currently partnering primarily with Historically Black Colleges & Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and community colleges. 

The Outreach Program Committee plans events to serve the needs of students at these institutions including presentations, interactive “brain games”, and question & answer sessions. These events provide exposure for students to neuropsychologists from underrepresented backgrounds and provide institutions with textbooks about training in neuropsychology.

If you’re interested in hosting a N2N event at your institution, please contact us here!

Resource Development

The N2N Resource Development Committee designs and maintains the N2N website, including gathering and organizing website content for interested students and professional neuropsychologists and creating original website content to support the mission of N2N. Additionally, the Resource Development Committee creates N2N presentations, pamphlets, and flyers, and procures textbooks and additional resources for students.

If you have feedback about this website or resources you think would be useful for students, please let us know here!

Student Engagement

The N2N Student Engagement Committee manages N2N social media activities to engage interested students and facilitates warm hand-offs for students (e.g., through the N2N Student Liaison program) to opportunities for mentorship, networking, and shadowing experiences. The Student Engagement Committee also plans networking “Meet & Learn” events that take place at professional neuropsychology conferences throughout the year and a “Neuropsych Starter Pack Giveaway” each fall.

If you’re interested in hosting a N2N networking “Meet & Learn” event or would like to provide shadowing opportunities for interested students, please contact us here!

Program Evaluation

The N2N Program Evaluation Committee evaluates whether the overarching goals of N2N are being met by collecting, analyzing, and disseminating data related to various key outcomes. The Program Evaluation Committee uses this evaluation process to ensure N2N’s initiatives are effective and accessible, identify areas of growth, recommend program changes, and steer N2N towards continuous improvement and alignment with its core mission.

If you have any suggestions for future areas of focus for N2N, please let us know here!


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N2N Leadership

Taylor Schmitt, PhD

N2N Founder & Director
Pronouns: she/her

Taylor is a young woman with brown hair. She is smiling at the camera.

Dr. Taylor Schmitt is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Neuropsychology Program at the University of Michigan, Department of Psychiatry. She earned her bachelor’s degree at DePaul University and her PhD in Clinical Psychology at Saint Louis University, including a predoctoral internship at the University of Oklahoma, and her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan. Dr. Schmitt is passionate about advocacy and using outreach and science to empower voices of individuals from historically underrepresented and marginalized groups. Her research focuses on equitable training and education practices in psychology and neuropsychology, patient-centered care practices, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in students and marginalized communities, and cognitive and behavioral outcomes following deep brain stimulation for patients with Parkinson’s disease.  

In her free time, Dr. Schmitt enjoys playing with her dog (“Boomer”), hanging out at coffeeshops, crafting, dancing, reading, and getting together with friends and family. 


Administrative Team

Libby DesRuisseaux, MS

N2N Administrative Coordinator
Pronouns: she/her

Libby is a young woman with brown hair standing in front of a city skyline. She is smiling at the camera.

Libby DesRuisseaux is a doctoral student at the University of Utah working under the mentorship of Dr. Yana Suchy. She graduated from Tufts University in 2018 and worked as a clinical research coordinator for 2 years in an Alzheimer’s Disease clinical trial unit at Massachusetts General Hospital during her gap years. Libby’s current research focuses on executive functioning and daily functioning in older adults, particularly on intra-individual variability as an indicator of subtle cognitive weakness. She is passionate about her service work, particularly in supporting students from underrepresented and minoritized backgrounds in their pursuit of a career in neuropsychology. Libby also serves as a Co-Chair of the AACN Relevance 2050 Student Pipeline Subcommittee.

In her free time, Libby loves to hike, ski, read, travel, and spend time with friends and family. 

Leah Talbert, MS

N2N Treasurer
Pronouns: she/her

Leah is a young woman with dark brown curly hair. She is smiling at the camera.

Leah’s research interests include the use of advanced forms of neuroimaging to enhance diagnosis and prognosis, monitor recovery, and evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic intervention in traumatic brain injury. She is particularly interested in working with African-American patients with traumatic brain injury in order to optimize medical outcomes for this underserved population by improving diagnostic measures and African-American representation in neuroimaging/neuropsychological research. She’s dedicated to diversifying the field of neuropsychology to substantially increase the percentage of patients we, and the generation of neuropsychologists who follow us, are able to competently serve.


Accessibility

crys hardy, BSed, MS

Accessibility Consultant
Pronouns: they/them

Headshot of crys hardy smiling at the camera.
crys hardy is a graduate student, mental health therapist, sign language interpreter, and a communal holistic healer. They work to end violence and control by engaging in research projects, providing holistic healing spaces, training to groups through an equity framework grounded in agency, body liberation, and community building. They are pursuing their graduate degree at Mercer University College of Health Profession’s Clinical Psychology PsyD program with a focus on neuropsychology. crys is an alum of Valdosta State University’s Bachelors of Science in Education American Sign Language/Interpreting program, and an alum of Mercer University’s Masters of Science Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. Currently, crys maintains careers as a nationally certified sign language interpreter, a holistic guide, and a licensed professional counselor, and is an accessibility consultant with New2Neuropsychology.


Committee Chairs

Ronnise Owens, MS, MPH

Outreach Program Committee Chair
Pronouns: she/her

Headshot of Ronnise Owens, a brown skinned African American femme-presenting woman with dark brown loosely curled hair, smiling at the camera.

Ronnise Owens is a 5th year doctoral student in the Mercer University College of Health Profession’s Clinical Psychology PsyD program and a neuropsychology intern at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She is an alumna of Spelman College and received her Master of Public Health degree from Mercer University College of Health Professions. Her doctoral research is focused on evaluating neurodevelopment, cognitive functioning and clinical management in children with epilepsy. She is also interested in addressing social determinants of health in neurological populations, neuropsychological practice within minority communities and reducing disparities within academic and community settings. Ronnise is also an advocate and educator for mental health awareness within minority communities and is involved in the intentional recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority students in the field of psychology and neuropsychology. In addition to her service on the New2Neuropsychology Committee, she is a rotating member for KnowNeuropsychology and a committee member of AACN Student Pipeline Subcommittee. At the community level, Ronnise is the founder of Break the Silence. Join the Conversation., a mental health awareness organization to educate minority and faith-based communities on the importance of eradicating the stigma and recognizing warning signs in one’s mental health. Since September 2018, Ronnise has conducted numerous workshops within Black churches, community organizations, schools, university campuses, and regional conferences.

Allison del Castillo Payne, MA

Resource Development Committee Chair
Pronouns: she/her

Allison del Castillo Payne is a 4th year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Loyola University Chicago. Her interest in neuropsychology began as a sophomore at Georgetown University, where she stumbled upon a course on neuropsychology. It was through this course that Allison found her passion for neuropsychology and for reducing barriers to accessing the field. Prior to graduate school, Allison was a clinical research coordinator at Children’s National Hospital for 2 years, coordinating studies examining neuropsychological functioning in children and adolescents with neurofibromatosis type 1, cancer, and hemophilia. Her current research focuses on neuropsychological, family, and peer factors associated with psychosocial adjustment and medical self-management in youth and young adults with spina bifida. In her free time, Allison enjoys cooking (particularly Cuban food as an homage to her Cuban roots), reading, dancing, and spending time with friends and family.

K.C. Hewitt, PsyD

Student Engagement Committee Chair
Pronouns: she/her

Headshot of K.C. Hewitt smiling at the camera

Dr. K.C. Hewitt is a neuropsychologist with Prisma Health at Roger C. Peace Rehabilitation Hospital in Greenville, SC. She earned her PsyD in Clinical Psychology at Mercer University, including a predoctoral internship through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln at QLI, and her postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Hewitt is dedicated to early career development through supervision of students at all levels through her adjunct faculty positions at Emory University and Mercer University. In her free time, she likes traveling, photography, board games, and hanging out with her family and cats. 

Milena Gotra, PhD

Program Evaluation Committee Chair
Pronouns: she/her

Milena Gotra is currently a first-year postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan. Her path to neuropsychology started with two years of community college, after which she transferred to complete her bachelor’s degree in psychology. She completed a terminal master’s degree in clinical counseling at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, followed by a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and internship at West Virginia University. Her clinical interests are in epilepsy and other neurosurgical populations, as well as working with interpreters and developing culturally appropriate test batteries. Her current research focuses on cognitive and behavioral outcomes in patients undergoing epilepsy surgery and her graduate work has focused on biological predictors of divergent cognitive profiles in psychosis spectrum disorders.

Oluwaseun Ogunleye, MA

Program Evaluation Committee, Technical Lead
Pronouns: she/her

Oluwaseun Oyindamola Ogunleye is a Master’s student in Educational Studies with a concentration in Educational Equity, Justice and Social Transformation at the University of Michigan. She is dedicated to investigating inclusion in education, particularly the inclusion of underrepresented groups, and conducting an intersectional study of education, organizational theory and other social cultural topics. She is committed to using her ability to engage with diverse communities, contribute to research initiatives, and implement inclusive practices in supporting the organization’s goals and objectives. When she is not working, she is either learning a new language or exploring diverse cuisines.

 


N2N Advisory Board

The N2N Advisory Board is comprised of members with representation across several organizations, including:

  1. American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology
  2. Asian Neuropsychological Association
  3. Hispanic Neuropsychological Society
  4. International Neuropsychological Society
  5. Know Neuropsychology
  6. Navigating Neuropsychology
  7. Queer Neuropsychological Society
  8. Society for Black Neuropsychology
  9. University of California, Los Angeles
  10. University of Michigan

Current N2N Advisors include:

  1. Alexander Tan, PhD
  2. Anthony Stringer, PhD, ABPP-CN
  3. Cady Block, PhD, ABPP-CN
  4. Carol Persad, PhD, ABPP-CN
  5. Courtney Ray, PhD, MDiv
  6. Jenny Peraza, PsyD, ABPP-CN
  7. Jesús O. Barreto Abrams, PhD
  8. John Bellone, PhD, ABPP-CN
  9. Kristen Votruba, PhD, ABPP-CN
  10. Matthew Calamia, PhD
  11. Octavio Santos, PhD
  12. Paola Suarez, PhD
  13. Ryan Van Patten, PhD, ABPP-CN

Past N2N Advisors include:

  1. Anny Reyes, PhD
  2. Nick Thaler, PhD, ABPP-CN


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Disclaimer

The information on this website is for general informational purposes only. New2Neuropsychology makes no representation or warranty, express or implied. New2Neuropsychology is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. Your use of the site is solely at your own risk. This site may contain links to third party content, which we do not warrant, endorse, or assume liability for.

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