Meet Our Team
James J. Hodge, Ph.D.
Director, CORE
Assistant Research Professor
Phone: 814-898-7041
Email: [email protected]
Dr. James Hodge is a proud Penn State Behrend graduate with an undergraduate degree in psychology, and a doctoral degree in social psychology from the University of Vermont. James was named the director of CORE in March 2019, having previously served as the interim director, director of evaluation, and Positive Youth Development coordinator. James also has an appointment as an assistant research professor at Behrend, which gives him the opportunity to teach a number of classes at the undergraduate and graduate levels. James brings to CORE extensive training in quantitative research, coupled with a passion for understanding and promoting positive social change for youth.
Charisse Nixon, Ph.D.
Associate Director, CORE
Professor of Psychology
Phone: 814-898-6041
Email: [email protected]
As a full professor, Dr. Charisse Nixon is active in the academic and applied spheres at Penn State Behrend. Much of her research focuses on preventing peer aggression and promoting resiliency among youth. Her background in developmental psychology and quantitative research is an especially positive contribution to CORE, as she helps lead many research initiatives that focus on promoting positive youth development for Erie youth.
Rebecca Frausel, Ph.D.
Associate Director of Research and Evaluation
Phone: 814-898-6616
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Frausel earned her Ph.D. in Comparative Human Development from the University of Chicago in 2018. In her research, she bridges the theoretical divide between her two undergraduate disciplines of English Literature and Psychology, by studying the psychology of storytelling across the lifespan. In her dissertation, she examined the cognitive and linguistic benefits of sharing stories of personal experience in early parent-child interactions. Her more recent work is concerned with how personal storytelling can promote feelings of empathy, connectedness, and belonging in adolescents. Rebecca brings to CORE an extensive background in mixed methods research and evaluation, and is passionate about guiding educators, practitioners, and researchers in supporting positive youth development.
Kristin Hesch
Mentor Project Coordinator
Phone: 814-898-6653
Email: [email protected]
Kristin Hesch developed an interest in youth and adolescents while pursuing her Psychology degree at Penn State Behrend, including an internship with The Ophelia Project. She went on to obtain her master’s degree in organizational leadership from Mercyhurst University, with a research thesis focused on the roles of empathy and forgiveness in relational aggression. Kristin has spent the past 20 years mentoring middle and high school students in the Erie community through training, speaking, and facilitating networks of connection. Kristin speaks with passion, clarity, and enthusiasm for progress. As mentor project coordinator, she believes mentoring acts as a catalyst in moving both the individuals and the community forward.
Mary A. Baird, M.S.
Mentor Project Consultant
Phone: 814-898-6514
Email: [email protected]
Mary Baird has served as CORE’s mentor coordinator since July 2016. She has years of experience in mentoring both high school students and college students. Formerly, she served as the CEO of The Ophelia Project, based in Erie. During her tenure, she traveled throughout the nation working with students at all levels in mentoring capacities. She has co-authored mentoring and anti-bullying curriculum and video materials that appear on CORE’s site as part of The Ophelia Project works. Her true passion lies in working toward building connected relationships between college students, community mentors, and the middle-school-aged children they strive to serve.
Abbe Biebel, B.S.
PYD Coordinator
Phone: 814-898-6297
Email: [email protected]
Abigail Biebel, Positive Youth Development (PYD) Coordinator, earned her bachelor’s degree in business, liberal arts, and science from Penn State and is a certified 40 Developmental Asset Trainer through the Search Institute. She works throughout Erie County empowering youth and adults to build these assets in the youth around them. Her goal is to activate sectors of the community to recognize the important role a positive adult can play in the life of a young person and to remember that “Every Youth Matters, One Youth at a Time.” She coordinates youth summits, networking breakfasts, PYD task force meetings, and developmental asset trainings.
Jonathan Kinnear, B.A.
Research Assistant
Phone: 814-898-6297
Email: [email protected]
Jonathan Kinnear earned his psychology degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and has been working at CORE for over five years. As a research assistant at CORE, Jonathan brings great ideas and support to the team. His participation in PYD task forces, attention to detail, and research experience are great assets. The integrity and success of many PYD initiatives are thanks to Jonathan’s hard work and behind-the-scenes help.
Nate Magee, M.S.
Community Outreach & Evaluation Coordinator
Phone: 814-898-7563
Email: [email protected]
Nate Magee began as an intern at CORE in 2009 while he was earning his undergraduate degree in developmental psychology from Edinboro University. He stayed on part-time while completing his master’s degree in special education at Mercyhurst University. Nate is passionate about the strength-based approach that CORE and Positive Youth Development employ to help youth achieve better outcomes. As a member of the American Evaluation Association, he is actively involved in many evaluation projects at CORE.
Melanie Hetzel-Riggin, Ph.D.
Faculty Affiliate
Professor of Psychology
Phone: 814-898-6949
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Melanie D. Hetzel-Riggin received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology in August of 2005 from Northern Illinois University. She is a professor of psychology at Penn State Behrend and is a licensed clinical psychologist. Her dissertation investigated the role of dissociation on physiological reactivity to reminders of rape experiences. Her current research focuses on the effectiveness of bystander intervention to reduce sexual violence and peer mistreatment, as well as the relationship among interpersonal trauma, coping style, and mental health outcomes. Her teaching interests include abnormal psychology, clinical psychology, trauma and resiliency, career counseling, crisis intervention, ethics, and research methods.
Wilson Brown, Ph.D.
Faculty Affiliate
Assistant Professor
Program Coordinator, Applied Clinical Psychology M.A. Program
Phone: 814-898-6936
Email: [email protected]
Wilson J. Brown, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of child clinical psychology and program coordinator of the Applied Clinical Psychology (ACPSY) master’s degree program at Penn State Behrend. He completed his doctoral training and formal trauma specialization at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, predoctoral internship in the traumatic stress rotation at the Medical University of South Carolina, and postdoctoral fellowship in clinical psychology at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Traumatic Stress (CTSTS) at Summa Health System in Akron, Ohio. Dr. Brown specializes in translational research and treatment of traumatic stress. He works with both child and adult populations and has completed certified trainings in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Prolonged Exposure (PE). Recently, Dr. Brown has focused on the dissemination of trauma-informed services in the community setting. Dr. Brown has conducted numerous trainings and continued consultation at community mental health agencies that service both child and adult populations. His intention is to create a change in culture at the organizational, provider, and service levels in community mental health agencies that inherently treat highly traumatized populations to a trauma-informed model.
Molly Monahan Lang, Ph.D.
Faculty Affiliate
Assistant Teaching Professor, Sociology
Phone: 814-898-6290
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Molly Monahan Lang is a native of Erie who earned her undergraduate degree from Penn State University. She earned her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from North Carolina State University, where she cultivated her love of teaching sociology to undergraduates. After teaching at Baldwin-Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, and Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, she returned to Erie. Now at Behrend, she is proud to teach where her father taught for 25 years. Her research interests include the constructions and inequalities associated with race, social class, and gender in various social institutions such as family, medicine, and the law. She is interested in the opportunities and constraints that affect people's chances of living long lives of high quality.
Daniell DiFrancesca, Ph.D.
Faculty Affiliate
Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology
Phone: 814-898-6190
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Daniell DiFrancesca earned her Ph.D. in educational psychology from North Carolina State University in 2015. She is currently an assistant professor of psychology at Penn State Behrend. Prior to earning her doctorate, she taught middle school for seven years and worked on district and state initiatives to improve learning outcomes for students and teachers. Dr. DiFrancesca’s research interests focus on developing self-regulation in learning with a focus on designing and evaluating classroom-based interventions. Additionally, Dr. DiFrancesca has worked as an evaluator for university programs and community initiatives. Her background also gives her the opportunity to teach courses in both psychology and education at Behrend.
Lisa Ciecierski, Ph.D.
Faculty Affiliate
Assistant Professor of Language and Literacy
Phone: 814-898-6069
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Lisa Ciecierski earned her Ph.D. from Kent State University in curriculum and instruction with a focus on literacy education. She is an assistant professor of language and literacy education as well as the program chair of the Elementary and Early Childhood Education program at Penn State Behrend. Dr. Ciecierski has over fifteen years of experience teaching with Erie Public Schools as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, reading facilitator, and has served in many leadership positions working with teachers and administrators on curriculum development, instruction, and assessment. She is also a literacy consultant providing support and instruction to elementary, middle, and secondary teachers across the United States both independently and through the Southern Regional Education Board. Dr. Ciecierski’s research interests include reading and writing and specifically how children and adolescents learn and interact through with authentic literature and "making" within and across the content areas. She is the director of the PennLake National Writing Project, which was moved to Penn State Behrend in 2017.