Kate Walsh
Dr. Kate Walsh is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Psychology (Clinical Area Group) and Gender & Women’s Studies departments. She is director of the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, a multidisciplinary collective of faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and students, and serves on the Executive Committee of the Better Tomorrow Network, a research collective of forensic nursing sites throughout the country. She runs the Preventing Interpersonal Violence and Overcoming Trauma (PIVOT) Lab, which studies the prevention of and response to sexual violence.
Email: klwalsh2@wisc.edu
Links: CV | Faculty Page | Google Scholar | Twitter
Graduate Students
Stephanie B. Ward
Stephanie (she/her/hers) is fifth-year PhD student in the clinical psychology program studying the intersections of sexual behavior, substance use, and psychopathology. Her research examines risk factors for and outcomes of sexual violence, with a particular interest in the processes that underlie sexual assault perpetration involving alcohol or other drugs. Before joining the PIVOT Lab, Stephanie received a BA in Psychology from the University of South Carolina in 2017 and spent two years as a post-bacc researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She has since received her en-route MS in Psychology here at UW-Madison.
Email: sbward@wisc.edu
Padideh Hassanpour
Padideh (she/her/hers) is a fourth-year PhD student in the clinical psychology program. Her interests center on understanding the emotional outcomes of sexual victimization (e.g., shame), their role in the development of psychopathology (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder), and how trauma-informed interventions can be strengthened and tailored for survivors with marginalized identities. Prior to joining the PIVOT Lab, Padideh received a BA in Gender Studies from the University of Toronto in 2016, and an MPhil in Criminology from the University of Cambridge in 2018.
Email: padideh.hassanpour@wisc.edu
Research Assistants
Mara Allen
Mara (she/her/hers) is a senior double majoring in Psychology and Spanish. She is passionate about studying the causes and effects of trauma and the perpetration of violence surrounding interactions with the criminal justice system. She currently works as a lab assistant and a preschool teacher, and also volunteers as a language exchange partner. After graduation she intends to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical psychology with a specialty in forensics, with the goal of helping marginalized communities.
June Glenney
June (she/her/hers) is a junior studying Psychology with a certificate in Criminal Justice. She is passionate about the prevention of and healing following sexual and relationship violence, and SV’s effect on survivors’ self-perception. She has worked with children at the Domestic Abuse Intervention Services in Madison. June plans to pursue her doctorate in Clinical Psychology, and one day have her own practice.
Hunter Haines
Hunter (she/her/hers) is a junior double majoring in neurobiology and psychology. She is passionate about studying various treatments that can be used to help people heal from trauma and improving the quality of life for people struggling with chronic mental illness. After graduation, Hunter plans to pursue medical school and become a psychiatrist.
Caroline Krell
Caroline (she/hers) is a junior majoring in Psychology and Economics with certificates in Public Policy and Sustainability. She is particularly interested in cross-cultural and social psychology and her research interests surround understanding the emotional and cognitive factors associated with violence and trauma to improve interventions that facilitate well-being. Caroline plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology.
Affiliated Scholars
Naman Gupta
Naman Gupta is a Computer Science PhD student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He collaborates closely with MadS&P, a security and privacy research group at the university, and the PIVOT Lab. His research interests lie at the intersection of computer security, privacy, sociology and psychology, with a feminist and trauma-informed perspective. He is currently designing safe and user-friendly technological interventions for survivors of intimate partner violence.
Sara Buchwald
Sara Buchwald (she/her/hers) is a Child-Adolescent Clinical Post-Baccalaureate Fellow at Harvard Medical School’s McLean Hospital and a former Research Assistant in the PIVOT Lab. Sara graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2022 with her BA in Psychology and a certificate in Business. Her research interests include mood disorders, psychological outcomes following unwanted sexual experiences, and improving trauma-informed care for survivors. Sara intends to pursue a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology.
Alumni
Here are members who are dearly missed!
Yan Zhu (Research Assistant)
Autumn Teal (Research Assistant)
Claire Kuehn (Research Assistant)
Samantha Gitlin (Research Assistant)
Theresa Fineout (Research Assistant)
Anuj Mehta (Lab Manager)
Isa Hernandez-White (Research Assistant)
Thekla Ketcher (Research Assistant)
Zach Buehler (Research Assistant)
Sara Buchwald (Research Assistant)
Avery Dick (Research Assistant)
Nicole Meyer (Research Assistant)
Emily Zhang (Research Assistant)
Mia Warren (Research Assistant)
Abbey Henrichs (Research Assistant)
Grace Bujan (Research Assistant)
Jessica Melnik (Research Assistant)
Grace Kidd (Research Assistant)
Brooke Wilczewski (Research Assistant)
Alexis Birkett (Research Assistant)