Lab Director

DR. fanita tyrell

I am an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Maryland at College Park. I received my PhD in Developmental Psychology, with a minor in quantitative methods at the University of California, Riverside. Following my doctoral training, I c​ompleted postdoctoral fellowships at the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota. My research and scholarship have been funded by the Ford Foundation, National Institute of Mental Health, Society for Research in Child Development, and American Psychological Foundation.

I have always been interested in understanding how youth and their families  thrive in the face of negative life experiences and adversity. Therefore, my research focuses on investigating the sociocultural processes that support or undermine the positive development and adaptation of youth and families from adversity-exposed, ethnic-racial minority, and immigrant backgrounds. The goal of my work is to advance theory and research on resilience and to inform culturally sensitive and developmentally appropriate intervention programs aimed at promoting positive adaptation and resilience in historically disadvantaged youth and their families.

Postdoctoral Fellow

DR. CARlisa Simon

Dr. Carlisa Simon is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the RACC Lab. She recently graduated with her Ph.D. in Education, Human Development, and Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to earning her Ph.D., Dr. Simon earned her MA in Education at UCLA and her BA in Psychology from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. Her dissertation project employed a mixed methods approach to investigate the combined effect of parent and peer ethnic racial socialization on  Black undergraduates' well-being. Dr. Simon trained as a mixed methods researcher during her time as graduate researcher in the UCLA Middle and High School Diversity Project Lab under the supervision of her advisor, Dr. Sandra Graham. Her long-term goal is to serve as a tenured-track faculty position at a University, in which she can balance her love for mentoring, teaching, and research.

Lab Manager

Bailey Skeeter

Bailey Skeeter is the Lab Manager for the RACC Lab. She recently ​Graduated from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore with a B.A in Psychology and a minor in African and African American Studies and is currently pursuing her Post-Baccalaureate at the RACC Lab. Bailey intends on becoming a doctoral candidate to further her interest in multicultural psychology, specifically counseling and progress towards a career as a psychologist. Her interests can be found in the overall wellbeing of Black mothers' and their families, looking at the ecosystem that is the Black family and how best culture ties into development. She has founded a small business, Milestones Mentoring, which is a tutoring and mentoring program that works with elementary and middle school aged children since the summer of 2020.

Undergraduate Students

Emma clark

Emma Clark is a senior pursuing a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in human development. She is currently an undergraduate research assistant in the RACC lab. Emma is interested in ​ going to graduate school to earn a PhD in clinical psychology. She is interested in doing future research on how sociocultural processes influence development of psychopathology and working with adolescents

Michelle Pinkrah

Michelle Pinkrah is a sophomore pursuing a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in ​neuroscience. She is currently an undergraduate research assistant in the RACC lab. Michelle is interested in pursuing a graduate degree in developmental psychology.

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