Dr. Erin Porter Hambrick (she/her/hers) directs lab PANDA and is a native of Georgetown, Kentucky. She values family, humor, and fulfilling work, and dedication and persistence in the service of solving complex problems. She received her BA in Psychology from Furman University, her MA in Clinical Psychology from Western Carolina University, and her PhD in Clinical Child Psychology from the University of Kansas. Her doctoral internship was at Children's Hospital Colorado, with a focus on Pediatric Health Psychology.
Dr. Hambrick's two-year T32 National Institute of Mental Health postdoctoral fellowship was through the Developmental Psychobiology Research Group at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. On this fellowship, she worked at both the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect and the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver.
Now, she is an Associate Professor (with tenure) in the Department of Psychology and Counseling at the University of Missouri - Kansas City in the School of Education, Social Work, and Psychological Sciences. At UMKC, she co-spearheads a new faculty, staff, and community driven collaborative in Trauma, Resilience, and Healing.
In this collaborative, we center anti-racist, strengths-focused practices and policies.
Dr. Hambrick is also an Associate Editor for the Journal of Child and Family Studies and on the Editorial Board for Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy; Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, and Developmental Child Welfare. She is highly involved with Division 56 (Trauma Psychology) and 53 (Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, serving on committees and also as Social Media Chair for Division 53's sponsored website Info About Kids (check us out on Facebook and Instagram, too!)
Dr. Hambrick's consulting work is broad: she consults for the federally-funded Kansas State Department of Education School Mental Health Initiative (Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) State Professional Development Grant) and for The University of Kansas Department of Pediatric's Telehealth Rocks training and evaluation team, funded by multiple federal SAMHSA and HRSA grants.
Her research is broadly focused on children exposed to adversity, how relationally positive experiences can help heal, and how to ensure that community and school-based healing initiatives succeed.
Finally, Dr. Hambrick is an advocate: you can find her in meetings with congressional officers and giving live testimony for state legislators whenever she gets the chance to promote mental health initiatives. Additionally - you can find her engaging with the media and providing educational opportunities to diverse audiences - check out our media and webinar page.
Outside of work, she hangs out with her two kids and her husband, on the tennis court (ok, maybe look there first!), and with her dogs - sometimes, all at the same time.