Faculty Advisors
Shawn Bergman, Ph.D
Faculty Co-Director & Founder | bergmans@appstate.edu | Website
Shawn received his Ph.D. from The University of Tennessee-Knoxville in I-O Psychology. His teaching focuses on the application of quantitative methods and analytics to solve practical problems. Shawn's students are heavily involved in his research and he has over 60 publications and conference presentations with student co-authors. He is a member of Appalachian State's Faculty Hall of Fame, received the Department of Psychology's Psi Chi Excellence in Teaching Award, and has been awarded the Board of Governors' Excellence in Teaching College Award.
Tim Huelsman, Ph.D
Project Consultant - DEI | huelsmantj@appstate.edu | Website
Tim earned his Ph.D. from Saint Louis University in Organizational Psychology. He is the Director of the Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management master’s program and his professional interests include individual differences in the organization, organizational assessment, organizational culture and climate, program evaluation, and strategic planning. He has been awarded the University of North Carolina Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching and was inducted into Appalachian State University’s Academy of Outstanding Graduate Mentors.
Kristl Davison, Ph.D
Project Consultant - DEI | davisonhk@appstate.edu | Website
Kristl is an Associate Professor and Assistant Chair of the Management Department at Appalachian State University. She received her M.S. and PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Tulane University. Her research is in the areas of gender and disability discrimination, legal issues in human resources, personnel selection, counterproductive workplace behaviors, and personality testing. Dr. Davison serves as an Action Editor for the journal Human Performance, and is on the Editorial Board for Organizational Research Methods.
Jessica Doll, Ph.D
Project Consultant - DEI | dolljl@appstate.edu | Website
Jessica Doll is an Assistant Professor of Management. She earned a Ph.D. in I/O Psychology from Clemson University and a M.A. in I/O-HRM from Appalachian State University. Her research interests include understanding how to better develop diverse and inclusive workspaces, interpersonal relationships at work, and employee well-being.
Timothy Ludwig, Ph.D
Project Consultant - Safety | ludwigtd@appstate.edu | Website
Timothy Ludwig researches the benefits of employee-driven behavioral safety programs and applications to quality and performance improvement. His popular website Safety-Doc.com is a content-rich resource of safety culture stories, blogs, research, videos, and services. Dr. Ludwig serves on the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies’ Behavioral Safety Accreditation Commission that reviews best-in-industry safety practices and offers objective feedback on safety programs. Dr. Ludwig is the author of dozens of scholarly articles that empirically document the successes of methods to improve safety and quality in industry through behavior-based solutions. His books include Intervening to Improve the Safety of Occupational Driving (2001), Behavioral Systems: Understanding Complexity in Organizations (2010), Behavioral Science Approaches to Process Safety: A Response to Industry’s Call (2018), Dysfunctional Practices that Kill your Safety Culture (2018) and, The Science and Best-Practices of Behavioral Safety: The Source for Reducing Injuries on the Front Line (2023). Dr. Ludwig has over 35-years experience in research and practice in behavioral safety where he integrates empirical findings into his safety consulting. Within his consulting practice Dr. Ludwig has helped assess, design, and implement safety and quality improvement programs in over 50 companies. Dr. Ludwig has delivered over 50 of his popular keynote presentations in 15 countries worldwide.
Executive Committee
Rylie Sant
Assistant Director | santrj@appstate.edu
Rylie is a second year graduate candidate in both the IOHRM & MBA programs. She is the Assistant Director of HR Science. Rylie is in charge of the HRS administrative & communicative tasks, and keeps the team streamlined & organized. She is excited to work with and support each team and can’t wait to see what HRS members are doing to accomplish this year.
Brenna McNamara
Co-Orientation & Staffing Coordinator and Co-Engagement Coordinator | mcnamarabc@appstate.edu
Brenna is in her senior year of undergraduate studies majoring in Psychology with a concentration in Business and a minor in Human Management. As Co-Orientation & Staffing Coordinator and Co-Engagement Coordinator, Brenna works alongside Mariana Solanilla in the recruitment and onboarding of new members of the HR Science Team as well as the development of engagement activities and use of funds.
Mariana Solanilla
Co-Orientation & Staffing Coordinator and Co-Engagement Coordinator | solanillam@appstate.edu
Mariana is a Junior at Appalachian State University and will be graduating in Fall of 2024. She is majoring in Psychology with a Human Services Concentration. As Co-Orientation & Staffing Coordinator and Co-Engagement Coordinator, she is responsible for collecting a pool of new students suited for the HR Science Team and Orienting the new members to their individual teams as well as creating and managing team-building activities. She works alongside her wonderful Co-partner Brenna McNamara handling designated Exec tasks. She has been a part of the HR Science Sustainability team since Fall semester of 2022.
Drew Sipe
Logistics Coordinator | sipeat@appstate.edu
Drew is a senior majoring in Psychology with a Natural Sciences concentration. He is the logistics coordinator for HRS. As the logistic coordinator he works with our Assistant Director, Rylie Sant, on communicating important information and updates, scheduling, conference logistics, and keeping the team on track. Drew has been part of HRS since the Fall of 2023, doing research with HRS’s Safety research team.
Team Leads
Alex Mecklenburg
Project Lead - EBP | mecklenburgaf@appstate.edu
Alex is a second year graduate candidate in both the IOHRM & MBA programs. She is a co-lead for the Evidence Based Practices (EBP) team of HR Science. Alex is in charge of the EBP research team meetings and supporting the development of the website for undergraduate psychology students to use to identify the skills they’ve developed throughout their courses and help them market their skills to potential employers post-graduation.
Morgan McElhaney
Project Lead - EBP | mcelhaneyml1@appstate.edu
Morgan is a second year graduate candidate in both the IOHRM & MBA programs. She is a co-lead for the EBP team of HR Science. Morgan is in charge of supporting the EBP team research and meetings as well as being the Graduate Teaching Assistant for the “Preparing Psychology Majors for the Workforce” course. She is very excited to return to HR Science and start another great semester of research and professional development.
Logan Briggs
Project Lead - EBP | briggsjl1@appstate.edu
Logan is a second year graduate candidate in both the IOHRM & MBA programs. He is a co-lead for the Evidence Based Practices (EBP) team of HR Science. Logan is in charge of applying EBP research to develop a career advising opportunities in the Psychology Department and supporting the development of the website for undergraduate psychology students to use to identify the skills they’ve developed throughout their courses and help them market their skills to potential employers post-graduation.
Jacob Leslie
Project Lead - Safety | leslieja@appstate.edu
Jake is a second year graduate candidate in the IOHRM & MSADA programs. He leads the Safety Research Team where they use statistical data analysis to predict and prevent injuries in a variety of work environments. Jake has been a member of the Safety team for three years and is looking forward to working with new team members to bolster their presentation, analytics, and professional writing skills.
Kwani Taylor
Project Lead - DEI | taylorkc1@appstate.edu
Kwani is a second year graduate student in the Industrial Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management program. She serves as co-lead alongside Tanner Landolt for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team. Kwani is incredibly passionate about the lens of DE&I and is ecstatic to uncover insights through research and professional development.
Tanner Landolt
Project Lead - DEI | landolttj@appstate.edu
Tanner is a second year graduate candidate in the IOHRM & MSADA programs. He co-leads the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Research Team with Kwani Taylor, which is a team dedicated to contributing to the existing research surrounding DEI, working with their partners to apply best practices from the literature, and developing its members’ knowledge of DEI and skills in academic research, presentation, and communication. Tanner believes that the most effective workplace is a place where all people are welcome, respected, empowered to contribute meaningfully, and comfortable being themselves.
Research Associates
Abby Branco
Samantha Plourde
Firzana Syazania
Taylor Brynds
Caleb Pollard
Drew Sipe
Madhu Sukumar
Oliver Sullivan
Cassidy Zekas
Ryan Witt
Hunter Bass
Natalee Jamerson
Paige Couturier
Luke Millen
Penelope WIlliams
Nicholas Rupert
Clara Lobsiger
Lauryn Womble