Faculty & Staff
Sean Brotherson, Ph.D.

Extension Family Science Specialist, Professor
(Ph.D., Oregon State University)
Office Phone: (701) 231-6143
Email: sean.brotherson@ndsu.edu
Core Area: Family Science
Research Interests: Parenting and fatherhood; Health marriages; Family stress; Rural families; Grief and bereavement; Family life education; Family policy
Kim Bushaw, M.S.

Extension Family Science Specialist
(M.S., North Dakota State University)
Office Phone: (701) 231-7450
Email:kim.bushaw@ndsu.edu
Core Area: Family Science
Jim Deal, Ph.D.

Professor
(Ph.D., University of Georgia)
Office Phone: (701) 231-7568
Email: jim.deal@ndsu.edu
Core Area: Child Development
Research Interests: Identity development in emerging adults, particularly in the areas of religion and the transition to college. First generation and/or low income students and issues related to financial support.
Margaret Fitzgerald, Ph.D.

Margaret Fitzgerald (Ph.D., Iowa State University)
Professor
Office Phone: 701-231-9792
Email: margaret.fitzgerald@ndsu.edu
Core Area: Financial Planning and Public Policy; Family Science
Research Interests: Family Owned Businesses--copreneurial couples, women and minority owned businesses, the interface between the business, family and community, and managerial adjustment strategies.
Heather Fuller, Ph.D.

Professor
(Ph.D., University of Michigan)
Office Phone: (701) 231-5621
Email:Heather.Fuller@ndsu.edu
Core Area: Adult Development and Aging
Research Interests: Social relationships and well-being across the lifespan (e.g. intergenerational relationships); Successful aging and health promotion; Aging in rural and cross-cultural contexts; Aging families and caregiving; Survey research and program evaluation
Research Lab:Linked Lives Lab
Joel Hektner, Ph.D., Department Head

Professor and Head
(Ph.D., University of Chicago)
Office Phone: (701) 231-8269
Email: joel.hektner@ndsu.edu
Core Area: Child, Adolescent Development
Research Interests: Design and effectiveness of programs to prevent adjustment problems and promote well-being in children and adolescents; Peer affiliation patterns and peer influences on children's behaviors; Family and school conditions that facilitate optimal experiences (flow) and optimal development; The Experience Sampling Method
Carmen Kho, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
(Ph.D., University of California Merced)
Office Phone: (701) 231-1823
Email: Carmen.Kho@ndsu.edu
Core Area: Context and Diversity, Adolescence, Emerging Adulthood
Research Interests: I apply a cultural-ecological framework to examine how cultural, family, and other contextual influences intersect with socio-emotional development of children, adolescents, and emerging adults. My research takes a normative development approach and examines developmental processes with careful consideration of contexts in which they take place (e.g., family, neighborhoods, immigrant receiving context) and the timescale in which these processes occur (e.g., moment-to-moment, day-to-day, across years).
Christi McGeorge, Ph.D.

Professor
(Ph.D., University of Minnesota)
Office Phone: (701) 231-7335
Email: Christine.McGeorge@ndsu.edu
Core Area: Couple and Family Therapy and Family Science
Research Interests: The influence of heterosexism, cissexism, and sexual and gender minority prejudice on clinical practice and training, gender equity in therapy, promoting LGBTQ ally behavior in collegiate athletics, gender equity in higher education, and societal perceptions of single parents.
Leanna McWood, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
(Ph.D., Auburn University)
Office Phone: (701) 231-1826
Email: leanna.mcwood@ndsu.edu
Core Area: Child and Adolescent Develoment
Research Interests: Extracurricular Involvement; Social Relationships; Contextual Influences; Sleep; Adolescent Development
Natira Mullet, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
(Ph.D., Texas Tech University)
Office Phone: (701) 231-1828
Email:natira.mullet@ndsu.edu
Core Area: Diversity and Family Science
Research Interests: Examining intergenerational, cultural and familial protective factors to reduce interpersonal trauma and resulting substance use and mental health outcomes among marginalized communities.
Melissa Lunsman Connor, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
(Ph.D., University of South Florida)
Office Phone: (701) 231-8688
Email:melissa.oconnor@ndsu.edu
Core Area: Adult Development and Aging
Research Interests: Examining age-related differences and changes in cognitive and functional abilities, such as driving, among healthy adults and clinical populations; quantitative methods and psychometrics; interventions for improving cognition, health, and everyday functioning; and attitudes toward dementia.
Research Lab: Healthy Aging Lab
Candace Philbrick, Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer
(Ph.D., North Dakota State University)
Office Phone: (701) 231-8270
Email: Candace.philbrick@ndsu.edu
Core Area: Gerontology
Meagan Scott Hoffman, Ph.D.

4-H Youth Development Specialist, Assistant Professor
(Ph.D., Oklahoma State University)
Office Phone: (701) 231-7964
Email:meagan.scott@ndsu.edu
Core Area: 4-H Youth Development
Area of Responsibility: Family and Consumer Science, Communication Arts, Afterschool Training, Adolescent Development, Children, Youth, and Families at Risk
Jane Strommen, Ph.D.

Extension Gerontology Specialist and Assistant Professor of Practice
(Ph.D. North Dakota State University)
Office Phone: (701) 231-5948
Email:jane.strommen@ndsu.edu
Core Area: Gerontology Website: Aging & Wellness
Research Interests: Family caregiving, rural elders, aging in place, healthy aging
Wen Wang, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
(Ph.D. Michigan State University)
Office Phone: (701) 231-1875
Email:wen.wang@ndsu.edu
Core Area: Child Development
Research Interests: The development of young children’s mastery motivation and persistence; Cultural variances in parenting and early parent-infant communication; Prosocial behaviors and emotions towards racial ingroup and outgroup members
Ann Werlinger, M.S.

Senior Lecturer
(M.S., North Dakota State University)
Office Phone: (701) 231-9790
Email: Ann.Werlinger@ndsu.edu
Core Area: Child Development
Dena Wyum, M.S.

Senior Lecturer
Human Development and Family Science and Women and Gender Studies
(M.S., North Dakota State University)
Office Phone: (701) 231-7755
Email: Dena.Wyum@ndsu.edu
HDFS Staff
Jeanie Winkelmann

Academic Advisor
Office Phone: (701) 231-9849
Email: Jeanie Winkelmann
http://www.ndsu.edu/hde/academic_advising_center/
Make an appointment with Jeanie at this link: https://ndsu.campus.eab.com/pal/Ncq1VfyhZr
Krista Olson

Administrative Secretary, HDFS Extension
Office Phone: 231-8652
Email: Krista.L.Olson@ndsu.edu