ABOUT US

Alison Miller, Ph.D., owner and founder of “The Dissertation Coach.”

For almost a decade, Alison has been coaching students to finish doctoral dissertations and master’s theses. She developed the strategic, structured approach that all of our coaches use to motivate and guide students to the finish line. Alison is the author of Finish Your Dissertation Once and For All: How to Overcome Psychological Barriers, Get Results, and Move On with Your Life (available December 15, 2008) published by the American Psychological Association. She frequently leads dissertation and thesis workshops and has worked with thousands of graduate students individually, in groups, and workshops

Alison has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Cornell University. She is also the owner of Life Essentials, a company that offers life coaching and corporate seminars and workshops. For more information, visit: www.lifeessentialscoaching.com

Alison is a frequent contributor to Fox News in the Morning in Chicago and her work has been featured in many publications including Crain’s Business, The Chicago Tribune, WGN radio, and Time Out Magazine.

Alison is passionate about coaching graduate students. Her clients benefit from her direct yet gentle approach to helping them identify and change beliefs, emotions, and behaviors that interfere with their dissertation or thesis progress. Alison strives to create collaborative coaching relationships of safety and openness that help her clients overcome barriers and learn tangible skills that will benefit them beyond the experience of earning their graduate degree.

Jill Blackwell, Ph.D., dissertation coach and consultant

Jill obtained her Ph.D. in Experimental/Developmental Psychology from the Department of Psychology at DePaul University. She is currently serving as Visiting Associate Professor of Psychology at a local university in Chicago. She teaches research methods I, II, III, and has served as faculty advisor to numerous students who have completed their research projects. Her research interests span the fields of health psychology, developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, and biological/social psychology. She has experience providing guidance from project inception, hypothesis development, selecting and developing appropriate research methods, and analyzing and interpreting data. She has served as peer review/editor, providing constructive advice, for numerous scientific journals. She is compassionate and positive and can provide problem solving assistance to any student.

Noni Gaylord-Harden, Ph.D., dissertation coach and consultant**

Noni Gaylord-Harden obtained her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from The University of Memphis and completed her clinical internship training at the Institute for Juvenile Research in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is currently an assistant professor of psychology at a local university in Chicago. She has been conducting quantitative research for over 10 years. Her research interests focus on stress, coping strategies, and resilience in African American youth and families.  She is proficient in univariate and multivariate statistical analyses, including multiple regression analyses, MANOVA, cluster analytic procedures, and structural equation modeling using EQS).  She is also experienced in conducting literature reviews, formulating research questions and hypotheses, and designing research studies.   She has published numerous journal articles and book chapters and has presented at several national conferences.  Noni has also served as a consultant to universities and individuals in the Chicago area on program evaluation and research methods.  Noni is a supportive listener and dynamic motivator who is dedicated to helping students achieve their goals. 

**Dissertation consultants at The Dissertation Coach provide technical assistance in the areas of research design and writing, statistical analysis, and qualitative analysis.

Chang-ming Hsieh Ph.D., dissertation consultant (specializing in statistical analysis)

Chang-ming received his master’s degree from Columbia University and Ph.D. in social welfare from the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently an associate professor of social work at a local university in Chicago where he teaches graduate-level introductory and advanced research methods.  His main areas of expertise include applied quantitative methods. As a highly skilled data analyst and methodologist, he has been working with students and faculty members on dissertations and research projects across disciplines in social and behavioral sciences for nearly a decade. Clients consistently describe Chang-ming as a “true teacher” and acknowledge him for his ability to explain complex statistics in easy to understand terms and helping students develop a thorough understanding of the statistical approach they use in their research.  Chang-ming can assist students in any stage of the research process whether students are at the proposal phase or writing the final study. In addition, he is very effective at helping students address the feedback and comments of committee members before or after their final defense meeting.

Marisha Humphries Ph.D., dissertation coach

Marisha received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is an assistant professor at a local university in Chicago and a licensed clinical psychologist. She has been conducting research in the areas of children’s emotional and social competence, and prosocial behavior for over 10 years. She has experience implementing basic developmental research, clinical validity studies, and clinical prevention research within school environments. She has presented at her work at national conferences and has published research articles in professional journals. Marisha has experience conducting longitudinal clinical research, observational coding, focus groups, surveys, and individual interviews with both children and adults. Marisha provides mentoring within the context of an emotionally supportive environment. She helps students with goal identification and then assists them in identifying actual and potential barriers that can prevent them from reaching their goals. She is committed to helping students find their personal path to completing their graduate education in a timely manner.

Patricia Murphy, Ph.D.. developmental and copy editor (specializing in the social and life sciences)

Patricia Murphy has a very varied academic background. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, a Master of Science degree in Forestry (wildlife behavior), and a PhD in Medical Science (psychiatry research). All degrees were conferred by the University of Toronto, in Toronto, Canada. In addition, Dr. Murphy completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the area of epilepsy research. Dr. Murphy’s degrees all involved behavioral research. Her current area of interest is behavioral neuroscience. Dr. Murphy has background in both basic and clinical research, and has published in both these areas. Dr. Murphy has acted a guest editor for numerous scientific journals, and has numerous first author publications. Dr. Murphy is a highly skilled copy and developmental editor.

Bernadette Sanchez, Ph.D., dissertation coach and consultant

Bernadette obtained her Ph.D. in community and prevention research in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is currently an associate professor of psychology at a local university in Chicago. She has been conducting quantitative and qualitative research for over 10 years in two general areas. Her main area of expertise is on youth mentoring, school transitions and predictors of academic achievement, such as sense of belonging, familism, and acculturation. Bernadette has also done research on the mental health needs and barriers to accessing services among immigrant and ethnic minority populations. She has experience in various research methods including surveys, quasi-experiments, focus groups, ethnography, qualitative interviewing, and mixed methods. She has published numerous journal articles and book chapters and has presented at local and national conferences. Bernadette has also served as a consultant to nonprofit agencies, universities, and individuals in the U.S. and Puerto Rico on program evaluation and research methods. Bernadette truly enjoys working with students as a consultant and coach. She is patient and has a positive attitude and natural teaching style. She has obtained numerous mentoring awards acknowledging her support of students.

Neil Vincent, Ph.D., dissertation coach and consultant

Dr. Vincent received his Ph.D. in social work from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1999. Currently he is an assistant professor in Social Work and Sociology at DePaul University. He teaches courses in family violence, research methods, and human development. His research interests are primarily in the field of domestic violence focusing on understanding perpetrator’s behavior and how communities deal with the problem of abuse. He is also interested in developing international collaborations with community-based organizations in Nairobi, Kenya. He has expertise in both quantitative, qualitative, and mix method research. He has experience in survey development and data collection. He can provide statistical consultation with basic and advanced inferential statistics, including t-tests, Chi Square, ANOVA, MANOVA, Multivariate linear and logistic regression. In the qualitative method, Dr. Vincent can provide expertise in choosing a specific qualitative method, developing data collection tools, single interview and focus groups, narrative analysis, and model building. He has consulted with numerous doctoral students and successfully guided them through their dissertation defense. He has been a patient and passionate teacher for 11 years.

Theo Anderson, M.A., developmental and copy editor (specializing in the humanities)

Theo Anderson is an award-winning writer, editor, and scholar who has worked with a wide variety of people and organizations on a broad range of projects. He will receive a Ph.D. in American history from Yale University in early 2008. His research has been supported by the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University and the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. In 2006 he was awarded a Charlotte Newcombe Dissertation Writing Fellowship by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Before entering Yale’s graduate program, Anderson earned an M.A. in U.S. history from Indiana University, and he worked for several years as a writer and editor at The Polis Center, an Indiana University-affiliated research organization devoted to analyzing the community life of Indianapolis. He has also done freelance writing and editing for numerous individuals and organizations, and his articles and essays have appeared in several publications, including the Wilson Quarterly and the Indiana Magazine of History. He won the Indiana Historical Society’s Dunn Award in 2005 for the best article in its publication, Traces. Anderson is currently working on two projects: an essay about the mingling of religion and politics in American conservatism and a revision of his dissertation into a book manuscript, provisionally titled God Haunted: The Grounding of Spiritual Politics and Practice in Modern America.

Katie Beam, M.P.A., developmental and copy editor

Katie Beam received her Master's in Public Affairs from Indiana University (IU) in 2003 and her bachelor degree in history and political science from Alma College in Michigan. She was awarded the Outstanding Paper Award at the regional meeting of Phi Alpha Theta in 2001. While a graduate student at IU, she worked as a developmental editor for Writing Tutorial Services. Since 2003, Katie has worked in the environmental field, first as a program analyst with the Environmental Protection Agency in Chicago, and currently, as an environmental manager with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's small business environmental assistance Program in Indianapolis. She is a Certified Government Auditing Professional (CGAP) and her interests include public policy, accounting, auditing, performance management, and the humanities. Katie offers copy and developmental editing for clients of The Dissertation Coach and freelance editing for The Bloomington Alternative.

Priya Shimpi, PhD, Dissertation Coach

Priya obtained her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Chicago. She is currently a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her main area of study is language development from infancy through early childhood, with a focus on the influence of social and cultural factors driving individual differences. Her research has been presented at numerous international conferences and has been published in some of the top journals in the field. For 5 years, she taught graduate courses in Language and Cognitive Development. In addition, she worked for an intensive one-year Social Science graduate program as an advisor, where she guided dozens of M.A. students in Psychology and Education through the completion of their degrees. As a teacher and graduate advisor, she has helped students develop and investigate original research questions while completing a full course load. Priya is particularly sensitive to the needs of clients who work and/or are raising children while trying to complete their degrees. She enjoys making the challenge of completing a thesis more manageable while helping her students to achieve a positive work/life balance.