Our Team
2023-2024 Executive Board Members
Meghan Bennett
President
Meghan is a 4th year Ph.D. student in the clinical psychology program at Marquette where she works in Dr. Fitzgerald’s Translational Affective Neuroscience lab. Their lab aims to elucidate how stress and trauma “get under the skin” to impact risk for psychopathology. Specifically, they investigate the neural processes and neurocircuitry underlying emotion disturbances. Meghan’s research interest lies in linking our findings to inform clinical treatment recommendations and patient outcomes for individuals living with posttraumatic stress disorder and depression. Prior to starting at Marquette, Meghan earned her master’s degree in clinical-counseling psychology at Illinois State University in 2017, and worked as a neurofeedback clinician and psychotherapist in Sandy Hook, CT. Outside of science and research, Meghan likes to spend time on the lake and exploring new cities. She’s excited to be a part of a community that connects women in science and believe scientific advancement occurs most efficiently and profoundly through collaborative efforts.
Kaley Davis
Vice President
Kaley is a graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program at Marquette University. Her research interests focus on the intersection between stress and environmental factors, and their influence on the development of emotion processing and its associated neural circuits in individuals with psychopathology, namely post-traumatic stress disorder. She is particularly interested in identifying factors that predict resilience and post-traumatic growth following traumatic experiences.
Kathryn (Kate) Kern
Communications Officer
Kate is a third year PhD candidate in Marquette’s exercise and rehabilitation sciences program housed in the department of physical therapy. Kate is a clinical exercise physiologist with strong interests in cancer survivorship and neurological rehabilitation. She loves being outdoors and getting others active through her volunteer work at community gyms serving people with Multiple Sclerosis.
Mary Simons
Treasurer
Mary Simons is a doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at Marquette. Her research primarily focuses on investigating the psychometric properties of neuropsychological tests and assessing clinical outcomes of mild Traumatic Brain Injuries (mTBI). Mary currently completing clinical work at both Marquette’s Center for Psychological Services and the Medical College of Wisconsin’s pediatric neuropsychology unit. In the future, Mary is hoping to pursue a career in pediatric neuropsychology in an academic medical setting. For fun I like to read books, exercise, and explore different restaurants and breweries in Milwaukee.
Joia Wesley
Community Liason
Joia is a second year in the clinical psychology program at Marquette University. Her primary research interests are examining the physiological and emotional processes in interpersonal synchrony. She enjoys reading dystopian novels and watching movies.
Tristan Gregg
Secretary
Tristan is a 5th year in Marquette’s clinical psychology doctoral program. Her research involves investigating the utility of psychophysiological measures and neuroimaging to study the impact of trauma and taking into account the unique biological impact of childhood trauma long term. Clinically, Tristan is focusing on neuropsychology, specifically interested in evaluating how neurological conditions and abnormalities impact cognitive functioning. In her free time, Tristan enjoys roller skating, hiking, and hanging out with her cat.
Dr. Jacklynn Fitzgerald
National Liason
Dr. Jacklynn Fitzgerald is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Marquette University. She received her PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2017 in Psychology with an emphasis on Behavioral Neuroscience and completed her postdoctoral fellowship in affective neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee in 2019. Her research is on the neurobiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), namely how the neurobiological underpinnings of fear conditioning are related to symptoms of the disorder. Her work is highly collaborative and involves translating research from preclinical/rodent models to clinical work. At Marquette, she is the director of the Translational Affective Neuroscience lab. In addition to research, Jacklynn has consistently held leadership and service positions with a focus on advancing women in science. She was previously the President of the GWIS Chicago chapter in 2015 and a National Liaison for GWIS Chicago in 2016, where she started a mentorship program.
