Our Team
CENTER STAFF
Sandra Shultz, Ph.D.
Director
sjshultz@uncg.edu
Dr. Sandra Shultz (Sandy) is Professor of Kinesiology, and in her 5th year serving as Center Director. After working clinically as a certified athletic trainer and strength and conditioning specialist, she pursued an academic research career focused on the biological (e.g., body composition, sex hormones) and physical characteristics that increased a female’s susceptibility for anterior cruciate ligament injury. Through the Center, she seeks to provide opportunities to train and prepare the next generation of scientists, educators and practitioners to promote healthy active living in girls and women.
Jessica Dollar, Ph.D.
Associate Director and Research Scientist
jmdollar@uncg.edu
Dr. Jessica Dollar is the CWHW Associate Director, a Research Scientist in the Department of Kinesiology, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology. Dr. Dollar is a developmental psychologist by training with strong methodological training who conducts interdisciplinary research that considers the intersection between mental and physical health from childhood through adolescence. Taking a biopsychosocial approach to development, her research aims to elucidate how: 1) the development of self-regulation in physiologic, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive processes is related to mental and physical health, and 2) emotional components of reward sensitivity is associated with risky health behaviors and outcomes. Most of her recent work has involved recruiting and retaining children and adolescents for large scale, longitudinal studies. In the Center, she is interested in engaging with other faculty, staff, students, and members of the community to help educate and promote a healthy lifestyle for girls and women.
Jaclyn Maher, PH.D.
Faculty Fellow
jpmaher@uncg.edu
Dr. Jaclyn Maher is the 2024 – 2025 Faculty Fellow for the Center. Dr. Maher’s research agenda is based on the idea that physical activity and sedentary behavior are repeat-occurrence behaviors that occur within and across days, in part, due to the changing environmental contexts within daily life. Therefore, a fundamental aspect of her research is ambulatory assessment methods (i.e., ecological momentary assessment, daily diary, accelerometers) designed to capture and/intervene on behavior as well as its antecedents and consequences in naturalistic settings. To learn more about Dr. Maher’s work and research interests, please visit the Faculty Fellows page.
Maslyn Behler
Graduate Administrative and Research Assistant
mhbehler@uncg.edu
Maslyn is a second-year Sport and Exercise Psychology master’s student in the Department of Kinesiology. Her research interests include the intersection of different identities, individuals’ perceptions of physical activity, and overall mental health in student-athletes and military populations. This is her second year working at the Center where she helps organize events and conduct research.
Emily Postlethwait
Graduate Administrative and Research Assistant
empostlethw@uncg.edu
Emily is a master’s student in the Department of Kinesiology, concentrating in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Emily received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology from Goucher College.
Berta Vidal Carnero
Graduate Administrative and Research Assistant
b_vidalcarn@uncg.edu
Berta is a Sport and Exercise Psychology Master’s student in the Department of Kinesiology. Berta is from Spain but completed her undergraduate studies at Catawba College in North Carolina. This is Berta’s first year in the Center and she is very excited to learn about all the things we do.
CORE ADVISORY TEAM
Clint D. Allred, Ph.D.
Lake Simpson Dickson Distinguished Professor, Department of Nutrition
cdallred@uncg.edu
Dr. Allred has served as a Principal Investigator on several grants funded by the National Institutes of Health and American Cancer Society. He has given numerous presentations to breast cancer survivor groups and served as the keynote speaker at several ACS sponsored events that raise money and awareness to support the study of cancer development and how to best support individuals whom have been diagnosed with the disease.
Sandra E. Echeverría, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Education
seecheve@uncg.edu
As a social epidemiologist, Sandra’s research examines how built environment, immigrant, and socioeconomic determinants influence cardiovascular health, particularly in Latinx communities. She has a specific interest in understanding how the social environment reinforces health behaviors such as physical activity.
Stefanie Milroy, M.Ph., CHES, CHC
Director, HealthyUNCG
slsmith5@uncg.edu
Stefanie is a graduate of UNCG where she received both her Bachelor of Science in Community Health Education (’04) and her Master of Public Health (’06). She is a Certified Health Education Specialist and certified health and wellness coach. As Director of HealthyUNCG, she supports UNCG employees in achieving the wellness they desire by providing wellness programs and opportunities for UNCG employees. Stefanie also serves as a member of UNCG’s Workplace Health Network and faculty in Public Health Education’s Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Workplace Wellness.
Lenka Shriver, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Nutrition
Faculty Affiliate, Center for Athlete Well-Being
lhshrive@uncg.edu
Lenka’s research is concentrated in the area of child and adolescent nutrition, obesity, and sports nutrition. Her work in the area of sports nutrition is primarily focused on examining dietary intake, eating habits/attitudes, and body composition changes among high school and college athletes, with a particular focus on female athletes. She has delivered numerous nutrition education presentations and workshops to college, high school, as well as amateur athletic teams.
Laurie Gold, Ph.D.
Safrit-Ennis Distinguished Professor, Department of Kinesiology
l_widema@uncg.edu
The overarching focus of Laurie’s research is the impact of exercise, disease and injury on the endocrine system. She is most recently the principal investigator on the large NIH-funded project “Pathways from childhood self-regulation to cardiovascular risk in adolescence,” also known as RIGHT Track Health. She collaborates on multiple interdisciplinary NIH grant submissions and regularly mentors junior scholars on research and career development grants.