Drugged Driving Resources is a division of Innovation Research and Training (iRT). iRT is committed to conducting high quality, innovative basic and applied research as well as creating products and services that better society with a focus on enhancing the mental health, health, and quality of life of children, adolescents, families, communities, and organizations. iRT staff members apply cutting edge clinical and technical knowledge and skills to developing and evaluating, and helping others to develop and evaluate, evidence-based programs and services.
iRT’s areas expertise include: substance abuse prevention and treatment; child and adolescent social and emotional skills development; child and adolescent mental health; adult and juvenile justice programs; healthcare; media literacy; drug courts; underage drinking; and domestic violence.
MEET THE TEAM
Rebecca Stelter, Ph.D.
Research Scientist II
Rebecca’s interest in drugged driving is focused on keeping our children, family, and friends safe on the road.
Dr. Rebecca Stelter has been the Principal Investigator of contracts and grants funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) on the topic of drugged driving. She is the lead author of web-based trainings on the topic of drugged driving including, Drugged Driving Essentials and Strategic Skills for the Prevention of Drugged Driving. Her areas of expertise on the topic of drugged driving are the prevention of drugged driving – including both individual and environmental approaches – the use of community coalitions and prevention professionals for the prevention of drugged driving, and the factors that contribute to drugged driving behavior.
Dr. Stelter received her doctorate in Developmental Psychology at North Carolina State University and also has expertise in the areas of childhood and adolescence, specifically related to decision-making surrounding the decision to drink alcohol or engage in aggressive behavior, mentoring at-risk youth, and parental socialization of emotional, social, and behavioral development.
Janis B. Kupersmidt, Ph.D.
President & Senior Research Scientist
Janis founded iRT more than 15 years ago out of a passion for helping prevent youth from engaging in unhealthy and risky behaviors.
Dr. Janis Kupersmidt, President and Senior Research Scientist at iRT, is a licensed clinical psychologist and a former tenured professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has published more than 70 peer-reviewed chapters and scientific articles on topics related to mentoring, prevention science, the social and emotional development of children and adolescents, peer relations, delinquency, academic achievement, and aggression.
Dr. Kupersmidt is the Co-Investigator on Drugged Driving Resources, having previously led contracts and grants funded by NIDA on this topic. For this project, she has lead development of training courses and resources for community coalitions to enact drugged driving prevention and the design of an RCT used to evaluate these materials. In addition to her work in drugged driving, Dr. Kupersmidt is the Principle Investigator (PI) or Co-Investigator (Co-I) on several projects related to mentoring. Dr. Kupersmidt is a co-author of the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring (EEPM), which includes the only set of research-based standards and benchmarks for implementing effective youth mentoring programs in the field of mentoring.
Dr. Kupersmidt received her doctorate in Psychology from Duke University.
Kim Gosnell
Art Director
Kim’s diverse skills include graphic design, e-learning design and development, animation, video production, as well as cartoon and technical illustration.
Kim Gosnell’s professional experience spans more than 10 years in creative fields. At iRT, she has led the graphic design, multimedia production and development of multiple online training courses and print-based projects, including components for Drugged Driving Resources. These projects include the design, development and implementation of many e-learning modules designed for both self-paced and instructor-led training programs, as well as print-based materials such as teacher manuals, student workbooks, logos, brochures, and marketing materials.
Richard Van Horn, M.S.
Senior Web Application Developer
Richard is an engineer at heart and always enjoys learning and applying new technologies.
Richard Van Horn, as part of the software development team, has worked closely with researchers to implement and maintain Drugged Driving Resources, by integrating course content into web applications, and creating functionality as needed. He is experienced in web application design, development, and testing, and he has contributed to multiple projects at iRT. He has a M.S. in Information Technology with an emphasis in software development and management from Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley.
CONSULTANTS
Tara Kelley-Baker, Ph.D.
Consultant
Tara is an experienced researcher in the areas of drug and alcohol use/abuse prevention, traffic safety, and drugged driving.
Dr. Tara Kelley-Baker is a Data and Information Group Leader at the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Impaired driving is a key focus area of Dr. Kelley-Baker’s work. She has lead many grants in this area from several government agencies, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to co-lead their National Roadside Survey, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) to study child endangerment laws as they relate to impaired driving, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to examine prescription drug use among U.S. drivers. She currently serves as a research advisor on the National Board of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, chairs the Transportation Research Board’s Alcohol, Other Drugs and Traffic Safety Committee, and is a member of the International Council on Alcohol and Drugs and Traffic Safety (ICADTS). She has held previous positions as a Senior Research Scientist at the NORC at the University of Chicago and at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation.
Dr. Kelley-Baker received her Master’s degree in Community Organization, Management, and Planning, at Boston University, and her Ph.D. in Human Development at the University of Maryland at College Park.
Nicole Augustine
Consultant
Nicole is a passionate public health practitioner, dedicated to working with community coalitions and promoting evidence-based strategies for prevention.
Nicole Augustine has several years of experience planning, implementing, and evaluating prevention initiatives to address substance abuse related issues using theory and evidence-informed practices and environmental prevention strategies. She has assisted community coalitions by building their capacity to implement environmental and community level strategies to address substance abuse. Nicole is also the founder and owner of Rize Consultants to help others achieve professional growth, personal empowerment, and business success. Nicole has received her MPH in Prevention and Community Health from George Washington University and a BA in Sociology from Cornell University.
