Doctoral Students Katherine Coffee Katherine Coffee completed her Master's degree in Health Promotion from the University of Texas at Austin and is continuing her graduate studies to pursue a Doctorate's degree in Health Education. Katherine’s research program aims to discover predictors of success and well-being among minority girls attending the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. Katherine received her B.A. in Kinesiology from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas and completed her M.Ed. in Health Education from the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Health Promotion at U.T. where her research interests include positive emotions, resilience, and well-being in adolescent girls. Katherine's diverse background in health, fitness, and wellness ranges from working with kids at Camp Longhorn to corporate executives at Dell Computer to seniors at Sun City. Katherine motivates others with her abundant knowledge and passion for healthy living at the five-star Lake Austin Spa Resort where she works as a Fitness Professional, Health Educator, and Stress Management Coach. She holds national certifications with the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Council on Exercise, the Aquatic Exercise Association, and the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. Katherine is also a Licensed HeartMath® 1:1 Provider, a Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant, a Registered Yoga Teacher, and a Certified Pilates Instructor. Katie Faulk Katie Faulk earned a B.S. in Exercise Science and a B.A. in Bioethics from Pacific University in 2007. Her undergraduate work focused on the optimization of biomechanical efficiency and the negative impacts of fatigue in members of the military. Katie completed her M.A. in Kinesiology in 2009 at The University of Texas at Austin. Her master’s thesis examined the impact of diet and exercise on cardiovascular reactivity following a stressful situation. She is continuing on with her doctoral studies and her work with Dr. Steinhardt will focus on the stressors of military life, resilience programs for coping with stress, and the physical and psychological implications of stress. Christian Gloria Christian Gloria earned his BS in health promotion & fitness in and MA in health education from The University of Texas at Austin. As an undergraduate, he worked at St. David's Cardiac Rehabilitation Center where he helped patients regain their strength and endurance after undergoing cardiac operations. Christian also provided personal training for hospital staff members through the Employee Wellness Program. In addition, he participated in the Williamson County Health Fair where he evaluated the BMI of county residents and presented information regarding the importance of a healthy lifestyle. As a master's student, Christian worked with the Texas Department of State Health Services where he assisted in the development of programs such as the TexPlate which provides restaurants with the tools to promote healthy eating, and the Farm-to-Work program which allows individuals to order fresh produce from local farmers and have them conveniently delivered to the workplace. In his thesis, Christian collaborated with the Texas Department of State Health, Steps to a Healthier Austin, and the university's nutritional sciences program to assess the availability, promotion, and quality of healthy food items from restaurants and grocery stores in order to examine their relationship with obesity, as well as compare differences between low- and high-income communities. Currently, Christian is a doctoral candidate in health education in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at The University of Texas at Austin. His research in positive psychology examines the protective and promotive factors that foster individual adaptation, resilience, and well-being among those who experience detrimental levels of stress and adversity (e.g., public school teachers and military spouses). He also coordinated and managed employee wellness programs for such organizations as 3M and the Division of Housing and Food Service of The University of Texas at Austin. He is the recipient of the University Continuing Fellowship, the George I. Sanchez Endowed Presidential Fellowship, the Ellis Graduate Scholarship, and the Professor & Mrs. Karl K. Klein Endowed Graduate Scholarship. In his present dissertation, Christian is studying the influence of positive emotions in the interrelations among stress, resilience, health, and work engagement in a sample of postdoctoral fellows from a large research institution. This fall 2012, he is also starting his new position as an Assistant Professor of Health Sciences at Hawaii Pacific University. Carisa Raucci, MSEd, ATC, LAT, CSCS Carisa is a doctoral candidate in the College of Education, specializing in health education, and a teaching assistant for the Athletic Training Education Program (ATEP). Carisa Raucci joined the UT Athletics staff in 2009 as a graduate assistant athletic trainer for the Texas Spirit Program. Prior to her arrival at UT, Carisa served as a graduate assistant athletic trainer with the tennis, softball, and football teams at Baylor University. She also taught in the ATEP and earned her MSEd in athletic training in 2009. Carisa was an assistant athletic trainer and Life Sciences teacher for Jersey Village High School in Houston, TX prior to her arrival at Baylor. During the summers of 2007 and 2008 she traveled with People to People Sports Ambassadors to Vienna, Austria overseeing medical coverage for US athletes. In 2004, Carisa graduated from Trinity University with a bachelor's degree in Biology. Her primary sport coverage responsibilities were football and softball. Carisa worked for the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars from 2003-2005 and served a one-season internship with the AHL's San Antonio Rampage in 2003. A native of Rhinebeck, NY, Carisa is a nationally certified athletic trainer (ATC), a state licensed athletic trainer (LAT), and a nationally certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS). Currently, Carisa is working on her dissertation studies with concussions in the high school student-athlete; specifically focusing on Texas House Bill 2038 and concussion management policies.