RRI Researchers

The research faculty and staff of the Regional Research Institute, School of Social Work, Portland State University, are interdisciplinary and include professionals in social work, psychology, sociology, education, law, medicine, public health, statistics, and social science methodology. We are recognized for our consumer-driven and community-engaged work. We uphold principles of partnership and engagement, leading change, social and economic justice, interdisciplinary study rigor, and community-based participatory action research methods and protocols.

We collaborate with community partners to support their evaluation, grants, and cooperative agreement requirements. Together, our researchers, staff, and community partners design program evaluations, develop logic models, identify intended outcomes, write procedures to monitor fidelity, and create strategies to assess short- and long-term outcomes. The cross-pollination of partners and researchers/ evaluators ensures a deep sharing of expertise and talent, benefiting the achievement of partners’ goals and objectives. 

Want to learn more about how we can help you with project design, implementation, analysis, and knowledge dissemination? Contact us »

Christina Nicolaidis
nicol22@pdx.edu | 503-725-9603 | RMNC 911 | Publications | she/her
Community based participatory research with marginalized communities, autism in adulthood, neurodiversity, social determinants of health, disability justice

Dora Raymaker
draymake@pdx.edu | 503-725-9629 | Publications | any
autism, community-based participatory research, services interventions, systems thinking, translational research, measurement

Janet Shakuntala Walker
janetw@pdx.edu | 503-725-8236 | RMNC 931 | Publications | she/her
youth/young adult mental health and wellness, peer support, non-traditional service and support strategies based in positive development, youth and young adult participation in advising and decision making at the agency and system levels, intervention and measure development

Jennifer Blakeslee
jblakes@pdx.edu | 503-725-8389 | RMNC 913 | Publications | she/her
Services for transition-age youth exiting foster care and related evidence-supported intervention approaches, assessing youth support networks and social capital, formal and informal youth mentoring.

Karen Cellarius
cellark@pdx.edu | 503-725-4112 | RMNC 944 | Publications | she/her
Partnering with local providers and state agencies on program planning, outcome and process evaluations,  needs assessments, and ensuring fidelity to evidence-based practices (EBPs). Specializing in system change, suicide prevention, mental health, behavioral health (including MAT), healthcare integration, youth and young adults, corrections, child welfare, homelessness.

Mary Oschwald
oschwald@pdx.edu | 503-725-9602 | RMNC 941 | Publications | she/her
Interpersonal violence against people with disabilities, trauma awareness in the context of interpersonal violence, houselessness and homelessness, disability justice and advocacy

Rebecca A. Miller
ramiller@pdx.edu | 503-725-6195 | RMNC 908 | Publications | she/her
Supporting youth with lived experience in foster care in post-secondary education, mentoring, undergraduate research program support, youth-led program development, disability advocacy, mental health advocacy, and underrepresented student advocacy

Stephanie Bryson
stephanie.anne.bryson@pdx.edu | 503-725-5004 | ASRC 620B | Publications | she/her
Social and critical theories, child welfare policy and history, health and mental health service delivery, historical and comparative methods, and transformative justice approaches to harm.

Thomas Keller
kellert@pdx.edu | 503-725-8205 | ASRC 620 | Publications | he/him
Development and influence of youth mentoring relationships; evaluation of mentoring program innovations and enhancements; professional development of mentoring program staff; social networks in mentoring interventions; mentoring of undergraduates in science, biomedical, and health fields