Center Faculty and Staff

Chad Posick, Ph.D., Co- Director is an associate professor of criminal justice and criminology in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. His research focuses on the causes and consequences of victimization, and the prevention of violence. He teaches courses on family violence, crime and public policy, and statistics. Posick is an executive board member and vice-president of Child Advocacy Services (CASA) of the Ogeechee Circuit in Georgia and member of the national Scholars Strategy Network that promotes the translation of research to policy.

Juliann Sergi McBrayer, Ed.D., Co Director is an associate professor in the College of Education. She has served over 20 years as an educational leadership associate and assistant professor, educational program coordinator, instructional school leader, professional development and federal programs coordinator, classroom teacher, and teacher leader. As a scholarly practitioner, her research interests include the development, implementation, and assessment of educational leadership and teacher preparation programs with a focus on purposeful, collaborative, and sustainable professional learning and programming to ensure effectiveness and accountability while emphasizing community partnerships. 

Mary J. Carney, B.A., Graduate Research Assistant is a second-year master’s student in the Experimental Psychology program at Georgia Southern University. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Ave Maria University. Mary Jo formerly served as a research assistant and graduate assistant for the National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference as well as the NYAR Research Center. Her interests include cognition, emotion, the autonomic nervous system, youth wellbeing, and scholarly interdisciplinary research for the NYAR Research Center.