Advisors
The Fiat Program realizes its mission through partnerships with a number of organizations, dedicated to strengthening support for persons with mental illness. Our work is informed and strengthened by an interdisciplinary community of scholars, practitioners, and persons living with mental illness.
Fiat Program Director
Beth Hlabse, M.S., LMHCA, is the director of of the Fiat Program on Faith and Mental Health at the McGrath Institute for Church Life. She leads the Institute’s efforts to generate pastoral research, education, and formation opportunities on mental health and the Catholic tradition. A mental health counselor, Beth has provided therapeutic care for adolescents and adults with histories of trauma and adverse child experiences. Her therapeutic approach is integrative, attending to neural-developmental influences and the intersection of spirituality and psychology. Beth obtained her masters in clinical mental health counseling from Divine Mercy University and pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Oxford in Christian Ethics. Beth and her husband Pete treasure their community in South Bend, IN and delight in visits back to the great outdoors of her hometown in Wyoming.
Fiat Program Advisors
Lisa Anderson, M.Ed., became a mental health advocate after retiring from twenty five years in higher education counseling and administration. She felt a clear call to do this work, after struggling for many years to find the best treatment and support for her son. Time after time, she found herself alone, seeking support and answers in her effort to find help for him. Since 2011, she has taught a community-based undergraduate seminar at the University of Notre Dame to help students better understand what it means to live with a serious mental illness. The seminar, now sponsored by the Fiat Program, incorporates Catholic Social Teaching, introduces students to community mental health resources, and gives students the opportunity to become friends with local community members who live with serious mental illness. Lisa served as inaugural director for the Fiat Program. Previously the Director of Graduate Career Counseling at Notre Dame’s Career Center, she is also past president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness for St. Joseph County and co-founder of Clubhouse of St. Joseph County, an accredited strengths-based model that helps individuals with chronic mental illness improve their lives by building friendships, attaining employment, and securing safe housing.
Francie Broghammer, M.D., is a Board-Certified Psychiatrist and a Clinical Director of Inpatient Mental Health for the State of Minnesota. She completed her residency training at the University of California, Irvine, including a two-year tenure as Chief Resident. Her academic and clinical interests lie in medical ethics, education, and human flourishing. She is a former Leonine Fellow, an American Psychiatric Association Leadership Fellow, and is a board member for Pepperdine University’s American Project. Dr. Broghammer played Division I Women’s Lacrosse at the University of Notre Dame and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Science Pre-Professional Studies and Portuguese Language and Brazilian Studies. She attended the University of California, Irvine for medical school and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Medical Honor Society. She resides in Minnesota with her husband and their three children.
Christopher Justin Brophy, O.P., Ph.D., is a Dominican priest, Assistant Professor of Political Science, and the Director of the Center for Catholic and Dominican Studies at Providence College. He earned his degree in Political Theory and Constitutional Studies at the University of Notre Dame in 2020. His research and teaching revolves around Plato, Late Modern German thought, and philosophical conceptions of the psyche, and his work reflects an attention to the fundamental questions surrounding modern identity and the concept of authenticity. Fr. Brophy is also an active preacher, having delivered various public talks and retreats.
Sofia Carozza, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women’s Hospital. She uses computational modelling to study the role of the early-life environment in the development of the human brain and has published this work in journals such as PNAS and Psychological Science. More broadly, her interdisciplinary academic interests include the philosophy of neuroscience, philosophical anthropology, and the relationship between science and religion. Her doctoral research, which she completed at the University of Cambridge as a Marshall Scholar, investigated the impact of abuse and neglect on children’s brain networks. Sofia also holds an MPhil from Cambridge and a BS from the University of Notre Dame, where she studied neuroscience and theology and graduated as valedictorian of the class of 2019.
Rev. Kevin Grove, CSC, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of systematic theology at the University of Notre Dame. A teacher of sacramental theology for students training for ordained and lay ministry in the Catholic Church, Fr. Grove is working on a research project on how the sacrament of anointing might have a prominent role in meeting the needs of the increasing mental health demands on college campuses. Fr. Grove completed doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge and was a post-doctoral researcher at L’Institut Catholique in Paris, France. His research includes memory, Christology, St. Augustine, and the theological writings of Basil Moreau. In addition to his research and teaching, Grove serves pastorally at Notre Dame as an assistant faculty chaplain, chaplain to the Master of Divinity program, and as a pastoral resident for undergraduates in Dunne Hall.
Louis Damani Jones, M.S.W., is a behavioral health therapist with SSM Health in the St. Louis area. He is also a research assistant with the CatholicPsych Institute. His clinical experience involves community-based settings, inpatient psychiatric settings, and psychological consults for emergency departments. He holds a Master of Social Work with a concentration in clinical mental health from Washington University in St. Louis. He has previous experience in Catholic non-profit consulting, community development, and social services. He serves on the board of directors for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Vagabond Missions, and the Before Gethsemane Initiative.
Nancy Michael, Ph.D., is the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Neuroscience and Behavior major in the College of Science. In her years as faculty, Dr. Michael’s dedication to excellence, innovation in education and commitment to community wellness have earned her numerous teaching, advising and community awards. In partnership with multiple community organizations, Dr. Michael works to develop and implement NEAR (neuroscience, epigenetics, adverse childhood experiences, resilience) science approaches that aim to mitigate the impact of toxic stress on individuals and communities. Her approach uses a community-based change theory model to work with community organizations in developing population specific NEAR-based strategies to support organizational and community efforts in becoming trauma-informed.
Cindy Nikolai, Ph.D., is a retired Air Force Captain whose work spanned seven years and command positions in missile defense. Following her Air Force career, Cindy pursued a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, where she was a GAANN Fellow (Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need). Cindy completed additional master’s degrees in Applied Mathematics and Data Science. In 2013, Cindy began teaching with the Forever Learning Institute. In 2021, she professed into the Third Order of Saint Francis as a lay person. Currently, Cindy is a software developer and a life coach. She also is the author of two books. Her personal website is www.cindynikolai.com. In her spare time, Cindy loves crocheting, serving the community, and building the world’s largest jigsaw puzzle.
Amy Ricke, M.D., is a Board-Certified Psychiatrist in Indianapolis. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Science Pre-professional studies. She attended Case Western Reserve University for medical school where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Medical Honor Society. After completing her Psychiatry residency at Indiana University, she was in private practice providing psychiatric evaluation and treatment, as well as psychotherapy. Dr. Ricke has also served as the Director of Psychiatry for a residential eating disorder program in Indiana. She currently treats medical students and resident physicians at Indiana University School of Medicine, the largest medical school in the country. She also provides psychiatric care for college students via telemedicine and serves as a state-wide consultant for the CHAMP Program for healthcare providers in addiction, mental health, and perinatal psychiatry. Dr. Ricke has a clinical interest and expertise in mood and anxiety disorders, developmental trauma and attachment, eating disorders, substance use disorders (addiction), sleep disorders, and women’s mental health (reproductive psychiatry). She has given numerous lectures and didactics over the years as a way to educate other mental health professionals and is a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
Deacon Ed Shoener, M.S., was ordained a permanent deacon in 2004 and serves at St. Peter’s Cathedral in the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Shoener is a founding member of the Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers and the Catholic Institute of Mental Health Ministry at the University of San Diego. He serves on the Council on Mental Illness of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability and on the Board of Pathways to Promise, an interfaith cooperative that facilitates the faith community’s work in reaching out to those with mental illnesses and their families. Deacon Shoener, along with Bishop John Dolan, is coauthor of the books Responding to Suicide: A Pastoral Handbook for Catholic Leaders and When a Loved One Dies by Suicide (Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, IN). He, along with family and friends, founded “The Katie Foundation” after his daughter, Kathleen, died by suicide in 2016. Katie’s obituary went viral because it spoke to the needs and concerns of people who live with mental illness. He lives with his family in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Maggie Musso, M.D., (née Skoch) earned a B.A. in Theology at the University of Notre Dame, where she developed a passion for working with and serving people with mental illness after her own experience with severe OCD. During her senior year, she worked as an intern in the Division of Student Affairs on projects related to student mental health and was honored with the 2016 Student Voice of Mental Health Award by The Jed Foundation. She then attended the Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, where she completed a concurrent MA in Bioethics and Health Policy. During medical school, Maggie worked as an intern with the Chicago-based non-profit, The Kennedy Forum, and as the co-director of a new wellness curriculum at Stritch. In her final year as a psychiatry resident at Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals (CWRU/UH) in Cleveland, she will be joining faculty at CWRU/UH after residency. In residency, she served as Education Chief for two years, completed the Public and Community Psychiatry Fellowship, and was named a Top Trainee Teacher and Outstanding Resident in Community Psychiatry. She also served a term as a young alumna member of the Notre Dame Undergraduate Experience Advisory Council. In residency and beyond, she intends to combine her strong medical, theological, and bioethics education with her experiences in the mental health and psychiatric fields to serve those with mental illness, and especially those with serious and persistent illnesses, who are disproportionately impacted by homelessness, incarceration, poverty, and suicide. In her free time, she loves attending musicals, playing the piano and singing, and visiting used bookstores.
Connie Svob, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University and a Research Scientist in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at New York State Psychiatric Institute. During the tenure of her graduate studies in psychology, she studied the intersection of theology and psychology at Oxford University, with a focus on autobiographical memory. Upon graduating with her Ph.D. from the University of Alberta, Dr. Svob became a Visiting Researcher at the Center for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Notre Dame, as well as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Psychology. In 2015, Dr. Svob joined Columbia University as an Assistant Professor to conduct research on a John Templeton Foundation grant investigating the role of religious belief in the resilience of families at risk for depression. This 40-year, three-generation study has formed the basis of her research on religiosity and mental health. Dr. Svob currently holds the honorary titles of the Whitaker Scholar in Developmental Neuropsychiatry at Columbia University, as well as the New York State Office of Mental Health Policy Scholar, for which she was awarded funds to extend her research on religiosity and mental health through a community-partnership program.
Jessie Tappel, M.S., LPC, ACS, is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the states of Virginia and Maryland and holds the credential of Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS). She received her master’s in Clinical Psychology from the Institute for the Psychological Sciences in 2014, following undergraduate B.A. degrees from Franciscan University of Steubenville in Theology and Spanish. Currently, she enjoys practicing clinically as a generalist with adults, adolescents, and children, of diverse backgrounds and wide-ranging presenting concerns. She has a particular interest in working with survivors of trauma, with young adults and the integration of faith and psychology. Additionally, she works for Divine Mercy University as an Associate Program Director and Clinical Faculty member, working with the future of mental health professionals.
Mary S. Tarsha, Ph.D., is an Analyst and Consultant in the Office of Institution of Research, Innovation and Strategy (IRIS) at the University of Notre Dame. Her work leverages a variety of statistical, methodological, and analytical modeling techniques in order to provide support for partners across the institution. Prior to joining the IRIS team, she earned her doctorate in Developmental Psychology and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and Kroc Institute for International Peace Research. She also holds a master's in Empirical Research from Vanderbilt University. Her interdisciplinary scholarship has been published in numerous scientific journals (e.g., Frontiers in Psychology, Early Human Development, Anxiety, Stress & Coping, Psychology, and Cognitive Archaeology) and books, addressing important issues in both education, psychology, and peace studies.