People

The TOH@UTC initiative is driven by and driven for the people who make UTC everything it is. The following individuals have played critical roles in the development and ongoing championing of this initiative. 

Core Facilitators

Dr. Chris Cunningham: Chris is a Guerry Professor and UC Foundation Professor of Psychology at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), where he directs the top-ranked MS degree program in Industrial-Organizational and Occupational Health Psychology and the Healthy and Optimal Work research and applications lab. He has been a member of the UTC faculty since August 2007. For nearly 20 years, Chris has taught seminars, presented workshops, researched, and consulted with organizations addressing: (a) organizational and occupational health psychology research and applications, (b) applied psychological consulting skills and ethics, (c) organizational development, design, and change, (d) career development, and (e) research and statistical methods. Chris is the co-author (with colleague, Dr. Kristen Black) of the Essentials of Occupational Health Psychology text, published through Routledge/Taylor & Francis in 2021. Chris was the 2020 and 2021 President for the Society for Occupational Health Psychology and is an editorial board member for seven high-impact journals in the applied psychology and occupational health domain.

Dr. Cunningham is and has been assisted in this TOH work by the following talented graduate students with training in Industrial-Organizational and Occupational Health Psychology:

Sally Hoffman (Fall 2024-Spring 2025): Sally is a rising Industrial-Organizational Psychology professional currently pursuing her M.S. at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. With an extensive background working with both people and data, she believes in the importance of understanding the individual to directly improve their well-being and performance at work. Her professional interests include occupational and organizational health, employee motivation and engagement, and organizational culture and climate. Sally is dedicated to cultivating environments where both organizational goals and employee welfare are mutually prioritized and optimized. She has experience in managing the evaluation and improvement of employee programs as a Workforce Development Intern at the Interoperability Institute and facilitating recruitment and training processes as a previous Human Resources Intern at FORVIA.

Sawyer Robinson (Summer 2024): Sawyer is a budding Industrial-Organizational Psychology practitioner with a passion for leveraging data-informed insights to improve the workplace. His professional interests include organizational development, people analytics/employee listening, and program evaluation. Sawyer believes IO psychology practitioners have an important role to play in supporting the non-profit and health & human service sector and is eager to get involved. His experience includes several positions at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and EquipmentShare. 

Lydia Rominger (Fall 2023-Spring 2024): Lydia is an experienced Industrial-Organizational Psychology consultant with global experience. Having lived cross-culturally for 10+ years, she enjoys building authentic relationships across diverse cultures and crafting innovative solutions for complex people-centric challenges. Her focus areas include organizational development & design, change management, project management, and strategic cultural integration. Lydia believes organizations can harness their energy toward tangible transformation by delivering data through compelling and relatable narratives. Her journey spans roles at Lodestone People Consulting, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Covenant College, and with organizations in SE Asia and Africa.  

The ultimate success of the TOH@UTC initiative will depend on involvement from all UTC employees. Helping to get this initiative moving are a large number of dedicated UTC staff, faculty, and administrators who answered the call from Chancellor Angle to represent their coworkers as members of staff- and faculty-focused task forces that helped to identify critical needs and opportunities for UTC employees through the first 10 months of this initiative (in 2023). In addition to ongoing support of the Chancellor, Provost, and all senior leaders, the following individuals have demonstrated especially high levels of commitment to this endeavor and need to be recognized for their service to our campus community.

Staff Task Force

Shewanee Howard-Baptiste, Professor and Vice Provost for Academic Outreach (Academic Affairs)
Matt Matthews, Professor and Vice Provost (Academic Affairs)
Julie Brown, Employee Wellness Consultant (Human Resources)
Nicole Gaines, Interim Director of Employee Relations (Human Resources)
Anthony McClellan, Executive Director of Facilities Planning & Operations (Facilities, Planning, and Management)
Bob Jackson, Director of Environmental Health & Safety
Jason Harville, Assistant Director of Student Success Programs (Residence Life)
Abeer Mustafa, Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs (Enrollment Management & Student Affairs)
Robbie Reel, Director of Project Management Office (Information Technology)
Jess Williams, Manager: Infrastructure Engineer (Information Technology)
Stacy Lightfoot, Vice Chancellor for Access and Engagement
Laura Snyder, Director of Stewardship & Donor Events (Advancement)
Stephen Rumbaugh, Executive Director of Brand Management & Creative Content (Communications & Marketing)
Meredith Perry, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research
Laura Herron, Executive Associate Director for Compliance and Administration and Senior Woman Administration (Athletics)
Laure Pou, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Human Resources
David Steele, Chief of Staff (Chancellor's office)

Faculty Task Force

Donald Reising, Associate Professor and Faculty Senate president (CECS)
Jack Zibluk, Professor and Faculty Senate president-elect (CAS)
Matt Matthews, Professor and Vice Provost (Academic Affairs)
Amanda Clark, Associate Dean and Associate Professor (CAS)
Hong Qin, Professor (CECS)
Ethan Carver, Interim Dean of the Graduate School
Chris Smith, Professor and Director of the School of Nursing (CHEPS)
Cathy Scott, Associate Professor and BSW Program Director (CHEPS)
Will Kuby, Associate Dean and Associate Professor (Honors College)
Laure Pou, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Human Resources
Meredith Perry, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research
Theresa Liedtka, Dean of the Library
Dunstan McNutt, Assistant Professor and Instruction Librarian (Library)
Mike Owens, Assistant Dean and Professor of Accounting (RCoB)
Tiffany Mitchell, Senior Lecturer in English (NTT Faculty)
Michelle Deardorff, Professor and Department Head (Council of Department Heads)
Rosite Delgado, Director: Office of Equal Opportunity and Accessibility
Bryan Johnson, Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Strategy Officer
David Steele, Chief of Staff (Chancellor's office)