CHD Staff

Omni Cassidy, M.S. is a 2012 Cohort year graduate student in the Medical and Clinical Psychology dual-track program. In 2010, she received her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Women and Gender Studies from Washington University in St. Louis. As an undergraduate, Omni volunteered with the weight Management and Eating Disorders Program. She also worked as an intern at the Jackson Heart Study in Jackson, MS, investigating African Americans with Type II diabetes. Before beginning her graduate studies, Omni worked as a research assistant at the NIH and USUHS on a study examining the effect of interpersonal psychotherapy on the prevention of excess weight gain in adolescent girls and also coordinated a pilot study to adapt interpersonal psychotherapy to be culturally appropriate in preventing excess weight gain in racial/ethnic minority groups. She is interested in factors that may promote disordered eating and excessive weight gain in African American youth and how such research may be used to inform policy. For her dissertation, Omni plans to examine the effect of food marketing and attentional biases on eating behaviors in African American adolescent girls. 

Captain Dawn Johnson, USAF is a 2013 Cohort year student working towards a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Dawn earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Wartburg College and her Master of Arts in Counseling Licensure from Denver Seminary. Prior to entering the Air Force, Dawn clinically worked with women and children escaping domestic violence and homelessness. She led recovery groups for men and women struggling with addictions. She has experience working with patients in hospice care and youth who are incarcerated. Dawn also did some inpatient and outpatient work with veterans after completing her Master’s degree. She commissioned into the Air Force through Officer Training School. She worked for five years as a Special Agent in the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. She primarily worked criminal and counterintelligence cases. After her last assignment, she worked in the HQ Warfighter Division. Her primary research interested include pregnancy and postpartum emotional well-being and physical fitness as it relates to obesity and disordered eating. She is currently working on the Preventing Obesity in Military Communities – Mother/Baby study examining Command and social support factors in the prevention of excess weight gain during pregnancy. She is also interested in looking at how these factors affect the ability to lose the weight gained in pregnancy and emotional well-being. 

Captain Sarah J. McCreight, USA is a 2011 Cohort year student working towards a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Sarah earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from East Carolina University in 2001. She enlisted in the U.S. Army as an intelligence analyst before entering the Army “Green to Gold” program. In 2006, she commissioned as a U.S. Army Signal Officer and served as a Signal Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, and Battalion S6. She served in Afghanistan in 2009. Sarah received a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from East Carolina University in 2010. Sarah’s primary research interests include weight management and physical fitness among pregnant populations, especially those serving on active duty in the military. She is also a collaborator in the Prevention of Obesity in Military Communities program project grant, and has a growing interest in public health policy. Her clinical interests include health behavior change, strength and resilience in military families, and stress and emotional conflict among active duty military mothers. She completed a thesis evaluating Army Pregnancy and Postpartum Physical Training (P3T) Program at Fort Campbell, KY. For her dissertation, she is investigating factors that benefit active duty mothers in their transition to parenthood. 

Captain Kendra L. Oldham, USAF is a 2013 Cohort year graduate student working towards a Ph.D.  in Clinical Psychology. Kendra attended Central Washington University on a three year Air Force ROTC Scholarship, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. After commissioning, Kendra worked as a Special Agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. During her time with OSI, Kendra conducted investigations of economic crimes, sexual assault, and other felony criminal offenses. Capt Oldham completed one combat deployment to Iraq (OEF) where she conducted missions in support of force protection. In 2012, she completed her M.S. in Criminal Justice from the University of Central Missouri and ended her career with OSI working for the AFOSI ICON, Quantico, VA. During her assignment with the ICON, Capt Oldham collaborated with numerous federal agencies, monitored current events worldwide to identify concerns to AFOSI and Air Force leadership, and provided guidance to OSI field units on investigations. Her primary research interests include obesity and weight stigma and how they affect emotional well-being of military members. Additionally, she is interested in exploring how anti-fat bias may erode unit cohesion and military readiness. She is currently working on the Preventing Obesity in Military Communities – Fit4Duty study, which seeks to reduce excess weight gain in U.S. Military service members.

Major (S) Katrina D. Powell, USAF is a 2015 Cohort year student working towards a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Katrina earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and English from the Virginia Military Institute in 2006. After graduating, Katrina commissioned into the United States Air Force as a Behavioral Scientist (61B). She began her Air Force career at Edwards AFB, CA at the 773^rd Flight Test squadron as a CV-22, F-16, and B-1 Human Factors Engineer and later as the Lead Research engineer in Curriculum Standards Division at the USAF Test Pilot School.  In 2010, Katrina became a Military Information Support Operations (MISO) officer (formerly Psychological Operations).  Immediately after completing MISO training, Katrina was selected for an AF sponsored Master’s degree.  She attended Arizona State University where she earned her Master’s degree in Psychology in 2011. During her time at ASU, Katrina also earned her Master’s in English from California State University in Bakersfield in 2010.  Upon graduation from ASU, she deployed to an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia for six months. Katrina returned to the states and began working as an Instructor in the Behavioral Sciences and Leadership department at the USAF Academy in Colorado Springs (2012-2015) and Division Executive officer (2014-2015).  Katrina’s primary research interests include examining environmental effects on perception of body shape, racial identity, sense of belonging, and self-esteem in minority populations.  She is also interested in the effects of deployment on military families (ASU thesis).

Captain Sadé Soares, USA is a 2014 Cohort student and Army officer of eight years working towards a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the US Military Academy at West Point in 2010. She served as an aide-de-camp to the division commander, while deployed to Kuwait, and assistant operations officer of a Military Entrance Processing Station before enrolling at USUHS. Sadé's primary research interests include the role of historical trauma as well as social and health disparities on ethnic minorities' well-being, primarily Native Hawaiians. She is also interested in the role of policy in addressing the condition of ethnic minorities and decreasing mental health stigma. Clinically, Sadé is mainly interested in military family resilience. She has worked as an interventionist in the Fitness and Lifestyle Improvement through Information Technology study and continues to be involved with the Preventing Obesity in Military Communities-Adolescents study.