Torrance Center Summer Institute

Anna Abraham, Ph.D. is the E. Paul Torrance Professor and Director of the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development at the University of Georgia. She investigates the psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying creativity and the imagination. She is the author of the 2018 book, The Neuroscience of Creativity (Cambridge University Press).

Karrah Bowman graduated from Florida State University with a major in Psychology. She is currently a second-year doctoral student in the School Psychology program at the University of Georgia. Her research focus is on developing the educational environment to improve autistic student outcomes.

Xiao-Yin Chen is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Georgia. Her research examines motivation in educational settings, where she primarily focuses on how social influences (such as teachers, models, and peers) can support student motivation. Her greater purpose is to support students who are minoritized in college settings (e.g., women in STEM, first-generation college students, and/or historically marginalized racial/ethnic students). Her work is grounded by her experiences growing up in eastern Kentucky, Appalachia as a second-generation Chinese-American.

Ai-Chu Elisha Ding is an Assistant Professor of Learning Design and Technology in the Department of Workforce Education & Instructional Technology at the University of Georgia. Her research examines the innovative and equitable technology integration and professional development in K-12 education. She has explored the use of game-based learning (GBL), virtual reality (VR), and elementary-level computer programming in K-12 education. She has worked closely with both pre-service and in-service teachers on their professional development and technology integration.

Dr. Sycarah Fisher is an Associate Professor of School Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Georgia. Dr. Fisher’s research examines risk and protective factors related to minority mental health and substance use. Further, Dr. Fisher engages in community based participatory research by collaborating with local school districts and community agencies to further support access to evidence based mental health and substance use interventions for minoritized populations.

Ashley Harrison is an Associate Professor in the School Psychology Program at UGA’s Mary Frances Early College of Education. Dr. Harrison’s research focuses on identifying mechanisms that contribute to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) service disparities. Dr. Harrison co-directs the ASD diagnostic clinic within the school psychology clinic and serves as the school psychology program coordinator.

Ashleigh Pipes teaches at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from Georgetown University and has taught Linguistics, Communication, and ESL courses domestically and abroad. She has presented her research on creativity and other individual differences in second language acquisition at conferences in Belgium, Brazil, Finland, Poland, and Turkey.

Desiree Sharpe is the Program Coordinator for the UGA Torrance Center. Dr. Sharpe received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Georgia, specializing in behavioral neuroendocrinology and cognitive neuroscience. She currently leads scoring workshops for Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking and other professional learning courses centered on teaching for creativity.