The EMSTAR Team

Dr. Starnes received her BSW and MA in clinical psychology from East Tennessee State University and her Ph.D. in community and organizational psychology, in 1987, from Georgia State University. Her professional work has concentrated on designing and evaluating programs in such diverse areas as substance abuse prevention, child abuse prevention, childhood immunizations, volunteer programs for cancer patients, violence prevention programs with teens, community outreach health programs, after-school programs, training programs for state agencies and many others.

Dr. Starnes also served on the Atlanta City Council for 12 years, from 1994 through 2004 and currently serves as Policy Advisor to Atlanta’s Mayor Shirley Franklin. In addition, she serves on several corporate and non-profit Boards.

Dr. Emshoff is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of the Community Psychology Program at Georgia State University. He also founded and serves as Director of Research at EMSTAR. He has directed research projects funded by a variety of federal agencies focused on health and well-being. He has received many honors, including the American Medical Association Substance Abuse Prevention Award. During a leave from his academic position, Dr. Emshoff worked at the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) where he concentrated on evaluation issues and the creation of CSAP's grant program for substance abusing pregnant and post partum women and their infants. Dr. Emshoff has conducted evaluation research focused on substance abuse, violence, HIV/AIDS, child abuse, community collaboratives, mentoring, delinquency, and health promotion programs at the local, state, and national levels and provides technical assistance in prevention and evaluation to many organizations. He serves on the Board of Directors or Executive Committee of several national organizations. Approximately 200 of his publications and professional presentations focus on a variety of prevention and evaluation issues.

Dr. Erickson, a Georgia native, spent the first decade of his career as a service provider and administrator in Georgia's public mental health system. He then spent several years at Emory University managing research projects on the genetics of schizophrenia and effects of fetal alcohol exposure. Since joining EMSTAR in 1990 he has specialized in the evaluation and development of public and private, non-profit organizations. Issues addressed by these organizations have included child and family wellness, perinatal health, violence and alcohol/drug abuse prevention, media based prevention, community collaboration, intercultural collaboration, historic preservation, caretaking, and consumer satisfaction, among others.

Kimberley Broomfield has worked as a program evaluation consultant with EMSTAR since 1998. With degrees from the University of Central Florida and Georgia State University, Dr. Broomfield completed her doctoral work in the field of Community Psychology, with a focus in program evaluation. Although her primary research interest is in positive youth development, her work with the Georgia Campaign for Pregnancy Prevention (GCAPP) and the Center for Black Women’s Wellness sparked an interest in issues around perinatal health. She currently evaluates the Atlanta Healthy Start Initiative; a federally funded program implemented by the Center for Black Women’s Wellness, Inc. whose goal is to address disparities in perinatal heatlh by removing barriers to adequte health care for pregnant women and parenting mothers with infants under the age of two. In addition to her work around youth development and perinatal health, she has also worked with such organizations as Tapestri, Inc., the American Cancer Society, and the United Way. Ms. Broomfield’s academic and occupational experiences continue to fuel her passion for working with community-based organizations and desire to empower disenfranchised communities.

Adam James Darnell received a Ph.D. in Community Psychology in 2006 from Georgia State University. His research interests include development of critical consciousness, evaluation of collaboration, and multilevel modeling.

Dr. Melanie Bliss is a senior consultant for EMSTAR Research, Inc., where she has worked since 2005. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice, and she trains law enforcement personnel as a consultant to the Georgia Network to End Sexual Assault. Dr. Bliss received a Ph.D. from Georgia State University, completed a pre-doctoral residency at the Medical College of Georgia and VA Medical Center, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine. As a psychotherapist, researcher, and mental health consultant, she specializes in trauma, sexual assault, personality disorders, women's issues, and adolescents.

Jeremy Lingle completed his Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies with a focus upon research methodology. He also holds an M.S. in Professional Counseling, both degrees received from Georgia State University. A common theme across his evaluation work has been youth, adult, and family wellness. Dr. Lingle has conducted evaluation research in such areas as educational curricula, after school programs, teen health promotion, and both youth and adult mental health services. Current projects focus upon multi-agency collaborations and service coordination for youth with serious emotional disturbances and their families.

Zuri Murphy received her MSW from Georgia State University with an emphasis in community partnerships, and is licensed to practice in the State of Georgia. She began evaluating programs for non-profits while earning her graduate degree and has continued to provide program evaluation consulting to non-profit and government agencies. In addition to being an evaluation professional, she ran programs in community mental health for several years. She joined EMSTAR as a Project Manager in 2009.