Kelly Ziemer

Kelly ZiemerEducation

Ph.D. (Expected 2022)

University of California, Berkeley, School of Social Welfare
Dissertation Title: “Lay Beliefs of Self-Love in Alcohol and Other Drugs Recovery: A Study of Social Media Posts"

MSW (2013)

Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, New York, New York
Clinical focus in Children, Youth and Families
Obtained Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) designation, #091237 (2013)
Met requirements to take Licensed Master Clinical Worker (LCSW) exam (2020)

Master of Science in International Business (2009)

SKEMA Business School—Nice, France

Bachelor of Business Administration (2005)

University of Wisconsin School of Business—Madison, Wisconsin
Management and Human Resources 2005

Bachelor of Science (enrolled 2001 - 2002)

Boston University—Boston, Massachusetts
Health Studies/Doctor of Physical Therapy program

Email:  kziemer@berkeley.edu

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

  • Behavioral Health interventions
  • Addiction Recovery
  • Positive Affect
  • Computational Modeling and Social Media
  • Inequality in Education

Competitive Fellowships

2019 – 2022 National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) – $24,324 + tuition 
Alcohol Research Group, Grant Nr 5 T32 AA007240; P50AA005595
Pre-doctoral Fellowship (T32)
Mentor: Sarah Zemore, Ph.D.

Research Experience

01/2019 – present Research Institute of Child Development and Education – Amsterdam, The Netherlands 

Within the Institute, researchers in the Developmental Psychopathology department conduct research on child development, parenting and education.

08/2019 – present Visiting PhD Candidate Collaborating with Assistant Professor Eddie Brummelman

01/2019 – 08/2019 Mindfulness Researcher with Principal Investigator Associate Professor Esther de Bruin 

Research group explores mindfulness and compassion training with a variety of populations (e.g., women with fear of childbirth, children (and their parents) with ADHD and autism, and employees experiencing burnout) to examine effects of mindfulness-based interventions (MBI).

  • Conduct mediation analysis on the mechanisms of change from an RCT exploring the impacts of an MBI for women with fear of childbirth
  • Co-author scholarly article for publication
  • Participate in mindfulness, child development and education, and social psychology team meetings and collaborations

01/2017 – present Center for Prevention Research in Social Welfare (CPRSW) – Berkeley, CA 

The CPRSW tests the effectiveness of preventative interventions in schools, after school, and community settings as well as strategies to increase access to high-quality preventative interventions through the development, measurement, and testing of innovative service delivery models that support the adoption, implementation, and sustainability of preventative interventions.

Graduate Research Assistant & Research Practicum Student for Principal Investigator Dr. Valerie B. Shapiro

  • Manage data clean up, analyzed data using regression analyses and created research briefs for third party implementer of Social Emotional Learning intervention
  • Submit scholarly papers for publication
  • Conduct shadow manuscript review for research journals
  • Create survey questions for data collection
  • Participate in weekly team meetings to consult on prevention research and coordinate group collaboration on projects and papers
  • Supervise undergraduate student in synching CPRSW website with Principal Investigator's website and scholarly databases

12/2018 – 06/2019 UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine – San Francisco, CA 

Graduate Student Assistant for the UCSF study "Mindfulness for Underserved Youth" in partnership with national nonprofit, Year Up examining the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention on behavioral health outcomes, positive emotions, and social connection for those in a job training program.

Graduate Student Assistant for Principal Investigator, Dr. Maria Chao, and Postdoctoral Student, Dr. Ariana Thompson-Lastad

  • Co-Led quantitative survey development
  • Liaised with partner organization and affiliated collaborators and scholars

01/2018 – 05/2018 Biological Embedding Research Group in Public Health – Berkeley, CA

Faculty: Darlene Francis, PhD

  • Collaborated on the intersection of biological mechanisms and social determinants of health
  • Developed workshops on epigenetics and positive emotions utilizing a peer-review process

05/2017 – 08/2017 Graduate Student Researcher – Berkeley, CA 

Principal Investigator: Professor Neil Gilbert

  • Created reports on the convergence of Family Policy and Social Expenditures utilizing country-specific data for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
  • Conducted literature review on Arab Family Policy

05/2012 – 02/2014 SCAN New York/Silberman School of Social Work – New York, NY 

Graduate Research Assistant to Principal Investigator Dr. Kristin Ferguson

  • Conducted interviews with participants in an 80-parent study to assess their needs and strengths
  • Attended and documented town hall meetings and focus groups with 450 residents and 20 providers 
  • Designed and developed Access database to track referrals across East Harlem Consortium providers
  • Contributed to the research manuscripts in preparation for publishing

09/2003 – 05/2004 Longitudinal Twin Studies of Emotional Development – Madison, Wisconsin 

Undergraduate Research Assistant for Dr. Harold Hill Goldsmith

Teaching Experience

Adjunct Lecturer, Clinical Psychology Department, Leiden University,The Netherlands, 9/2022-present.

Invited Application of Focused Attention: Mindfulness Workshop                                                          
A Peaceful Mind Summer Institute, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 07/2022

Invited online workshop Practicing Self-Love: Barriers and Application with Ourselves & Clients          
NYU Langone Health affiliated Project Reach Youth (i.e., a high school support program), Brooklyn, New York, USA, 2/2021 & 1/2022

Invited online lecture Clinical interview: goals and challenges
Psychology department, University of Valencia, Spain,  11/2021                                                                                         

Lecturer– University of Valencia, Spain 
Invited online lecture for the Psychology department on Self-Report Measures in Positive Affect Research, 11/2020 

Lecturer– A Peaceful Mind Summer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 
Developed and delivered 2 separate lectures for 25 students:

  • Mindfulness and Positive Emotions
  • Research Design Considerations for an MBI Examining Pregnant Women's Fear of Childbirth
    7/2019. Invited for Summer 2020 but institute was cancelled due to Covid-19.

03/2019 Lecturer– Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic, Berkeley, CA 
Developed and delivered a lecture for 15 CBT Therapists titled Utilizing Mindfulness and Compassion-Based Techniques with Our Clients

Instructor– Berkeley, CA 10/2018
Developed and delivered a lecture for 40 undergraduates titled Clinical Social Work

Graduate Student Instructor– Berkeley, CA 09/2018 – 12/2018
Professor: Jill Duerr Berrick
Undergraduate: SOC WEL 110 - Social Work as a Profession

  • Facilitate 2 weekly sections of 20 students for 1hour discussion
  • Support students in discovering a social work identity and improving their writing skills
  • Grade student writing assignments

Graduate Student Instructor– Berkeley, CA 09/2017 – 05/2018
Professor: Neil Gilbert
Master of Social Work (MSW) full-year course: SOC WEL 282 - Seminar in Social Welfare Research

  • Provide descriptive and inferential statistics software demonstrations to MSW students
  • Support MSW students in consulting research project with local social service agencies
  • Grade student consulting research projects

Professional Experience

08/2016 – 2019 CBT Therapist, Golden Bear Sleep and Mood Research Clinic – Berkeley, CA 

  • Provide Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to individuals experiencing depression and anxiety
  • Engage in assessment, case formulation and treatment planning of clients
  • Attend weekly supervision and monthly CBT trainings under supervision of Dr. Allison Harvey and Dr. Steve Hollon

09/2013 – 06/2016 Project Reach Youth TRACK, affiliated with NYU/Lutheran Medical Center – Brooklyn, NY 
Social Worker at Brooklyn public high school-based support program

  • Provided individual counseling to 20 high risk high school students
  • Planned curriculum for and facilitate weekly group counseling with 10 high school girls
  • Partnered with VP of Research to study how practitioners implement mindfulness strategies with at-risk youth
  • Supervised a Columbia University 1st year MSW student
  • Co-developed a race curriculum to give to incoming staff
  • Trained staff in: high-risk assessments, fostering empathy and vulnerability
  • Provided case management to high-risk youths in collaboration with parents and teachers related to mental health needs, tutoring & afterschool activities

09/2005 – 08/2016 CGI, Inc. – New York, NY & Chicago, IL 
Senior IT Consultant for a 71,000 person, Fortune 2000 company specializing in training and technical writing

  • Created training manuals, job aids and e-Learning for public sector accounting/financial software
  • Conducted webinars and classroom trainings for new product hires and clients
  • Implemented the train-the-trainer program for 1,500 State employees
  • Reported weekly to project management and Steering Committee members
  • Managed a $1 million project plan of the City of New York's customized vendor software
  • Led a team of 10 individuals who tested critical path, new fiscal-year software for the City of New York

01/2013 – 8/2013 Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund (VGIF) – New York, NY 
United Nations (UN) Representative for a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)

  • Analyzed past VGIF domestic violence grantees' final reports to determine lessons learned and assess alignment with UN discussions and policies
  • Acted as the VGIF liaison by attending meetings at the United Nations to report to VGIF about current international violence against women policies and trends
  • Presented to the Board of Directors UN findings and recommendations to further VGIF strategies 
  • Participated in the annual Commission on the Status of Women UN conference
  • Created reports and blog posts about meetings attended

09/2012 – 05/2013 Odyssey House – New York, NY 
Social Work Intern, specializing in residential substance abuse treatment for mothers and their families

  • Certified in and conducted weekly Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), an evidence-based practice based on motivational interviewing, individual counseling sessions to 10 female clients
  • Co-facilitated Trauma Recovery (TREM), an evidence-based practice support group, for 8 clients
  • Created and updated treatment plans based on the State's Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse standards
  • Wrote biopsychosocial assessments for clients just entering rehab • Conducted case management with clients' lawyers and case workers in legal and child services

09/2011 – 05/2012 Metropolitan Hospital Center – New York, NY 
Social Work Intern for the Victims Assistance and Counseling Services Program

  • Conducted counseling and case management for 7 clients experiencing domestic violence and sexual assault
  • Facilitated psycho-educational group for 5 adult female survivors of childhood sexual assault 
  • Completed CONNECT and Brooklyn Family Justice Center trainings on working with crime/trauma victims and weekly student seminars

Reviewer Experience

2021 Invited Reviewer International Journal of Behavioral Medicine 

10/2018 – 06/2019 Doctoral Fellow – International Journal of Social Welfare 

Publications

Peer-Reviewed

Veringa, I., Ziemer, K. L., de Bruin, E., de Bruin, E.I. & Bogels, S.M. (2022). Mindful Awareness as a Mechanism of Change for Natural Childbirth in Pregnant Women with High Fear of Childbirth: A Randomized Controlled Trial.BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 22(47) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-022-04380-0

Shapiro, V.B., Ziemer, K. L., Kim, B. K. E., & Accomazzo, S. (2019). Teachers' Assessment of "Implementation Leadership" During a New Social Emotional Learning Initiative. Contemporary School Psychology.

Shapiro, Kim, Robotaille, LeBuffe, & Ziemer. (2018). Efficient implementation monitoring in routine prevention practice: A Grand Challenge for Schools. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research. https://doi.org/10.1086/699153

Ferguson, K., Ziemer, K. L., Celada, M., Oviedo, S., & Ansbrow, J. (2016). Implementing a community-based, servicecoordination and delivery intervention with urban, minority parents. Research on Social Work Practice, 28(6), 708-720. doi: 10.1177/1049731516675477

Ferguson, K., Ziemer, K. L., Oviedo, S., & Ansbrow, J. (2016). Social capital and help-seeking behavior among urban, minority parents participating in the CONNECT Program: The role of informal community supports. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 25(2), 77-97. doi:10.1080/15313204.2015.1134372

Popular Scientific Publications

Brummelman, E., & Ziemer, K. L. (2020, September). A solid foundation: Building children's self-esteem during the COVID-19 pandemic. Child and Family Blog.

Reports

Lee, J., Shapiro, V. B., Kim, B. K. E., Ziemer, K. L., & Eldeeb, N. (2020). The growth of social-emotional competence among diverse subgroups of K-2 students: Quasi-experimental evidence of intervention effect on developmental trajectories. Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Research Abstracts: 2020 SEL Exchange.

In Preparation

Ziemer, K.L. #Selflove: Similarities and Differences in a General vs. Alcohol and Other Drug Recovery Context
Ziemer, K.L. Classification of Abstinence Content Using Co-Occurring #selflove and Alcohol and Other Drug Recovery Themes
Ziemer, K.L. Predicting Alcohol and Other Drug Recovery Content within #selflove on Social Media

Presentations 

Peer-reviewed

Zemore, S.E., Ziemer, K.L., Gilbert, P.A., Karno, M.P., & Kaskutas, L.A. (In Progress). Toward a Universal Recovery Definition: New Findings from the What is Recovery? Study.

Ziemer, K.L. (2021, April). A Proposed Study: Examining Lay Beliefs of Self-Love on Social Media. Presentation for the Society for Affective Science. Online.

Ziemer, K. L., Ren, C., & Li, G. (2022, September). Examining Social Media Posts of General #selflove Discourse and within Alcohol and Other Drug Recovery: A topic modeling approach. Poster at the European Association for Behavioral Health and Cognitive Therapies, Barcelona, Spain.

Ziemer, K. L. & Veringa-Skiba, I. (2022, September). ‘I’ve Changed My Mind’: Mechanisms of Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) in Pregnant Women with High Fear of Childbirth (FOC). Oral Presentation at the European Association for Behavioral Health and Cognitive Therapies, Barcelona, Spain.

 Ziemer, K.L., Ren, C., Jung, W., & Rodriguez, M. (2022, January; Accepted and Withdrawn due to COVID). Social Media as a Source of Data - Lessons Learned and Implications for Utilizing Computational Methods in Social Work Research. Roundtable at the 26th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research, Washington, DC.

Lee, J., Shapiro, V.B., Kim, B. K. E, Ziemer, K. L., & Eldeeb, N. (2021, January). The Growth of Social-Emotional Competence among Diverse Subgroups of K-2 Students: Quasi-Experimental Evidence of Intervention Effect Developmental Trajectories. In Valerie Shapiro (Chair) & Antonio Garcia (Discussant), Equity Enhancing Strategies to Ensure the Healthy Development of All Youth Through the Power of Prevention. Symposium at the 25th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research, San Francisco, CA.

Ziemer, K. L. & Veringa-Skiba, I. (Rescheduled June 2020 to June 2021 due to COVID-19). 'I've Changed My Mind': Mechanisms of Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) in Pregnant Women with High Fear of Childbirth (FOC). Accepted for Oral Presentation at the International Conference on Mindfulness, Aarhus, Denmark.

Ziemer, K. L. (2019, July). Reasoning, Recommendations and Implications: Self-Transcendent Emotions with Marginalized Populations to Remedy Social Isolation and Loneliness. Poster Presentation at the International Society for Research on Emotion, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Ziemer, K. L. (2019, February). Recommendations for Inclusive Methodologies in Positive Emotions & MBI Research. Oral Presentation at the 3rd European Congress of Qualitative Inquiry with special focus on Activism, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Ziemer, K. L. (2018, July). Recommendations for Utilizing an Inclusive Lens when Implementing Mindfulness- Based Interventions Moderating Positive Emotions with Marginalized Populations. Poster Presentation at the International Conference on Mindfulness, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Lee, J., Roscoe, J., Ziemer, K. L., Kim, B. K. E., & Shapiro, V. B. (2018, April). Creating an "Integrative Dosage" measure for SEL Interventions Implemented Across "Lesson-based" and "Strategy-Based" Dose Forms. In Valerie Shapiro (Chair) & Maurice Elias (Discussant), Innovations for Social and Emotional Learning implementation: Lessons from the TOOLBOX Implementation Research Project. Symposium at the annual conference of American Education Research Association (AERA), New York, NY.

Ziemer, K. L., Campbell, E., Kim, B. K. E., & Shapiro, V. B. (2018, January). Exploring District-Developed Report Card Indicators for Assessing Progress Toward Student Social Emotional Learning Goals. In Elizabeth Kim (Chair) & R. Astor (Discussant), Using Social Emotional Learning to Ensure Healthy Development for All Youth: Assessment, Intervention and Evaluation. Symposium at the 22nd Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research, Washington, DC.

Kim, B. K. E, Lee, J., Roscoe, J., Ziemer, K. L., Accomazzo, S., & Shapiro, V. B. (2018, January). Effective SEL program implementation: Exploring leadership and dosage on the growth of social-emotional competence. In Elizabeth Kim (Chair) & R. Astor (Discussant), Using Social Emotional Learning to Ensure Healthy Development for All Youth: Assessment, Intervention and Evaluation. Symposium at the 22nd Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research, Washington, DC.

Accomazzo, S., Ziemer, K. L., Kim, B. K. E., & Shapiro, V. B. (2017, June). Assessing Implementation Leadership in Educational Settings. In V.B. Shapiro (Chair) & M.T. Greenberg (Discussant), Leadership, Dosage, and Outcomes: Lessons from the Toolbox Implementation Research Project. Presentation for the Society for Prevention Research, Washington, DC.

Ziemer, K. L., Ferguson, K., Celada, M., Oviedo, S., & Ansbrow, J. (2017, January). Implementing a communitybased, service-coordination and delivery intervention with urban, minority parents. Poster Presentation at the 21st Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research, New Orleans, LA.

Shapiro, V.B., Roscoe, J., Lee, J., & Ziemer, K.L. (2017, January). Implementing TOOLBOX: What are Teachers Doing to Promote the Development of Social-Emotional Competence. Presented at the Berkeley Unified School District Research SympSymposium, Berkeley, CA.

Ferguson, K., Ziemer, K. L., Oviedo, S., Ansbrow, J., & Hughes, N. (2014, June). Social capital and help-seeking behavior among urban minority families: The role of informal community supports. Oral Paper Presentation at the Third International Conference on Practice Research. Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, New York.

Awards

May, 2018- 2022 UC Berkeley Graduate Division Summer Grant - $2000, $3000, $3500, $5000 

July 2019 Early Career Researcher Poster Award, ISRE Conference 

May, 2018- 2021 UC Berkeley Graduate Division Summer Grant - $2000, $3000, $3500, $5000 

June 2017 Society for Prevention Research's Early Career Preventionists Network Travel Award – $600 

2016-2019 School of Social Welfare Dean's Travel Award - $1600 Yearly 

Committee Experience

 09/2021 – 05/2022 Supervised UC-Berkeley Bachelors Honors Thesis Student
Hayley Slusser
#Selflove in Eating Disorder Recovery on Social Media: A Content Analysis Approach

01/2021 – 06/2021 Co-supervised University of Amsterdam Masters Student 
Marit Heesbeen
A Content Analysis of the Positive and Negative Connotations of Self-Love on Instagram

02/2020 – 07/2020 Supervised Amsterdam University College Bachelor Capstone/Thesis 
Laila Spee
Treating Depression through Dance Movement Therapy: Employing self-compassion as a coping mechanism

Academic and Community Service

12/2018 – present Beyond Words International: Pagosa Springs, CO 
01/21 – present Elected President of the Board of Directors

  • Maintain and further develop Women Without Barriers, an Etsy site in partnership with a Women’s Center in Greece, to provide income to refugee artists
  • Co-manage 5-person student team
  • Volunteered at Syrian and Iraqi refugee camp in Greece to strategize with partner organization’s Volunteer Coordinator on self-care skills practice and dissemination

09/2017 – 8/2018 School of Social Welfare, UC BerkeleyDoctoral Committee Student Representative (elected)  
11/2016 – 4/2017 Project Reach Youth, CBT Consultant: Brooklyn, NY 
08/2015 Run Free Ranch, Social-Emotional Workshop Facilitator at Summer Camp: Trenton, NJ 
01/2008 – 08/2008 &11/2010 – 05/2012 Planned Parenthood, Client Liaison: Chicago & New York 
09/2001 – 05/2005 Big Brothers Big Sisters, Big Sister: Boston, MA & Madison, WI 

Professional Affiliations

Alcohol Research Group, Predoctoral Fellow

International Society for Research on Emotion (ISRE), Associate Member

Society for Affective Science (SAS), Member

Society for Social Work Research (SSWR), Member

Workshops, Trainings, and Certificate

Centrum voor Mindfulness—Amsterdam, The Netherlands
October 2019 Certificate in MyMind, an evidence-based practice in mindfulness for children with ADHD and autism 

April 2019 Certificate in Mindful Parenting, an evidence-based practice in mindfulness for parents 

 July 2018 University of Amsterdam—Amsterdam, The Netherlands
A Peaceful Mind: Mindfulness and Compassion-Based Interventions Summer Institute

09/2015 – 12/2015 Columbia University School of Social Work—New York, New York 
Seminar in Field Instruction (SIFI), to supervise a 1st year Master in Social Work (MSW) student

12/2015 Using Mindfulness to Help Emotionally Dysregulated Teens—New York, New York 
Workshop given by Cognitive Behavioral Associates, co-author of DBT with Suicidal Adolescents

NYC Department of Youth & Community Development—New York, New York 04/2015
Compassionate Communication with Youth about Racial Trauma workshop

11/2014 DONA International—New York, New York 
Doula Certification Workshop

03/2014 – 11/2014 Living a Joyful Life Now—Remote Training 
Life Coaching Certification, heavily influenced by Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

09/2007 – 12/2007 University of Paris IV Sorbonne—Paris, France 
Cours de la Civilisation Française (French language & culture)

Skills

Bilingual: English (maternal) & French

Proficiency:

  • Therapeutic Evidence-Based Practices: Mindful Parenting, MyMind, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) & Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET)
  • Statistical Software: SPSS, STATA, R, Python
  • Programs: Microsoft Office suite, Access, DBSurfer, Captivate, Articulate, SnagIt, Camtasia, Qualtrics