Behavior Analysis Faculty
Maggie Pavone
Dr. Pavone is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and a Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA). She holds a B.A. degree in psychology from Saint Louis University, an M.S. degree in psychology from Capella University, and a Ph.D. in industrial-organizational psychology from Grand Canyon University. In addition, Dr. Pavone has completed a graduate certificate in organizational behavior management from Harvard University as well as a certificate in online teaching and learning from Duke University. Dr. Pavone is on the board of directors for the Missouri Association for Behavior Analysis, the president of the Association for Behavior Analysis International Special Interest Group in Open Educational Resources, the lead event coordinator for the Organizational Behavior Management Network, and a Level Two Google Educator. Dr. Pavone enjoys spreading her passion for behavior analysis to students in the Behavior Analysis program and to the local community.
Robbie Hanson
Dr. Hanson is a doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst and holds a B.S. degree in psychology from Central Michigan University, an M.A. degree in applied behavior analysis from Western Michigan University, and a Ph.D. in applied behavior analysis from Endicott College. Dr. Hanson previously worked as a practitioner in the field of ABA for approximately 15 years and her applied areas of interest include co-morbid diagnoses, functional behavior assessment and analysis, and severe maladaptive behavior. In addition to her faculty position with Lindenwood University, she is a research associate with the Verbal Behavior Research Laboratory at California State University, Sacramento and serves as the secretary for the Verbal Behavior Special Interest Group within the Association for Behavior Analysis International. Her research interests include the quantitative analysis of behavior, stimulus control, stimulus equivalence, verbal behavior, and bidirectional naming.
Counseling Faculty
Sarah Patterson-Mills
Sarah Patterson-Mills, Ph.D., is a Licensed Professional Counselor and formerly a 7-12th certified school counselor. She earned her master’s degree in human development counseling from Saint Louis University in 2002. In 2010, she earned her doctorate in counseling and family therapy from Saint Louis University. Her passion for the learning process is one she loves to share among her students and encourages growth of professional development and identity through action in the field of counseling and school counseling.
Susan Kay Purnell
Dr. Purnell is an Assistant Professor of Counseling for Lindenwood University’s College of Education and Human Services and the Practicum and Internship Faculty Lead. Dr. Purnell teaches field experience courses and other core classes in the clinical mental health counseling (CMHC) program.
Dr. Purnell received her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from Walden University, and her M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Webster University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the State of Missouri and a National Certified Counselor (NCC) through the NBCC. She is a member of the American Counseling Association (ACA), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the Chi Sigma Iota Counseling Academic and Professional Honor Society International. Dr. Purnell was a pro bono counselor and clinical supervisor at an area non-profit counseling survivors of intimate partner violence, and she currently works in a counseling practice seeing individuals and couples. Her current research interests are posttraumatic growth; vicarious trauma; resiliency; intimate partner violence; transgenerational themes and expressions of violence; and PTSD as a result of IPV, war, and familial trauma. She is mom to two daughters, two cats and two dogs, and is a proud Navy Veteran.
Michael Rankins
Michael S. Rankins, Ph.D., LPC, received his doctoral degree in 2008 from the University of Missouri – St. Louis. A former intern of both Victim Service Council and the Masters & Johnson Institute in St. Louis, Dr. Rankins was a graduate assistant to Dr. Mark Pope during his term as President of the American Counseling Association. He served as a prevention coordinator with St. Louis Effort For AIDS, a counselor with Hyland Behavioral Health at St. Anthony’s Medical Center, and as assistant director of student life at UMSL. He was also founder and director of the Student Life Resource Centers at UMSL. In the early months of 2008, he received an award for a co-authored article published in “AdultSpan,” the journal of the Association for Adult Development and Aging. Later in 2008, he joined the faculty at Lindenwood University as an assistant professor in the Division of Professional and School Counseling, and he went on to assume the role of assistant dean in 2014. He continues to be involved in advocacy and community outreach, and also remains dedicated to those affected by HIV/AIDS. He is currently completing a book focused on his experiences with marriage-equality efforts in San Francisco.
Social Work Faculty
Marilyn (Denise) King
Dr. Denise King graduated as a Hartford Foundation Geriatric Doctoral Fellow from the University of Maryland-Baltimore. She holds a Master of Social Work degree from Howard University and is also an alumnus of Tennessee State University. She has taught undergraduate social work and graduate social work and gerontology courses for the past 14 years. As an instructor, she has taught a variety of classes, including Intercultural Communications, Human Diversity and Social Justice, Human Behavior in the Social Environment, Social Work Practice, Social Welfare Policy, Statistics for the Social Sciences, and Social Work Research Methods. She has a 38-year social work history that includes social work education, research, and direct practice. Dr. King’s experiences include work with a variety of populations, including those with chronic mental illness; older adults; African Americans; and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) individuals. In addition, she has a passion for working with older adults, and she has specific expertise in working with the caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. King is a member of NASW and was a founding board member of SAGE (Service and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) Metro St. Louis.
Carla Mueller
Dr. Carla Mueller has been teaching social work and related subjects at Lindenwood since 1998. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in social work and psychology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (1977); her Masters of Social Work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1979); and her Doctorate of Education in instructional leadership from Lindenwood University (2012). She completed the Management Development Institute at Harvard University (2014). Dr. Mueller is a practicing licensed clinical social worker and a Council on Social Work Education site visitor. Her research interests include lifelong learning and increasing resiliency. She has over 40 years of social work practice experience, primarily in child welfare and counseling. In addition to direct service social work and higher education, Dr. Mueller has been an administrator, supervisor, trainer, and consultant at a variety of social service agencies in Illinois and Missouri. While teaching, she has been actively practicing as an EAP counselor, crisis interventionist, and trainer for the past 12 years.
