Academic Background
- PsyD, PsyM, Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP), New Brunswick, NJ. Specialty Areas: Career Counseling and Executive Coaching, Program Evaluation, Measurement, Organizational Psychology.
- BA in Psychology, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
Professional Background
Dr. Peterson is a counselor educator, organizational psychologist, and school psychology affiliate faculty member with extensive expertise in mental health and education. Her practice experience is in career counseling, executive coaching, scale development, needs assessment and program evaluation across diverse sectors, including state and federal government, universities, schools, and mental health institutions.
With over a decade of progressive leadership roles in higher education—including Program Director, Department Chair, Assistant Provost, and Interim Dean—Dr. Peterson has demonstrated success in fostering growth through data-driven decision-making. Her approach integrates advanced statistical modeling and data analysis techniques to assess needs and conditions, plan and implement transformative change, and evaluate outcomes. She has led accreditation for the College of Education and has served as an external evaluator for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Whether in teaching or leadership, she leverages evidence-based strategies to empower organizations and individuals to achieve measurable success.
Scholarly Work
Dr. Peterson has made substantial contributions to the body of knowledge in two areas: The impact of environmental factors on student success and well-being, and the use of research and assessment to improve counseling and educational practice. She has been cited by over 2,400 researchers worldwide. Instruments developed and validated by Dr. Peterson have been translated into multiple languages including Bengali, Creole, German, Italian, Kiswahili, Korean, Malay, Nepali, and Portuguese. A prolific author, Dr. Peterson has conducted research that is highlighted in assessment, group therapy, and introductory counseling textbooks. Her article on cognitive interviewing was the 3rd most read article of all time in the American Counseling Association’s journal Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development as of 2025. Dr. Peterson also serves the field, notably as an editorial board member for the past 10 years of the profession’s seminal journal on program evaluation, Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation.
Courses Taught at Rider
COUN 504 Vocational/Career Development in Educational Settings
COUN 505 Vocational/Career Development
EDPS 520 Measurements, Tests and Assessments in Counseling/School Psychology
EDPS 521 Statistics and Quantitative Data Analysis
EDUC 500 Introduction to Research
PSY 329 Research Methods in Organizational Psychology
PSY 329L Research Methods in Organizational Psychology Lab