Karen Auerbach, PhD

Karen Auerbach (she/they) has a Masters and Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University, and a Masters in Developmental and Educational Psychology from Boston College. At Penn State, her research focused on changes in substance use as adolescents transition to adulthood. Karen has been involved in many projects investigating substance use, including evaluating SAMHSA-funded national substance use prevention programs such as Drug-Free Communities (DFC) and STOP Act grant programs, and assisting the DFC in the Hampden-Wilbraham, MA school district. Prior to joining the SPIFFY team, Karen was a Research Associate with the Research and Evaluation Department at the Collaborative for Educational Services for 6 years, and assisted with SPIFFY’s Prevention Needs Assessment Survey during that time. Karen is passionate about quantitative and qualitative data analysis, and substance use and mental health among adolescents and young adults. She lives with her 10 year old and 2 black cats, and is a huge fan of science-fiction.