Title/s: Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence and Strategic Innovation; Clinical Associate Professor
Office #: Lewis Towers 1134, WTC
Phone: 312-915-6854
Email: anelsonchristensen@luc.edu
Before joining the School Psychology program at Loyola, Dr. Nelson Christensen practiced as a licensed school psychologist and educational researcher for Milwaukee Public Schools (Milwaukee, WI). She also served on the district Violence Prevention team where she implemented programming and professional development related to social emotional learning (SEL) and trauma sensitive schools. Dr. Nelson Christensen earned her BS in the Honors Psychology program at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA and then went on to complete her MS in Educational Psychology and PhD in Urban Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Dr. Nelson Christensen’s passion is to create welcoming environments for all students and families, and she is driven to inspire others to do the same. Her research interests center on systemic change and implementation of research-based programs that establish classrooms and schools as emotionally safe, welcoming, and culturally affirming spaces for learning and development. Dr. Nelson Christensen is also interested in research on transformative leadership and the skills required to disrupt unwelcoming and disenfranchising educational practices that perpetuate oppressive school experiences for children of color.