Dr. Rhonda Nese
“Let’s cut to the chase” is how Dr. Rhonda Nese approaches pressing problems facing schools today. Dr. Nese has spent decades supporting classrooms, schools, and districts as a school psychologist and educational researcher improving student-teacher relationships, enhancing equity in school discipline practice, and adapting school-wide behavioral supports to be more culturally responsive.
I first met Dr. Nese 10 years ago at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon where she had recently completed a Ph.D. in School Psychology. Today, Dr. Nese and her husband Dr. Joseph Nese co-lead the Nese Lab, a research collaborative based at the University of Oregon. The Nese Lab focuses on transforming educational practices, systems, and policies to meet the needs of all community members.
Dr. Nese is a leading educational researcher whose work has garnered numerous accolades and millions of federal dollars in research funding. She was the recipient of the 2022 Presidential Equity Award from the NorthWest PBIS Network and the 2022 Outstanding Early Career Award from the University of Oregon, the UO’s highest award for early career faculty recognizing her contributions to scholarship and research.
Episode summary:
In this episode of HIPS, Dr. Nese shares how she thinks about collaboration and partnership in her academic role and with school partners & students. She describes how she has worked to overcome imposter syndrome and what she has learned about making schools and workplaces more inclusive spaces. Dr. Nese also relates lessons learned as an educational researcher, including recent efforts to ban (in some states) interventions she has developed for use in K-12 schools. Throughout the interview, Dr. Nese presents authentic and powerful insights about her lived experiences as a researcher, educator, and parent. I hope you enjoy this wide-ranging interview!
Resources & links
Other interviews with Dr. Nese:
Panel discussion: City Club of Eugene (2021)
26. Fostering collaboration, exploring hard questions about equity in schools & reflecting on healthy sacrifice