she/her/hers

Position: Associate Professor

Dr. Zarling’s lab focuses on prevention and treatment efforts for family violence, and evaluating programs based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for domestic violence and criminal behavior. Other areas of focus are applying and evaluating ACT for hard to reach or under-served populations.

she/her/hers

Position: Research Scientist

Meg is interested in research methods, with expertise in managing and analyzing large, secondary datasets. She has an interest in criminal justice reform and experience evaluating criminal justice programming. In Dr. Zarling's lab, she studies family violence/abuse and programs for individuals that cause harm.

he/him/his

Position: Undergraduate Research Assistant 

Endi is a senior with a major in healthcare management and has been involved in Dr. Zarling’s lab for over a year. He is a facilitator for the Spanish-speaking ProACTIVE cohort. He is passionate about health equity and has an interest in promoting health in underserved communities. 

I am a Southern New Hampshire University graduate with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Owner and Master Instructor of Karim Martial Arts, a karate school based in Des Moines that focuses on mental, spiritual, and physical Health. Rauh is also a ProACTIVE facilitator, with a background in finance.

Diego is an undergraduate Psychology & Biology student, research assistant at Iowa State University and facilitator of the Pro-Active program in Spanish. His background as a Hispanic inspires him to seek better ways to understand the family dynamics and problems associated with mental health afflicting people of color. Diego also works with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to promote mental health awareness among young students of 12 educational levels. His goal as a professional is to help reduce the barrier between quality mental health access and stigma and/or socio-economic factors that prevent people from seeking mental health services.

Ahmed Musa is a recruiting specialist focused on connecting individuals to opportunities for growth. He works to link the Central Iowa community with ProACTIVE, a program that provides a secure environment for men to develop, strengthen relationships, and become better leaders in their personal and professional lives.

Julian empowers the Central Iowa community by investing his time, talents, and treasures. He serves as a co-lead for ProACTIVE as a facilitator. He believes ProACTIVE is an extraordinary program fostering a secure environment for men to journey through becoming better men to build and sustain healthy relationships with loved ones and people around them. Julian strives to nurture a space where participants and facilitators can learn from each other because we are all life-learners.

“Proactive allows men to grow and develop healthy relationships among their peers, friends, children, and the people around them.”