Kathryn Spearman
Dr. Kathryn Spearman, PhD, MSN, RN is an Assistant Professor at the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing at Pennsylvania State University with a co-funded position with the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network and affiliated faculty at the Center on Children and the Law at Penn State Dickinson Law. This interdisciplinary appointment reflects the core commitment of her research program: translating rigorous empirical science on IPV, coercive control, child maltreatment, and intimate partner homicide and filicide risk into legal system reform, practitioner training, and validated risk-assessment tools and interventions. Dr. Spearman uses mixed-method study designs to center survivor perspectives and needs and translate these findings into actionable policy change and interventions that promote the health, safety, and well-being of children and their protective parents. Her scientific inquiry is informed by clinical experience working as a pediatric nurse with abused children in inpatient and residential treatment settings. Dr. Spearman earned her BS from the University of Virginia, her MSN and PhD from the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, and a graduate certificate in maternal and child health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
