Plan My Ride was created by Innovation Research and Training (iRT). iRT is committed to conducting high quality, innovative basic and applied research as well as creating products and services that better society with a focus on enhancing the physical health, mental health, and quality of life of children, adolescents, adults, families, communities, and organizations. iRT staff members apply clinical and technical knowledge and skills to developing and evaluating, and helping others to develop and evaluate, evidence-based programs and services. iRT staff members have applied their cutting edge knowledge and skills to develop over 20 e-learning program products to date, while also helping others to develop and evaluate evidence-based programs and services.
iRT’s areas expertise include: substance abuse prevention and treatment, mentoring, child and adolescent social and emotional skills development, sexual health, child and adolescent mental health, adult and juvenile justice programs, healthcare, media literacy, drug courts, underage drinking, and domestic violence.
Rebecca Stelter, Ph.D.
Research Scientist II
Dr. Rebecca Stelter has been a Research Scientist at iRT for over 10 years. Her interest in drugged driving is focused on keeping our children, family, and friends safe on the road.
Dr. Rebecca Stelter is the Co-Principal Investigator of the Plan My Ride project and has been the Principal Investigator on previous contracts and grants funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the topic of drugged driving. She is the lead author of web-based trainings on the topic of drugged and impaired driving including Plan My Ride, Drugged Driving Essentials, and Strategic Skills for the Prevention of Drugged Driving. Her areas of expertise on the topic of drugged driving are the prevention of drugged driving – including both individual and environmental approaches – the use of community coalitions and prevention professionals for the prevention of drugged driving, and the factors that contribute to drugged driving behavior.
Dr. Stelter received her doctorate in Developmental Psychology at North Carolina State University.
Allison M. Schmidt, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Research Scientist
Dr. Allison Schmidt has been a Research Scientist at iRT for 3 years. She is a behavioral scientist and public health researcher with experience in impaired driving and tobacco and substance use prevention, especially among young adults.
Dr. Schmidt is the Co-Principal Investigator of the Plan My Ride project and has been the Co-Principal Investigator of other grants from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She has authored, evaluated, and disseminated skill-building trainings and tools at iRT for organizations and individuals on a variety of behavioral health topics including substance use, impaired driving, healthy eating, physical activity, and workplace health.
Dr. Schmidt received her M.P.H. and Ph.D. in Health Behavior from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her B.A. in Psychology from Scripps College.
Janis B. Kupersmidt, Ph.D.
President & Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Janis Kupersmidt founded iRT more than 20 years ago out of a passion for helping prevent youth from engaging in unhealthy and risky behaviors. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and a former tenured professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has published more than 70 peer-reviewed chapters and scientific articles on topics related to mentoring, prevention science, the social and emotional development of children and adolescents, peer relations, delinquency, academic achievement, and aggression.
Dr. Kupersmidt received her doctorate in Psychology from Duke University.
Kim Gosnell
Art Director
Ms. Kim Gosnell has been the Art Director at iRT for over 10 years and has designed and produced many of iRT’s web and print-based products. She is the talented artist and animator behind the Plan My Ride web-based training interface, interactive activities, custom graphics and animations.
Richard Van Horn, M.S.
Senior Web Application Developer
Mr. Richard Van Horn has been the Senior Web Application Developer at iRT for over 5 years, and has developed iRT’s proprietary software to disseminate web-based trainings and programs, collect research data, and manage studies and student learning. He is an engineer at heart and always enjoys learning and applying new technologies. He supports the Plan My Ride website as well as the research and design teams.
Consultants:
Brooke J. Arterberry. Ph.D.
Dr. Brooke Arterberry is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Iowa State University and Vice President of the Source Research Foundation. She has extensive experience in substance use prevention and treatment as well as addictive behaviors research. Her research focuses on understanding the developmental risks associated with alcohol and cannabis use to inform intervention development.
Dr. Arterberry received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri and M.S. in Counselor Education from Indiana University.
Rachel Proffitt, OTD
Dr. Rachel Proffitt is an Assistant Professor in the School of Health Professions at the University of Missouri with over twelve years of research experience in virtual reality and related technology. She has expertise adapting medical concepts and interventions from occupational therapy into virtual reality formats, creating activities that engage a user, and evaluating the usability of a virtual reality program as well as the cognitive and behavioral changes it may drive.
Dr. Proffitt received her Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO.