Meet Our Team
Heather K. McElroy, PhD, ABPP, Owner
- Board Certified Police and Public Safety Psychologist
- Certified Peace Officer
Dr. McElroy is a Board Certified Police and Public Safety Psychologist through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). After completing her undergraduate degree at The Ohio State University, she attended the University of Alabama where she received a strong forensic background that she applied during her internship at University of South Carolina School of Medicine. Dr. McElroy underwent an extensive training program in public safety psychological assessment supplemented by training offered at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and other venues specific to police psychology as well as selected law enforcement training programs. She has been a sworn Reserve Officer since 2011, also serving as a member of a Hostage Negotiation Team and Criminal Investigation Unit.
She is an active member of the major national organizations of Police Psychologists and has written articles for Police Chief Magazine and other publications, has presented at various professional meetings and is the past chair of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Psychological Services Section.
Michael E. Bricker, PhD, Owner
Coming soon.
Laura Estrella Maher, Director of Client Relations and Marketing
Laura Estrella Maher is the Director of Client Relations and Marketing at Psychological Dimensions. Laura’s job is to take care of all the behind-the-scene needs of our clients and agencies to ensure they receive friendly, attentive and reliable customer service. Having joined the PD team in 2019, she is integral to ensuring that things continue to run as smooth as possible as our business continues to grow.
Madison Miller, Office Manager
Madison is our experienced office manager and is excited to be improving public safety by assisting our clients and agencies. Born in Arizona, she lived in California until 2014 when she relocated to the Denver Metro area. Having joined Psychological Dimensions in December, 2022, she comes with over 10 years of experience in the medical care and office management field and takes pride in providing the best service to her community. In her free time, you will find her fly fishing, hiking, and hunting.
Mike Riccardini, ProctorPRO
Mike Riccardini is our ProctorPRO and administrator in charge of scheduling applicants for testing and overseeing our Remote Testing process. His prior experience overseeing computer-delivered exams has helped him approach this position with a focus on streamlining the testing journey for both staff and candidates through improved processes and organization, while his background as a writer has proven to be highly beneficial in reviewing reports and procedural documents. He looks forward to continuing to learn and grow as a member of the Psychological Dimensions team.
Zachary Cohen, PsyD, Staff Psychologist
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Dr. Cohen received his doctorate in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) from William James College in 2021, preceded by a Master’s degree in Professional Psychology from William James College. Prior to this, he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Marist College. Dr. Cohen has practiced psychological counseling and assessment in Massachusetts, Tennessee, and now Colorado, where he is currently providing police and public safety psychological assessment services to statewide, urban, suburban, and rural agencies across several states. He is a member of the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology and is currently completing his Postdoctoral Fellowship with Psychological Dimensions prior to seeking licensure in the State of Colorado and others, and has received specialized education, supervision, and training in police and public safety psychology. Dr. Cohen completed his Pre-Doctoral Internship at the University of Memphis, where he conducted therapy and evaluations. Dr. Cohen has provided psychological services in a variety of settings, including outpatient community mental health, private practice, and college/university centers. He currently holds a permit issued by the State of Colorado to practice as a Psychologist Candidate under the supervision of a licensed psychologist, and is supervised by Dr. Heather McElroy and Dr. Michael Bricker, both practiced and experienced psychologists in the field of police and public safety psychology.
Jessie Semmann, PhD, Staff Psychologist
Dr. Semmann is a licensed clinical psychologist. Throughout her graduate career at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), she received training in forensic evaluations, including competency to stand trial evaluations, insanity evaluations, sexual violence risk assessment, and violence risk assessment. She also received numerous trainings and participated in multiple research efforts examining targeted violence, threat assessment, and threat management as part of the Targeted Violence Research Team. Her dissertation focused on examining targeted violence in a K-12 school system. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Phoenix VA Healthcare System before obtaining her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a formal emphasis in Forensic Psychology from UNL in 2020. During her time with the VA, Dr. Semmann worked with the Workplace Violence Prevention Program where she strengthened her passion for threat assessment and management. She is an active member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) and maintains professional interest in targeted violence prevention efforts. Dr. Semmann began working as a fulltime staff psychologist with Psychological Dimensions in August 2022 and looks forward to an exciting career in police and public safety psychology.
Ashley Mitchell-Roberts, PhD, Staff Psychologist
Dr. Mitchell-Roberts is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with training and supervision in forensic and police and public safety psychology. She completed her undergraduate studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina where she received a degree in Psychology. Following undergrad, she completed her graduate studies at the Regent University where she trained at practicum sites including a state prison and a Court Services Unit for juveniles. She completed her dissertation on the relationship between experiences of childhood pscyhological maltreatment, forgiveness, and current trauma among incarcerated individuals. After completing her predoctoral internship at the Florida Department of Corrections, Dr. Mitchell-Roberts served as an senior mental health clinician at the Florida Department of Corrections. She has also conducted comprehensive psychological evaluations for the Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice in Virginia. Dr. Mitchell-Roberts began working as a full-time staff psychologist with Psychological Dimensions in January 2023. She is excited to join this amazing team and grow in the field of police and public safety psychology.
Rachel Rosenblatt, PsyD, ABPP, Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Rosenblatt is a Board-Certified Police and Public Safety contract psychologist with Psychological Dimensions. She conducts pre-employment screening, post critical incident management, training, and fitness for duty evaluations, particularly those requiring neuropsychological assessment. Dr. Rosenblatt is also an active member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Psychological Services Section. Following completion of her undergraduate training at Florida State University, Dr. Rosenblatt completed a psychology doctoral program at Florida Institute of Technology followed by clinical internship at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. She subsequently completed a postdoctoral program in forensic and child psychology, and since that time has been exclusively involved in providing risk-management psychological evaluations. Prior to joining our firm, Dr. Rosenblatt underwent an extensive training program in public safety psychological assessment supplemented by training offered by the national organizations of police psychologists.
Chad Waxman, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Chad Waxman has specialized education, supervision, and training in police and public safety psychology, including Pre-Employment Psychological Screening and Fitness-For-Duty Evaluation. Dr. Waxman received his B.A. in Psychology (2003), M.S. in Community Counseling (2004) and C.A.S. (2004) in School Counseling from the University at Albany, State University of New York. Dr. Waxman is also a graduate of Nova Southeastern University’s Clinical Psychology Doctorate Program (Psy.D.), completing his Pre-Doctoral Internship with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Fort Worth, TX. In addition to his education, training and experience in Police and Public Safety Psychology, Dr. Waxman also has extensive experience in forensic assessment, including competency to stand trial and compensation and pension (C&P) disability evaluations. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), National Sheriff’s Association (NSA), American Psychological Association (APA), and Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP).
Jen Alpert, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Alpert is a clinical and forensic psychologist licensed in Illinois, New York, and Ohio, and holds PsyPact authorization to practice in over 27 states. She received her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Forensic Psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, Illinois. She has provided clinical, forensic, and correctional psychological services in various settings, including prisons, forensic hospitals, sexually violent predator involuntary civil commitment programs, and community and outpatient clinics. Dr. Alpert also has extensive experience in forensic and psychological evaluation (competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, serious youthful offender, sex offender management, civil commitment, violence/ risk, forensic autopsy, health/cognitive/pre-procedural, pre-employment evaluations for civilian, law enforcement, and public safety personnel ) and providing testimony in court as a clinical and forensic psychology expert.
Daniel Lance, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Daniel Lance is a Clinical and Forensic psychologist licensed in Colorado. He has specialized education, supervision, and training in police and public safety psychology. Dr. Lance earned his Doctorate in Psychology and Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology from Alliant International University, Los Angeles, and his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In addition to his work at Psychological Dimensions, Dr. Lance provides clinical oversight to a forensic outpatient program that offers individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, psychological evaluations, and risk assessments, as well as expert testimony on psycho-legal issues. Additionally, Dr. Lance has experience in forensic assessment, including competency to stand trial and malingering. He has provided clinical, forensic, and correctional psychological services in a variety of settings, including jail mental health, community and outpatient clinics, and residential facilities.
Jacquelyn Hrzich, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist
Contracting Psychologist
Dr. Hrzich is a clinical psychologist licensed in Colorado, Florida, and PSYPACT participating states. Dr. Hrzich earned her Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University. Prior to this, she obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Master’s degree in Counseling from Adelphi University in New York. She completed her Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Psychological Dimensions, where she received specialized education, supervision, and training in police and public safety psychology. Currently, as a contracting psychologist, she conducts pre-employment screenings, post-critical incident debriefings, training, and organizational consultation with Psychological Dimensions. In addition to her work with PD, Dr. Hrzich also conducts media evaluations and has a private therapy practice.
Katelyn Hernandez, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Hernandez is a clinical and forensic psychologist licensed in the state of Colorado. In addition to her work as a consulting psychologist with Psychological Dimensions, Dr. Hernandez has a private practice where she conducts a variety of forensic evaluations (i.e., sanity, competency, juvenile transfer, mitigation) throughout the state of Colorado. She is also employed as a contractor with the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), where she conducts forensic evaluations for the state. Outside of Colorado, she is employed as an associate for Walker & Associates, LLC, and provides forensic evaluations and expert testimony nationally on cases involving trauma and domestic abuse. She has extensive training and experience as a forensic evaluator and has previously worked in a variety of settings including, correctional facilities, psychiatric hospitals, and outpatient diversion. Dr. Hernandez received her doctorate from Nova Southeastern University, and her Bachelor’s Degree from University of California San Diego (UCSD). She completed her predoctoral internship at Eastern State Hospital and recently completed a forensic postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Denver, Denver Forensic Institute for Research, Service, and Training (Denver FIRST), where she continues to work as an affiliate.
Yessenia Castillo, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist
Yesenia Castillo is a licensed Clinical Psychologist in both Texas and Alabama, along with being PSYPACT credentialed to practice in an additional 27 states. She received her Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Forensic Psychology from Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California. Dr. Castillo has several years of experience conducting psychological evaluations across all age groups in community counseling centers, school districts, private practices, a forensic state hospital, an acute psychiatric facility, and federal prisons. Dr. Castillo has conducted numerous psychological evaluations, to include competency, bariatric surgery, spinal cord stimulator surgery, Veteran disability exams, and cognitive and intellectual functioning evaluations.
Morgan Perconti, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Morgan Perconti earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Perconti specializes in Forensic Psychology and regularly completes Fitness to Stand Trial evaluations, Social Security Administration Disability evaluations, Court-Ordered Psychological evaluations, Pre-employment screenings, and Risk Assessments. Dr. Perconti is also a graduate instructor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
Joe Roberts, PhD, Licensed Psychologist
Joseph Roberts Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist in the state of Pennsylvania. He holds a master’s degree in social work, a doctoral degree in counseling psychology from West Virginia University, and post-doctoral certificates in forensic psychology through St. John’s University. Dr. Roberts has taught psychology and criminology courses across undergraduate and graduate programs at Carlow University for the past fifteen years. He has also worked in clinical practice for nearly two decades, with a focus on psychological assessment in all its myriad forms.
Nathaniel Stephenson, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Stephenson is a clinical psychologist licensed in Virginia, West Virginia, and PSYPACT participating states. Dr. Stephenson earned his Masters degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his Doctorate degree from Marshall University. He completed his predoctoral internship at the Oklahoma Forensic Center. Additionally, he completed a Fellowship in Forensic Psychology through the Tulane University Medical School. Currently he works as a contracting psychologist where he performs pre-employment screenings, critical incident debriefs and fitness for duty evaluations. Additionally, he works at a private practice where he conducts a variety of psycholegal evaluations for the courts including risk assessment, competence to stand trial, and criminal responsibility.
Amber Allison, PhD, Licensed Psychologist
Amber Allison, PhD, received her doctorate in Biological and Developmental Psychology from the University of New Orleans in 2013. She completed a two-year post-doctoral internship at a private forensic psychology practice, where she conducted evaluations, reviewed records, performed research, wrote reports, and provided psychological consultation. She became a licensed psychologist in Louisiana in 2016 and in Colorado in 2020. In her clinical practice, she has focused on assessment and treatment of individuals dealing with a variety of physical and psychological problems, as the two are often interrelated. As a supplement to her clinical work, Dr. Allison is actively involved in several research projects. She has published research in peer-reviewed journals, has presented research at conferences nation-wide, and has authored several chapters.
Jacqueline Heath, PhD, Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Heath earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Communication from American University in Washington, D.C. and earned both her Master of Arts and her Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship at the Bureau of Prisons Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky. As part of her graduate training, she completed practicum experiences at the Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare Timothy B. Mortiz Forensic Unit Maximum Security Psychiatric Hospital and the Ohio State University Harding Hospital Psychiatric Unit. Dr. Heath conducts various forensic evaluations for several county court systems in Northeastern Ohio including Competency to Stand Trial, Sanity at the Time of the Act, Civil Commitment, Mitigation, and Second Opinion evaluations. Dr. Heath has also served as a full-time lecturer at the Ohio State University and as a Visiting Lecturer at Ohio University-Chillicothe where she taught psychology courses including Introductory Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, and The Psychology of Policing. Dr. Heath brings her wealth of experience to Psychological Dimensions providing risk and threat assessment, with her conducting pre-employment screenings and fitness for duty evaluations for our agency.
Kristina Disney, PhD, Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Disney is a Clinical & Forensic Psychologist licensed in Florida, North Carolina, and PSYPACT participating states. Dr. Disney has 15+ years of experience working in various clinical settings, including inpatient and outpatient psychiatry and within maximum-security correctional institutions. Her expertise includes the delivery and management of mental health services within jail and prison settings, while fostering a supportive and high-engagement workplace culture. She has obtained a specialty certification in correctional mental health from the National Commission on Correctional Health. In her role as National Behavioral Health Clinical Director for a leading correctional healthcare organization, she provides mentoring and consultation, establishes and oversees psychological assessment protocols, multidisciplinary trainings and clinical programs and designs and implements specialized behavioral health units.
Dr. Disney is passionate about conducting a variety of forensic and psychological evaluations, including court-ordered competency to stand trial, mitigation, and sanity evaluations, and testifies as an expert witness. She also completes pre-employment psychological suitability screenings, as well as compensation and disability examinations for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Dr. Disney obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology and Foreign Languages from the University of Miami and Masters’ Degrees in Human Relations and Clinical Psychology from the University of Oklahoma. She received a Dual Ph.D. in Clinical and Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the California School for Professional Psychology in San Diego, CA. She has also recently completed an RN nursing program.
Mitchell Hicks, PhD, ABPP, Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Hicks earned his doctorate (PhD) in clinical psychology from the University of Cincinnati and is licensed as a clinical psychologist in Illinois and Wisconsin, while also holding authorization for interjurisdictional telepsychology practice through PSYPACT, and is board certified as a clinical psychologist through the American Board of Professional Psychology. He brings twenty years of experience as a clinical and forensic psychologist working with officers, trauma, and persons involved with the criminal justice system. He conducts pre-employment screenings of public safety candidates as well as fitness-for-duty evaluations and screenings used in threat management. He is a member of the Society of Police and Criminal Psychology (SPCP) and the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP).
Derek Ream, PsyD, M.S., Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Derek Ream is a clinical and forensic psychologist licensed in Texas and Ohio. In addition to his work with Psychological Dimensions, Dr. Ream works as a clinical psychologist within the federal government and serves as an assistant professor at a medical school. Previously he worked as a Clinical Psychologist with the Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Center and as a Contract Forensic Psychologist with Forum Ohio, LLC in Columbus, Ohio. He completed his health service psychology internship at the Chillicothe VA Medical Center where he gained extensive experience treating rural Appalachian veterans via the neuropsychology clinic, SUD/PTSD clinic, acute inpatient/psychosocial rehabilitation residential treatment program, and the pain psychology clinic.
Dr. Ream earned an A.A. in General Studies from Collin College, a B.A. in Sociology and Psychology from the University of North Texas, a M.S. in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience from The University of Texas at Dallas, and a M.S. and Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology (Neuropsychology Concentration) from Albizu University. Dr. Ream has published several book chapters and journal abstracts within the realm(s) of cognitive science/psychology, neuropsychology, and rehabilitation psychology. Outside of his clinical and research duties, Dr. Ream serves on the Clinical Psychopharmacology Committees with both the Ohio Psychological Association and the American Academy of Clinical Psychology, and, serves as a conference peer-reviewer for the American Psychology-Law Society.
Cristina Cullens, PhD, Lead Consulting Psychologist
Coming Soon
Richard Wihera, PsyD, ABPP, Consulting Psychologist
Board Certified Police and Public Safety Psychologist
Dr. Wihera is a Senior Consulting Psychologist for Psychological Dimensions based in our satellite office in Grand Junction. He brings over 35 years’ experience working with law enforcement to the firm and during this time has worked with over 150 public safety agencies throughout the Rocky Mountain region and across the country. Dr. Wihera received his Master’s degree in Psychology, Counseling & Guidance from the University of Northern Colorado in 1975, and his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Denver in 1982. He has been licensed as a Psychologist in seven states (CO, WY, CA, NV, NY, GA, and HI) and is Board Certified in Police and Public Safety Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is an active member of the Police Psychology Services Section (PPSS) of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), and in 2014 Dr. Wihera was Chair of the IACP-PPSS committee to revise the Preemployment Psychological Evaluation Guidelines.
Augmenting his academic background, Dr. Wihera has hands-on experience as a law enforcement officer. He completed a POST-certified academy and worked on patrol as a sworn, armed, uniformed Reserve Police Officer with the San Jose (CA) Police Department in the mid-1980’s.
Despite his own accomplishments, Dr. Wihera is most proud of his three children who all serve in blue – both of his sons are Police Officers in Colorado and his daughter is on active duty in the Navy serving as a Lieutenant onboard an aircraft carrier in the Atlantic.
Dr. Mark Parisi, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Mark Parisi has been licensed as a Clinical Psychologist in Illinois and Florida since the late 1990s. He earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Clinical Psychology from Roosevelt University in Chicago in 1991 and went on to earn my Master of Science (M.S.) in Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology and my Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) Degree in Clinical Psychology from the Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech) in 1995. While serving on active duty in the U.S. Army from 1995 – 1998, Dr. Parisi completed his internship and residency and specialized in Child and Adolescent Psychology, Community Mental Health, Traumatic Stress Disorders, and Neuropsychology. He has worked as a Psychologist and Healthcare Chief Executive Officer since 2000 and have served as a consultant to countless businesses, schools, and law offices on a wide variety of mental health issues. Dr. Parisi has experience conducting psychological, neuropsychological, developmental, and risk assessment evaluations.