About the Team

Dr. Letcher’s work focuses on youth development and wellness in the context of rural communities. She has experience implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of mentoring programs for school-age youth, exploring formal sexual education programs in rural communities, and assessing suicide risk among college students. Current projects involve assessing the feasibility of social and emotional learning programs among youth in Head Start and middle school . Since 2006, Letcher has worked with at-risk populations including substance-abusing youth, runaway and homeless youth, homeless mothers and their young children and substance-abusing mothers with children.

Dr. Ramsay-Seaner’s research and advocacy focuses on diversity, inclusivity, and empathy development to support the mental health needs of underserved populations. She has served as the chair of Council of Directors for the Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Training Grant at South Dakota State University and is the clinical experiences coordinator for the Counseling and Human Development Department. Since 2012, Ramsay-Seaner has provided counseling services to individuals across the lifespan with a variety of mental health needs including depression, anxiety, substance abuse and psychosis.

Dr. Hoffman is the lead specialist for the 4-H educational programming efforts for NDSU Extension. She conducts applied research in the field of youth development to create environments that help youth reach their full potential. She is also responsible for coordinating all evaluation efforts in the state utilizing the 4-H Common Measures instruments, and integrating evaluation into all curriculum design. Additionally, she leads professional development opportunities for 4-H staff across the state of North Dakota. Hoffman has more than eight years of experience as an Extension 4-H youth agent in Pearl River County, Mississippi, where she developed and led a comprehensive 4-H youth development program with a priority on youth leadership development.

Elizabeth comes to the Strengthening the Heartland team to aid in logistics and management of the day-to-day. She is the face behind the Strengthening the Heartland email account and will be your primary contact when participating in our pilot studies, art contest, or in webinars we host. Elizabeth earned her master's degree from the Counseling and Human Development program at South Dakota State University.

Pisha is an interdisciplinary visual strategist, serving a dual role of technology and brand specialist. With background in brand design, communication strategy, and web design, she provides creative and technical expertise for the project. She serves as the brand designer for STH, maintaining an active web presence for the project, facilitating webinars, designing educational materials and collateral and assisting with promoting events. You can learn more about her work at caitlinpisha.com