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I am interested in designing and developing digital tools to help people come together to help one another. Whether it be coordinating the sharing of excess food with those who are food insecure or connecting individuals within existing communities to help with errands, technology can and should be used to help facilitate the growth of direct person-to-person help networks.
In my two years as an Americorps VISTA, where I served with a startup non-profit that worked to bring communities together via a time exchange and volunteer program, I learned the challenges and solutions related to growing community networks. I strongly believe that the best way to address the challenges inherent to this process are extremely simple, intuitive, fast, and easy to use digital tools that allow for the direct connection of people and organizations without any intermediary or unnecessary steps and features.
Additionally, as a neuroscientist, I believe that I am uniquely qualified to design high-quality tools based on my understanding of how humans take in and process information, get motivated to act, and stay engaged. In my work as a graphic designer and website developer, I attempt to translate my understanding of human behavior and cognition into UIs/UXs that most effectively yield enjoyable and continued use.
The first web app I have fully designed and created is Resident Rescue, a tool for UCI-CHOC residents to coordinate helping one another with things needed outside of work like pet care, babysitting, grocery shopping, and anything else. On the site, once a user has registered, they can add a need to the ‘need board.’ Other members can then browse the board, and respond directly to the poster via email or text. It’s designed to be hyper-simple and easy to use as doctors are some of the busiest people on the planet.
In the works is Waste Not, an app that facilitates the transfer of food between organizations that have excess food and organizations that have the capacity to distribute food to food insecure individuals, families, and children. Similar to Resident Rescue, Waste Not is designed to quickly, easily, and directly connect people without any intermediary or unnecessary steps and features. Organizations that distribute food can easily browse the ‘available’ board and directly contact the source to schedule pickups.
In the future, I am interested in evolving my existing person-to-person help network platform to include group registrations/board creation within a single app. The user/group-generated boards can be designated as invite only (only invited people can view or post) or publicly viewable (only invited members can post but the public can view/respond to posts). For example, a group of doctors can create their own private board for use amongst only themselves or they can open the board to the public so that people outside of the group can help.
CurriculumVitae
Ph.D (unfinished, 5th year), Neuroscience 2012 – 2016
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
GPA: 4.0 All required coursework completed
Bachelor of Science, Neuroscience 2007 – 2011
University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, Nevada
GPA: Total: 3.57 Upper Division Major: 3.92
Wordpress, Illustrator, inDesign, Photoshop, Acrobat DC, Premiere Pro (beginner), Word, Powerpoint, Excel, G Suite
PROGRAM COORDINATOR. Neighbor Network of Northern Nevada, Reno, NV
501(c)(3) non-profit providing community-based services, including affordable transportation, volunteer opportunities, and intermittent respite care
2019 – 2020
- Developed, built, and maintained accessible website
- Designed and implemented new marketing and outreach program
- Wrote marketing plans and protocols
- Created marketing materials including flyers, presentations, social media/other graphics, postcards, door hangers, business cards, tablecloths, t-shirts, and lanyards
- Oversaw and performed community outreach including community presentations, tabling events, networking events, and participation in partner meetings and events
- Designed, implemented, and managed grant-funded projects
- Recruited volunteers
- Largest event in 2018: ~250 volunteers
- Largest in 2019: ~300 volunteers
- Trained and performed orientations for both new members and new staff
- Supervised service-learning students, volunteers, and new employees
- Developed and wrote monthly and final grant project reports
- Planned and organized events
- Worked with federal, state, and local government and elected officials to initiate the creation of a statewide transportation advocacy coalition
COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND MARKETING SPECIALIST. Americorps VISTA, Reno, NV
Neighbor Network of Northern Nevada (N4), Reno, NV
2018 – 2019
- Americorps VISTA service year
- Primary focus was to increase transportation and community access for older adults and people with disabilities
- Same responsibilities and activities listed above in Program Coordinator position
CO-FOUNDER. Robogobo Co. (dba Eidolon Timber Company), Hale’s Grove, CA
Off-the-grid events venue, and music, art, and sustainability development and incubator space
2016 – 2018
- Developed business plans and budgets
- Purchased and developed 40-acre property
- Aided in the design and development of off-the-grid sustainable systems
- Recruited artists and musicians
- Planned and oversaw events
- Developed marketing and outreach plans
FOUNDER. exit.agency, College Station, TX
Event listings and direct booking website, artist booking and management services, and event production
2015 – 2016
- Designed, built, and managed website that served as a local art/music event calendar and booking platform for local musicians
- Created marketing and outreach plans and materials including artist logos and banners, event flyers, web graphics, and printed event posters
- Planned, promoted, and managed regular music events
- Managed local artists
TEACHING ASSISTANT. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
PSYC 204 Experimental Psychology (Lab)
2015 – 2016
OWNER AND LEAD DESIGNER. JSandR Design, Reno, NV
Website design and consulting
2011 – 2012
- Developed unique and creative websites, custom graphics, and social media content/strategy for local small businesses and individuals
- Sites included Tassels, an online luxury boutique, The Jeremiahs‘ band website, Kick and Glide, an online database and community forum for information about the backcountry in North America, and gs., a personal blog
LEGISLATIVE INTERN. City of Sparks, Office of Government Affairs, Sparks, NV
2011
- Monitored the Nevada State Senate and Assembly floor sessions and committee meetings
- Attended and participated directly in Assembly floor sessions and Senate and Assembly committee meetings
- Updated the City of Sparks’ government affairs databases regarding relevant legislation
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT. Early Axon Guidance Neurobiology Laboratory, University of Nevada, Reno
NIH funded molecular biochemistry laboratory under Dr. Grant Mastick
2009-2010
Ground up build and continued maintenance
Direct person-to-person help network web app
2020
Ground up build and continued maintenance
Website development and graphic design studio general website
2020
Ground up build and continued maintenance
Nonprofit organization’s general website
2018 – 2020
JocelynSeemann.com
Ground up build and continued maintenance
Personal website
2020
NVGunSafety.org (inactive)
Maintenance
Nevada Gun Safety Coalition’s general website
2019
exit.agency (inactive)
Ground up build and maintenance
Art/music event calendar and booking/profile platform for musicians
2015-2016
TasselsReno.com (inactive)
Ground up build and maintenance
Online luxury boutique
2011 – 2012
KickandGlide.com (inactive)
Ground up build and maintenance
Database and community forum for information about the backcountry in North America
2011 – 2012
theJeremiahs.com (inactive)
Ground up build and maintenance
Band booking and tour/event information
2011 – 2012
GwenSeemann.com (inactive)
Ground up build
Resume/CV platform and personal blog
2011-2012
Texas A&M University, Laboratory of Dr. Darrell Worthy
Neural substrates of and the relationship between stress, stress-reduction, and decision-making
2015-2016
The goals of my research using human subjects were (1) to further elucidate the underlying biological and neural mechanisms by which stress disrupts high-level cognitive processes involved in decision-making, (2) to identify non- pharmacological rapid stress management techniques that ameliorate this disruption, and (3) to identify the neural and biological changes that underlie the success of these techniques and the resulting mitigation of stress-induced cognitive dysfunction.
My experiments were designed to utilize and combine a broad array of techniques, including fMRI, biological, and genetic assays, in order to establish a more unified and complete understanding of the behavioral, neural, biological, and genetic factors that underlie and contribute to both stress-induced decision-making deficits and the rescue of these deficits by successful stress management.
By enhancing and combining our knowledge of the processes that drive stress-induced cognitive and decision-making deficits with an increased understanding of the processes that yield successful stress resiliency and rescued decision-making, more effective techniques for the management of both pathological and non-pathological stress states that interfere with healthy cognitive processes can be developed.
Texas A&M University, Laboratory of Dr. Stephen Maren
Neural substrates of fear learning and extinction
2012-2014
Studied the role and neural locus of stress-induced norepinephrine signaling on the immediate extinction deficit (IED: impaired fear extinction learning when extinction training is given soon after fear conditioning)
Showed that propranolol, a non-selective β-adrenoceptor antagonist, given systemically prior to immediate extinction training results in enhanced extinction learning compared to vehicle controls
Showed that direct intracranial microinfusions of propranolol into the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala, but not into the infralimbic division of the medial prefrontal cortex, prior to immediate extinction training results in enhanced extinction learning compared to vehicle controls
Established and pilot-tested the Maren laboratory chemogenetics program
Utilized fear conditioning and extinction behavioral training, intracranial microinjections, intracranial cannulation, stereotaxic neurosurgery, adult perfusion, Nissl staining, acute electrophysiology, viral vector delivery of DREADDs (designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs), immunohistochemistry, and fluorescent microscopy
Texas A&M University, Laboratory of Dr. Jack McMahan
Reconstruction of 3D surface models of the neuromuscular junction using high-resolution electron microscopy
2012
University of Nevada, Reno, Laboratory of Dr. Grant Mastick
Effects of maternal immune activation on the guidance of hippocampal neurons during embryonic development
2009-2010
Studied the effects of maternal immune activation on the embryonic guidance of neural progenitor cells to the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and the behavioral abnormalities related to these changes as a possible model of autism
Utilized a large breeding mouse population, adult and embryonic perfusion, cryostat tissue sectioning, immunohistochemistry, Nissl staining, in situ hybridization, fluorescent microscopy, Western blotting, polymerase chain reaction, and gel electrophoresis
Texas A&M University, PSYC 204 Experimental Psychology (Lab)
Teaching Assistant under Dr. Winfred Arthur, Jr.
2015 – 2016
Giustino, T.F., Seemann, J.R., Acca, G.M., Goode, T.D., Fitzgerald, P.J., & Maren, S. (2017). β-Adrenoceptor Blockade in the Basolateral Amygdala, But Not the Medial Prefrontal Cortex, Rescues the Immediate Extinction Deficit. Neuropsychopharmacology, 42, 2537–2544. doi:10.1038/npp.2017.89
Fitzgerald, P. J.#, Giustino, T. F.#, Seemann, J. R.#, & Maren, S. (2015). Noradrenergic blockade stabilizes prefrontal activity and enables fear extinction under stress. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(28), E3729–37. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1500682112
Fitzgerald, P. J., Maren, S., & Seemann, J. R. (2013). Can fear extinction be enhanced? A review of pharmacological and behavioral findings. Brain Research Bulletin. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainresbull.2013.12.007
#Equal first-author contribution
Second Place Poster Award TAMU SfN Poster Session 2013
Herman F. and Minnie Bell Heep Fellowship 2012 – 2015
($30k/yr stipend and full-tuition reimbursement; 3yr award)
College of Science Dean’s List, UNR Fall 2009, Spring/Fall 2010
College of Liberal Arts Dean’s List, UNR Spring/Fall 2009, Spring/Fall 2010
Nevada Gun Safety Coalition, Communications Committee Chair
2019
Nevada Gun Safety Coalition, Board of Directors
2019
Nevada Gun Safety Coalition, Legislative Committee
2019
Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience, Graduate Student Representative
2013 – 2014
Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience, Executive Committee Member
2013 – 2014
Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience, Symposium Planning Committee
2012 – 2016
Head of Committee
2013 – 2014
Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience 5th Annual Symposium, MC
2014
Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience, Recruiting Committee
2012 – 2016
Head of Committee
American Psychological Association 2015 – 2016
Cognitive Science Society 2015 – 2016
Society for Neuroscience 2013 – 2016
Pavlovian Society 2013 – 2016
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