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Alena A. Rodman

Curriculum Vitae 

Education

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Ph. D.       Social Psychology          

             University of California, Los Angeles - Los Angeles, CA

Advisor - Prof. Martie G. Haselton

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A. L. M.    Psychology         

             Harvard University Extension School - Cambridge, MA

Advisor - Prof. Max M. Krasnow

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B. A.          Psychology         

             Fort Lewis College - Durango, CO       

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Certifications​

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Notary Public

Colorado Secretary of State

      

Quickbooks Online Advanced ProAdvisor

& Payroll ProAdvisor

Intuit, Inc.

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Google Data Analytics

Google, Inc. & Coursera

 

 

Skills 

 

Statistics & Programing

R, SQL (BigQuery), SPSS, Python (PANDAS, web scraping)

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Research Tools

Qualtrics, Google Analytics, E-Prime, Amazon Mechanical Turk, Datavyu

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Data Visualization

Tableau, Google Data Studio, RStudio

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Microsoft Office & Google Apps

Word/Docs, Excel/Sheets, Powerpoint, Access, etc.

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Accounting & Tax Preparation

Quickbooks Online, Quickbooks Desktop, Quickbooks Point of Sale, Quickbooks Payroll, Intuit Lacerte, Intuit ProConnect

 

 

Work Experience 

 

Owner, Accountant, & Business Analyst          2019 - Present

Animas Accounting, LLC – Durango, CO

  • Mange all accounting and bookkeeping for several small-to-medium sized businesses, including categorizing transactions, reconciling accounts, creating estimates, A/R, A/P, managing payroll, and providing financial reports using QuickBooks

  • Create advanced business analyses and use visualizations to present findings to owners and management teams, including cash flow forecasts, A/B hypothesis testing, KPI metrics, cost analyses, pricing systems, and budgets

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Accounting Manager          2018 – Present 

Durango Nursery & Supply Inc. – Durango, CO

  • Manage all bookkeeping for a multi-million dollar retail/wholesale garden center

  • Use Excel and R to create and clean datasets, run KPI analyses and projections, and create engaging visualizations to educate owner and management on financials

  • Manage payroll in conjunction with a local payroll company for a team of over 20 employees

  • Perform HR functions including setting wages, developing hiring paperwork, creating internal handbooks/policies, and managing unemployment claims

 

Tax Preparation Assistant          2020 – 2021 

Beekman Financial Group – Durango, CO

  • Prepared tax returns for individuals, Schedule-C businesses, corporations, and partnerships

  • Performed research and implemented current tax laws with minimal supervision under a CPA

  • Used Quickbooks to prepare business financials for taxes, including performing adjusting journal entries and generating advanced reports

 

PhD. Student Teaching and Research Associate          2017 – 2018

University of California, Los Angeles – UCLA

  • Conducted multiple studies on biological and psychological research, resulting in two peer-reviewed articles in esteemed scientific journals

  • Gathered, cleaned, and analyzed large-scale datasets using Excel, SQL, R, and SPSS, and developed visualizations and reports for both technical and non-technical audiences

  • Assisted in teaching undergraduate courses and mentoring students

 

Laboratory Manager          2016 – 2017

Harvard Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory – Cambridge, MA   

  • Managed daily administrative operations and coded lab website

  • Coordinated shipping and receiving of lab supplies, submitted expense reports to the accounting department, processed vendor invoices, and managed reimbursements for purchases and travel

 

Research & Faculty Assistant          2015 – 2017

Harvard Laboratory for Developmental Studies – Cambridge, MA    

  • Performed advanced technical writing and editing for academic publications

  • Supervised and trained undergraduate research assistants

 

Research Assistant          2015 – 2017

Harvard Evolutionary Psychology Laboratory – Cambridge, MA

  • Designed and conducted research with adults, children, and individuals with developmental disabilities, in online, university, and hospital settings, and managed a team of research assistants

  • Scraped, organized, coded, analyzed, and visually presented data for publication in books and academic papers    

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Publications & Presentations

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Peer-Reviewed Articles​​

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Mehr, S. A., Singh, M., Knox, D., Ketter, D. M., Pickens-Jones, D., Atwood, S., Lucas, C., Jacobi, N., Egner, A. A., Hopkins, E. J., Howard, R. M., Hartshorne, J. K., Jennings, M. V., Simson, J., Banbridge, C. M., Pinker, S., O’Donnell, T. J., Krasnow, M. M., & Glowacki, L. (2019). Universality and diversity in human song. Science, 366(6468). 

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Kotler, J., Mehr, S. A., Egner, A. A., Haig, D., & Krasnow, M. M. (2019). Response to vocal music in Angelman syndrome contrasts with Prader-Willi syndrome. Evolution and Human Behavior, 40(5), 420-426. 

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Conference Talks

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Mehr, S. A., Singh, M., Knox, D., Ketter, D. M., Pickens-Jones, D., Atwood, S., Lucas, C., Egner, A. A., Jacoby, N., Hopkins, E. J., Howard, R. M., O’Donnell, T. J., Pinker, S., Krasnow, M. M., & Glowacki, L. (May 2019). A natural history of song. Talk presented at the Human Behavior and Evolution Society Annual Conference, Boston, MA, USA.

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Mehr, S. A., Singh, M., Knox, D., Ketter, D. M., Pickens-Jones, D., Atwood, S., Lucas, C., Egner, A. A., Jacoby, N., Hopkins, E. J., Howard, R. M., O’Donnell, T. J., Pinker, S., Krasnow, M. M., & Glowacki, L. (April 2019). A natural history of song. Talk presented at the European Human Behavior and Evolution Association Annual Conference, Toulouse, France.

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Kotler, J., Mehr, S. A., Egner, A. A., Haig, D., Krasnow, M. M. (June 2017). Evaluating the origins of music in individuals with imprinting disorders. Paper presented at the Human Behavior and Evolution Society. Boise, ID, USA.

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Howard, R. M., Spokes, A., Mehr, S. A., Egner, A. A. & Krasnow, M. M. (January 2017). Welfare tradeoff ratios in children. Paper presented at the Budapest CEU Conference on Cognitive Development. Budapest, Hungary.

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Conference Posters

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Egner, A. A. & Krasnow, M. M. (May 2018). The effects of life history strategy on individual differences in sexual selection. Poster presented at the California Workshop on Evolutionary Social Sciences. Santa Barbara, CA, USA.

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Egner, A. A. & Krasnow, M. M. (June 2017). The effects of life history strategy on individual differences in sexual selection. Poster presented at the Human Behavior and Evolution Society. Boise, ID, USA.

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Academic Awards, Honors, & Funding

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Harvard Extension School Thesis Grant

UCLA Palevsky Graduate Fellowship

UCLA University Fellowship

Harvard Extension School Grant

Harvard Summer Scholarship

Fort Lewis College Dean's List

Fort Lewis College Presidential Scholarship

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Teaching & Academic Service

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Teaching Assistant - UCLA Psych 10 - Introductory Psychology

Mentor - UCLA Graduate-Undergraduate Mentorship

Psychology Representative - UCLA Biological Sciences Council 

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Media

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Webinar Interview - Harvard Extension School Career Path Spotlight: Pathway to a PhD

Radio Interview - Deadline LA KPFK 90.7FM - Academics Writing for Wikipedia

Podcast Interview - The Reality and Brutally Honest Truth about Special Needs Planning. Episode 2: Harvard University Music Study

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Research Experience

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Ph.D. Student Researcher

UCLA Evolutionary Psychology Laboratory        August 2017 – August 2018

P.I. – Prof. Martie G. Haselton

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The effects of hormonal contraceptives on ovulatory shifts in mate preferences: A meta-analysis

Egner, A. A., Haselton, M. G. (on hold).​

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  • Began gathering and meta-analyzing published and unpublished data on the effects that hormonal contraceptives have on shifts in female mate preferences across the ovulatory cycle

  • Used Bayesian statistics and p-curve analyses

  • Received funding support from the UCLA Department of Psychology for the project

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The microbiome and attraction

Egner, A. A. & Haselton, M. G. (on hold).​​​

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  • Designed a research program on the effects of the skin microflora on the attractiveness of scent and appearance in humans, and the effects of the ovulatory cycle on changes in skin microflora

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Research Assistant

Harvard University Laboratory for Developmental Studies        October 2015 – May 2017

P.I. – Prof. Elizabeth Spelke

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Replication and extension of “Shared musical knowledge in 11-month-old infants” 

Egner, A. A., Mehr, S. A., & Spelke, E. S. (on hold).​

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  • Lead all aspects of a replication study including:

  • Designing new conditions and study materials

  • Recruiting, training, and testing all infants and their families

  • Coding infant gaze data

  • Supervising and training research assistants on testing and coding procedures

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Origins of the concepts cause, cost, and goal in prereaching infants

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Publications

Liu, S., Brooks, N. B., & Spelke, E. S. (2019). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.​

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  • Ran all tests with 3-month-old infants and their families

  • Trained and supervised undergraduate assistants

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Infant-directed song regulates infant arousal

Mehr, S. A., & Spelke, E. S. (on hold).​

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  • Assisted with development, creation, and piloting of study

  • Recruited and tested over 80 infants and their families

  • Coded infant facial expression and gaze data

  • Supervised undergraduate assistants on data coding

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Shared musical knowledge in 11-month-old infants

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Publications

Mehr, S. A., & Spelke, E. S. (2017). Developmental Science.​

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  • Coded infant gaze data

  • Supervised undergraduate assistants on data coding

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Research Assistant

Harvard University Evolutionary Psychology Laboratory        July 2015 – May 2017

P.I. – Prof. Max M. Krasnow

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Life history strategy predicts individual differences in sexually selected traits

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Publications

Egner, A. A. (2019). Masters Thesis. â€‹

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  • Created original hypotheses and online survey study design

  • Wrote and piloted survey to tailor questions to specific sexes, genders, and

    sexualities before gathering 300 participants from M-Turk

  • Cleaned, organized, and analyzed, and created visualizations for all data

  • Wrote up results for masters thesis and presented at multiple conferences

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Response to vocal music in Down Syndrome

Egner, A. A., Mehr, S. A., Kotler, J., & Krasnow, M. M. (on hold).​

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  • Lead research on all aspects of the study, including:

  • Traveled to test children with Down Syndrome at their schools

  • Designed and implemented developmentally appropriate testing materials

  • Supervised research assistants

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Response to vocal music in Angelman Syndrome contrasts with Prader-Willi Syndrome 

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Publications

Kotler, J. L., Mehr, S. A., Egner, A. A., Haig, D. & Krasnow, M. M. (2019). Evolution and Human Behavior​.

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  • Assisted in testing participants with Angelman Syndrome and their families at Harvard University and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital

  • Assisted in designing and creating study materials appropriate for the developmental level of participants with Angelman Syndrome

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Genomic imprinting is implicated in the psychology of music

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Publications

Mehr, S. A., Kotler, J., Howard, R. M., Haig, D., & Krasnow, M. M. (2017). Psychological Science.​

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  • Developed E-Prime program for computer-based testing

  • Assisted in testing over 100 child subjects ages 5-17

  • Coded qualitative data and supervised undergraduate assistants in data coding

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Welfare tradeoff psychology is present in children and adults

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Publications

Howard, R. M., Spokes, A., Mehr, S. A. & Krasnow, M. M. (In Preparation). Preprint.​

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  • Assisted in recruiting and testing over 100 child subjects ages 4-11

  • Organized and prepared data for statistical analysis

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Universality and diversity in human song

The Natural History of Song Project

 

Publications

Mehr, S. A., Singh, M., Knox, D., Ketter, D. M., Pickens-Jones, D., Atwood, S., Lucas, C., Egner, A. A., Jacoby, N., Hopkins, E. J., Howard, R. M., Hartshorne, J. K., Jennings, M. V., Simson, J., Bainbridge, C. M., Pinker, S., O'Donnell, T. J., Krasnow, M. M., & Glowacki, L. (2019). Science.​

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Mehr, S. A., Singh, M., York, H., Glowacki, L., & Krasnow, M. M. (2018). Current Biology.

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Media

New York Times: Can You Tell a Lullaby From a Love Song?

The Atlantic: A Study Suggests that People Can Hear Universal Traits in Music

Smithsonian: Your Brain Knows What Songs are for, No Matter Where they Came From

NPR: Some Types of Songs are Universally Identifiable, Study Suggests​

SciTech Daily: Five Year Harvard Study: Music Is Universal

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  • One of four core researchers supporting a team of over 50 researchers

  • Coded qualitative ethnographic data and organized thousands of pieces of data

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Charitable giving as partner choice

Nemirow, J., Krasnow, M. M., Howard, R. M., Pinker, S. (in preparation).​

  • Ran a computer-based study in the lab with groups of adults

  • Trained undergraduate assistants on testing procedures

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Undergraduate Research

Fort Lewis College Psychology Department       Spring 2012

Advisor: Prof. Sharon Sears

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The Effects of Listening to Music on Anxiety

Egner, A. A. (Poster Presented 2012)​

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  • Submitted study to IRB, recruited and tested participants 

  • Developed all surveys and testing materials

  • Completed all data collection, coding, and analyses

DID NOT COMPLETE

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2018

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2013

2021

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2021

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2022

2018

2018

2017

2016

2015

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2018

2018

2017

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