Biography for Dr. Gretchen Hess

            Dr. Gretchen C. Hess received her Ph.D. in psychology from University of Alberta in 1984.  This achievement was preceded by degrees in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Manitoba that have allowed her to maintain status as a chartered psychologist in addition to her position as a professor at University of Alberta.  Dr. Hess has worked as a high school teacher, counselor, and as a consultant prior to beginning a career in university teaching and research that has focused largely on health issues among adolescents.

In recent years, Dr. Hess’s research has involved adolescents’ sexual behavior and its implications for their physical and psychological health. She has taken a hands-on approach that has included activities such as leading focus groups of young adults and visiting less-advantaged countries to encourage development of sexual education programs. This sort of work has led to presentations at international conferences as far away as China as well as several grants and awards.

            Our rationale for choosing Dr. Hess is based in part on the fact that she is a local researcher.  In a quest to bring prestigious researchers from away to our university, it becomes quite easy to overlook the many excellent researchers right here in Edmonton. Thus, we chose to include one local speaker in this year’s lecture schedule. Dr. Hess’s internationally presented research in a field that spans social, cultural, and developmental areas of psychology, as well as providing some general appear presents an excellent opportunity to do so. Due to the interest Dr. Hess’s topics tend to draw, we anticipate an exceptional turn-out at this presentation. Dr. Hess’s CV outlines her accomplishments; however, it cannot convey the dynamic speaker that has been witnessed by members of the Psychoquium Committee. Dr. Hess would be an interesting and valuable addition to our lecture series.