2026 Annual Conference Information

Dr. Shambra Mulder is a Licensed Psychologist who is nationally certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT), an effective, evidence-based treatment for youth with complex trauma. Mulder is the founding director of a nonprofit where she co-authored a coloring book titled “Talking about Mental Health with Your Child & Coloring Book”. Between 2010-2015, she was a professor within the Kentucky State University’s School of Education, Master of Arts in Special Education program, where she taught graduate courses in psychoeducational assessments, classroom behavioral management, and teaching students with disabilities.

In 2020, Dr. Mulder was appointed by the Kentucky Governor to serve in state government. She served as the Executive Director for the Office of Ombudsman and Administrative Review within the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), responsible for investigating consumer complaints and working with management to resolve them, identifying patterns of complaints, and recommending corrective action when appropriate. She then became Deputy Commissioner for the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental, and Intellectual Disabilities within the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. In this role, she led the department in the revision of departmental policies and procedures and the creation of a department-wide strategic plan. She served as the Interim Director for the Division of Program Integrity, which is responsible for other critical organizational functions such as the development of regulations and the licensure of substance use disorder treatment programs.

Dr. Mulder was selected as a 2023-2024 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy Fellow within the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). The fellowship supports health professionals in spending a year in the nation’s capital working on health-related legislative and regulatory issues with members of Congress and the executive branch. Dr. Mulder was placed in the U.S. Office of the Surgeon General, where she worked with the health policy team on many health advisories related to youth and parent mental health.

In 2025, Dr. Mulder returned to Kentucky State University to serve as the Chair of Psychology, where she revamped their Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology. She was selected to participate in the American Psychological Association (APA) Leadership Institute for Women Program (LIWP). She was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychology (KBEP). She currently works as a School Psychologist in the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS).

Dr. Mulder is a U.S. Navy veteran and a Kentucky-certified school psychologist who began her career in a rural public school district. She completed the advanced certification for the Director of Special Education, a Master of Science (MS), Educational Specialist (EdS), and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from the University of Kentucky. She also completed an advanced certificate in psychotherapy at Bellarmine University (currently at Loyola University Chicago) for clinicians seeking to expand their clinical skills.