She earned her PhD in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington, where she was also an adjunct instructor for two years. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Ricks has several years of practice experience with children, families, and teen parents. Her research interests include teen pregnancy prevention, adolescent suicide, adolescent substance use, and program evaluation. Dr. Ricks is the Co PI for the Parent Partners Grant and the PI for the Maximizing Kinships Grant.