Kerri Ashurst
Senior Extension Specialist

Professional Profile

Dr. Ashurst is a Senior Extension Specialist for Family and Consumer Sciences Extension. She serves as PI for a variety of grants focusing on outreach and support to military families and Co-PI for Kentucky's Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) joint grant with Kentucky State University focusing on life skills for underserved and unstably housed youth. Kerri also serves as a Federal Coach for the CYFAR Professional Deveopment and Technical Assistance Center.

Dr. Ashurst's focus is building state-wide capacity for reaching underserved or at-risk children, youth, families, and communities. Kerri's primary areas of interest include families who are coping with major crises such as illness or death of a family member; positive youth and young adult development and positive mental health; couple communication and relationship building; military families and reconnection after deployment; and stress management. Dr. Ashurst has worked with the FCS Extension unit at UK now for over 25 years. 

Education

2007 Ph.D. in Family Sciences, The University of Kentucky 

Dissertation: Okay, this is my life: A grounded theory study of late adolescent psychosocial experience at the interface of coping with parental cancer.

1998 M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy, The University of Kentucky

1995 B.A. in Psychology, The University of Kentucky (minor in Individual and Family Development)

Professional Licenses or Certifications:

  • International Association of Coaching Masteries Practitioner
  • Professional Certification in Trauma and Resilience: Level 1 and Level 2, Florida State University
  • Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Gatekeeper Instructor