Dr. Elizabeth "Liz" Nobis is DRIA's inaugural athletics psychologist to serve the mental health needs of Penn's nearly 1,000 varsity student-athletes. This 2022 created position resides in the Pottruck Center for Student-Athlete Success and works closely with Penn's Student Health and Counseling. In her role, Nobis conducts individual and group psychotherapy, outreach programming and consultation for teams and DRIA staff, oversees the Student Athlete Wellness Ambassadors group, and is involved in campus committees including the Sexual Trauma Treatment and Outreach Prevention (STTOP) and Eating Concerns teams, Sports Nutrition Injury Prevention group, Quaker Forward Committee (Athletics DEIB committee), and Penn Athletics Wharton Leadership Academy (PAWLA).
"There is no question that meeting the mental health needs of our student-athletes has been a priority over the past several years and we are thrilled to announce this mental health professional position and welcome Liz to the DRIA team," the T. Gibbs Kane, Jr. W'69 Director of Athletics and Recreation Alanna Shanahan said. "The demands faced by Penn student-athletes academically, athletically, and socially are vast and we are glad to further support our students' mental health with an in-house professional in the DRIA footprint. I am so grateful to alumnae Kate O'Hern Lyons C'86 and Jane DeMarco Ott W'87 for supporting this position financially to enable us to better meet the needs of our student-athletes."
"Liz comes to DRIA highly recommended from Counseling Services and her experience at Penn over the past year will help her hit the ground running," Shanahan said. "She is a perfect fit to support our student-athletes' mental health."
Nobis earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Biola University's Rosemead School of Psychology in 2021 and served as a postdoctoral fellow at Penn's Counseling Services before beginning with athletics. Prior to earning her doctorate, Nobis spent several years within the public health and non-profit fields conducting research, statistical analysis, and educational programming in the Philadelphia area. Nobis earned a master's in public health from Drexel in 2012 following her bachelor's degree in general science from the University of Oregon.
"I'm excited about the opportunity to bring mental health care to Penn Athletics and look forward to supporting our student-athletes," Nobis said.
Nobis' office is located in Weightman Hall where she is available to meet with student-athletes one-on-one, groups, or teams.
