School of Social and Family Dynamics Graduate Student Association (GSA)

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The School of Social and Family Dynamics Graduate Association serves as the graduate student voice for our department. The Officers and Committee Chairs work together throughout the year to organize events, such as happy hours and socials, brownbag talks, and recruitment. Meetings are held monthly.

Officers

2021-2022 Academic Year Officers

President
Stacey Flores, stacey.flores@asu.edu

Vice President
Ronae Matriano, ronae.matriano@asu.edu

Administrator
Abby Saavedra, abbysaavedra@asu.edu

Treasurer
Paul Espinoza, paul.espinoza@asu.edu

GPSA Liaison
Claudia Vega, cavega3@asu.edu

Sociology Representative
Kyle Gresenz, kgresenz@asu.edu

Family and Human Development

Clarissa Abidog

Clarissa Abidog

Email:cabidog@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2017
Progress: Pre-Masters
Degrees: B.S. Psychology with a minor in Family Studies, Boise State University, Boise, ID
Hometown: Stockton, CA
Interests: Multiracial and Black/African American identity development; racial socialization in minority families; psychological well-being and academic achievement outcomes.
Advisor: Eleanor Seaton

Brittany Alexander

Email:Brittany.L.Alexander@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2016
Progress: Post-Masters
Degrees: M.S. in Family and Human Development, Arizona State University; B.A. Psychology Minor and Honors in Educational Studies, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN
Hometown: Brentwood, Tennessee, USA
Interests: Brittany's research focuses on promoting educational equity through social and emotional development. Specifically, Brittany focuses on the development of anti-racist compassion and hope. She is currently working on a course to promote the development of compassion, a pilot study exploring hope in the educational context and how it relates to academic and health outcomes, and a study investigating prosocial behavior in preschool children.
Advisor: Richard Fabes

McKay Boyack

Email: mboyack@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2020
Progress: Pre-Master's
Degrees: B.S. in Family Studies from Brigham Young University
Hometown: Tucson, AZ
Research Interests: the effects of peer relationships on social and academic development in childhood and adolescence; gender development and education

Karina Cahill

Karina Cahill

Email:karina.cahill@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2016
Progress: Post-Masters
Degrees: M.S. and B.S. Family and Human Development, Arizona State University
Hometown: Yuma, AZ
Interests: Contextual factors; positive development for Latino youth; academic outcomes and achievement.
Advisor: Kimberly Updegraff

Jenny Chang Zhao

Jenny Chang Zhao

Email:czhao60@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2018
Progress: Pre-Masters
Degrees: B.A. Psychology & B.A. Labor and Employment Relations, Pennsylvania State University
Hometown: Shanghai, China
Interests: How youth is influenced by the contexts in which they are embedded, particularly focusing on how family, neighborhood, and cultural factors might shape Latino adolescent's emotional, psycho-social and behavioral well-being.
Advisor: Rebecca M.B. White

Brandon Neil Clifford

Email:bncliffo@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2018
Progress: Post-Masters
Degrees: B.S. Human Development; B.A. Linguistics; M.S. Human Development, Brigham Young Univeristy
Hometown: Logandale, Nevada
Interests: Children's social and communicative competence; social development; conceptualizations of social withdrawal
Advisor: Natalie Wilkens

Khaerannisa Cortes

Khaerannisa Cortes

Email:khaerannisa.cortes@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2011
Progress: Passed comprehensive exams
Degrees: M.S. Family Human Development, Arizona State University; B.S. Family & Human Development & B.S. Psychology, Arizona State University
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Interests: Peer relationships, specifically how teachers and children respond to and cope with bullying incidences
Advisor: Becky Ladd & Gary Ladd

Paul Espinoza

Email: paul.espinoza@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2021

Abigail Gabriel

Abigail Gabriel

Email:akgabril1@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2017
Progress: Pre-Masters
Degrees: B.S. Psychology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Hometown: Santa Clara, CA, USA
Areas of Interest: Multiracial and Asian-American identity development; identity integration theory; ethnic/racial socialization; risk and resilience factors in minority populations; critical race and intersectional perspectives
Advisor: Brandon Yoo

Annie Gallagher

Annie Gallagher

Email:Annabella.Gallagher@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2014
Progress: ABD
Degrees: M.S. Family and Human Development, ASU, Tempe; B.S. Human Development and Family Studies, PSU, State College
Hometown: Wallingford, PA
Research Interests: Adolescent Development; Sibling Relationships and Family Processes; Etiology of Aggression; Measurement and Statistical Analyses; Applied Research.
Advisor: Kimberly Updegraff

Aubrey Hoffer

Aubrey Hoffer

Email:alhoffer@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2018
Progress: Pre-Masters
Degrees: B.A. Political Science with a minor in Family and Human Development, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Hometown: Chandler, AZ
Interests: Adolescent Self-Esteem; Self-Esteem Developing; Body Image
Advisor: Dawn Delay

Jayley Janssen

Jayley Janssen

Email:jajanss2@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2017
Progress: Pre-Masters
Degrees: B.S. Human Development and Family Science, University of Missouri, Columbia
Hometown: Quincy, IL
Interests: Teacher-child relationships; racial and gender inequalities in education; academic engagement; program & curriculum development
Advisor: Eleanor Seaton, Tracy Spinrad, and Richard Fabes

Diana L. Jenkins

Diana L. Jenkins

Email: dljenki1@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2018
Post-Masters
Degrees: M.S. in Psychology, Arizona State University
Hometown: Mostly Phoenix, AZ
Research Interests: Gender attitudes and behaviors, sexism and masculinity, personal relationships
Advisor: Carol Martin

Juyoung Kim

Juyoung Kim

Email: jkim@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2019
Progress: Post-Masters
Degrees: M.A. in Child Development, Ewha Womans University; B.S. in Psychology, University of Georgia
Hometown: Seoul, Korea
Interests: children's cognitive development in social context; executive function; theory of mind; memory; peer relationship; cultural effects
Advisor: Monica Tsethlikai

Yen-Lin Lee

Yen-Lin Lee

Email:ylee217@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2018
Progress: Post-Masters
Degrees: MS, University of Georgia, GA; Med. National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
Hometown: Taiwan
Interests: Friendship, peer relationship, and social-emotional development in early childhood; measurement and statistical analysis
Advisor: Dawn DeLay and Richard Fabes

Longfeng Li

Longfeng Li

Email:longfen1@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2018
Progress: Post-Masters
Degrees: M.S. Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; B.S. Psychology, Beijing Normal University
Hometown: Chongqing, China
Interests: Child development, parenting and child social-emotional adjustment, temperament, sleep, measurement and statistical analyse
Advisor: Carlos Valiente

Jamie Theresa Lopez

Jamie Theresa Lopez

Email:jamietheresa.lopez@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2016
Progress: Post-Masters
Degrees: BA Education University of Arizona Tucson, AZ MA Education Arizona State University Tempe, AZ
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Interests: early childhood, parenting, temperament, self-regulation and language
Advisor: Dr. Tracy Spinrad

Laura Means Malouf

Email: lmalouf@asu.edu
Degrees: M.S. Psychology
Interests: Asian American racial identity, racism, interracial solidarity, critical consciousness
Advisor: Laura D. Hanish, PhD

Ronae Matriano

Email: rmatrian@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2019
Progress: Pre-Masters
Degrees: B.S. in Biological Sciences (Genetics, Cell & Developmental Biology), B.A. in Asian Pacific American Studies, and Minor in Communication
Hometown: Avondale, AZ
Interests: Asian American racial identity, racism, interracial solidarity, critical consciousness
Advisor: Brandon Yoo

Ana Maria Melenez Guevara

Ana Maria Melenez Guevara

Email:amelend9@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2018
Progress: Pre-Masters
Degrees: MS in Social Work, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma; BA in Psychology, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Research Interests: Child and family development in context of risk and adversity within ethnic minorities and historically marginalized communities, micro and macro mechanism of resilience, mental health, community based interventions and cultural processes.
Advisors: Dr. Sarah Lindstrom Johnson

Kamryn Morris

Email: ksmorr10@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2018
Progress: Master of Science Completed, Comprehensive Examinations Completed
Degree: B.S. in Child and Family Development with a Minor in Honors Interdisciplinary Studies, M.S. in Family and Human Development
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Interests: Black adolescents; racial discrimination stress; the school as a context; culturally competent interventions.
Advisors: Dr. Eleanor Seaton & Dr. Sarah Lindstrom Johnson

Sarah Parks

Email: sarah.parks@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2018
Progress: Post-Masters
Degrees: M.C. in Counseling & B.S. in Family and Human Development from Arizona Staet University
Hometown: Farmington Hills, MI
Interests: Whiteness, White racial Identiy, White fragility, anti-racist identity
Advisor: Brandon Yoo

Rachael Perez

Email: rkperez1@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2021
 

Ariana Ruof

Email: akruof@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2018
Progress: Pre-Masters
Degrees: B.S. in Psychology, B.S. in Family and Human Development
Hometown: Queen Creek, AZ
Interests: Genetic and environmental contributions to children's development of self-regulation
Advisor: Carlos Valiente

Jean Abigail (Abby) Saavedra

Email: abbysaavedra@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2020
Progress: Post-Master's
Degrees: B.S. in Psychology (Biology emphasis) and Human Development from the University of California, Davis; M.S. in Clinical Psychology from the California State University, Fullerton
Hometown: Tracy, California
Research Interests: Critical consicousness and psychological well-being; Asian American racial identity development; social justice education (e.g., ethnic studies and anti-racist, anti-bias education)

Stephan Scrofani

Email: sscrofan@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2018
Progress: Comps completed, working on dissertation
Degrees: MA Psychology, BA Psychology
Interests: I'm interested in how gender stereotypes predict our interest in subject domains, and motivation to pursue academic and career interests. Also, I study how parent-child communication predicts secure attachment and positive self-concept among transgender youth.
Advisor: Dr. Carol Martin

Daye Son

Email:dson9@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2018
Progress: Post-Masters
Degrees: MS, Marriage, Family, and Human Development, Brigham Young University; BS, Sociology, Brigham Young University
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Program: Family and Human Development
Areas of Interest: Parent-child relationships during adolescence and transition to adulthood; Adolescent autonomy development
Advisor: Dr. Kimberly Updegraff

Stephanie Thibault

Email: sthibaul@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2019
Progress: Post-Masters
Degrees: B.A. in Psychology from Framingham State University & M.S. in Psychology from Arizona State University
Hometown: Natick, MA
Interests: Peer relationships, peer victimization, & bully perpetration
Advisor: Becky Ladd

Claudia Vega

Email: cavega3@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2019
Progress: Pre-Masters
Degrees: B.A. in Psychology and Sociology (Certificate: Women's and Gender Studies), Florida International University
Hometown: Miami, FL
Research Interests: Family and social context; well-being of Latino/a/x youth and families; intersections of cultural stressors, strengths, adolescent development, and family dynamics on adjustment.
Advisor: Rebecca White

Bobbi Woods

Bobbi Woods

Email:Bobbi.Woods@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2016
Progress: Post-Masters
Degrees: M.S. in Family and Human Development and B.S. in Psychology, Arizona State University
Hometown: Chandler, AZ
Interests: Predictors of interest and success in engineering in elementary school students; implementation/evaluation of engineering-based interventions that aim to increase STEM interst and success in a diverse population of students.
Advisor: Cindy Miller

Kenton Woods

Email:kbwoods@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2016
Progress: Working on dissertation
Degrees: Family and Human Development (BS), Arizona State University. Psychology (BA), Arizona State University
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Interests: Academic tracking and how it impacts student academic outcomes and peer relationships in middle and high school.
Advisor: Dr. Laura Hanish

Jingyi Xu

Email:jingyixu@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2016
Progress: Post-Masters
Degrees: M.A. Developmental Psychology, Columbia University, NY; B.A. Chinese Language and Literature, Nanjing
Hometown: China
Interests: Parenting and children's social emotional development; cross-cultural comparisons
Advisor: Natalie Wilkens

Xiaoye Xu

Xiaoye Xu

Email:xiaoyex1@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2017
Progress: Passed comprehensive exams
Degrees: M.A. Social Psychology, San Francisco State University, CA; B.A. Psychology, Smith College, MA
Hometown: Beijing, China
Interests: Parent-child interaction, Parents' genetic influence on parental behavior, Children's emotion regulation and prosocial behavior; Cultural influence on children's socioemotional development
Advisor: Tracy Spinrad

Sociology

Kyle Gresenz

Kyle Gresenz

Email: kyle.e.gresenz@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2020
Progress: Post-Masters
Degrees: Bachelor of Arts (Human Communication) from Arizona State University; Master of Public Health from the University of Arizona
Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona
Research Interests: Systems of oppression and their influence on LGBTQ+ health, community-based participatory research, and translational science

Annie Heuscher

Email: aheusche@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2020
Progress: Post-Master's
Degrees: BA, Environmental Planning & Policy, Western Washington University (2005); MA, Sustainable Agriculture & MCRP, Community & Regional Planning, Iowa State University (2012)
Hometown: Bozeman, MT
Research Interests: Critical race studies, critical whiteness theory, anti-racism, social psychology

Angelica Lopez

Email: alope277@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2021

Daniel Tei

Email: dtei1@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2021

Stacey M. Flores

Stacey M. Flores

Email:Stacey.Flores@asu.edu
Cohort Year: 2020
Progress: Post-Masters
Degrees: M.Ed. Counseling, Northern Arizona University, AZ; M.Ed. Higher and Postsecondary Education, Arizona State University, AZ; B.A. English, minor Journalism, Delta State University, MS
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Research Interests: Intersection of sport and race; athlete experience; sport psychology; sport sociology; girls and women in sports.
Advisor: Dr. Scott Brooks

Previous Students

2021 Graduates

Stefanie Fuentes, Advisor: Adriana Umana-Taylor

Ashley Fraser, Advisor: Tracy Spinrad

Matthew Nielson, Advisor: Carol Martin

2020 Graduates

Annabelle Lin Atkin, Advisor: Brandon Yoo

Rachel Cook, Advisor: Natalie Wilkens

Diana Gal-Szabo, Advisor: Tracy Spinrad

Chanler Hilley, Advisor: Sarah Lindstrom Johnson

Kevin Korous, Advisor: José M. Causadias

Matthew Nielson, Advisor: Carol Martin

Michelle Pasco, Advisor: Rebecca M. B. White

Shannon Rupp, Advisor: Steve Elliott

Sonya Xinyue Xiao, Advisors: Tracy Spinrad, Carol Martin

2019 Graduates

M. Dalal Safa, Advisor: Rebecca M.B. White

Lauren van Huisstede, Advisor: Keith Crnic

Danielle Seay, Advisor: Adriana Umaña-Taylor

Danming An, Advisor: Natalie Wilkens

2018 Graduates

Rebecca Berger, Advisor: Carlos Valiente

Larissa Gaias, Advisor: Sarah Lindstrom Johnson

Ray Reichenberg, Advisor: Roy Levy

2017 Graduates

Casey Sechler, Advisor: Gary Ladd

2016 Graduates

Naomi Andrews, Advisor: Laura Hanish

Diamond Bravo, Advisor: Adriana Umaña-Taylor

Katherine (Kat) Cheng, Advisor: Jenefer Husman

Dawn England, Advisor: Carol Martin

Idean Ettekal, Advisor: Gary Ladd

Flora Farago, Advisor: Beth Swadener

Ryan Field, Advisor:Carol Martin

Kristen Granger, Advisor: Laura Hanish

Amy Pennar, Advisor: Bob Bradley

Franklin Poulsen, Advisor: F. Scott Christopher

Krista Puruhito, Advisor: Jenefer Husman

Adam Rogers, Advisor: Kimberly Updegraff

Samantha Sang, Advisor: Kimberly Updegraff

Linlin Zhang, Advisor: Natalie Wilkens

2015 Graduates

Crystal Bryce, Advisor: Robert Bradley

Laura Clary, Advisor: Becky Ladd

Erin Gaskin, Advisor: Sandra Simpkins

Shawna Petersen, Advisor: Richard Fabes

Chara Price, Advisor: Sandra Simpkins

2014 Graduates

Priscilla M. Goble, Advisors: Laura Hanish and Carol Martin

Elizabeth Harvey-Mendoza, Advisor: Adriana Umaña-Taylor

Danyel Vargas Moosmann, Advisor: Mark Roosa