Alumni Profiles

Sara Bayless, Ph.D.

Senior Researcher, OMNI Institute
Dissertation: Capacity and Perspective in Racial/Ethnic Teasing: A Daily Diary Study Examining Personal and Interpersonal Experiences Among Adolescents, and Emerging Adults
Advisor: Dr. Tiffany Yip

Richmond Carlton, Ph.D.

Instructor of Psychology, Rowan University
Dissertation: Evaluation of the Jumpstart Preschool Program Curriculum Revision Pilot
Advisor: Dr. Joshua Brown

Andrew Cavanagh, Ph.D.

Director of Research and Evaluation, Educational Alliance
Dissertation: Teacher Networks in the Climate of Comprehensive Education Reform: A Network Analysis of District Wide Social Capital Flow
Advisor: Dr. Joshua Brown

Natasha Chaku, Ph.D.

Research Fellow, University of Michigan
Dissertation: Continuity and Change in Executive Functioning Across the Pubertal Transition to Adolescence
Advisor: Dr. Lindsay Till Hoyt

Brandon Dull, M.A.

Research Associate, Numerator
M.A. Thesis: Critical Consciousness Development in White Youth: The Role of the Perceived Racial Context
Advisor: Dr. Lindsay Till Hoyt

Francesca Falzarano, Ph.D.

Post Doctoral Associate in Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine
Dissertation: The Cognitive Effects of Caregiving for Patients with Alzheimer's Disease
Advisor: Dr. Karen Siedlecki

Stephanie Hicks, Ph.D.

Research Project Manager, Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service
Dissertation: Examining the Impact of Perceptions of Aging and Objective Physical Functioning and Self-Rated Health
Advisor: Dr. Karen Siedlecki

Pak See Ip, M.A.

M.A. Thesis: An Examination of Family and Individual Factors on Ethnic/Racial Identity Exploration and Ethnic/Racial Self-Labeling among Asian Adolescents
Advisor: Dr. Tiffany Yip

John Varon Gomez, Ph.D.

Research Associate, TQ Confiable
Dissertation: Effects of a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Program on Quality of Classroom Interactions and Children’s Academic and SEL Outcomes: the Significance of High Quality of Implementation
Advisor: Dr. Joshua Brown

Sheena Jeswani Mirpuri, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Hong Kong
Dissertation: Considering Diverse School Contexts: Ethnic/Racial Identity, Academic Achievement, and Aggressive Behavior during the Transition from Middle to High School
Advisor: Dr. Tiffany Yip

Seojung Jung, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychology, SUNY College at Old Westbury
Dissertation: Self-Perceptions of Aging in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Longitudinal Study
Advisor: Dr. Karen Siedlecki

Amanda Leeder, Ph.D.

Director, Research at Atlas Foundation For Autism
Dissertation: A Study of Emotional Vocal Exploration Therapy (EVEnt) among minimally verbal adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Advisor: Dr. Karen Siedlecki

Jillian Minahan Zucchetto, Ph.D.

Interim Assistant Dean, Fordham College at Rose Hill
Dissertation: Social Isolation and Loneliness among Adults Aged 50 Years and Older in the United States: An Analysis of the Cognitive Discrepancy Theory
Advisor: Dr. Karen Siedlecki

Ciara Nestor, Ph.D.

Evaluation Fellow at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Dissertation: The Influence of Parents' Expectations on the Educational Abilities of Elementary School Students with Disabilities
Advisors: Dr. Nancy Busch-Rossnagel and Dr. Andrew Rasmussen

Li Niu, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Dissertation: Neighborhood Influences on Cardiometabolic and Sexual Health Among Hispanic and Black Adolescent Girls
Advisor: Dr. Lindsay Till Hoyt

Audra Olazabal, Ph.D.

Founding Executive Director, Development Through Play
Dissertation: Comparing Perspectives on Civic Engagement: An Expanded Validation Study of the Active and Engaged Citizenship (AEC) Scale
Advisor: Dr. Ann Higgins-D'Alessandro

Sonia Roubeni, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator, Fordham University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Dissertation: School Readiness of Head Start Children from Immigrant Families: Contributions of the Home Environment and Parental Preacademic Stimulation from Preschool through Kindergarten
Advisor: Dr. Andrew Rasmussen

Christina Rucinski, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Massachusetts
Dissertation: Variation in Exposure to Racial/Ethnic Diversity and Child Development in Early Elementary School Classrooms
Advisor: Dr. Joshua Brown

Naila Smith, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychology, Dickinson College
Dissertation: Group-Based Parent Involvement Trajectories and Change in Student Engagement Across Two School Transitions among Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Youth
Advisor: Dr. Joshua Brown

Essie Sutton, Ph.D.

Director of Learning Science, Branching Minds
Dissertation: Academic and Social-Emotional Classroom Composition And The Quality Of Classroom Interactions In New York City Public Elementary Schools
Advisor: Dr. Joshua Brown

Sara Vecchiotti, Ph.D.

Chief Program Officer, Foundation for Child Development
Dissertation: Two-Year Program Evaluation of the Jumpstart Program in New York City
Advisor: Dr. Ann Higgins-D'Alessandro

Scyatta A. Wallace, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Psychology, St. John's University
Dissertation: Cultural Resilience: An Examination of Parent, Peer, and Cultural Factors Associated with Black Teenage Attitudes Towards Delinquency and Substance Use
Advisor: Dr. Celia Fisher

Norissa Williams, Ph.D.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Applied Psychology, NYU Steinhardt
Dissertation: Does Cultural Competence Moderate Treatment Outcomes for Depressed Youth of Color?
Advisor: Dr. Ann Higgins-D'Alessandro