Lab Alumni
Rachel Westerfield-Adkins, Ph.D.
Dr. Rachel Westerfield-Adkins leads a rapidly growing global Professional Services delivery team within Slack's Customer Success organization. Her consultants focus on change management, business process transformation, and strategy, ensuring Slack’s enterprise customers get the most value possible from the platform from launch into maturity. Prior to joining Slack she was a leader aligned to Accenture's Health and Public Service business for 10 years. During her career at Accenture, Rachel successfully led efforts for multiple, complex statewide software implementations on a large scale. Rachel graduated from Saint Louis University with a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology.
Amy Garczynski, Ph.D.
Dr. Amy Garczynski is a senior UXR working at Instagram, where she uses survey and interview research to shape company strategy. Previously, she worked for an online university where she built early warning systems to identify and support struggling students. Amy earned her PhD in Social Psychology at SLU, where she was a member of Richard’s Collective Identity Lab. During her time in the Collective Identity Lab, Amy gained unique, hard-to-find applied research experiences that gave her professional expertise while still in her graduate program. Amy is a huge bookworm, enjoys traveling, exploring her current town of San Franscisco, and being generally terrible at yoga.
Marcus Bolton, Ph.D.
Dr. Marcus Bolton has nearly two decades of success designing, deploying and supporting employee-research initiatives for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as Fortune 500 companies locally and abroad. His background includes a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and a Master of Science in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (Minor: Research Methodology and Statistics) complemented with proven success in consulting, optimizing organizational effectiveness and organizational design. He is particularly strong in research (Voice of Employee and Employee Development), analysis, and leveraging insights to inform organizational strategy.
Jennifer Nguyen, Ph.D.
Dr. Jennifer Nguyen completed a Bachelor of Arts, with honors, in Psychology from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, followed by a Master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Colorado. Her roots are in Southern Illinois, though she grew to love St. Louis during her time at St. Louis University, where she earned a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology. Blending her down-to-earth style and candor with genuine concern for others’ wellbeing, Jennifer Nguyen has been helping CMA clients with executive coaching, assessment, talent management and strategic planning needs for over 20 years. Whether her clients are small or large, family-owned or entrepreneurial, she leverages her knowledge and experience to supplement and support internal talent management resources. Soon after stepping into her Partnership role in January 2020, Jen expanded her focus from client needs to business needs as she manages everything from team engagement to finances for CMA. Jen has a particular interest in the ongoing journey to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion for clients as well as within CMA. Jen passion for DE&I started in graduate school with her dissertation and has carried on throughout her career. Jen has been able to feed her love for the mountains by co-founding the CMA Denver office in 2015. She continues to commute to Colorado as she helps lead and expand CMA’s Denver team. Outside of CMA, Jen loves to be active doing any and all kinds of exercise, particularly hiking, trail running, dancing, or yoga. She maintains her own balance by traveling, taking a girl’s day out with her two daughters, or eating one of her husband, Thai’s, amazing home-cooked gourmet meals.
Stephanie Afful, Ph.D.
Dr. Stephanie Afful received her PhD in Social Psychology from Saint Louis University and her BA in Psychology and Sociology from Drury University. Her research interests include racial identity, interracial relationships, and scholarship of teaching and learning. She is currently a Professor of Psychology at Lindenwood University where she teaches classes on Social Psychology, Human Sexuality, and Psychology of Prejudice. Dr. Afful also serves on the executive committee of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP) and is the president-elect (2025) of STP. She is an award-winning teacher, receiving several teaching awards including APA Division 2 Early Career Jane Halonen Award (2013), Emerson Excellence in Teaching (2011, 2017) and MLK Jr Leadership Award (2019). Dr. Afful also gave a TEDx talk titled “I spy something white.” When not teaching or traveling, Dr. Afful can be found on the soccer fields enjoying her kids!
Heather Walker, Ph.D.
Dr. Heather Walker earned her doctorate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Saint Louis University. Dr. Walker is an Industrial / Organizational Psychologist who wants to change how people experience work. With experience in management, training, and organizational development, Dr. Walker understands that we all need help sometimes to find balance and perspective. This is especially true in the face of constant change and rising performance pressures. Dr. Walker founded Lead with Levity to promote healthy workplaces through survey insights, workshops, and a healthy dose of wisdom from guests on the Lead with Levity Podcast. Her goal is to help people have fun and get more done. Dr. Walker has a successful record of advising and consulting executives on organizational development, talent management, training, competency modeling, and change management initiatives that drive performance improvement and enhance the workplace. She employs an innovative approach, balancing people, planning, and productivity to support departmental and organizational goals. She also leverages her management experience to develop transformative programs designed to improve workplace dynamics, lower turnover, and increase profitability.
Jami Wolfe, Ph.D., S.P.H.R.
Dr. Jami Wolfe received her Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from St. Louis University, and her dissertation addressed transformational leadership and positive organizational outcomes. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in business and psychology from William Woods University and a Master of Science in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Purdue University. Jami’s 25 years of extensive experience across many areas of talent management and development (e.g., organization and leadership assessment, executive coaching, leadership development, succession planning, change management, performance management, organization structure, and culture change) along with her strategic planning experience help her quickly identify when an individual or organization is not well skilled and/or aligned to achieve the individual’s leadership goals or organization’s strategic plan. Her education in psychology and business knowledge uniquely positions her to work with families that own businesses to help them develop their family relationships and knowledge as business owners. She believes in connecting closely with clients to “meet them where they are” and engages her years of project management experience to create customized and specific action plans to help them achieve their goals. Her varied experience from working internally at a large financial firm and external consulting with Accenture and CMA gives her a unique blend of perspectives that helps her provide insights and action plans from her broad experiences across industries, organization size, and organization levels.
Debra Oswald, Ph.D.
Dr. Debra Oswald completed her doctoral work in Social Psychology at Saint Louis University and a postdoctoral fellowship in Quantitative Psychology at the University of Illinois. Dr. Oswald teaches Psychology of Gender, Psychology of Prejudice, and Social Psychology. Her research applies social psychological theories to a wide variety of topics. Dr. Oswald applies social psychology theories to understand a number of social issues ranging from stereotyping, prejudice, and relationships. Currently, her primary research interest focuses on gender issues and how women’s’ experience with sexism is related to their well-being and life choices.
Damion Jones, Ph.D.
Dr. Damion Jones earned his doctorates in both Social Psychology and Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Saint Louis University. He has spent over 17 years in corporate America working on both national and global culture and process transformations, where he specializes in the institutionalization of global diversity and equity inclusion strategies and execution. Damion has worked directly with HR leadership teams and the C-suite to manage their executive talent review and succession planning process. At an institutional level, Damion’s focus has been on the refinement of corporate leadership competencies and leadership curriculums focused on inclusive leadership, vulnerability, and creating psychological safety. As a global DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) leader for two Fortune 500 companies, Damion has led the charge on conversations around both conscious and unconscious bias with over 6,000 employees around the world via train the trainer and direct facilitation. He’s also given global chat responses to articles on various inclusion topics with global audiences and been featured in two videos by DiversityInc focused on “How to Find Common Ground” and a video series submission titled How to Respond: “I Don’t See Color in the Workplace” which went viral in 2018 with over 100K views. He’s been a panelist in numerous community and corporate conversations around police shootings, and designed and facilitated a corporate workshop on how to Engage across Differences-specifically following a police shooting verdict in St. Louis, MO.
Spondita Goswami, Ph.D.
Dr. Spondita Goswami earned her doctorate in the Experimental Psychology Program with a concentration in Social Psychology and a master’s in Clinical Psychology from Saint Louis University. She graduated from Lady’s Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi, with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Currently, Dr. Goswami works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Collaborative Haptics, Robotics, and Mechatronics (CHROM) Lab in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the SLU. Her research interest lies in increasing access to resources to augment inclusion and equity. More specifically, her current projects revolve around developing touch-based technology to increase access to STEM education for individuals with Blindness and Visual Impairment (BVI) and improving conflict resolution among groups where differential power dynamics exist.
Jessica Aikens, Ph.D.
Dr. Jessica Aikens (Jess) is an Organizational Psychologist with expertise in DEI, creating engaging organization cultures, employee listening, and research. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Saint Louis University where her research focused on Colourism in workplace evaluations. Currently, she works as a DEI Manager supporting the international markets. In this role, her focus is on accelerating inclusive cultures throughout the enterprise and opening doors for talents with diverse backgrounds. Outside of work, Jess enjoys connecting with family and friends, mentoring current and aspiring Industrial-Organizational Psychologists through content creation, and playing competitive basketball.
Maya Gann-Bociek, Ph.D.
Dr. Maya Gann-Bociek earned her doctorate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Saint Louis University (SLU). While at SLU, Maya engaged in research using the Theory of Planned Behavior to predict DEI compliance behaviors in employees across industries, as well as examining the model's ability to inform and create effective DEI trainings. Through research and practice, Maya has honed an expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), organizational development, organizational assessment, training and development, advanced statistical analyses, and research methodology. Currently, Maya works with various local, national, and international organizations as an organizational development and training consultant to help organizations meet their goals and needs. Maya's consulting experience includes working with corporate, non-profit, academic, and governmental/quasi-governmental organizations. Outside of work, Maya is a car enthusiast who enjoys modifying, driving, and showing imported Japanese cars, an artist who creates using the mediums of ceramics, metalsmithing, and digital art, and enjoys spending time with their friends, family, partner, and dogs.
Andrew Bleckman, Ph.D.
Dr. Andrew Bleckman earned his doctorate in the Industrial/Organizational Psychology Program. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and received his Master's degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Saint Louis University. Andrew's research interests include social capital, social network analysis, identification, group differences, organizational culture, workplace motivation, and team dynamics. Andrew's hobbies include traveling, live music, video games, and spending time with his three dogs.
Tommy DeRossett, Ph.D.
Dr. Tommy DeRossett earned his doctorate in the Experimental Psychology Program with a concentration in Social Psychology. He graduated from Murray State University (Murray, KY) in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a minor in Biology. Tommy received his Master of Science in experimental psychology from Saint Louis University in the spring of 2020. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the Queens University of Charlotte. His primary research interests include religious identity, well-being, fandom, and behavior. Tommy's hobbies include playing sports, reading novels, collecting records, and attending concerts.
Eyad Naseralla, Ph.D.
Dr. Eyad Naseralla earned his doctorate in the Experimental Psychology Program with a concentration in Social Psychology. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and earned his Master of Science degree in Experimental Psychology from Saint Louis University. He is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. His primary research interests include factors that influence perceptions of victims, justice, consequences of intergroup threat, and stereotypes and prejudice. In his free time, Eyad enjoys watching professional wrestling and horror films, cooking, lifting weights, and spending time with his loved ones and cat.
Falak Saffaf, Ph.D.
Dr. Falak Saffaf received her doctorate degree in the Experimental Psychology Program at Saint Louis University. Her area of concentration is Social Psychology. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Anthropology at Saint Louis University. She also earned her Master of Science degree in Experimental Social Psychology at Saint Louis University. She enjoys cooking, going to events with her friends, and running with her dog. Dr. Saffaf is currently an Assistant Professor at Saint Louis University's School for Professional Studies. She teaches graduate-level statistics, research methods, and ethics courses. She also does DEIB contract work for R&K Harvey Consulting, LLC.
Ana Hernández Kent, Ph.D.
Dr. Ana Hernández Kent received a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology with concentrations in Social Psychology and quantitative methods in behavioral sciences from Saint Louis University, where she also earned a master’s degree in Experimental Psychology. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Kent is a senior researcher for the Institute for Economic Equity at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. She conducts research, performs data analysis, and advises on issues of economic equity. Her primary research interests include: examining economic disparities and opportunities through a demographic lens, exploring wealth inequality and the role of systemic biases and historical factors in facilitating or blocking wealth accumulation, highlighting the essential role that women play in the economy and child care’s economic importance for women, families and businesses. She is a nationally renowned expert, and her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, The Financial Times, Daily Mail, The New Yorker and CNN, among other outlets.
Rachel Doveikis, Ph.D.
Dr. Rachel Doveikis received her doctorate degree in Experimental Psychology with a concentration in Social Psychology from Saint Louis University in 2015. She graduated from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology. Her research interests mainly focus on prejudice, oppositional identity, and oppositional identification. Rachel loves to go for a run or enjoy a nice session of boxing. Most importantly though, she likes to spend time with and spoil her dog, Millie.
Natasha Scott, Ph.D.
Dr. Natasha Scott graduated with a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Saint Louis University (2018). She graduated from Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD with a Bachelors degree in Psychology, and received her Master’s degree in I-O Psychology from SLU. Natasha is currently working as an Organization and Management Development intern with the Assessment and Development Center of Excellence at PepsiCo’s corporate headquarters in Purchase, NY. Her research interests include organizational change, development, and culture, as well as team identification, employee health/safety, and training. Natasha enjoys cooking, travelling to different countries, and spending time with loved ones.
Rachel Bradley, Ph.D.
Dr. Rachel Bradley is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. After completing her Ph.D. in Social Psychology at Saint Louis University in 2014, Dr. Bradley taught psychology for six years at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Rachel’s research interests include exploring racial/ethnic and sexual identity and identification and examining stereotyping, stigma, and prejudice. In addition to these interests, Rachel also studies topics related to the scholarship of teaching and learning. Rachel’s teaching interests include research methods, social psychology, psychology of gender, multicultural psychology, and group dynamics. Rachel enjoys spending time with her husband, and dogs, Wally and Thudbutt.
Erin Solomon, Ph.D
Dr. Erin Solomon completed her Ph.D. in Social Psychology, with research interests in political ideology, stigma and prejudice, and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). After earning her Ph.D. she was a Research Scientist and Project Manager in the Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education at Washington University in St. Louis, and collaborated with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) faculty to evaluate the effectiveness of active and evidence-based teaching strategies implemented in their undergraduate courses. Currently, Erin is a Staff Scientist in the Bioethics Research Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, conducting research on healthcare and research ethics.
Jeff Heitman, Ph.D.
Dr. Jeff Heitman practices organization development (OD) consulting, currently providing Organizational Diagnostics, Leadership Team Coaching, Strategy Facilitation, Organizational Design, Change Management, and Culture Shaping services at PAREXEL International, a leading global Clinical Research Organization in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Jeff has international facilitation experience in India, Japan, China, Korea, and Germany. He is also a Visiting Assistant Professor at Salem State University, teaching OD in the I/O Psychology masters program. Prior to PAREXEL, Jeff held roles in both internal and external OD and talent management consulting with Mercury Systems, Colarelli, Meyer, and Associates, and Ameren. Jeff completed his Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from St. Louis University in 2014 with a research focus on the effect of physiological and cognitive systems on performance, judgment and decision-making. His dissertation explored the viability of an individual differences assessment of likelihood to exhibit the confirmation bias in decision-making. Jeff currently lives in the greater Boston area and enjoys playing ice hockey, hiking, aviation, and home brewing.