Dr. Ji Hong is a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Arizona. She received her B.A. from Seoul National University, M.A. from Arizona State University, and Ph.D. from University of Georgia. As a qualitative and mixed methods methodologist, her research mainly addresses training and development of pre-service and in-service teachers, through the lens of teacher identity. Within this broad goal, she specifically investigates teachers’ cognitive, emotional, and motivational competencies embedded in various classroom, school, community, social and historical contexts. On many projects, she collaborates with teachers to build and sustain professional capacities across their career trajectories. She is currently serving as an editorial board member for the journals Journal of Experimental Education and Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice. 

Taylor A. Roloff is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology at the University of Arizona. Taylor’s academic interests focus on teacher identity development and investigating how emotions, goals, power dynamics, and ways of knowing facilitate teacher "Critical Consciousness" and professional identities. Her commitment as an emerging scholar is the inclusion of multiple perspectives, bodies of knowledge, and ways of knowing. She has served on many boards and committees throughout the college and currently works with two local community organizations, Tucson Values Teachers (TVT) and Tucson Regional Educator Collaborative (TREC), which bring together the region’s educators, resources, and partners to advocate for educator needs and support their evolving professional growth.

Jing Zhao is currently a PhD student in Educational Psychology at the University of Arizona. She received her B.S. and M.S. in linguistics from Jilin University and previously worked as a college English teacher in China. Her academic interests involve teacher identity development, second language learning and teaching with a particular focus on L2 learners’ learning strategy use and motivation. 

Soojeong Lee is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology at the University of Arizona. Her academic interests focus on minority groups who experience educational inequality stemming from race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and others. She seeks to encompass a broader social context beyond personal factors to study the educational disparities faced by teachers and students from minority backgrounds. This academic pursuit is in line with her master's research, which examined how both individual factors and classroom environments impact students' motivation.

I am Travis Dean, a Ph.D. student in the Educational Psychology department at the University of Arizona. I teach undergraduate courses and do research focused on informal learning environments such as museums, summer camps, after-school programs, sports, etc. Additional research interest includes Queer Joy, Critical Realism, experiences of queer minorities in informal learning spaces, motivation, and Self-Determination Theory. Throughout my career, I have led and worked with a variety of formal and informal youth programs around the west coast. My work has allowed me to collaborate with both youth and adults across nonprofit and private organizations, where I’ve had the privilege of learning from and growing alongside a diverse array of amazing individuals. My passion lies in blending education and enjoyment, ensuring that learning is both equitable, accessible, meaningful and fun.

Nitika Mehta is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology at the University of Arizona. Her academic interests center on advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion (DEI) in educational spaces, with a particular focus on the intersection of sociocultural adaptation and empowering marginalized communities. Nitika’s professional journey includes diverse roles as a Research and Teaching Assistants, where she has designed and taught undergraduate courses, developed resources for community engagement, and supported initiatives aimed at amplifying marginalized voices. Nitika has worked on global projects, including collaborations with the World Pulse network, and has significant experience in inclusive education, youth programs, and community-focused interventions. Through her work, she strives to create spaces where education is equitable, meaningful, and transformative.

Yijia Chen is a master’s student in the College of Educational Psychology at the University of Arizona. She is preparing to pursue a Ph.D. at the same institution. Her research interests focus on marginalized groups, especially those with concealable stigmatized identities (CSI), such as first-generation college students, students from low-income backgrounds, and the LGBTQ+ community etc.. She is passionate about exploring teacher identity and its relationship with students. Additionally, she is researching how school counselors can help K-12 students, particularly underrepresented minorities (UMs), develop an engineer identity.

Lijie Liu is a currently master’s student in Educational Psychology at the University of Arizona. She received her B.S. in physics from Beijing Normal University. Her research interests focus on the emotional labor of marginalized teachers, especially teachers of color, investigating how cultural taxation, identity negotiation, and systematic stressors and oppressions shape their professional development and wellbeing.

My research lies at the intersection of mathematics education, educational psychology and teacher education. I focus on understanding both the contextual and teacher-specific factors that motivate teacher actions as they plan and instruct with the goal of determining the optimal design features of professional development that allow teachers to thrive.

Paul's research interests include emotions in education, teacher identity development, race and ethnicity in educational contexts, and research methods and methodologies. He is a past president of the American Psychological Associations Division 15: Educational Psychology, a former co-editor of the Educational Researcher: Research News and Comments, and a co-editor of the upcoming Handbook of Educational Psychology, Volume 4. Recent publications include Teachers’ goals, beliefs, emotions, and identity development (Schutz, Hong, & Cross Francis, 2020); Why Talk About Qualitative and Mixed Methods in Educational Psychology? Introduction to Special Issue (Meyer, & Schutz) (2020); and Joint displays for mixed methods research in psychology (McCrudden, Marchand, & Schutz, 2021).

Dr. Faqryza Ab Latif is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Business and Communications at INTI International University. She received a BSc in Psychology, an MA in Educational Psychology, and a PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Arizona. Her research interests focus on the experiences of international students, including the sociocultural barriers they face, and the ways that frameworks of inclusive pedagogy can support students’ performance in higher education. In addition to teaching courses on different areas in psychology, she also examines how remote research opportunities for underserved students in STEM fields can impact their sense of belonging.

Crystal Recknagel is an instructional Coach at Mustang High School in Mustang, OK. Her research interests include mathematical literacy, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and bilingual education. She completed her Master's degree in Education at the University of Oklahoma with a focus on mathematics education for emergent bilinguals. 

Kelly graduated from the University of Oklahoma in May 2022 with dual degrees in Psychology and Letters. She has been working with QTEACH since 2020 with research including teacher identity, intersectionality, resilience, and agency. Following graduation, she worked as a Registered Behavior Technician for kids with autism at Round Rock Children’s Therapy Center. Kelly matriculated to the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in July 2025 where she hopes to bring her experiences with education, research, and social inequity into her practice as a physician. In her free time, she is buying more cat toys or reading.

Dr. Laura Lewis successfully defended her dissertation entitled, "Understanding veteran teachers' basic psychological needs in relation to their self-determined motivation: An exploratory qualitative study." She currently teaches at Shawnee high school.  

Dr. Qian Wang holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Oklahoma. Her research focused on motivation, teacher beliefs, and designing effective learning environments. As an experienced Instructional Designer, she skillfully combines her expertise in motivation and learning environment design to craft impactful learning programs for state employees that promote knowledge retention and practical application. 

Dr. Alex Parsons obtained her Ph. D. degree in Educational Psychology from University of Oklahoma. Currently, she works as an Extended Learning Programs (ELP) supervisor in Salt Lake City School District in Utah.