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Ph.D.
Graduate Students (To see M.A. profiles, click here.) (To see Ph.D. and M.A. students who have recently graduated, click here.) (To see graduate student recruiment video, click here.) Ph.D.
profiles  Claudia AnguianoPh.D. Student  Claudia obtained her B.A in communication studies with a minor in political science from California State University of Los Angeles in 2004. She continued to pursue rhetorical studies while working toward her M.A. at CSULA. As a graduate T.A., she taught public speaking and oral interpretation courses. Claudia graduated in 2006, having received the Special Recognition in Graduate Studies Award. Before beginning her doctoral studies at UNM, Claudia taught multiple communication classes as adjunct instructor at Pasadena City College and Glendale Community College. She was also an instructor for a nonprofit organization committed to helping underprivileged students attend higher education. Claudia's research interests are in law and political communication. She hopes to continue to use a rhetorical/critical lens to look at issues revolving race, gender and border identities. Building on her personal experience as a Mexican female, she hopes to utilize her research interests in a way that will bring about positive social change.
Christopher Brown is pursuing research interests in rhetorical theory and intercultural communication. Christopher's research interests include critical race theory and whiteness studies. His favorite books are Curious George and anything written by Michel Foucault. Christopher received four outstanding teaching awards in May 2007 from the C&J Department, Rocky Mountain Communication Association, University of New Mexico, and the College of Arts and Science. Jo has earned an M.S. in integrated marketing communications from University of Denver, an M.B.A. from UNM, and an M.A. in English from Texas Tech. This background in business communication drives her interest in real-world uses of persuasive power and how that power can be used ethically and responsibly. Her current research centers on how leadership and personal influence are communicated online, as exemplified in the MMO World of Warcraft computer game. See Jo's curriculum vitae.Born in Taiwan, Yea-Wen holds a B.A. in English from National Taiwan Normal University and an M.A. in communication from the University of North Texas. In May 2006, she received the Outstanding Graduate Scholar Award from the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Texas. At the annual International Communication Association Conference in May 2007, her paper titled "Fantasy Theme Analysis of the Rhetorical Visions Embedded in the Blogs of Expatriates in Taiwan" was placed on the top-four student paper panel sponsored by the Mass Communication Division. At the annual National Communication Association conference in November 2007, one of her four paper presentations co-authored with Chie Torigoe was placed on the top student papers in the intercultural communication panel sponsored by the International and Intercultural Communication Division. Yea-Wen's primary research interests center on issues of cultural identities, identity negotiation, and self-disclosure in intercultural friendships. She is also interested in the issues of identity negotiation situated in Taiwan's political transformation toward democracy as well as in Chinese mother-daughter relationships. Yea-Wen has taught courses in introduction to communication, public speaking/Research Service Learning Program, and interpersonal communication. She is teaching public speaking/Freshmen Learning Community and ITRAC. See Yea-Wen's curriculum vitae.
Maria is from Koronadal City, in South Cotabato, Philippines. She holds a B.A. in mass communication and journalism and an M.A. in speech communication from Wichita State University. Her master's thesis was titled: "The Perfect Wife and Companion: A Study of Mail-Order Bride Web Sites and the Marketing of Filipino Women." She transferred from the University of Kansas in 2005. Her primary research interests are intercultural communication, feminism, and cultural nuances. She has great interest and passion for issues that affect women —— especially women of the Third World. Maria is currently working on a research project that entails the analysis of mail-order-bride web sites. Soumia is from Calcutta, India. She earned her M.A. in communication from the University of Madras (2003) and was recognized as the top student in her graduating class. Soumia worked thereafter as a lecturer at the University of Madras until 2005 teaching courses in writing for electronic media, communication and media theory, and information and communication technologies. At the University of New Mexico, Soumia's area of emphasis is intercultural communication. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, Soumia studies conflict in developing countries, specifically the role of media and communication in international relations and international conflict. At UNM she teaches courses in public speaking and media theory and is research assistant for the Southwest Institute for Religion and Civil Society, working on a project aligned with the promotion of civil society in the Middle East. Fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali and French, Soumia is learning Arabic, loves traveling and feels her life is incomplete without music.
Originally from southern California, Elizabeth earned her B.A. in 1996 from CSUSB in communication and her M.A. in 1998 from NMSU in intercultural communication and social change. Her primary research interests center on the intersections of discourse, cultures, nature, power, and social change. She is specifically interested in human conceptualizations, perceptions, and discourses about nature and the environment. This includes research on problematic discourse and conflict as it relates to communicating about the environment and the ways in which cultural positionalities and identities influence this process. Other research interests include gender and popular culture. She has presented 15 national and regional conference papers (including at NCA, WSCA, and ECA). In addition to teaching in numerous university communication departments (New Mexico, Florida, and online), Elizabeth worked as a teacher in Japan for two years, as a university instructor in Beijing, China for nine months, and in private and nonprofit sectors. She has taught classes in fundamentals, public speaking, nonverbal, business and professional, conflict, persuasion, intercultural, and interpersonal communication. Elizabeth's professional and teaching UNM home page is www.unm.edu/~edickins . See Elizabeth's curriculum vitae. Haibin graduated with a B.A.in English literature from Northwest University located in Xi'an Shaanxi, China, which is also his hometown and birthplace. Haibin received his M.A. in international management from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. Currently, he is working on a project visualizing the complexity of cultural identity and identification process by a metaphorical model. Haibin believes in common sense, which constitute culture, reinforce ideology, inform sciences, and vary in directions, styles, forms, and appearances. Haibin hopes that his study of visual phenomenon in culture and communication will provide a path toward the revelation of the connection between common sense and scientific knowledge.
Courtney graduated in August 2005 with an M.A. in communication theory and research from West Virginia University, where she worked closely with Melanie Booth-Butterfield. Before beginning her doctoral program at UNM, Courtney taught public speaking, advanced public speaking, and interpersonal communication at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and she currently teaches small group communication and persuasion at UNM. Courtney's research interests include health communication, intercultural communication, international affairs, and political communication. Her thesis, titled "Communication Patterns Following the Acquisition of a Sexually Transmitted Infection," was based on data collected from 78 students who reported having had an STI. She has presented her research at various National Communication Association and Eastern Communication Association conventions. Courtney was selected by Harvard University's international development program to spend two months during summer 2006 in South Africa. While there, she lived with a Cape Town family and taught English to disadvantaged students. Courtney hopes to one day work for the United States government in foreign affairs.
Eudaline is originally from Yaounde, Cameroon. Prior to her studies in the doctoral program at UNM, she received her B.A. from Henderson State University and her M.S. in communication from Illinois State University. Patricia's current research interests are in intercultural and health communication. She is particularly interested in patient and health care provider communication and the influence of culture during the communication process. Besides her research interest, Patricia has worked as a public speaking instructor at Illinois State University, and she is now teaching small group communication at UNM. During her free time, Patricia likes to research the use of faith and the patients' physical, emotional and spiritual outcomes. Sara comes to UNM from Dallas, Texas. She earned her B.A. in 2002 at the University of North Texas, with a double major in French and communication studies. She completed an M.A. in communication studies in August 2007. Sara's research interests focus on media, gender, and culture, particularly the influence of gendered values represented in television programs broadcast to international audiences. Sara has presented papers at student and national conferences on gendered stereotypes in the media and will be presenting conference papers at NCA this year in gendered stereotypes in reality television, online courses, and social change programs within the theatre. She teaches media theory and influence. See Sara's curriculum vitae.
Kris is originally from Albuquerque and received her M.A. from University of New Mexico and her B.A. in English from the University of California at Los Angeles. Health communication is Kris's primary area of study. Prior to coming to UNM, Kris was working at the medical school at UNM in a position where she was creating exams to assess medical student's clinical and communication skill. Kris currently examines how to promote communication among health providers using a combination of rhetorical alternatives, interpersonal communication theory, and social construction frameworks. Kris feels fortunate to have opportunities to continue to fine-tune this research through working with undergraduate students enrolled in a combined B.A./M.D. program, medical students, and medical interns and residents. She hopes to continue the work she is conducting now, and potentially expand her opportunities to work with other universities that have medical school and teaching hospital affiliations. Kris loves Albuquerque, and does not want to live anywhere else. See Kris's curriculum vitae.
Lissa received her M.P.H. from CSU-Northridge with an emphasis in health education. She focuses on health communication and her policy areas of interest include decreasing health disparities, specifically for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds and who have been diagnosed with severe mental illness. Lissa has more than 10 years of community health instruction experience and has been involved in public health advocacy for the last four years. In 2007 Lissa drafted and successfully lobbied for legislation, mandating that employers provide a private clean space and flexible break times for their employee-mothers to use a breast pump. This legislation is expected to improve breastfeeding rates across the state and have tremendous impact on the health of New Mexico's children. In the area of mental illness stigma reduction, Lissa examines how mental illness stigma is enacted in discourse and how disclosure of treatment history can act as a stigma reduction strategy. She is working on projects that examine how police officers construct severe mental illness, applying agenda-setting theory to newspaper representations of mental illness, conducting rhetorical analyses of arguments against lactation spaces in academic settings, and assessing relationships between infant nutrition choices and women's voices. In 2007 Lissa received the University of New Mexico Volunteer Service Award and the American Public Health Association's inaugural Trong Ngyuen Health Policy Scholarship. She is also a recipient of the California State University Chancellor's Doctoral Incentive Program. Lissa is an instructor for the combined UNM BA/MD Program and the UNM Research Service Learning Program . She has experience teaching intercultural communication, small group communication, public speaking, business and professional speaking, and public health program planning. She also enjoys watching independent movies, participating in community service projects, going to local farmers markets and co-parenting her nearly 3-year-old daughter. See Lissa's curriculum vitae.
Holly holds an MBA-International with emphasis on intercultural management from Thunderbird-The Garvin School of International Management in Arizona. Holly's career of more than 20 years in intercultural communication in Japan has been in the three areas of university teaching, corporate training, and consulting for both the private and public sectors. Her research interests include Japan-U.S. communication, bridging high and low context communication styles through kinetic communication, cultural exchange and fusion, diffusion of innovations, communication and team cohesion, identity of the stranger, cultural appropriation. Examples of numerous conference papers and workshops include Explication of the Zia Sun Symbol, Diffusion of Xeriscaping in Albuquerque, and Criteria of Highly Performing Teams. She also has a list of publications with the most recent, "Kinetic Facilitation Techniques for Promoting Relationships Among Members of Diverse Groups" as a chapter in Innovative Facilitation with Natural Groups (2006). Holly's dissertation topic is about the history and development of the intercultural communication discipline in Japan (1955 to present), based on both her career spanning major development years in Japan and her access to major scholars. She currently teaches the communication component within the master's program of water resource management. A qualified mediator, Holly has taught mediation in C&J and the first ever 40-hour foundation training for graduate students. Holly also created and taught the first course on communication styles of Native America.
Marianne holds an M.A. in international and intercultural communication from the University of Denver and a B.A. in Spanish and international studies from Santa Clara University. Her research interests include the relationship between culture, identity negotiation, and communication, and the ways in which intercultural interaction, discourse, and power structures work to construct cultural representations, specifically within the context of virtual reality. Her book chapter (with E. Hudson) titled "Culture, Organization, and Contradiction in the Social Construction of Technology: Adoption and Use of the Cell Phone Across Three Cultures" is in publication as part of the edited volume The Cell Phone: History, Technology, Culture. She is working on two pieces for publication: the first related to organizational role identities, the second dealing with talk about identity and representation on the social networking site, MySpace. Additionally, serving as a research assistant, Marianne recently helped to complete a study on the effectiveness of an education program entitled "Journeys in Film." She has presented papers at three national and regional conferences and has taught public speaking, language, thought, and behavior and nonverbal communication. See Marianne's curriculum vitae. Benjamin is a doctoral student in the mass communication and culture concentration. He has a B.S. in film from Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts and an M.A. in communication from the University of New Mexico. His research interests include media culture, identity, and critical theory, and he is a strong proponent of mixed method research. He has presented papers on such diverse topics as CMM, reality TV, and identity theft advertising, and he is currently working on a theory of identity construction in the media. He is also addicted to science fiction film and television and is writing a book on the history and rhetoric of the genre. Benjamin chose UNM for the academic community and the breadth of opportunities for teaching and community service, and his goal is a tenure track position at a research university. See Ben's curriculum vitae. Una descends from the original Taos and Chimayo Medinas. She received her B.A. (summa cum laude) and M.A. in health communication (with distinction) at UNM. She completed coursework in complex systems theory and modeling at New England Complex Systems Institute at MIT, and she earned a graduate certificate in computer modeling at Portland State University Systems Science Department. Una earned top paper awards at NCA and WSCA. Her innovative projects include an analytic equation that predicts small group persuasion, algorithms for an agent-based model of creation, full adoption, and dissolution thresholds for different network topologies (patent pending), Monte Carlo simulation predicting UNM baccalaureate graduates by major until 2054, and a multi-scale model of terrorist cell activities and their support networks. Una's dissertation, " MADD Message Effects: A Ten-Year Randomized Controlled Trial," examines long-term message effects of MADD victim impact panels upon DWI offenders, using content analysis, survival analysis, hierarchical linear modeling, genetic algorithms, and systems dynamics. As a Ronald E. McNair scholar, Una innovated public-private partnerships that have empowered thousands of low-income New Mexicans and Texans. See Una's curriculum vitae.
Hannah graduated with an M.A. in management from Hamline University in 2005. Before beginning her doctoral studies at UNM, Hannah was employed as the director of multicultural affairs at Inver Hills Community College in Minnesota. She has consulted on diversity issues and the recruitment and retention of students of color in higher education. In 2002-2004, Hannah served as a program coordinator for the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, in the Urban Immersion Service Retreats program, producing educational programs on issues of urban poverty, equity, and social justice. Hannah was named an Associated Colleges of the Midwest Scholar in the summer of 2001, and conducted research on West African immigration. Her research interests center on issues of power, diversity and education and post-colonialism. See her curriculum vitae.
Audrey worked for more than a decade in adult literacy and ESL at the local, state and national level before returning to her native New Mexico. She graduated with an M.A. in adult learning/training technologies from UNM in 1995. In 1994, she founded a consulting firu specializing in health literacy and plain language. Her firm received three NIH Plain Language awards in 2005. Audrey is a founding member of the Clear Language Group, a national consortium of health literacy specialists. She has presented at many national conferences, receiving a first place award for a poster presentation at the American Academy of Family Physicians Patient Education Conference (2004). Her goal is to address the mismatch between the health literacy skills of U.S. adults and the health literacy demands of life in our society. Audrey plans to contribute to the field by raising awareness of literacy issues in health communication and researching ways to more effectively reach at-risk populations. See Audrey's curriculum vitae. Iliana is originally from San Diego, Calif. She holds a B.A. in communication studies and African-American studies from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Iliana attended DePaul University in Chicago, where she received an M.A. in multicultural communication. While at DePaul, she taught intercultural communication and worked at the campus office for students with learning disabilities and ADHD. Her research interests include hybridity, mixed-race identity, and multicultural media representations.
Jennifer is a native Californian who most recently lived in Los Angeles after completing a master's in dispute resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law in 2003. She worked for the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution in numerous capacities and was involved in many projects, including the development of the Asian Dispute Resolution Studies program. Prior to beginning her Ph.D. program, Jennifer spent several years as an instructor in the communication division at Pepperdine's Seaver College where she taught courses in intercultural communication, conflict, international negotiation and interpersonal communication. She continues an association with a small communication consulting firm based in the L.A. area and contributes to work in executive coaching and development of new training material and workshops. Jennifer's primary research interests include intercultural conflict as it occurs in the healthcare setting as well as international conflict resolution. Jennifer hopes to continue to create work based in effective interdisciplinary research that can be applied to real-world problems and bring about positive change in a variety of communities. Sachi Sekimoto was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. She joins the C&J doctoral program from California State University, Northridge, where she received her M.A. in communication. While completing the M.A., Sachi worked closely with Kathryn Sorrells in developing a critical, intercultural approach to communication research. Her thesis, titled "Embodying Feminist Critical Pedagogy: An Auto-ethnography of the 'Other'," focuses on cultural transformation in the classroom through various forms of identity negotiation and border-crossing. She is interested in studying raced and gendered construction of Japan as a nation-state within the context of globalization and (self)orientalism, specifically through educational discourse and media representation. Sachi has presented seven conference papers, including "Women, Japanese Orientalism, and Imperial Desire: The Spectacle of a South Korean TV Drama in Japan" and "Negotiating Identities, Building Alliances: Feminist Critical Pedagogy and the Strategic Appropriation of Socially Constructed Boundaries." Sachi received the Dean's Award for Outstanding Graduate Student in 2005 and the Department Scholarship in 2004. She has taught public speaking, introduction to women's studies, as well as elementary Japanese.
Divya graduated with an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri and has a B.A. in English from Madras University, India. Her current research interests are influenced by her professional experience in developing advertising and public relations campaigns in India, and her personal interest in reducing health disparities. Working as a research assistant at The Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions, she is currently examining culture-specific barriers to addictions treatment experienced by select Native Americans. Her dissertation will examine the family-environmental determinants of children's fruit and vegetable consumption in Hispanic family households. She has also conducted focus groups and narrative analysis of entertainment-education (E-E) films to understand the mechanisms by which E-E narratives have their effects. She seeks to further her research goal of identifying causes of health disparities for individuals, families and communities, and to develop and implement health communication interventions to reduce these disparities. She has taught intercultural communication, interpersonal communication, public speaking, and cross-cultural journalism.
Judith Stauber received a B.S. in communication with an emphasis on organization and visual communication from Ithaca College, and an M.A in women's studies with an emphasis on visual communication from Ohio State University. Judith taught a course entitled "Communication in Culturally Diverse Organizations" for three years at Ithaca College. Current doctoral study at UNM is focused on intercultural and visual communication. Her research is in the area of intercultural communication and explores concepts of identity, community, cultural geography, travel, and narrative. Judith has traveled extensively around the world, photographing Jewish communities and facilitating university-based cultural travel programs. Judith developed and led a Jewish social justice service, learning leadership experience in Havana, Cuba, and has led numerous trips to Israel for university students and young professionals through her professional association with Hillel the Foundation or Jewish Campus Life. Over the past decade, Judith has worked in campus life as a Hillel staff professional at Cornell University, Syracuse University, and SUNY Buffalo. Judith is executive director of Hillel at UNM. Chie received her M.A. in communication studies from Seinan Gakuin University in Japan in 2005. While completing her M.A., Chie worked closely with Dr. Tadasu Imahori in areas of intercultural communication and identity management. Her thesis was titled "Rule Convergence Regarding Conflict Resolution in Intracultural and Intercultural Romantic Couples in Japan." Chie's primary research interests include intercultural communication, cultural identities, construction of race-related ideologies in discourses, and interracial/interethnic relationships. She has presented five conference papers, including "Intercultural romantic relationships: Dialectical approach." (WSCA, 2007) and "Negotiating the 'Real' in cyber space: An analysis of the underlying dynamics of Zainichi Korean and Japanese online discourses " (ICA 2007). Chie received a Fulbright Scholarship in 2005.
Bhavana is pursuing interdisciplinary research in intercultural communication, gender studies, and religious studies. Her focus is on women followers in spiritual groups and the ways by which spirituality may facilitate gender communication across cultural lines. Her approach to feminism can be best described as Gandhian feminism, which borrows heavily from spiritual traditions; Gandhian philosophy; values of power feminism; and peace studies. She blends this approach with an Asia-centric view of communication, which is anchored in the ethic that harmony is vital for the survival of all. In her other activities, Bhavana is committed to the principle of being a public intellectual and is involved in social activism in many fronts. In her teaching, she works with the Research Service Learning Program in developing service-learning curriculum, and she has taught several courses in conjunction with different neighborhoods and community organizations around the campus. She works closely the East Indian community, graduate students of color, and Asian family center. In her leisure time, she enjoys hiking, world music, and ancient dance forms. See Bhavana's curriculum vitae. Lynn is originally from Los Angeles, Calif., but has been a New Mexico resident since 1980. She received her B.F.A. from Cooper Union and her M.S. in health education from the University of New Mexico in 2003. Lynn Walters' primary area of study is health education, with a focus on prevention research, and keen interests in nonverbal communication, experiential pedagogy, and program evaluation. Lynn is founder and executive director of an experiential food and nutrition education program that engages elementary school students in hands-on learning with fresh affordable foods from diverse cultures. She is co-project director for a four-year research and extension project funded by USDA in 2006: "Cooking with Kids: Integrating Classroom, Cafeteria and Family Experiences." Her program website is at www.cookingwithkids.net.
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Divya
Sreenivas
Judith
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Abdissa
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