2004 SPSP Diversity Fund Award Recipients

A total of 84 graduate students applied for a Diversity Fund Award to attend the 2004 SPSP conference. Of these applicants, 15 received an award of up to $1,000 for conference-related expenses. This page contains a profile of each award winner.

2004 Diversity Fund Award Recipients

Edna Acosta-Pérez is a fourth-year graduate student in the Social Community Psychology Graduate Program at the University of Puerto Rico. She is also an APA Minority Fellow and an Affiliate Fellow of the Latino/a Research Training Program at the University. Edna has concentrated her academic and research interest in gender construction, sexuality, and HIV issues such as prevention, technology transfer, and public policy. Together with her advisor, Dr. Irma Serrano-García, Edna is exploring social constructions of gender and sexuality among youngsters in Puerto Rico. After finishing her Ph.D., Edna plans to become a professor and to develop research at academic institution and community organizations.

Etsuko Hoshino-Browne was born in Japan. After immigrating to Canada in 1990, she received her undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Waterloo. Currently, she is enrolled in the social psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Waterloo and is finishing her dissertation research on cognitive dissonance from a cross-cultural perspective. Her research examines cultural influences on cognitive dissonance, social perspective taking, and self-improvement motivation. She is working with advisors Mark Zanna, Steve Spencer, and Dov Cohen and is also collaborating with Shinobu Kitayama and Ziva Kunda. Etsuko intends to pursue an academic career, through which she will continue her research while teaching as a professor in the field of social psychology, with specialization in cultural psychology.

Jennifer Weisho Bruce was born in Taiwan and moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, at age 7. She received her B.A. in Psychology from the State University of New York at Cortland and is currently a second-year graduate student in the social psychology Ph.D. program at Purdue University. Her research focuses on individual differences in the expression of prejudice. In collaboration with her advisor, William Graziano, Jennifer has examined the link between personality characteristics and prejudice and discrimination toward overweight people. After graduate school, she plans on pursuing a career in academia and continuing to conduct research and teach psychology at a midsized university.

Edward Burkley was born in Illinois and received his B.S. and M.A. from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. He is currently a second-year student in the social psychology Ph.D. program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is conducting research on various topics of the self, such as issues related to self-control and the interplay between the self and social perception. Upon receiving his degree, Edward plans to be a professor at a research university.

Charlene Christie was born in Kinderhook, New York. She received her bachelors degree in psychology from Bard College in 1999 and is currently in her fifth year of study in the Social-Personality program at the University at Albany. Her research bridges the topics of stereotyping and prejudice, attitudes and social cognition, social comparison, and social identity. She is particularly interested in questions regarding individual's perceptions of traditionally stigmatized groups and individuals from both an ingroup and outgroup perspective. In collaboration with her advisor, Hart Blanton, she is currently conducting research examining psychometric issues central to the assessment of implicit stereotypes. Upon completion of her Ph.D. in 2004, Charlene hopes to teach and conduct her research at a college or university.

Julie Garcia was born and raised in Southern California. An NSF Graduate Fellowship Research Award recipient, she is currently in her fifth year in the social psychology program at the University of Michigan. Julie's main research interests include self-esteem, identity, and social stigma. Her dissertation will examine how contingent self-worth, identity, and expectations of rejection influence decisions to conceal or reveal a concealable stigma. Along with her advisor, Jennifer Crocker, Julie has also investigated how stigmatized identities influence self-esteem and affect in different contexts. In addition, she has also done work with Monique Fleming on the influence of identity on behavior and how multiple identities impact well-being. Upon completion of her Ph.D., Julie plans to teach and conduct research at a university.

Ka-yee Leung was born in Hong Kong. She is currently a second-year social psychology student working toward her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests focus on the inter-relationships of culture, cognition, and behavior, as well as the implications of multicultural competence. Together with her advisor, Dov Cohen, Ka-yee has examined how the diverse cultural patterns between as well as within countries interact with individual cognition and behavior. In addition, Ka-yee works with Chi-yue Chiu to study how acquisition of cultural knowledge through multicultural experiences can facilitate creative problem solving and intercultural communication. Upon completion of graduate studies, she plans to pursue a career in academia to continue conducting research on culture and multicultural competence.

Wesley Moons was raised in Waterloo, Belgium, until the age of 12, when his family moved to the United States. He attended high school in Florida and graduated from Boston College in 2001. Wesley is a second-year graduate student in the social psychology program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. With Dr. Diane Mackie, he is currently doing research examining how familiarity and affect influence persuasion via changes in information processing. After graduate school, Wesley hopes to perform research and teach at a research university.

Christopher Motz is a second-year M.A. student in the social psychology program at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. His plan is to continue in the Ph.D. program at Carleton under the guidance of his current faculty adviser, Kimberly Matheson. Chris is interested in studying factors that contribute to positive changes in attitudes toward lesbian women and gay men. His longer-term plan is to continue this line of research in an academic position at a Canadian university.

Kenji Noguchi was born in Japan. After getting his M.A. at Nihon University in Japan, Kenji moved to the United States. He is currently a fourth-year student in the social psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Mississippi. Working with his advisor, Carol Gohm, Kenji is studying cultural and general issues concerning social cognition, interpersonal relations, attribution processes, and emotion. After graduate school, Kenji hopes to teach and conduct research at a university in the United States.

Eden-Reneé Pruitt received her Bachelor of Arts degree in the year 2000 from Wesleyan University with Departmental Honors in Psychology-Sociology. She earned a Master of Science degree in 2003 from Tulane University. Under the guidance of Janet Ruscher, Eden-Reneé investigates racial prejudice from both the target's and perpetrator's perspective. After earning her Ph.D., Eden-Reneé intends to pursue a career in academics.

Edith Rickett was born in Detroit, Michigan, in February of 1980. She is currently a third-year student in the social psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Chicago. With her advisor, John T. Cacioppo, Edith is studying the components and consequences of prejudice, as well as methods for its reduction. After graduate school, Edith hopes to teach and pursue research within an applied social psychology program.

Alecia Marie Santuzzi, M.S., was born in Ohio in 1976. She received her B.A. in psychology in 1998 from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. In 2001, Alecia earned her master's degree in Psychological Sciences with a specialization in Experimental Social Psychology from Tulane University. Currently, she is a Ph.D. candidate at Tulane University with research and teaching interests in both social psychology and quantitative methods/measurement. In general, her research focuses on how both individual-level and group-level characteristics affect the behavior of stigmatized individuals. Specifically, she is interested in how such characteristics influence impressions that stigmatized individuals form about others in dyad and group situations.

Antoinette Semenya was born in Ghana and immigrated to Canada when she was three years old. She is currently in her third year of the social psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Western Ontario. Antoinette's research interests lie in the areas of intergroup relations, identity, and stigma. Along with her advisor, Victoria Esses, she is currently examining the ways in which perceptions of group power affect self and group processes among stigmatized group members. Upon completion of her Ph.D. in 2005, Antoinette plans to pursue an academic career at a major research university.

Andrew Szeto was born in Hong Kong and immigrated with his family to small-town Alberta, Canada, at the age of six in 1985. He attended the University of Alberta, receiving his B.A. with Honors in Psychology in 2000. Currently, Andrew is in his second year of graduate studies in the Ph.D./M.A. psychology program at the University of Western Ontario under the supervision of Richard Sorrentino. They are conducting cross-cultural research in uncertainty orientation. Their current project, in collaboration with other Canadian and Japanese universities, is a cross-cultural investigation assessing the links between uncertainty orientation, compensatory conviction, and defensive disposition. Andrew plans to remain within the academic community, teaching and conducting research, in addition to pursuing policy-related endeavors.