2005 SPSP Diversity Fund Award Recipients

A total of 71 graduate students applied for a Diversity Fund Award to attend the 2005 SPSP conference. Of these applicants, 12 received an award of up to $800 for conference-related expenses. This page contains a profile of each award winner.

2005 Diversity Fund Award Recipients

Laura Naumann was born and raised in Houston, Texas. She graduated with a B.A. in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin in 2003. An NSF Graduate Fellowship Research Award recipient, Laura is currently a second-year Ph.D. student at UC-Berkeley working with Oliver John and Kaiping Peng. She is a proud member of UC-Berkeley's Diversity Student Alliance and the GLBT Alliance in Social and Personality Psychology. Her research interests include examining personality and self-perception processes across ethnic groups. After completion of her Ph.D., Laura plans to teach and mentor students in personality and social psychology at a major research university.

Lasana Harris is currently a second year student in the Social Psychology program at Princeton University. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Lasana obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from Howard University in 2003. His research focuses primarily on impression formation, affect, and attribution in hopes of better understanding the mechanisms of racism, prejudice, and general social biases. Under the guidance of his primary advisor, Dr. Susan Fiske, and secondary advisors Nicole Shelton and Alex Todorov, he utilizes the tools of neuroscience as well as classic experimental methodologies to address his research questions. Lasana hopes to continue grappling with these issues in a faculty position upon the completion of his Ph.D.

Yuri Miyamoto completed her B.A. and M.A. degrees at Kyoto University, Japan. She is currently a fourth year Ph.D. student in social psychology at the University of Michigan. Yuri has been exploring cultural differences in cognition, communication, and emotion. With her advisors, Professors Norbert Schwarz and Shinobu Kitayama, she is currently investigating cultural differences in the influence of facial/bodily feedback. She is also examining the nature of mixed emotions from a cross-cultural perspective with Professor Phoebe Ellsworth. In addition to such social processes, Yuri is working with Professor Richard Nisbett to examine cultural differences in the townscape in order to explore the interplay between the perceptual environment and culturally specific patterns of attention. Yuri would like to pursue a position in teaching and research at a university and hopes to contribute to a better understanding of the nature of the human mind by disentangling the nexus of cultural and psychological processes.

Adam Fingerhut received his B.A. from Stanford University and is currently a fourth year doctoral student in Social Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. His research primarily addresses the intergroup dynamics between heterosexual and gay individuals, focusing on how heterosexuals perceive and respond to gay men and lesbians and on how gay men and lesbians negotiate their minority sexual identity in a majority heterosexual world. In collaboration with his advisor, Anne Peplau, he is currently examining the impact that affiliations with both majority-heterosexual and minority-gay communities have on stress exposure and mental health for gay men and lesbians. After completing his Ph.D., Adam plans to teach and conduct research, passing the joys of social psychology and critical thinking on to generations of future scholars.

Adrienne Carter was born and raised in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia. Adrienne is working toward her Ph.D. at Purdue University in the area of social psychology. She is working with Dr. Kip Williams, her advisor, on a program of research designed to determine whether individuals who are ostracized are more socially susceptible to a variety of influence attempts, including flattery, compliance techniques, and cult solicitations. Prior to her graduate studies, Adrienne worked as a sales representative for Thomson Learning College Textbook Publishing Company. Upon completion of her Ph.D., Adrienne's professional plan is to secure a tenure-track faculty position at a prominent, public university or private college. In her academic career, Adrienne intends to design and implement her own program of research, teach a variety of psychology courses, and offer mentorship to graduate students and other minorities interested in becoming social psychologists.

Amir Rosenmann was born on June 15, 1978, in Haifa, Israel. He completed his post-secondary education in the Israeli Project for Gifted Children, with honors. After attaining his B.A. in the University of Haifa Honors Program and Psychology Department, he completed his M.A. degree in Social Psychology Summa Cum Laude. During his studies, he was involved with an outreach project for MSM in Northern Israel. He is now a doctoral student in Social Psychology. In recent years, he was the recipient of the Wolf Award and Knesset Award for Outstanding Students, Israel's two most prestigious student awards. His research interests include gender relations in Israel, online sexuality, and social identity dynamics of sexual minority members. He has coauthored several articles on these topics with Marilyn P. Safir. He appeared as a specialist in a prominent Israeli documentary series, and currently teaches an introductory course on the interface between sex, sexuality, and gender.

Anne M. Koenig was born in Iowa and received her B.S. from Iowa State University in 2001. She is currently a fourth-year graduate student in social psychology at Northwestern University. In general, Anne's research interests include prejudice, stereotypes, and gender issues. She is especially interested in the influence of nontraditional gender behaviors on perceivers' impressions. Along these lines, her dissertation will examine the main tenets of role incongruity theory of prejudice. Anne is currently collaborating with her advisor, Dr. Alice H. Eagly, on research investigating the origins of the content of stereotypes. In addition, Anne is working with Dr. Dan C. Molden on research exploring regulatory fit as a process involved in attitude formation. After finishing her Ph.D., Anne plans to pursue an academic career that allows her to continue her research and to teach courses in the field of social psychology.

C. Lamonte Powell is currently a second-year graduate student in the Social Psychology Program at Georgia State University. He also holds a Master's of Public Health degree from Emory University in Behavioral Science and Health Education. His current research includes work in psychophysiological measurement and virtual reality equipment use in the study of social anxiety. He also has research interests in study of emotion and physiological correlates with psychological behaviors that are not easily observable. More specifically, Mr. Powell wishes to further explore how physiological measures can be used in conjunction with self-reports to get a fuller picture of what one truly believes and how people form their attitudes. After completing his Ph.D., Mr. Powell's future goals include doing extensive research in this area and instructing others on the techniques he uses as a college professor. He also hopes that his research will aid others in the creation of programs that can reduce such negative social phenomena as prejudice and discrimination, as well as social anxiety as a result of prejudice and discrimination.

Charles R. Seger was born in Highland Heights, Kentucky. He received a B.S. in psychology from Northern Kentucky University in 2001. He is currently a second-year student in the Social Psychology Ph.D. program at Indiana University -- Bloomington. Along with his advisor, Dr. Eliot Smith, Charles is examining the role of emotions in intergroup relations. Specifically, he is interested in how group identification and group-level emotions regulate intergroup and intragroup attitudes and behavior in political and racial domains. Upon completion of his Ph.D., Charles would like to obtain an academic position at a major research university.

Justin Park was born in Korea and immigrated to Canada at age 9. He received his B.Sc. from the University of Alberta and is currently working with Mark Schaller at the University of British Columbia. Justin has been investigating the role of evolved psychological mechanisms in contemporary social cognition. In one line of research, he has found that psychological responses that facilitate the avoidance of specific dangers may contribute to some forms of prejudice. In another line of research, he has been investigating the role of kin-recognition mechanisms in prosocial emotions and behavior. Upon completion of his Ph.D., Justin plans to continue conducting research on social cognition.

Naomi M. Hall was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She holds a Masters of Public Health degree in Maternal and Child Health from San Diego State University, and is currently a third-year doctoral student in the Social Psychology program at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. Her research interests include examining the sociocultural factors that contribute to sexual risk behavior and HIV/AIDS in the Black community. Currently Ms. Hall is investigating the wider social and environmental issues surrounding adult, heterosexual Black women and HIV sexual risk behavior such as the perception of available mates, perceived power, and cultural values in sexual relationships. In addition to her academic research, Ms. Hall is also a Senior Research Associate in the Center for AIDS Research, Education, and Services at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles. After completing her Ph.D., Ms. Hall plans to pursue an academic career in a setting that values teaching, mentoring, and community involvement.

Diana Sanchez was born in Manhattan, New York, and raised in Cresskill, New Jersey. She received her B.A. at Bard College in Annandale, New York. She is currently in her fifth year of a joint doctoral program in Social Psychology and Women's Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Diana has two lines of research exploring: (1) the unique and common strategies that multiracials and minority monoracials employ to protect psychological well-being, and (2) the costs of adhering to gender norms in intimate relationships. As a Czechorican (Puerto-Rican/Czechoslovakian) who identifies as multiracial, Diana hopes to raise awareness of, and encourage research on, people of multiracial backgrounds. Upon completion of her degree in 2005, Diana intends to pursue a career in academia to continue her research and teaching interests in race, gender, and sexuality.