Members

David Axelrod is an instructional specialist in the Economics Department of Montclair State University. He has taught for eight years, and developed the course Economics of Time and Mind, as well as co-developed Religion and Economics with Prof. John Soboslai. He also recorded a series of podcasts for the Feliciano School of Business. Previously he worked in the financial sector for twenty years. David received his PhD. in Economics from Rutgers University. He also plays electric bass and produced over a dozen albums of original music. David’s research has its foundations in issues around time preference, experiences as economic products/resources, and the mind (individual and social) as a scarce resource than can be developed and grown. The focus for PAL SP24 is “What is the Value of Values?”

Charlotte Kent, PhD is Associate Professor of Visual Culture and Head of Visual and Critical Studies at Montclair State University. A scholar of art, digital culture, and ecology, she is co-editor with Katherine Guinness of Contemporary Absurdities, Existential Crises, and Visual Art (2024, Intellect Books) and an Editor at Large for The Brooklyn Rail with a monthly column on Art & Technology, contributing to many arts magazines and academic journals about contemporary art and digital culture. She is a recipient of Google’s Artist and Machine Intelligence grant for 2024 and was the inaugural Scholar-in-Residence at NXT Museum in 2023. She is a graduate of the CUNY Graduate Center, St. John’s College, Phillips Academy Andover, and the Writer’s Institute.

Arnaud Kurze is Associate Professor of Justice Studies at Montclair State University. His scholarly work on transitional justice in the post-Arab Spring world focuses particularly on youth activism, art and collective memory. Dr. Kurze is currently a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC, working on an international digital archives collaboration aimed at improving the visualization of historical documents and data. He has published widely including the co-authored book, Mapping Global Justice: Perspectives, Cases and Practices, and the co-edited volume, New Critical Spaces in Transitional Justice: Gender, Art & Memory. He has received many awards and fellowships, including Fulbright and the Library of Congress.

Ethné Swartz, Ph.D., is a Professor of Information Management and Entrepreneurship and a 2018-2019 Fulbright Scholar. She previously served at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she chaired the Marketing and Entrepreneurship Department and was associate dean at the Silberman College of Business. She holds a PhD in Management from the University of Manchester and an MS in Information Systems from Manchester Metropolitan University. Her research focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation, business continuity, and crisis management. Dr. Swartz has conducted research on women’s entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa and co-authored two books. She has published widely in journals including the International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship and Business Horizons. Dr. Swartz is a dedicated member of the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), serving as a board member and on the editorial board of the Annals of Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy. She is also active in supporting New Jersey’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Jason Torreano currently serves as Founder and CEO of Inkululeko (www.inkululeko.org) in South Africa. Jason received an undergraduate degree in journalism and worked in TV newsrooms across the country as an anchor and reporter before pursuing a career in the non-profit sector. Jason spent several years in Makhanda, South Africa volunteering at a school for street children. In 2011, he went on to found Inkululeko, an organization that serves motivated South African township youth with finishing high school and moving onto university. In his role at Inkululeko, he has developed mutually beneficial collaborations with entities around the world and created a fee-for-service model with U.S. institutions to assist with sustainability. He is a huge fan of social entrepreneurship, passionate people, his dog Adelaide (named after a small South African town in the Eastern Cape Province) and running long distances, slowly.

Chantelle K. Wright, Ed.D., serves as the executive director for Experiential Education and Career Connections at Montclair State University. She has 15 years of experience in college career counseling, particularly with multi-ethnic and multi-generational populations. Most recently, she served as the director for the Center for Career & Professional Development at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, overseeing the career services for all students and alumni. Dr. Wright previously served as an associate director at John Jay College managing employer relations, internships and career education. Prior to her roles at John Jay, she was the career and transfer advisor at Bronx Community College and worked as an adjunct lecturer and internship coordinator at LaGuardia Community College. Dr. Wright received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morgan State University, her master’s in psychological counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University, and her doctorate of education in leadership for organizations from the University of Dayton.

Liana Almony is a dedicated human rights advocate and civil society representative with UNANIMA International, an NGO with consultative status at the United Nations. As Deputy Director, she champions holistic global policymaking through a human rights-based approach, focusing on women, girls, migrants, and the environment. Liana serves as Co-Chair of the NGO Committee on Social Development and Secretary of the NGO Committee on Migration’s Executive Committee. She has actively participated in the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference negotiations and spoken at COP28 on the gendered impacts of climate-induced displacement. Liana holds a Master’s in International Relations from NYU, where she contributed to research on human rights frameworks and feminist foreign policy. She also holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science from UCLA, with minors in Global Studies and Digital Media Studies.

Alexandra Campos is currently engaged in the pursuit of her second Master of Arts degree in Communication & Media Relations at Johns Hopkins University, following her successful completion of her initial Master of Arts in International Affairs at American University. Her scholarly pursuits are driven by a profound interest in elucidating themes related to gender equality within the Latin American context and the intricate dynamics surrounding the media’s portrayal of global affairs. Alexandra’s professional journey has encompassed a valuable internship experience at the Department of Justice, specifically within its Criminal Division, where she served as an International Affairs Specialist. In this capacity, she made noteworthy contributions to the facilitation of legal international proceedings and the handling of requests originating from corresponding countries, thereby showcasing her dedication to promoting international legal cooperation and diplomacy.

Jules Debuyst is a performer and an independent researcher. Trained in France at La Sorbonne and Assas, and in the United States at New York University and Fordham University, he holds two Masters degrees in International Criminal Justice and International Relations, and an LL.M. with a concentration in Human Rights. Alongside his academic background, his professional experience with the Asia Foundation in Sri Lanka and its Gender and Justice program led him to specialize in Transitional Justice. Following on from his dissertation and with a view to a forthcoming PhD, his work focuses on the performative arts as new critical spaces in contexts of political transition.

Zuko Gqadavama was born in rural Lusikisiki, South Africa (Eastern Cape Province of South Africa). For as long as he can remember, he’s been interested in supporting the development of the African child. Zuko describes his childhood and his path through life in this way: “I went from a mud house to a shack, and from a shack to a flat.” He attended high school in Humansdorp and went onto study at Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth where he majored in psychology. He then went on to get an Honors Degree from Rhodes University. Zuko has been working with Inkululeko (www.inkululeko.org) as Deputy CEO. In his role, he engages with various stakeholders in supporting learners with tutoring and in connecting them with resources in the community. He remarks often that “Inkululeko is bigger than what we think. It’s doing so much more than I can tell you for these young people

Christopher Lamont is Professor of International Relations. He holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Glasgow, and a MSc in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh. He was also a Fulbright fellow at the University of Zagreb and an RCUK postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ulster. His research interests are at the intersection of global governance, technology, and international justice. He is also co-author of Justicecraft: Imagining Justice in Times of Conflict (Palgrave 2024) and co-editor of New Critical Spaces in Transitional Justice: Gender, Art, and Memory (Indiana University Press 2019), and Non-Western Visions of Democratization: Imagining Democracy after the Arab Spring (Routledge 2015). His monograph, International Criminal Justice and the Politics of Compliance (Routledge/Ashgate 2010) explored the international and domestic politics of international criminal justice processes in the former Yugoslavia. In addition to his scholarly contributions, his writings have also featured in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and The Diplomat, among others.

Vjeran Pavlakovic is a professor of History and Cultural Studies at the University of Rijeka, Croatia. He received his Ph.D. in History in 2005 from the University of Washington, and has published articles on cultural memory, transitional justice in the former Yugoslavia, and Yugoslav volunteers in the Spanish Civil War. He is a co-editor of the volume Framing the Nation and Collective Identity in Croatia (Routledge, 2019), which was re-issued in Croatian in 2022. He was the lead researcher on the Memoryscapes project as part of Rijeka’s European Capital of Culture in 2020 and a co-founder of the Cres Summer School on Transitional Justice and Memory Politics, as well as a researcher for Rijeka/Fiume in Flux. Current research includes the transnational muralization of conflict and a history of Dalmatian immigrants in the American Southwest, which explores the trajectories of former Habsburg imperial subjects re-inventing themselves as a driving force in the Americanization of US borderlands.

Da’Nae Dunham is a senior at Montclair State University, majoring in Communication and Media Studies with minors in Political Science and African American Studies. She has a strong background in community engagement, having served as former secretary of the NAACP Elizabeth Branch where she organized local events and led a publicity committee. In 2022, Da’Nae interned at PSEG under the Corporate Social Responsibility team, focusing on evaluating local non-profits for grant awards. This experience deepened her understanding of social equity, environmental sustainability and non-profit management. Da’Nae is committed to advancing opportunities for marginalized communities through strategic communication and advocacy.

Ayanna Jones is a dedicated senior at Montclair State University, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Criminal Justice. She has a keen interest in comparative and international relations. Throughout her college journey, Ayanna has actively engaged with her hometown community, championing human rights and raising awareness about pressing global issues. Her passion for fostering social change and understanding diverse perspectives drives her academic pursuits and volunteer efforts, positioning her as a compassionate advocate for justice in an increasingly interconnected world. Ayanna aims to influence policy and promote equity on a global scale, while using her new research skills from this internship will prepare her to use these skills to further enhance her political science career.

Michael House is a Psychology student with a minor in Neuroscience at Montclair State University, working as a research assistant at a computational neuroscience lab and the Neuromuscular and Electrophysiology Laboratory at the Kessler Institute. His research focuses on using computational models to understand neural mechanisms and uncover the decision-making processes of artificial intelligence. Passionate about advocating for the disenfranchised and seeking equity for individuals with disabilities, Michael aims to promote research that drives practical outcomes to improve the lives of those with developmental and neuromuscular disorders.

Marielis Abreu is a Montclair State University senior majoring in Geographic, Environmental, and Urban Studies with minors in International Studies and Sociology. She is passionate about understanding and addressing environmental, social justice, and international and community development issues. Through her studies, she has developed expertise in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a powerful tool for analyzing and visualizing spatial data. This skill has enabled her to conduct multiple research projects to evaluate and mitigate the vulnerabilities of low-income and overburdened communities to natural hazards. Marielis is dedicated to refining her research abilities and expanding her knowledge of global issues. She wants to amplify the voices of marginalized communities and drive positive change.

Wiscaury Torres is a Montclair State University senior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Social work & Child advocacy . She is committed to understanding the unique challenges children face. Her goal is to advocate for their well-being, mental health, and emotional development, providing them with the tools and support they need to thrive. Wiscaury believes that early intervention, compassionate guidance, and strong advocacy can empower children to overcome adversity and reach their full potential. Working with Bessie Green community directly has help gained valuable insights into social work and child advocacy, enhancing her skills in case management, client interaction, and program development. This practical experience has deepened her understanding of the challenges faced by underserved populations and has strengthened her commitment to making a positive impact in the lives of children and families. The internship has been instrumental in shaping her career path and reinforcing her passion for social justice.

Anya Murphy is currently pursuing a degree in Linguistics with a concentration in Language Engineering at Montclair State University, expected to graduate in May 2026. She plans to attend law school after graduation, with a strong interest in animal rights and advocacy. Anya recently played a crucial role in exposing animal abuse, which reinforced her dedication to protecting animals and advocating for their rights.

Juliana Pellikan will be graduating in January 2025 from Montclair State University with a major in Criminal Justice and a minor in sociology. She plans to pursue a career in the justice systems with a focus in law. What she is looking forward to gaining in this experience is being able to apply the research skills that will be gained from this internship into a future career.

Aleyna Uslu is set to graduate from Montclair State University in May 2026 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Business Administration. Her future plans include pursuing a career in neuropsychology and psychiatric research. She looks forward to applying the research skills gained from her internship to future projects and career opportunities.

Laila Wright will be graduating from Montclair State University in May 2025 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. She plans to attend graduate school to obtain her doctorate and pursue a future career in the field of clinical psychology. She hope to learn valuable research skills that she can later apply to other points of research and her future career.

Sophia Piersanti will be graduating in May 2025 from Montclair State University with a major in Psychology and a minor in Child Advocacy and Policy. She plans to advance career by obtaining her doctoral degree and further moving on to become a LPC. During her time as a student and intern she is not only dedicated to her work but also holds her postion with an eagerness to learn and grow.

Divya Chanderjit will be graduating in January 2025 from Montclair State University with a major in Psychology and a minor in Child Advocacy and Policy. She plans to go to graduate school and get her master’s degree in Child Advocacy and to get a doctorate in the future. Her professional aspirations are centered around becoming a child advocate, whether it’s through legal advocacy, social work, or policy-making. She wants to play a pivotal role in protecting and empowering children. Her other research fields of interest include neuroscience, human rights, public health, and gender studies. She hopes to apply her research skills to her career plans and to become a catalyst for positive change.

Janelys Morales will be graduating in May 2026 from Montclair State University with a double major in Psychology and Medical Humanities. She plans to go to graduate school to obtain her doctorate and pursue a future career in the field of Personality psychology. She hopes to learn to apply research skills gained from her internship to her career plans.

Samantha Barros will be graduating from Montclair State University in December 2024 with majors in English and History. After graduation she plans to pursue a Masters degree in English and eventually a PhD with a focus in American literature. She hopes to gain valuable research experience that can be applied to her future graduate studies and beyond.

Joselynne Martinez will be graduating from Montclair State University in May 2025 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Child Advocacy and Policies. Her academic focus includes child development, mental health, and policy impacts on children’s welfare. With hands-on experience in research and a passion for improving child well-being, Joselynne aims to contribute in studies dedicated to advancing psychological practices and advocating for effective policies that improve the welfare and mental health of children.

Bryana Luna will be graduating from Montclair State University in May 2026 with a major in Sociology and a minor in Leadership Development Through Civic Engagement. She plans to pursue a career in public service as being a operations research analyst. She is currently doing volunteer work at her local food pantry which motivates her in continuing to work in the public service field. She hopes to learn from her experience in this internship and gain skills that will help her in her future career and life.

Julianna LaMonica will be graduating from Montclair State University in May 2025 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Business. She plans to pursue a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology and continue to work in the psychology field helping others, breaking the stigma, and guide individuals to a happy and healthy life. Julianna recently completed an internship at a substance use counseling center working with addicts who also struggle with other mental health struggles. With her passion for helping others, she continues to be a mental health advocate. She hopes that this internship will help her prepare for her future endeavors and to learn and grow academically and individually so that she can be successful in all aspects of life.

Jani Jackson is a Junior majoring in Psychology at Montclair State University. She plans to pursue a career in the field of Medicine and contribute to innovative solutions through research. Her research interests include human rights and environmental fields. The Applied Research on Social Issues Project will provide her more experience in analyzing digital data. While allowing her to hone her digital literacy skills. She also has research interests in Women’s Rights and Social Justice.

Gabriella Nibaldi is a senior at Montclair State University pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Public Health, expected to graduate in May 2025. Once she graduates, she plans on pursuing higher education with the hopes of one day obtaining a doctoral degree in Healthcare Administration. Her research interests include healthcare equality & equity, community advocacy, mental health, public health, and social issues within the healthcare industry. She hopes this internship will give her the confidence and the ability to build on her research skills, which will be the stepping stones for her future impact in healthcare.

Gauri Govindaraj is a senior at Montclair State University, majoring in psychology. She has a keen interest in exploring the neuropsychological aspects of various research studies, with a focus on understanding the intricate connections between brain function and behavior. She intends to use Project AROS Lab as a platform to enhance her research skills and further prepare for a successful future in the field of psychology.

Panagiotis Stavridis is a senior at Montclair State University majoring in Justice Studies with a minor in Justice and Families. Expected to graduate in May of 2025, they hope to pursue a career in any field related to human rights. Panagiotis participated in the Human Rights Education Internship at MSU in the Spring of 2023, where they performed extensive research on the disparities faced by people convicted of crimes and taught a lesson on the topic to a group of high school students. In addition, they recently completed an internship with the New Jersey Courts’ Intensive Supervision Program. Their other research fields of interest include LGBTQ and disability rights.

Prithbi Mohammad Sajir Abdullah is a senior at Tokyo International University interested in research addressing pressing social and political issues. Sajir’s focus lies in technology, bringing a unique, data-driven perspective in analyzing and evaluating the impacts of nuanced and multifaceted socio-political phenomena.

Jadid Syed Ahlan is a senior International Relations student at Tokyo International University. Syed’s research interests focus on democratization, democratic backsliding, religious extremism and post-colonialism.

Rafa Akter is sophomore majoring in International Relations. Her research interests focus on comparative politics, particularly in understanding the stability of democracies in postcolonial states.

Mashrif Al Din is a second-year Business Economics student from Bangladesh, currently enrolled at Tokyo International University. Prior to his academic pursuits, he served as an officer in the Bangladesh Army for two years.

Tasfia Binte Aziz is a third-year student at Tokyo International University, majoring in International Relations. Her research interests focus on the role of the Bangladeshi diaspora in media coverage of the 2024 student protests and how their contributions shaped global perceptions compared to the domestic narrative. She is also exploring the transformation of the quota movement from a narrow employment issue into a larger protest against state authoritarianism, analyzing the factors that escalated it into a national political crisis.

Ayasha Mostafiz is a sophomore studying international relations at Tokyo International University with a dream of working at the United Nations Someday. Upon participating in multiple Model United Nations since her high school she gained her interest in IR and plans to build an NGO in her country Bangladesh one day.

Reyasat Bin Abdullah is an International Relations major with research interests on Bangladesh’s political and social past, present and future.

Mahima Janin Shara is a senior majoring in International Relations, with research interests centered around indigenous rights, human rights, and the concept of hybrid warfare.

Shawlin Shahrier is an IR master’s degree student in Tokyo International University interested to do research on human rights issues in Bangladesh.

Hasin is a first-year International Relations student at Tokyo International University, with a background in the Climate Action Champions Network and Kennedy-Lugar YES Program. She has worked on climate resilience in South Asia, focusing on climate action and social issues.

Rahat Yasin is a third-year International Relations student from Bangladesh, currently studying at Tokyo International University. His academic focus includes Asian politics, human rights, and revolutionary movements.