IIT Fellow Bios | The Graduate School | Michigan State University

2025 - 2026 Fellows

Ibrahim, standing outside in a vibrant blue sweater.

Ibrahim Luberenga, M.A.

Doctoral Student - Human Development & Family Studies

Couple and Family Therapy Specialization

Ibrahim Luberenga is a doctoral student in the Human Development and Family Studies program at Michigan State University, specializing in Couple and Family Therapy. He holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology and has extensive training and clinical experience working with individuals, couples, and families across diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. His academic and professional journey reflects a strong commitment to addressing mental health disparities in vulnerable populations, particularly refugees and displaced communities.

Currently, Ibrahim’s research focuses on refugee mental health, with an emphasis on adapting and implementing systemic interventions that integrate family- and community-based approaches. He is particularly interested in understanding how culturally grounded practices can be applied in both low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) as well as high-income countries (HICs) to strengthen resilience, enhance relational wellbeing, and improve mental health outcomes. His work bridges clinical practice and research, aiming to develop scalable interventions that are both evidence- based and contextually responsive.

Beyond his academic work, Ibrahim is passionate about global mental health, training mental health practitioners, and contributing to policy and program development that expands access to family-centered care. He has ongoing projects exploring the drivers of refugee mental health interventions, as well as pilot programs designed to integrate family-based mental health support within humanitarian contexts.

Through his research, teaching, and clinical practice, Ibrahim seeks to contribute to a more equitable and inclusive mental health landscape by amplifying the voices of marginalized communities and advancing systemic interventions that promote healing, resilience, and wellbeing for refugees and their families worldwide.

Yetunde in a red, white, and blue tie dye shirt, standing outside.

Yetunde Alabede

Doctoral Candidate - Curriculum, Instruction, & Teacher Education (CITE)

Yetunde S. Alabede (Yétúndé Alábẹdé), is doctoral candidate in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education (CITE) here at Michigan State University. She is a teacher, teacher-educator, researcher, and cultural advocate whose work bridges multilingualism, heritage language education, and African epistemologies.

Yetunde's interdisciplinary scholarship explores how African and African diasporic families use language as a praxis of resistance, belonging, and care. With a focus on Yorùbá as a heritage and community language, her research encompasses family language policy, multilingual childhoods, heritage literacy, and digital multilingualism. Meanwhile, her teaching emphasizes social justice, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and preparing educators to serve diverse learners.

Alongside her academic work, Yetunde founded Ebunoluwa Children School in Nigeria, a grassroots initiative that integrates global and local curricula to foster holistic child development. It is her way of bridging the research-practitioner gap by applying what she has been learning as an education major since 2010, when she completed her associate degree in education.

Yetunde also designs and leads online Yorùbá programs that connect children in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Nigeria, and beyond to their cultural and linguistic roots. Her community-based approach informs her broader vision, which she calls ẹ̀bùnlingualism (language as gift) and ẹ̀bùngogy (teaching as gifting), to sustain identity and creativity across generations.

Across classrooms, communities, and research projects, Yetunde strives to create spaces where children, families, and teachers see their languages and identities not as barriers but as resources that open pathways to equity, imagination, and global connection. At leisure, I enjoy cooking, listening to folk music, and connecting with loved ones transnationally. Learn more about Yetunde and her work.

Sepehr Dehdashtian

Doctoral Student - Computer Science

Sepehr is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science at Michigan State University, with a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Sharif University of Technology.

His work centers on reliability and representation learning in multimodal and generative models, as well as on understanding and mitigating bias and fairness issues in generative AI systems. He has investigated stereotype detection and steerability in diffusion and flow-matching text-to-image models and is currently exploring post-training policy enforcement for foundation models, applying both RL-based (e.g., RLHF) and non-RL (e.g., DPO) methods.

Through these efforts, Sepehr aims to identify and address failure modes where models deviate from safety and alignment policies, ultimately contributing to more equitable and trustworthy AI systems.

If you’re interested in discussing his research, feel free to reach out via email or connect with him on social media. Learn more about his work here.

Prince Owusu standing outside, wearing a black polo.

Prince Gyebi Owusu

Doctoral Candidate - Human Development & Family Studies

Child Development Specialization

Prince Gyebi Owusu is a doctoral candidate in Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University, specializing in Child Development. His research centers on the cross-cultural adaptation and validation of developmental screening tools, alongside the design of culturally responsive interventions for children with disabilities and their families in low-resource settings.

He is the co-founder and Director of Organizational Development at the Center for Learning and Childhood Development–Ghana (CLCD), a research-driven nonprofit organization dedicated to improving early childhood outcomes through community-based programming, policy advocacy, and multisectoral collaboration. Through CLCD, Prince partners with government agencies, NGOs, and academic institutions to strengthen national strategies addressing children’s developmental needs.

At MSU, Prince has combined research and teaching with global engagement. He initiated a Study Abroad program to Ghana that immerses U.S. university students, including those from MSU, in hands-on learning about child development and global health in African hospitals, schools, and communities. These experiences foster cross-cultural understanding while deepening inquiry into the influence of culture and policy on human development.

Prince also brings significant teaching experience to his scholarship. He has served as Instructor of Record for seven courses both in-person and online and as a Teaching Assistant for two others. His teaching portfolio spans Child Development, Parenting, Personal Finance, Applied Resource Management, and the Management of Human Services, among other courses.

Through his research, nonprofit leadership, teaching, and global engagement initiatives, Prince seeks to advance inclusive, interdisciplinary approaches to addressing social issues that shape child and family well-being.

Prawita standing outside, wearing a white shirt and a black scarf.

Prawita Simanjuntak

Doctoral Student - Curriculum, Instruction, & Teacher Education

Prawita is a doctoral student from Indonesia majoring in Curriculum, Instruction, & Teacher Education. Before beginning her doctoral journey, Prawita worked as an early childhood and elementary education teacher, where she had the opportunity to teach and learn alongside multilingual students.

Those experiences shaped her passion for literacy among multilingual students and inspired her research focus on supporting bi/multilingual learners in developing early literacy skills. Prawita is deeply committed to creating equitable learning opportunities for all students, and in the future, she hopes to work with an international organization such as UNICEF to broaden the impact of this work.

Outside of my academic life, she enjoys cooking and finds joy in exploring and sharing food from different cultures.

2021 - 2022 Fellows

Graham Gardner

Doctoral Student - Economics

Graham Gardner (he/him) is a fourth-year PhD student in the Department of Economics. His research focuses on reproductive health, with an emphasis on the lifetime health effects of restricted access to reproductive freedoms.

Since beginning his Ph.D., Graham has been a graduate teaching assistant and lead instructor for multiple sections of introductory macroeconomics and microeconomics. It was during these classes that he realized a passion for teaching undergraduate students and thinking about ways in which introductory economics education can be improved to better serve the wide variety of students who engage with the material.

Blake Ginsburg

Doctoral Student - Philosophy

Animal Studies Specialization, Women's and Gender Studies Specialization

Blake Ginsburg is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Philosophy and is pursuing specializations in Animal Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies. His research interests include animal and environmental philosophy, critical animal studies, ecofeminism, ethology, philosophy of science, and philosophy of technology. Blake holds a BA in Philosophy and a BS in Biological Science (concentration in Biodiversity, Ecology, and Conservation) from California State University, Fullerton.

He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality studies and a MA degree in Environmental Philosophy from the University of Montana. While at the University of Montana, Blake wrote a thesis that attempted to disclose the ethical dimensions and transformative significance of Timothy Treadwell’s relationships with brown bears and red foxes in Katmai National Park and Preserve before he and his partner, Amy Huguenard, were killed and eaten by a bear in 2003.

Blake is currently working on philosophical issues that emerge at the intersection of environmental philosophy and animal philosophy. He is particularly interested in the value of philosophical ethology and ethological philosophy (or ethosophy) as disclosive and generative mediums with great promise for drawing attention to and enacting alternative human-animal relational possibilities.

He considers these projects to be significant insomuch as they have the potential to inspire the transformation of our personal and collective worlds in view of the large-scale anthropogenic violence that is routinely enacted against other animals and the rest of the more-than-human world.

2020 - 2021 Fellows

Christine Bennett

Doctoral Candidate - English

Christine Bennett is a doctoral candidate in the Department of English. Her research interests lie at the intersection of ecofeminism and horror fiction, and she is currently working on a dissertation that traces the relationship of post-45 women authors of horror fiction to the burgeoning environmentalist movement of the era. She earned her master’s degree in English from Gannon University in Erie, PA, where she taught first-year writing courses, served as Assistant Director of the university’s Writing and Research Center, and as a graduate assistant coach of the women’s volleyball team.

She has taught a range of courses at MSU, including WRA 101: Writing as Inquiry, ENG 153: Introduction to Women Authors, and ENG 210: Foundations of Literary Study. She has also worked as an editorial assistant on CR: The New Centennial Review, and is currently serving as the graduate assistant for MSU Commons (formerly Humanities Commons). Her most recent article, “Blood in the Water: Embracing Decolonial Ecologies in the SyFy Channel’s Frankenfish,” is forthcoming in a 2021 edited collection.

Ross Greedy

Doctoral Student - Community Sustainability

Ross Greedy is a doctoral student in the Department of Community Sustainability. Ross grew up in the loess hills of the Missouri River Valley between Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri. He has since migrated across the country working in the outdoor industry for the better part of ten years as a raft guide, outdoor educator, outdoor program manager, and outdoor recreation planner.

His research interests are connected to his background in outdoor education, community engagement, and the coordination of outdoor recreation projects and include work that explores relationships between: (1) outdoor education/recreation; (2) environmental stewardship/sustainability; and (3) community access to and investment in nature. Ross is studying the relationships between outdoor education/recreation participation and community-based connections to nature and their respective impacts on environmental stewardship behaviors.

Ross holds a master’s degree in education leadership, and his experience has been in developing and managing collegiate outdoor education programs in Minnesota and Michigan. Most recently Ross worked with the City of Winona Minnesota to develop outdoor recreation infrastructure and identify partnership and funding opportunities for the community. In addition, Ross is a Wilderness Medicine Instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).

When Ross isn’t working or teaching you can find him exploring with his wife Lisa, their two dogs, one cat, five chickens– and as of June 2019 their first child.

2019 - 2020 Fellows

Caitlyn Cornell smiling in a black shirt.

Caitlin Cornell

Doctoral Student - Second Language Studies

Caitlin Cornell is a Ph.D. student in Second Language Studies. She earned her M.A. in Linguistics and TESOL from the University of Illinois at Chicago and she has taught English and trained English teachers since 2005. In 2018, she interned with the English Learning and Accessibility Specialist in the Michigan Department of Education’s Accountability Office.

She co-chairs the 2019 Second Language Research Forum’s organizing body and serves the 2019 Accessible Learning Conference as the outreach chairperson. Her second language research interests include the experiences of language learners with disabilities, strategies for accessible learning, computer-assisted language learning, online and hybrid learning, and U.S. language policy in the K-12 context.

Rebekah Gordon

Doctoral Student - Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education

Rebekah Gordon is a third-year doctoral student in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education. She received her master's degree in teaching English as a second language (TESL) from St. Cloud State University and her bachelor's degree in special education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

She has taught for ten years, including English language teaching positions in South Korea, Ethiopia, and China as well as an ESL methodology course here at MSU. Her scholarly interests revolve around the lived experiences of transnational language teachers.

Her current work explores the pedagogical, cultural, and linguistic identity negotiations of transnational Chinese language teachers in the U.S. Outside of academia, Rebekah enjoys spending time outdoors while trying to keep up with her one-year-old daughter.

2018 - 2019 Fellows

Karolina Achirri

Doctoral Student - Second Language Studies

Karolina Achirri holds an MA in English Philology. She taught English in Poland and China for over 12 years. She has been an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Speaking and Writing Examiner for over four years, certified by the British Council. She published two books on IELTS Speaking and Writing in 2015 and a cultural memoir on her life in China in 2017.

Karolina is currently in her third year of a PhD program in Second Language Studies, working as a teaching assistant for Language Learning and Teaching (LLT) courses. Her research interests include intercultural language learning and teaching, teacher identity, Chinese students’ academic adaptation in the United States, sociocultural approaches to second language acquisition, linguistic anthropology and qualitative research methods.

Kayon Hall

Doctoral Student - Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education

Kayon Hall is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education (HALE) program within the Department of Educational Administration. Through the use of critical and cultural theories and methodologies, Kayon’s research focuses on Black immigrants, popular culture, and race.

Her current work examines the intersection of race and immigration status and how these overlapping identities shape the experience of Black undocumented students in higher education. Prior to MSU, Kayon worked as an administrator in student affairs for eight years. She holds BBA in Marketing and an MBA.

2017 - 2018 Fellows

Tashal Brown

Doctoral Student - Curriculum, Instruction, & Teacher Education

Tashal Brown is a third-year doctoral student in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education. As a teacher educator and former NYC public school teacher, Tashal is committed to exploring the role of power, identity and privilege in social institutions as well as fostering the development of educational spaces with an increased capacity for innovative, critical and collaborative teaching and learning.

Her research examines epistemic and ontological concerns regarding what knowledge(s) and ways of being are valued and embodied in the culture, curriculum and instructional practices within urban schools as well as predominately white educational institutions.

More specifically, Tashal seeks to center the narratives of teachers and students of color by illuminating how personal and external perceptions of their ways of being and knowing impact their experiences within educational institutions.

Annabelle in a red shirt, standing in a room in front of a ceiling fan.

Annabelle Estera

Doctoral Student - Higher, Adult, & Lifelong Education

Annabelle Estera is a third-year doctoral student in the Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education program within the Department of Educational Administration. Her interests include understanding discourses of diversity and multiculturalism, and teaching and learning particularly in regard to women of color. She also interested in curriculum issues and critical pedagogy within interdisciplinary spaces.

She received her master’s degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Ohio State University and her bachelor’s degree in music in contemporary American society from the University of Rochester. Outside of the university, Annabelle enjoys playing music, going to arts performances, and spending time with family.\

2016 - 2017 Fellows

Carrie Li

Doctoral Student - Criminal Justice

Carrie Li is a fourth year doctoral student in Criminal Justice. Her areas of research broadly include intimate partner violence, fear of crime, juvenile delinquency, and cybercrime. She holds a BSc. in Experimental Psychology from University of Bristol and MSc. in Crime Science from University College London in the United Kingdom.

Having a multidisciplinary and multicultural background, she is also passionate about rethinking pedagogies and integrating cultural awareness approach for interdisciplinary teaching and learning. She has received International Peace Scholarship from the Philanthropic Education Organization and a Graduate Student Paper Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.

Samuel in a blue shirt and black suit coat, with a red tie.

Samuel Mindes

Doctoral Student - Sociology

Samuel Mindes is a fourth-year doctoral student in the department of Sociology, having received his master’s in the department in 2015. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in sociology from Calvin College, he worked as an English teacher in the Marshall Islands and American Samoa as a volunteer for WorldTeach, a non-profit based in Cambridge, MA.

Sam’s interests in sociology include international migration, international development, and social research methods. His dissertation research focuses on emigration from the United States to Canada and Mexico in an attempt to add to the understanding of migration in the North American Migration System. Outside of academia, Sam likes to play tennis and ultimate frisbee.

He also enjoys camping, hiking, and geocaching with his (soon to be) wife, Katie, a fellow graduate student in the Sociology department. Sam is excited to be an IIT Fellow and thrilled to have to opportunity to work in collaboration with the other fellows and the students and faculty at James Madison College.

2013 - 2014 Fellows

Alison Chrisler

Doctoral Student - Human Development & Family Studies

Alison Chrisler is a second-year doctoral student in the Human Development and Family Studies department at Michigan State University where she teaches a parenting course to undergraduate juniors and seniors. After obtaining her undergraduate degree in Child Life and Studies in Education from Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin, she worked in hospitals where she prepared and supported hospitalized children and their family members in coping with medical stressors.

She later obtained a master’s degree in Youth Development at Michigan State University in Human Development and Family studies and most recently worked at Child Trends, a non-profit research center in Washington, DC, as a Research Analyst in the Early Childhood Development area.

Ali’s research interests focus on identifying ways families can support their youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender during the “coming out” process. Ali is eager to begin the IIT Fellowship and work in collaboration with the other fellows and faculty and students in the James Madison college.

Lami in black and white dress with a red bow in her hair.

Lami Fofana-Kamara

Doctoral Student - Writing, Rhetoric, & American Cultures

Lami Fofana-Kamara is a third year PhD student in the department of Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures. As a researcher, Lami’s interests include cultural rhetorics and community and civic engagement. Her dissertation project aims to explore relationships of blackness and national identity, language ideologies, and cultural perseverance in academic communities.

As a graduate fellow, Lami is excited to be in conversations with IIT faculty and fellows about the nature of interdisciplinary learning and the teaching of critical race theory in the composition classrooms. She holds a master’s degree in rhetoric and writing from Virginia Community University, Richmond, VA. In her free time, she enjoys photography and cooking.

2012 - 2013 Fellows

Ann in a blue and white shirt, standing in front of a yellow brick wall.

Ann Chrapkiewicz

Doctoral Student - Anthropology

Ann Chrapkiewicz is a fourth-year graduate student in Anthropology; her previous degrees are in Literature and Media Studies (B.A., Duke University) and in Japanese Studies (M.A., University of Michigan). She has been teaching Bikram method hatha yoga since 2004 and participates in continuing education and recertification on a regular basis.

Her approach to inquiry combines a focus on embodied experience and personal reflection--which is cultivated in many contemporary yoga practices, with anthropological attention to power, gender, access to resources, and cultural systems. Ann's dissertation research will focus on the ways in which hatha yoga practice affects perception of the body, concepts of health, and the locations of knowledge and authority about the body.

She really enjoys discussions about health and healing which can incorporate perspectives from physiology, political economy, religion, genetics, and media/discourse analysis, and she would love to design and someday teach a class which can do the same.

Lami Fofana-Kamara

Doctoral Student - Writing, Rhetoric, & American Cultures

2011 - 2012 Fellows

David in a green shirt standing in front of a brick wall.

David Baylis

Doctoral Student - Geography

David Baylis My educational pursuits have always been interdisciplinary. During high school and college I entertained a wide array of potential career paths, from meteorologist to political scientist… and finally settled on a field that encompassed all of my favorite topics: geography.

As I start my 3rd year of the Geography PhD program at Michigan State University, I have added about 12 courses to my teaching repertoire, from world regional geography to the geography of food and agriculture and from geopolitics to cartographic design. My primary pedagogical interest centers on the development of infographics and visual aids for classroom and multimedia settings (focusing on maps of course!).

My academic interests concern the geographies of waste and refuse; for my dissertation, I am looking into the historical geography of Ankara’s human waste landscape in order to question narratives of modernity, nationality, and identity using society’s discards and immaculate ideals as my analytical lens.

Ann Chrapkiewicz

Doctoral Student - Anthropology

2010 - 2011 Fellows

David DeAndrea

Doctoral Candidate - Department of Communication

David C. DeAndrea is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication at Michigan State University. David earned a BA in Communications at Rutgers University, and a MA in Communication at the University of Delaware. In his most recent work at MSU, David is exploring interpersonal processes and the usage of new media technology.

In particular, his recent research studies have examined attributions of online behavior and their impact on impressions. Currently, David is working with the Social Media Research Lab and Residential and Hospitality Services to develop and evaluate a student-focused website aimed to help incoming students at Michigan State University.

Erin Dolgoy

Doctoral Candidate - Department of Political Science

Erin Dolgoy is a fifth year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University. Her dissertation, Propaganda of Progress: Francis Bacon's Essays as Popular Enlightenment, is an analysis of the religious, political, and psychological considerations that made possible the modern scientific project.

Erin has an interest in teaching: she has been involved with the Teaching Apprenticeship Program at MSU and is currently completing her Certification in College Teaching; moreover, she has had the opportunity to teach a number of her own classes, both online and in traditional learning environments.

For the first three years of her Ph.D., Erin's research was funded by the H.B. Earhart Foundation. Prior to arriving at MSU, Erin studied at the University of Toronto (HBA) and the University of Alberta (MA).

2009 - 2010 Fellows

Stefanie in a white shirt, standing in front of a brick wall.

Stefanie Kendall

Doctoral Student - College of Education

Stefanie Kendall After teaching for twelve years, Stefanie came to Michigan State University’s College of Education to study the effect of violent protracted conflict on teaching and learning. She taught special education and high school English in Maine, and then moved to Kuwait to teach high school English and Social Studies in August of 2001.

The beginning of the war in Iraq motivated her to look at how instability resulting from international politics affects teacher practice. Stefanie arrived in Lansing in August of 2005. She is delighted and honored to be a Fellow with James Madison College, and is looking forward to visiting classes and sharing ideas with colleagues and faculty.

Cristian Dona-Reveco

Doctoral Candidate - Sociology and History

Cristian Doña-Reveco is a Chilean doctoral candidate pursuing a dual degree in Sociology and History with a Fulbright-CONICYT Fellowship. He has a Professional degree in Sociology from the Universidad de Chile; a master's in political sciences and international relations from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; and a Master of Arts in Sociology from Michigan State University.

His current research involves the intersection of history and biography in the migration process from the Southern Cone of America to the United States. He has been a research assistant for the International Organization for Migration in Chile and for the Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Center (CELADE) of Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (United Nations).

At MSU he has been involved with research on topics of globalization, demography and international migration and on topics of contemporary urban history in Chile. Cristián has presented his research at a variety of national and international conferences; has taught sociology related courses on topics of international migration in universities in Chile and at MSU. Cristián has been living in the United States since August of 2005 with his wife and two daughters.

2008 - 2009 Fellows

Stefanie Kendall

Doctoral Student - College of Education

Stefanie Kendall After teaching for twelve years, Stefanie came to Michigan State University’s College of Education to study the effect of violent protracted conflict on teaching and learning. She taught special education and high school English in Maine and then moved to Kuwait to teach high school English and Social Studies in August of 2001.

The beginning of the war in Iraq motivated her to look at how instability resulting from international politics affects teacher practice. Stefanie arrived in Lansing in August of 2005. She is delighted and honored to be a Fellow with James Madison College and is looking forward to visiting classes and sharing ideas with colleagues and faculty.

Jose, standing outside in a blue and green shirt.

Jose Moreno

Doctoral Student - Chicano & Latino Studies and American Studies

Jose Moreno is a doctoral student in the Chicano and Latino Studies and American Studies PhD Programs at Michigan State University. During the 2007-2008 academic year Jose was a Research Assistant for Julian Somora Research Institute at Michigan State University; this academic year he is a Teaching Assistant for the Chicano and Latino Studies Program.

Jose earned a BA in History and Chicano Studies from California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and MA degree in Chicano Studies from CSUN. He is the COMPAS caucus chair and is an editorial board member of the National Association of Chicano Studies, and an Editorial Board Member of the Raza Press Association.

Jose has served on various professional organizations governance boards and academic committees He has published various scholarly and popular articles and book reviews for student, professional, and community publications. He is comminuted for the development of community-based and public scholarship in the field of Chicano Studies and History.