Current Ph.D. Students
Alexandra Tonigan
Alexandra Tonigan is a PhD candidate in Educational Psychology at the University of New Mexico, mentored by Dr. Lee Van Horn. Her research focuses on behavioral health outcomes related to alcohol, opioids, and drug use, and the impacts of childhood adversities and poly-victimization. Alexandra works as a research public health analyst for a non-profit, evaluating and researching substance use prevention/treatment programs, and mental health services. She is interested in using innovative methods like integrative data analysis and data harmonization to pool datasets to better understand school and community violence in youth and associations with substance use. In her research, she aims to inform policy and interventions designed to prevent and mitigate risks associated with these experiences to promote healthier, more equitable communities.
Amal Ashour
Amal Ashour is a current doctoral student in the Educational Psychology program at UNM under the supervision of Dr. Terri Flowerday. Her research interest is motivation, especially situational interest, and academic choice. Amal had a bachelor's degree in English language and a master’s in educational psychology from UNM. She is a recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship 2019-2021 and the Zancada Graduate Fellowship 2023-2024. After finishing her master's, she was a United Nations volunteer in Palestine working on developing youth programs and community engagement. Also, she is the assistant coordinator for the learning strategies team at the Center for Teaching and Learning helping UNM undergraduate students learn how to study better.
Andrew Schneider
Andrew “Drew” Schneider is a doctoral candidate in the Educational Psychology program at the University of New Mexico (UNM) under the supervision of Dr. Jay Parks. He is currently researching the relationship between feedback and motivation in Nursing simulation and clinical education. Drew’s primary research interest is feedback given in instructional settings. He has conducted numerous faculty development sessions on feedback techniques in the past ten years. Drew has considerable experience using educational technology in healthcare education settings. This includes instructional design, implementation, technical support, and evaluation of educational technology. Drew currently works for UNM’s College of Nursing as an instructional designer and Canvas technical support specialist.
Chalon Johnson
Chalon Johnson is a doctoral student in the Educational Psychology (EDPY) program under the advisement of Dr. Cari Hushman. Her qualitative research focuses on motivation specifically around teachers and mentors looking into their self-efficacy and perseverance within the STEM field. Her most recent research was on engineering students’ experiences and perceptions of sensor usefulness in a problem-based learning environment which was presented at two conferences in 2023. She is a graduate member of the institutional review board (IRB) and an instructor of several undergraduate-level courses, including EDPY303, EDPY310, and EDPY 472 in the EDPY program. Chalon enjoys working with students, helping them find a passion for learning, and striving for success.
Gulay Guler
Gulay Guler (pronounced as Gyoo-Lie Gyoo-Lahr) is a Ph.D. candidate in Educational Psychology. Her research, under the supervision of Dr. Terri Flowerday, focuses on understanding and enhancing motivation in college students, exploring how instructors can better support student motivation and learning. Gulay has taught several undergraduate classes both in-person and online, served as a statistics tutor, and worked as a learning strategist at UNM's Center for Teaching and Learning. With bachelor's and master's degrees in English as a Foreign Language Education, she taught English to college students in Turkey for six years. Gulay is passionate about employing quantitative methodologies to enhance educational practices and improve student outcomes in higher education.
Joshua R. Lopez
Ph.D. candidate in Educational Psychology
Joseph Poole
Joseph Poole is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of New Mexico in Educational Psychology. Through the expertise provided by his mentor, Dr. Jay Parkes, he is researching the cognitive processes that students use to approach, analyze and answer multiple choice examination questions. Throughout his career, Joseph has faithfully served students, and educators cultivating interprofessional and data-driven academic environment. Professionally, he has been a nurse educator for 18 years. He leads the University of New Mexico Valencia Nursing Program and serves as the Health Sciences Division Chair overseeing both the nursing and allied health programs. Additionally, Joseph has a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and a Master of Science in Nursing Education. He has presented at local, national and international conferences on nursing simulation. Most recently, he presented at the SimGhosts-EP conference where he presented “Using Learning Theory: Gangé’s Theory As A Framework For Simulation.”
Julie Jaramillo
Julie Jaramillo is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of New Mexico in Educational Psychology. Through the expertise provided by her mentor, Dr. Yu-Yu Hsiao, she is researching the mechanisms through which low-income Hispanic students enroll in postsecondary education. Throughout her career, Julie has faithfully served students, families, educators, and administrators in cultivating a more collaborative, data-centric environment. Professionally, she leads participatory evaluation, fostering data literacy and supporting data-informed decisions among educators. Additionally, Julie has a bachelor’s degree in Managing Information Systems and a Master of Science in Data Analytics. She was the recipient of the Center of Regional Studies Graduate Student Fellowship for 2023-2024.
KatieAnn Juanico
Ph.D candidate in Educational Psychology. KatieAnn Juanico is an enrolled tribal member of the Pueblo of Acoma and was raised on the reservation by her parents, Marietta and Melvin Juanico. She began her career in education as a Head Start teacher and over the years has served in many educational capacities – including as a Head Start teacher, an education manager, a director, a FOCUS consultant, and as one of the trustees for the Santa Fe Indian School (SFIS). She most recently worked for the San Felipe Pueblo as the Education Director.
Ms. Juanico has taught two courses at the University of New Mexico (UNM) – Human Growth and Development & Learning and the Classroom – over the past ten (10) semesters. She has earned a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education with an endorsement in Language Arts and a master’s degree in educational psychology from UNM. Her research interests include motivators that positively impact Native American students and their choice to pursue higher degrees.
KatieAnn currently serves as the Assistant Secretary for Indian Education for the New Mexico Public Education Department. As part of her job, she leads Indian Education Programs, Native American language and culture projects, and tribal consultations
Lili Dai
Ph.D student in Educational Psychology
Lindsey Jurgensen
Lindsey Jurgensen is currently an MA/PhD student in Educational Psychology (EDPY) at the University of New Mexico. Her early research focus has tuned into exploring how motivation interacts with the likelihood and quality of life-long learning. Lindsey left her career as an elementary school educator in 2021 because she was curious to better understand the learner, a step in her own lifelong learning journey that brought her back academia. She brings quality experience in elementary education, working in a humanoid robotics lab, and in corporate training to her research. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from the University of West Florida.
Marisa Nodine
Ph.D candidate in Educational Psychology
Megan Faulkner
Megan Faulkner (she/her) is a 4th-year PhD student in UNM’s Educational Psychology program, advised by Dr. Cari Hushman. With a background in environmental education, science communication, and project-based learning, Megan’s research focuses on experiential learning in the STEM fields, particularly among first-generation undergraduate students. She has honed strong statistical analysis, research methods, and program evaluation skills through work with UNM’s Refugee and Immigrant Well-being Project, Office of Assessment and Academic Program Review, Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program, STEM-H Center, and the Undergraduate Research, Arts, and Design Network. A proud first-generation college student and member of the LGBTQ+ community, she seeks to increase educational opportunities and positive outcomes for those historically underrepresented in higher education.
Qing Wang
Qing Wang is a doctoral candidate in the Educational Psychology (EDPY) program under the guidance of Dr. Yu-Yu Hsiao. Her research focuses on psychometric and advanced statistical methodologies, such as machine learning, and their application in fostering student well-being and academic success. Her recent meta-analysis study on the effectiveness of high school dropout intervention programs was published in the Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR). She has served as a statistics tutor and an instructor of several undergraduate-level courses, including EDPY303 and EDPY310, in the EDPY program. Qing takes great joy in tutoring students and sharing her knowledge to help them succeed in their academic endeavors.
