LAB MEMBERS
Dr. Pani Farvid
She/Her/Hers
Scholar, Advocate, Consultant
Lab Founder and Director
Dr. Pani Farvid is an Assistant Professor of Applied Psychology. She joined The New School in 2019 from Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, where she developed successful teaching and research programs, as well as wide-ranging media profile addressing social and psychological issues (e.g., see her TEDx talk on saying goodbye to binary gender).
Dr. Farvid works with interdisciplinary research teams, community organizations and policy makers across the globe. She draws on mixed-methods, discursive methods, as well as new and emerging methodologies. Her current research/supervision interests span the following:
Working with marginalized populations (e.g., refugees, immigrants, non-binary, LGBTQI+, ethnic/racial minorities) in order to foster equity and social justice.
Dr. Thomas a. Vance
He/Him/His
Visiting Research Scholar/ The New School / Schools for Public Engagement
Dr. Thomas A.Vance is a Visiting Research Scholar at the Schools for Public Engagement at The New School in New York. Clinically, Dr. Vance's work examines the intersection of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, race/ethnicity, disability, class, and other identities and experiences. Dr. Vance researches, practice, and advocates on the resilience of the transgender and gender non-binary community through social justice and empowerment training related to mental health. Dr. Vance specializes in providing holistic multicultural care to children, adolescents, adults, and families. His clinical practice uses evidence-based therapies and techniques appropriately modified for working cross-culturally with socially, economically, and politically disadvantaged patients.
Media Engagement:
DR. Denton Callander
He/Him/His
Researcher, Advocate,
Communicator
Denton Callander, PhD, is a researcher who studies barriers to and ways of improving sexual health and well-being. He is particularly interested in how technologies impact sexual health, facilitate novel forms of sexuality research, and present opportunities for intervention. Denton leads a diverse portfolio of mixed methods and interdisciplinary research in Australasia, North America, and Europe.
Lydia Caldana
She/Her/Hers
Cultural Researcher, Futures Decolonizer, Feminist
Lydia Caldana is a Liberal Studies Master's Degree candidate at The New School for Social Research, at The New School. Her studies focus on gender and sexuality, and on the future of urban spaces and living. She is also an experienced brand strategist and trend forecaster, leading end-to-end consumer insights and trends projects with inspiring, ethical, culturally-responsive, transparent and long-term solutions as an end goal. Diversity and sustainability are at the core of her understanding of futures, and she works towards improving equity and longstanding decisions at companies and institutions.
Hannah Song
She/Her/Hers
Student, Researcher, Activist
Hannah (she/her/hers) is a Korean American from NYC, and is currently a Psychology Master’s student at The New School for Social Research. Previously, she studied Neuroscience, and Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. With a newfound interest in Counseling Psychology, her interests lie primarily in supporting/uplifting marginalized folx. Her research interests tend to focus much on Black and Indigenous People/Person(s) of Color (BIPOC), Gender, and Sexuality. In addition to her involvement in the SexTech Lab, she is a part of Dr. Doris F. Chang’s Lab at NYU Silver School of Social Work. Outside of Psychology, she can be found amplifying/advocating for Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) issues, pursuing photography, and enjoying the presence of loved ones.
Gabriella Ibrahim
SexTech Lab Member
Bella Ibrahim graduated from Pratt Institute in 2014 with a BFA in Communications Design and is currently completing her Liberal Studies MA and Gender Studies certificate at NSSR. Her MA research focuses on Egyptian American women and how their identity influences navigating sexuality and relationships.
Bella comes from a creative marketing background, having worked on award-winning ad campaigns for brands like American Express and Charity: Water. She is currently the marketing director at Kerning Cultures Network, the first venture-funded podcast company in the Middle East.
Samantha Klein
She/Her/Hers
Student, Researcher, Clinician-in-training
Sam is a second year PhD student in Clinical Psychology at the New School for Social Research. She earned her BA in Psychology with a concentration in Gender & Sexuality studies at Bard College in 2018. In addition to being a part of the SexTech Lab, Sam is also a Research Assistant and a member of the Gender & Health Lab in the Clinical Psychology department. Sam's research interests involve sexual/reproductive health and technologies-- specifically as they relate to women, gender minorities, and the LGBTQ+ community. Her MA thesis was a qualitative study examining patient/provider interactions as participants were deciding on preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A).
Anna King
She/Her/Hers
Student, Leftist, Activist
Anna is a fourth year psychology student at The New School. She hopes to help reshape US public policy surrounding racial and economic justice, mental health, and healthcare. Her interests include racial and gender identity, psychology, and social activism. She’s a producer for the student-ran New School Radio and lives in Portland, Oregon.
SALLY McHUGH
She/Her/Hers
Student, Researcher, Feminist
Sally McHugh is a second-year masters student in psychology at the New School for Social Research and hopes to later pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. She earned her BA in Economics and Spanish Linguistics from Occidental College in 2014 and has a background in sales, talent acquisition and operations. Research interests include mental healthcare disparities across marginalized communities, the treatment and rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals with psychotic disorders, and reproductive healthcare in underserved populations. Sally is also a member of McWelling Todman's Psychopathology Lab. Outside of the NSSR, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her rescue dog, Cali, and volunteering with Brooklyn-based senior citizens.
Talea McCalman
She/Her/Hers
Student, Photographer, Educator
Talea is a second-year Psychology Masters student and intends to later
pursue her PhD in Clinical Psychology. Growing up in NYC, Talea has always had an interest in mental health in marginalized communities, and racial justice. She is also interested in the impact of
incarceration on the development of mental illnesses, and treatment
outcomes in the LGBTQ+ community. As an undergraduate, Talea got the
chance to work with mentally ill incarcerated individuals. Her
previous research examines the influence of race on juror decision
making. Outside of the NSSR, Talea enjoys photography, baking and
watching movies.
Sophia Mullens
She/Her/Hers
Student, Clinician, Researcher
Sophie Mullens is a second-year doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at the New School for Social Research. She works as a Research Assistant in both The Psychopathology Lab of McWelling Todman and in the SexTech Lab. Research interests include boredom, psychosis, gender bias in clinical judgment, and technologically mediated intimacies.
Luca forcino
They/Them/Theirs
Student, Researcher, Advocate
Luca is a fourth-year psychology student in The New School’s BPATS program. They previously worked as a research assistant in TNS’s Cultural Psychology Lab, studying how children from different cultural backgrounds regulate their emotions. Luca’s research interests center around gender and sexual identity, with a specific focus on the experiences of LGBTQ+ adolescents. In the future, Luca hopes to pursue graduate study in the field of social work.
DR. Rezwana Snigdha
SexTech Lab Member
Dr. Tara Pond
SexTech Lab Member
Tara Pond is in her final year of her PhD at AUT University, New Zealand. Within critical psychology, her thesis examines the experiences and identities of bisexual and other plurisexual women using a mixed method approach. Her research interests lie in examining the intersections of gender and sexuality, technologically mediated intimate relationships, and working to make hidden and marginalised populations visible in academic and community spaces. She is a vocal advocate for bisexual+ people and is at the forefront of research in this area. “
tanja Glucina
SexTech Lab Member
Tanja has Psychology major from Auckland University (1998), has a Bachelor of Science in Chiropractic (2000) and has a first-class honours degree in Health Science from Auckland University of Technology (2016). For the last 15 years, Tanja has been active in the New Zealand chiropractic profession and within chiropractic education at The New Zealand College of Chiropractic. In 2019 Tanja enrolled in a PhD programme and her research is centred on chiropractic professional identity, practitioner subtypes and patient outcomes. Tanja’s vision is to better understand the chiropractic profession and celebrate the diversity within it, enabling chiropractic to continue to grow and contribute to wider healthcare.
DR. Luke Sniewski
He/Him/His
Therapist, Researcher, Dad
Dr. Luke Sniewski is a Wellbeing Coach and Mindfulness-Based Therapist. His doctoral research focused on evaluating meditation as an intervention for men with pornography addiction, as well as qualitative explorations of men who identify as having a problematic relationship with pornography. He is continuing his education at the Auckland University of Technology, where he is completing the required courses and placements for registration as a psychologist in New Zealand. He enjoys meditating, cooking, salsa dancing, and playing with his son, Jack.
Sara Obaid
UI ISLAM
She/Her/Hers
Researcher, Applied Psychology, Technology
Sara Obaid UI Islam recently graduated with a masters in psychology focused on cognitive and social psychology at The New School. She has worked with diverse and underserved populations on how they use technology and consume social media information, in Pakistan. More specifically Sara worked on developing and implementing a digital literacy program for rural women as well as potential interventions for stopping spread and belief in fake news for low literacy groups. Sara is interested in research on technology and its influence on human behavior, especially in terms of social psychology, decision making and perception. She has been part of research on VR technology at The New School, specifically exploring if it affects empathy and subsequent donor behavior in participants working under Alison Jane Martingano. Sara is also now a Research Assistant at the Sex Tech Lab and a member of the NSSR Perception Lab.
THYME CANTON
They/Them/Their
Student, Pleasure activist, Community centered
Thyme (they/them/theirs) is a life long learner in the pursuit of social justice.
They hold an undergraduate interdisciplinary degree from Fairhaven College. Currently they are a psychology graduate student at the New School of Social Research.
Thyme has spent the last decade working in coalition with Black and queer people of color, young people, sex workers, youth and migrants in both Washington state and the nations capital around sex education, workers rights, and direct-service harm reduction. Thyme is interested in centering underserved communities’ experiences as they continue their education to pursue their Ph.D in clinical psychology.
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Marisa Lopez
She/Her/Hers
Researcher, Writer, Advocate
Marisa is a recent graduate of New York University, holding double majors in Journalism and Sociology. Her research interests include the dynamics of dating, the role rejection plays in relationships, and how technology impacts romantic interaction. She hopes to pursue her Masters in Sociology in the coming years and hopes to continue doing research in the interim thanks to the Lab. Outside of the Lab, Marisa is a full-time marketer living in Brooklyn.
Brian Clement
He/Him/His
Student, Counselor, Writer
Brian Clement is an undergraduate psychology student at the New School. His interests include gender and sexual identity, personality, and racial disparities in mental health care. At the Mental Health Association of San Francisco he counsels peers in recovery, helping them tell their own stories. He is inspired by psychoanalytic theory and plans to pursue graduate study.
Kay Nikiforova
They/Them/Theirs
Researcher, Student, Advocate
Kay Nikiforova is a Clinical Psychology PhD student at St. John's University, a mental health advocate and serves as an advisor for startups and organizations within the mental health and healthtech space. Their clinical and research interests span trauma, the GSM (Gender and Sexuality Minority) population, alternative sexuality and spiritual practices, we well as mental health literacy.
Lindsey Johnson
SexTech Lab Member
Lindsey Johnson is a State Outreach Associate at ActBlue for the Southern region of the United States. Originally from North Carolina, she works with candidates and committees in the South build sustainable,
people-powered digital fundraising programs. Most recently, she worked as a Lingerie Fit Specialist and Retail Associate and as an Academic Advisor at Simmons University. She graduated in 2015 from
Simmons University with a B.A in Political Science and presented her honors thesis “140 characters of
tactical innovation: Social movement activism and political participation on Twitter among Black Americans” at the 46th Annual National Conference of Black Political Scientists. Her interests include racial and economic justice with an intersectional lens, mental health, fashion, voter
empowerment and enfranchisement, and social media as a change agent.
VANESSA SCOTT
She/Her/Hers
Student, Volunteer, Experimenter
Vanessa is enrolled in the graduate diploma of psychotherapy studies at AUT in Auckland, New Zealand.
She is particularly interested in renewed research into psychedelic drugs and how they assist and deepen the therapeutic process.
She is also the co-founder of Morning People - an events business which organizes drug-and-alohol free dawn dance parties around New Zealand.
Vanessa is a Lifeline volunteer counsellor (suicide prevention helpline) a freelance voiceover artist, and is currently training daily in the Wim Hof method which involves breathing exercises and cold exposure to strengthen the mind and body.
I am a second year MA student in the General Psychology Program at The New School. I am interested in studying Chinese traditional philosophy, such as I Ching (Book of Changes) because I strongly believe that the main principles of balance and harmony with natural laws can improve people’s mental health and assist in the development of effective coping systems; therefore, people can easier adapt in the society. I also interested in research on family dynamics and close relationships and how related factors influence the developing self.
Mianzhui
(BRiana)
Wang
Student
DEREK SCOLPINO
He/Him/His
Student, Researcher,
Activist
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Derek Scolpino graduated from Roger Williams University in 2011 with a BS in Business and a minor in Global Communications.
He is currently a master’s student studying psychology at the New School for Social Research. Derek is interested in LGBTQ+ and social justice and plans to pursue the clinical psychology PhD program at NSSR after his second year in the master’s program.
Outside of NSSR, Derek works as a Corporate Sales Manager at a financial institution in downtown Manhattan.
Leigh Lumpkin
She/Her/Hers
Student, Volunteer advocate, Psychology nerd
Leigh is a 2nd year graduate student with interest in both the CMHSAC and GSSR track. Passionate in areas surrounding advocacy for survivors of sex trafficking/sexual violence. Also a former bartender, proud doggy mom, and other areas of interest include writing, para and forensic psychology, and arts.
Tyce Franshon Purvis
He/Him/His
Student, Artist, Advocate
Tyce is a second-year masters student, studying psychology at the New School for Social Research. He is originally from Brownsville, Brooklyn, NY. His primary interests lie in the educational experiences of Black youth, intersectionality, and the quality of medical and mental health care for Black and LGBT youth. Outside of the NSSR program, he is an exercise enthusiast, dancer, and artist. He uses art to explore his creativity, and challenge the many stereotypes placed onto the black community.
I'm a first-year Master's student in General Psychology with an interest in social and applied psychology. I hope to pursue the CSD doctoral program after graduation. My research interests are in LGBTQ+ liberation, social media's role in the exploration and radicalization of sexual and gender identity, classism, fatphobia, and feminism. Before the New School, I received my BA in Psychology and Gender & Women's Studies at Saint Mary's College with a senior capstone research project in the policy, protections, and experiences for LGBTQ+ students on Catholic, Protestant, and secular university campuses inspired by a personal experience of discrimination on a Catholic campus.
isabel glusman
She/Her/Hers
Student, Researcher, Advocate
Isabel Glusman is a second-year master’s student in psychology at The New School for Social Research, on the CMHSAC track. Her interests center around the neuropsychology of anger and aggression. She is additionally a member of the McWelling Todman Psychopathology and Gender & Health labs. Isabel is an advocate in Mt. Sinai’s Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention program. She received her B.A. in International Relations from Franklin University Switzerland.
Sanjana Pegu
She/Her/Hers
Writer, Activist, Researcher
Sanjana is a writer and feminist activist. She graduated from The New School with a masters focusing on Gender & Sexuality. Her work has been published in multiple Indian websites including Asia Times and News Laundry. She's a core collaborator at Smashboard, an alternative social media network for people of all genders fighting patriarchy, and a features writer for CauseBecause, a magazine focusing on corporate social responsibility, the nonprofit sector, and sustainability. Her research interests include gender-based violence, indigenous rights, and socialist feminism. Sanjana has an MBA from IIM Bangalore, India.
Maryam Omidi
She/Her/Hers
Scholar, Activist, Clinician
Maryam Omidi is a doctoral student in clinical psychology at The New School for Social Research. She is also a member of the Frantz Fanon Center for Intersectional Psychology and the Psychology Department’s Social Justice, Diversity, & Inclusion Committee. She draws on qualitative and participatory action research methods for her research, which focuses on the intersection of race, ethnicity, social justice, and mental health. After graduation, Maryam is interested in working with underserved communities in the public sector. Before training as a psychologist, she worked as a journalist in the UK, and is the author of Holidays in Soviet Sanatoriums (2017).
Maryam Omidi is a doctoral student in clinical psychology at The New School for Social Research. She is also a member of the Frantz Fanon Center for Intersectional Psychology and the Psychology Department’s Social Justice, Diversity, & Inclusion Committee. She draws on qualitative and participatory action research methods for her research, which focuses on the intersection of race, ethnicity, social justice, and mental health. After graduation, Maryam is interested in working with underserved communities in the public sector. Before training as a psychologist, she worked as a journalist in the UK, and is the author of Holidays in Soviet Sanatoriums (2017).
Sonora Goldman
She/Her/Hers
Student, Designer, Sister
Sonora Goldman is a second-year M.A. student in the Psychology department at the New School for Social Research. Her studies focus on global mental health, specifically at the intersection of political, climate, and migration-driven trauma and intervention. She is a rape crisis volunteer counselor with RAINN, working with survivors of sexual violence and their loved ones. In addition to being a student, Sonora is a designer and runs a sustainable line of clothing, homegoods, and accessories called frnds of ours.
aaron
smith
He/She/They
Student, Lab Member, Empath
Aaron is a student at the New School majoring in psychology. As someone who's always had an interest in human relationships and the concept of gender and sexuality, Aaron brings a different perspective to the lab with many years in studying both subjects and their partnerships in mental health. Outside of school, Aaron is heavily invested in the gaming world, as well as religion and spirituality.
Michelle King
She/Her/Hers
Student, Writer, Feminist
Michelle King is a first year MA psychology student at the New School for Social Research. Her areas of interest include gender and sexuality, narrative psychology, and the impact of creative writing on physical and mental health. Prior to attending the New School, Michelle received her MFA in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College, where she taught in the undergraduate English department for over three years. Outside of NSSR, Michelle enjoys reading, writing fiction and creative nonfiction, and running in Prospect Park.
Eridani is a Kāi Tahu Māori student of psychotherapy student at AUT in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. She is passionate about decolonisation and is particularly focused on decolonising university curriculum and pedagogy, mental health and sexuality.
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Eridani Baker
She/Her
Student, Takatāpui, De-coloniser
Radhika Rajkumar
She/Her/Hers
Student, Journalist, Researcher
Radhika is an MA student in the NSSR Creative Publishing and Critical Journalism program. She studies the intersections of media and power through race, queer studies, visual culture, social justice movements and digital spaces, and now focuses on the effect of AI and digital intervention on journalism and information sharing.
Radhika's background spans journalism, graphic design and impact media. Prior to graduate school, she was the Development Manager for NewFest, an NYC-based queer film and media organization that produces the annual New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival.
Radhika is an MA student in the NSSR Creative Publishing and Critical Journalism program. She studies the intersections of media and power through race, queer studies, visual culture, social justice movements and digital spaces, and now focuses on the effect of AI and digital intervention on journalism and information sharing.
Radhika's background spans journalism, graphic design and impact media. Prior to graduate school, she was the Development Manager for NewFest, an NYC-based queer film and media organization that produces the annual New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival.
Eva Hersch
She/Her/Hers
Student, Researcher, Feminist
Hi, my name is Eva Hersch and I am a second-year Master's student in Psychology. I am interested in social psychology and gender studies and hope to pursue the CSD PhD after finishing my Master's at the New School. My research interests involve crime, sexuality and gender. Before the New School, I did research on status and music at Muhlenberg College.
Publications:
Michniewicz, K.S., Edelman, L.L., Hersch, E.R., & Kaufman, I.D. (2020). Why write music? Underdog status and music genre influence perceived motivation of musicians. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Ivol Frasier
She/Her
Student, Leftist, Feminist
I'm a first-year Master's student in General Psychology with an interest in social and applied psychology. I hope to pursue the CSD doctoral program after graduation. My research interests are in LGBTQ+ liberation, social media's role in the exploration and radicalization of sexual and gender identity, classism, fatphobia, and feminism. Before the New School, I received my BA in Psychology and Gender & Women's Studies at Saint Mary's College with a senior capstone research project in the policy, protections, and experiences for LGBTQ+ students on Catholic, Protestant, and secular university campuses inspired by a personal experience of discrimination on a Catholic campus.
Abigail Whitmer
She/Her/Hers
Student, Advocate, Researcher
Abigail is a third-year undergraduate student at The New School studying psychology and political science with a focus on clinical psychology and psychology of gender and sexuality. She has a passion for the importance of mental health, freedom of sexuality, and equality in gender; as well as interests in resisting the hegemonic subjugation of these topics.
Maso mazzaferro
Student, Researcher, Aspiring Clinician
Maso is a first-year Masters student in the New School for Social Research's Psychology M.A. program, with plans to eventually become a Clinical Psychologist. Maso is very interested in advancing treatment methods of trauma-induced psychopathology, especially in groups commonly experiencing discrimination-based trauma such as the LGBTQIA+ community. Another interest is furthering research that may decrease LGBT discrimination in society, especially through allowing people to tell their personal stories.
Max is an MA student in Psychology at The New School. Their areas of interest include Sexuality and Gender, Trauma, Death, Kink, Sex Work, Alternative Kinship, Critical Race Theory.
MAX
TAMOLA
They/Them/Theirs
Sarah is an aspiring clinician, and Psychology Masters student at the New School for Social Research. She earned her BA in sexuality, gender, and feminist studies from Oberlin College in 2015. She has a background in editorial writing, film and theater production, and peer-based, non-clinical therapeutics. Her research interests are wide, varied, and evolving, but are underpinned by justice, liberation, radical futurisms, and the body.
Sarah Epstein
She/Her/Hers
Sohini Chatterjee is a PhD Student in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at Western University, Canada. Her research interests primarily revolve around trans and queer activism, queer cultural studies, and resistance movements. She is currently co-editing a volume on autoethnography entitled Autoethnography of ‘Plural Feminisms’: Narrativising Resistance as Everyday Praxis which seeks to explore resistance practices employed by variously minoritized people in the everyday.
Sohini Chaterjee
She/her/hers
Ciela Chavez-Gilbride is a recent Bachelor's graduate from the Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts. They will be completing their Masters in Psychology at the New School for Social Research in the Spring of 2023. Their undergraduate studies focused on the psychology and literature of gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity. They are interested in the relationship between intersectional identities and their narratives, both personal and societal. They will continue this vein of interest in their graduate studies where they hope to examine psychology through a social justice lens.
Ciela Chavez-Gilbride
They/Them/Theirs
Student, Researcher, Advocate
Ciela Chavez-Gilbride
They/Them/Theirs
Student, Researcher, Advocate
Pritika Lal holds a Masters of Creative Technologies from AUT in Auckland, New Zealand. Her post-grad interests explored gender through interactive experiences, the body and methods of making through feminist art.
She currently teaches on the Bachelor of Media Design, Media Design School, Auckland, New Zealand. As a knowledge worker and educator, Pritika is specifically interested in concepts, principles, methods and histories of creativity within art, design and technology. This is an example of a student-led group project in collaboration with Māori design mentors, in which Pritika played a key facilitation role.
Pritika is increasingly inspired by experience, behaviour, empathy and connecting to audiences, it is from this position that she is drawn to the work of the SexTech Lab
Pritika Lal
She/Her
Designer, Educator, Artist
LAB Alumni
Xabier Peralta
Isabel Minogue
Felix
gabriel
Laura ovcjak
Elizabeth Owens
tess george
Faith Nwando