Current Graduate students – PhD program

 

Alejandro Angee

Alejandro is originally from Colombia.  He obtained his undergraduate degree from FIU. Because of the socio-cultural mix that Miami offers, he has become aware of the social problems that endanger our communities.  Alejandro works with the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP) at FIU.  His dissertation will focus on unpaid wages for immigrant day laborers (wage theft).

 

Chair:  Alex Stepick

Members: Liliana Goldin, Bruce Nissen (Labor Studies)

 

Brianne Barclay

Brianne Barclay received her Master's degree from FIU in the summer of 2006. After receiving her Bachelor's degree from Wittenberg University with a major in sociology and a minor in statistics, she joined the graduate student body at FIU for coursework and duties as a teacher's assistant. She is currently studying for her Ph.D. in the combined field of carpooling and urban planning. After graduation Brianne's plan is to switch coasts to California where she will continue with two of her greatest loves: the beach and teaching.

 

 

Anne Brasby

Anne is originally from England.  She spent 20 years teaching in international schools in Tanzania, Egypt, China, Indonesia and Brazil.   Anne will become a doctoral candidate this year, upon which she plans to conduct her dissertation research on expatriate spouses in Malaysia and Belgium.

 

Chair: Sarah Mahler

Members: Alex Stepick, Lois West, Leslie Frazier (psychology)

 

Julissa Castellanos

Julissa Castellanos was an FIU undergraduate and was granted a MA in International Development at American University in Washington, DC.  She's worked at Georgetown University's Center for Intercultural Education and Development and at FIU's Latin America & Caribbean Center (LACC) as Associate Director.  She is currently the Director of Operations for the Office of the Vice Provost, Biscayne Bay Campus.  She began the graduate program in Comparative Sociology with an interest in research design, data analysis, theory and project evaluation procedures.  Her primary research interests include Hispanics in higher education and organizational culture. 

 

Jasney Cogua-Lopez

Jasney is from Colombia where she did her undergraduate studies at the Central Colombian University.  Jasney also holds an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Nebraska.  Her dissertation will examine international marriages as a migration strategy between Columbia and the United States. 

 

Chair: Sarah Mahler

Members: Alex Stepick, Maria Aysa-Lastra, Ana Maria Bidegain (external), Lourdes Gouveia (external)

Donneth Crooks

Donneth Crooks holds a BA in Arts and Social Sciences and an M.Sc. in Development Studies from the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus in Jamaica.  She also earned a MA in Comparative Sociology from FIU and is currently working on her dissertation which will develop an index of social vulnerability of the elderly, with particular reference to the Jamaican population.   Prior to attending Florida International University, she was a lecturer at the University of Technology, Jamaica.  Her current research interests include attitudes to aging and old age and the effects of social change on the experience of aging.

 

Chair:  Dr. Lois West

Members: Liliana Goldin, Maria Aysa-Lastra, Dennis Wiedman, Astrid Arraras (external)

 

Morag Elizabeth Dick

Morag Elizabeth Dick has a B.A. in English and has published in Newsweek and Tropic, the now defunct Sunday magazine of The Miami Herald. She has also been a copy editor for tabloids, in which she was also published on a regular basis.

Her most recent project, a part of her dissertation on Redevelopment and Resistance in a Small Town, has been on the beach redevelopment in Lake Worth, Florida. She has spent her summer in assiduous participant observation at both the pool and the beach in that community. She will be presenting her preliminary findings at the American Anthropological Association’s annual meeting in 2007 as part of a panel discussion entitled Globalization and Resistance: The Perils of Neoliberal Development.

Before Ms. Dick returned to academia in 2004, she worked eight miserable years as Manager of Finance Reporting for an internet company, an experience she does not care to repeat.

 

Marcos Feldman

Marcos grew up in Chicago, Illinois, before earning a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana in 2002. Following this, he moved to Miami and to Florida International University, where in 2005 he earned an M.A. in Comparative Sociology and wrote his thesis on the political and economic impacts of using public subsidies to build Miami's American Airlines Arena.

In 2006 Marcos joined the staff of the newly founded Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP), housed at FIU's Labor Center, and has written and contributed to numerous reports on issues affecting low-income workers in Miami and throughout Florida. He aims to make research relevant and applicable to social justice movements.

Marcos' doctoral interests and research focuses on the political economy of urban development, particularly the policies and practices of urban redevelopment and gentrification in Miami.

 

Chair: Alex Stepick

Members: Alex Stepick, Richard Tardanico, Bruce Nissen (Labor Studies), Jan Nijman (University of Miami)

 

 

Emily Hogue

Emily holds a B.A. in Spanish and English from Anderson University, a Certificate in Peruvian Studies from the Catholic University of Peru (Anthropology), and an M.A. in Comparative Sociology from Florida International University. She has had various experiences working as a consultant in several Latin American and Caribbean countries for faith-based NGOs, such as World Vision International (WVI) and Habitat for Humanity International.

Emily’s areas of interest are faith-based and economic development, Andean Anthropology, issues of globalization, and Latin American Studies. Her doctoral dissertation examines the role of faith-based development agencies in processes of religious and economic change in communities of southern Peru.  Emily’s purpose for post-graduate studies is to be able to provide greater anthropological and sociological knowledge to those institutions and programs working to improve economic and social situations among impoverished groups in Latin America.

 

Chair:  Liliana Goldin

Members: Richard Tardanico, Alex Stepick, Ana Maria Bidegain (Religious Studies)

 

Karen Mahar

Raised outside of Rochester, NY, Karen came to Miami in 1988 to attend the University of Miami, from which she graduated with a B.A. in Motion Picture Production and Creative Writing.

Karen currently works at Camillus House, a humanitarian agency serving the indigent and homeless populations of Miami-Dade County.  During her 13 years with the organization, she has held numerous positions working in communications, grants, planning and program development.  Karen is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Camillus House’s Institute of Homeless Studies, where she is developing and overseeing a variety of innovative research, training, and educational initiatives regarding chronic homelessness.

Karen is a Board Member of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, as well as the Miami Coalition for the Homeless and the Allegany Franciscan Foundation. Previously, she served as Chair of the Miami-Dade Homeless Providers’ Forum and on the Boards of the Haitian Women of Miami and the Florida Office of Collegiate Volunteerism.

 

Meredith Marchioni

Meredith is from New Jersey and did her undergraduate studies at Drew University there majoring in Behavioral Science.  She did an internship at Mote Marine Laboratory where she was given the opportunity to spend time in Mexico tagging sharks for migratory studies.  Working long days with local fishers and getting very small catch sizes made her aware of the social and economic problems that arise from a decline in fish stocks.  She went on to get her MA in applied anthropology from American University where she did ethnographic research with the crabbers of the Chesapeake Bay.  After coming to Florida International University, she became interested in environmental anthropology and is currently conducting her doctoral research in Alaska.  There she looks at the pacific halibut fishery and how the fishers, locals and resource managers value the marine environment and its resources.

 

Chair: Liliana Goldin

Members:  Dennis Wiedman, Juliet Erazo, Rod Neuman (external)

 

 

Tekla Nicholas

Tekla is originally from New Jersey.  She has an undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and a master’s degree from Florida Atlantic University.  Tekla’s current research interests are on the academic achievements of second-generation Haitians in South Florida.

 

Chair: Alex Stepick

 

Sharon Placide

Sharon was born and raised in Jamaica. She earned an undergraduate degree in Spanish at the University of the West Indies and an M.A. in Hispanic Studies at FIU. She currently works full-time as Assistant Dean of Student Services in The Honors College at FIU and enjoys leading off-campus programs in Spain.  Sharon is exploring how notions of race differ between Jamaica and the US.  In particular, her research is concerned with the identities of mixed-race individuals.

Chair: Sarah Mahler

Members: Alex Stepick, Jean Rahier, Dionne Stephens (external)

 

Francisco Sastre

Francisco lived in Florida for many years after relocating from his native Uruguay.  He received an M.A. in Latin American Studies and an M.S. in Business Management from the University of Florida.  Prior to coming to FIU, Francisco worked at the Latin American Health Institute (LHI), a public health organization for the Latin American community of Boston.  At LHI he conducted extensive work in the field of HIV/AIDS concentrating on the areas of program evaluation and cultural competency to improve health care access and services.  Francisco is continuing this work at FIU by studying the cultural negotiations and stressors in the process of identity formation among Latinos living with HIV/AIDS.  He is currently conducting smaller research projects as a research assistant at FIU’s Center for Research on U.S. Latino HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse (CRUSADA).  Some of the projects include research assessing HIV federal funding patterns and a study evaluating HIV knowledge among college students.  Francisco is a devoted and proud Gator and Red Sox fan.

 

Chair: Sarah Mahler

Members:  Dennis Weidman, Maria Aysa-Lastra, Mario De La Rosa (School of Social Work)

Tricia Vanderkooy

Tricia is from Ontario, Canada.  She holds a BA degree in Sociology and an MA degree in International Development Studies.  Prior to graduate studies, she was employed for three years by an international development agency in Haiti. 

Tricia conducts research with a national evaluation project supporting the civic participation of immigrants.  The project aims to equip immigrant-advocacy organizations to grow their organizational capacity, increase the civic engagement of immigrants, and organize for legislative change.  A fluent speaker of Haitian Creole, Tricia also volunteers as a translator for Haitian immigrants in detention facilities.

Tricia’s dissertation explores the life trajectories of second-generation Haitian young adults in the Miami area.  She is examining issues of gender, race and identity as critical components of immigrant integration.

 

Chair: Alex Stepick

Members: Sarah Mahler, Jean Rahier, Dionne Stephens (external)

 

Connie Viamonte

Connie Viamonte has a B.A. in Sociology/Anthropology with a minor in Religious Studies. She also just recently received her M.A. in Comparative Sociology. Her current research interests include gender and relationship studies over the Internet, as well as the effects of technology through globalization.

 

 

Dusan Ugrina

Originally from Slovenia, Dusan holds a BA in anthropology from Wright State University. Ugrina’s dissertation investigates how civil war, refugee status and European unification contribute to shifting ethnic identities among Bosnian guest workers in Berlin. Dusan is currently conducting research in Europe for his dissertation, entitled “Identities in Flux: Bosnian Guestworkers in Berlin.”

 

Chair: Sarah Mahler

Members:  Alex Stepick, Maria Aysa-Lastra, Roderick Neumann (external)

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