Members

David Axelrod, PhD, 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?”

Mary Hanlon, MFA, is an interdisciplinary filmmaker, new media artist, writer, and Adjunct Professor in the John Martinson Honors EDGE Program. Her work examines how myths and ideologies shape visual culture, drawing on documentary, experimental film, installation, journalism, and new media practices. Her films, including the award-winning The Mirrored Road (2022), have screened internationally and in the United States at DOC LA, IMPACT Docs, LA Indies, the Roxy Cinema Tribeca, among others. Her experimental installations and time-based media works have been exhibited at CICA Museum (Seoul), the Made in NY Media Center, and Harvestworks in New York City. Her work frequently navigates questions of gender, intergenerational storytelling, and the technological mediation of intimacy and identity. She received her MFA in Integrated Media Arts from Hunter College (CUNY) and her BA from the Riggio Honors Writing and Democracy Program at The New School. Her writing has appeared in The Brooklyn Rail and exhibition publications, and she has lectured and participated in panels at NYU, The New School, and MoMA PS1. She is a MacDowell Fellow.

Ghowash Irshad is an adjunct faculty member at Montclair State University, a Fulbright Scholar, and a doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology. She is involved in trauma-focused research and has integrated AI tools into mental health support initiatives for university students. Her work spans teaching, grant writing, interdisciplinary research, and public scholarship on ethics, AI, and mental health.

Kirk A Johnson, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Justice Studies and Medical Humanities, researching public health issues at the intersection of race, justice and theology. He is a member of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities and serves as a member of the Atlantic Health Systems Bioethics Committee. He has published articles in peer-reviewed journals and upcoming contributions to numerous books. His recent books are The Anti-Racism Resource Guide Volume One: Supporting Black Businesses and Economics (2020) and Medical Stigmata: Race, Medicine, and the Pursuit of Theological Liberation (2018). He is the co-host of the Bioethics in the Margins podcast series. He is an ordained clergy in the United Church of Christ (UCC) where he serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the UCC’s Central Atlantic Conference, Secretary of the UCC Central Atlantic Conference’s New Jersey Association, and a member of the Summit Interfaith Council Anti-Racism Committee, and creator of the “Race Talk: Origins” and “Race Talk: Systems” courses.

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, PhD,  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 Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Global Governance Institute in Brussels, working on an issues related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance. He has published widely including the co-authored books, Mapping Queerness in Times of Uncertainty (2024), Justicecraft: Imagining Justice in Times of Conflict (2024) Mapping Global Justice: Perspectives, Cases and Practices (2023), and the co-edited volume, New Critical Spaces in Transitional Justice: Gender, Art & Memory (2019). He has received many awards and fellowships, including Fulbright, the Library of Congress and the Wilson Center.

Sheetal Ranjan, PhD, is a Professor of Justice Studies & Sociology at Montclair State University and an internationally recognized expert in violence prevention, healthcare approaches to justice, and feminist criminology. Her work focuses on applied and translational research. She has secured $7.5 million in grant funding to develop community-based violence prevention programs and founded the Healthcare Approaches to Justice Collaborative at Montclair State University. Dr. Ranjan teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Research Methods, Statistics, GIS for spatial analysis, Community and Domestic Violence, Victimology, and Juvenile Delinquency. A strong advocate for technology in pedagogy, she emphasizes equipping students with essential digital skills.A recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Society of Criminology’s Division of Feminist Criminology, Dr. Ranjan is also a recognized expert on the UN Women – End Violence Against Women (EVAW) global roster.

Gabriel Rubin, PhD, is Professor of Justice Studies at Montclair State University and specializes in terrorism, radicalization, migration, and civil liberties. His books include Migration and Radicalization: Global Futures (2021), Presidential Rhetoric under Bush, Obama, and Trump (2020), and Freedom and Order (2011), analyzing global security, counterterrorism policies, and democratic responses to threats.

Ethné Swartz, PhD, 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.

Renel Fleurima, PhD is a professor at the University of Notre Dame of Haiti. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics, two master’s degrees in Development Sciences and Regional Development and Planning (Brazil), and a PhD in Global Development (Mexico). A former OAS fellow, his research focuses on international migration, remittances, and development.

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, PhD, 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 Pavlaković, PhD, 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.

Ana Barahona is a senior at Montclair State University majoring in Political Science with minors in Economics, Pre-Law, and Religious Studies. She interns with the Baha’i International Community at the United Nations on the Peace and Security team and also works at a personal injury law firm in Rutherford, NJ. Ana is passionate about international advocacy, interdisciplinary research, and student success, and has served as a Community Assistant in Residence Life for over three years.

Sabrina Ferreira is a senior at Montclair State University majoring in Classics with a minor in Myth Studies. She is passionate about archaeology and the study of human history, culture, and civilization. Sabrina hopes to pursue graduate studies and a career in archaeology, focusing on artifact research and analysis.

Suleina Houston is a first-year graduate student at Montclair State University pursuing a master’s degree in clinical psychology. She has experience in participant-based research and presenting academic posters. Suleina plans to continue her education and pursue a PhD while working with clinical populations.

Jacob Kaczorowski is a senior at Montclair State University majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing and a minor in myth studies. He is interested in ancient poetry, mythology, and contemporary poetry, exploring how poetic traditions shape communities. Jacob hopes to work in the publishing industry as an editor while continuing to study literature’s social impact.

Alexis Narine is a senior at Montclair State University majoring in Psychology with minors in Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, and Philosophy. She is interested in brain-behavior relationships, neurodegenerative disorders, sleep, and memory. Alexis plans to pursue a PhD in neuroscience and conduct research with both clinical populations and animal models.

Julia Ranski is pursuing a combined B.A./M.A. in Political Science and Law and Governance at Montclair State University, with a minor in Pre-Law, and will graduate in Spring 2027. An Honors College student-athlete on the field hockey team, she is interested in law, public policy, and women’s rights. Julia plans to attend law school and hopes to build a career in public policy, aspiring ultimately to serve as a U.S. Senator.

Adenike Adedoyin is a freshman majoring in Jurisprudence with an interest in law. She serves as a basketball manager, gaining experience in leadership, teamwork, and time management. Adenike is focused on academic growth and exploring opportunities within the legal field.

Joshua Angeles is a senior at Montclair State University majoring in History. He is passionate about exploring historical events and their impacts and enjoys engaging with subjects such as religion, philosophy, and business. Outside of his studies, Joshua works part-time and enjoys gaming, reading, and watching history-related media.

Yousra Benoit is a sophomore majoring in Journalism and Digital Media, with minors in Sociology and Sustainability Science. They are interested in highlighting vulnerable communities affected by genocide, climate change, food insecurity, and poverty through advocacy, poetry, and photography. Their long-term goal is to become a photojournalist and archivist dedicated to preserving and amplifying marginalized histories.

Martin Briceño is a student majoring in Psychology. He is interested in psychological research on human behavior, with a particular focus on trauma development in early life. Martin plans to pursue a master’s degree in counseling and aspires to support adolescents in educational settings. He is especially committed to working with diverse and underserved communities, including Latino and undocumented populations, through advocacy and equitable mental health care.

Paris Castro is a senior majoring in Justice Studies. She is interested in the intersection of law, research, and social justice, particularly how legal systems affect vulnerable communities. Paris plans to attend law school and pursue a career in public interest or criminal justice advocacy.

Ariba Choudhury is a freshman majoring in Psychology with a minor in Business. She is particularly interested in industrial-organizational psychology, with a focus on workplace relations and organizational health. Ariba plans to pursue graduate studies and a career in organizational research and consulting, advocating for employee well-being and mental health.

Joshualy Flores is a junior majoring in Justice Studies with minors in Business and Dance. She is interested in family-related crime and wrongful convictions and values interdisciplinary learning. Joshualy aims to integrate her academic interests with creative expression to support individuals in need.

Anwulika Ifejika is a student majoring in Psychology. She has a strong interest in law and criminal justice and plans to pursue a legal career in the future. Anwulika enjoys reading, writing, and art and is motivated to explore the intersections between psychology, law, and social justice.

Jeanethe Joseph is a senior majoring in Criminal Justice. She is interested in expanding her academic and professional experience through experiential learning opportunities. Jeanethe looks forward to developing new skills and gaining insight through the PAL internship course.

Kaylyn Kershaw is an honors student and sophomore majoring in Computer Science. She is particularly interested in cybersecurity, with a focus on ethical hacking and digital security. Kaylyn enjoys the problem-solving aspects of coding and is also interested in how technology intersects with social issues. She plans to pursue a career in cybersecurity and expects to complete her degree in December 2027.

Katelynn Khan is a senior majoring in Justice Studies with a concentration in Criminal Justice. She plans to pursue a career in federal law enforcement and aspires to work with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. Katelynn is passionate about understanding the psychological factors behind criminal behavior to promote justice and public safety.

Stuart Longordo is senior in Justice Studies. He is a researcher and problem-solver with a background in logistics, leadership, and large-scale operations, shaped in part by service in the U.S. Air Force. He balances analytical work with creative pursuits, including world-building, character design, music, and visual art. Stuart is particularly interested in transforming complex ideas into clear, structured, and effective systems.

Luis Lorenzana is a senior majoring in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology. His studies have strengthened his understanding of human behavior and the justice system. Alongside his academic work, he serves as a General Manager in the fitness industry, developing leadership, communication, and organizational skills. Luis is interested in personal development, wellness, and professional growth.

Clevielle Olarte is a junior majoring in Anthropology and Classics. She is interested in cultural anthropology and research involving marginalized communities. Clevielle values archival work and historical preservation and aspires to become a museum archivist.

Pankti Patel is a sophomore majoring in Biology. She is developing a strong foundation in biological research and scientific analysis and is interested in exploring opportunities that integrate research, healthcare, and community impact. Pankti plans to continue her education and contribute to advancements in human health and science.

Seoyoung Son is a senior at Montclair State University majoring in Psychology. She is interested in clinical psychology and plans to pursue a master’s degree in the field. Seoyoung is passionate about promoting accessible mental health care, addressing systemic inequalities, and reducing stigma around psychological treatment.

Hannah Suarez is a sophomore majoring in Economics and Policy Studies, with a minor in Leadership Development Through Civic Engagement. She is interested in a career at the intersection of law, public policy, and social impact, and is motivated by work that advances equity and effective governance.

Andreanna Terribile is a senior majoring in Justice Studies. She is interested in the criminal justice system and plans to work in the court system or legal field. Andreanna is particularly interested in legal research and case preparation in support of attorneys.

Jaiden Williams is a freshman at Montclair State University majoring in Jurisprudence, Law & Society. She is interested in research related to human rights, social justice, global history, and international politics, with a focus on how legal systems affect communities. Through her work with Project AROS Lab, she aims to strengthen her research and digital skills. Jaiden plans to attend law school and pursue a career as a lawyer.

Giancarlo Yance is a senior majoring in Political Science with a minor in Global Security & Diplomacy. He is interested in international relations, domestic politics, conflict resolution, and global governance. Giancarlo plans to pursue a career in policy, potentially at the federal level, with a focus on human rights, security cooperation, and equal protection.

Emrullah Zorgun is a senior majoring in Justice Studies. He is particularly interested in law enforcement and the criminal justice system, with a focus on investigation and analysis. Emrullah plans to pursue advanced training and a career in law enforcement, emphasizing ethical policing, community engagement, and evidence-based practices.