Members

David Axelrod 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?”

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 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 Global Fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC, working on an international digital archives collaboration aimed at improving the visualization of historical documents and data. He has published widely including the co-authored book, Mapping Global Justice: Perspectives, Cases and Practices, and the co-edited volume, New Critical Spaces in Transitional Justice: Gender, Art & Memory. He has received many awards and fellowships, including Fulbright and the Library of Congress.

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.

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.

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

Vjeran Pavlakovic 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.

Peace Adeniyi-Idowu is pursuing her bachelors in Political science and Philosophy at Montclair State University. She has substantial research interest for family science and health development as well as a range of historical and contemporary issues such as human rights and environmental justice. She also interned in Newark’s mayor’s office in helping the disadvantaged minorities gain access to useful resources like reduced healthcare and affordable housing.

Josh Rota – Tebb is a 22 year old political science major at Montclair State University. With a background in Open Source Intelligence Analysis Josh has a keen interest in international security policy and international politics. His specific interests lie in nuclear brinkmanship, great power competition, internal regime dynamics, military force structures, political violence, revolutionary/insurgent movements, and international conflict both irregular and conventional.

Jenna Cecere is pursuing her bachelors in English from Montclair State University. She also works at her local library. Her research interests include childhood and adult illiteracy across the world. As an English major, she is passionate about everyone being able to read and write at a level suitable to their own age.

Yukary Lozada is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Justice Studies with a concentration in International Justice from Montclair State University, a minor in Criminal Justice and a certificate in human trafficking. Her interests in research involve social justice and human rights associated with immigration and Latin America. As a non-citizen of the United States, she has experienced discrimination, which fueled her passion for social justice. She joined the Global Center of Human Trafficking to help foster a better understanding on this topic. Her aim is to provide holistic scholarly perspectives to prevent abuse, help educate the public and advocate for those whose rights are violated.

Jacob Roby is pursuing his bachelor’s in Political Science from Montclair State University. His research interests include the effects of ideology and indoctrination on large populations, as well as rehabilitation efforts to restore health to recovering victims of totalitarian regimes. He is also a Research Assistant at Yorktown Institute, where he studies issues in national security, naval strategy, and great power rivalries.

Pursuing her bachelors in linguistics at Montclair State University, Inoris Esquea stands out as a passionate crusader for human rights, leading the charge against hunger, poverty, and in support of refugees. Beyond her academic journey, she translates her commitment into impactful deeds, lending her energy to local homeless shelters and embodying the change she wishes to see. Inoris embodies the synergy of linguistic insight and unwavering activism.

Sonya Agnew will be graduating in May 2024 from Montclair State University with majors in Politcal Science and Jurisprudence, Law, and Society as well as minors in Russian and Global Security and Diplomacy. She plans to pursue a career in the field of international law with a focus on the Post-Soviet sphere. Her other research fields of interest include human rights law and environmental justice.

Kendrick Barrera will be graduating in May 2024 from Montclair State University with a major in Political Science and a minor in Global Security and Diplomacy. He is looking to pursue a career in law, focusing on immigration and citizenship within the United States. The skills he is looking forward to gaining in this experience in being able to apply the research skills that will be gained from this experience, as well as a more well-rounded understanding of foreign affairs, to his future career.

Michael Cerbo is a History Major at Montclair State University utilizing Project AROS to advance his research skills to further prepare him in working in the legal career. Moreover, he will utilize this experience to get a further understanding of global conflicts and utilize this experience to bring more attention to them.

Thomas Chiaravalloti is a Psychology major with the aim of pursuing an academic career in the future. Participating in the program will bring him closer to his goal, honing his research and analytical skills. The experiential opportunity and empirically grounded curriculum complements his prior experience and exposore to theoretical and conceptual foundations in his earlier coursework.

Michael Doyle is a junior majoring in psychology. He is a recipient of Montclair’s Presidential Fellowship and hopes to apply his research skills in future projects. He has some background in statistical analysis and has conducted research on psychiatric care in the healthcare industry.

Naefon Ellis is studying justice studies at Montclair State University with a minor in pre law and paralegal studies. Her research interest includes women’s rights, urban studies such as the impact of gentrification on low-income communities, and Human rights Violation. I inspire to attend law school and to become the future District Attorney.

Ayasiah Fraser is a double major in Sociology and Political Science. In the past, she has held various positions, including the Gem Project in Newark, serving as a college facilitator. Her role was to teach high school students the importance of canvassing. She hopes to hone her analytical and research skill thanks to PAL

Michael House is a senior undergraduate in Psychology with a specific interest in developmental disabilities. As a returning student with extensive professional experience this opportunity allows him to hone valuable research skills, work with a culturally diverse cohort across a variety of areas of expertise, and expand his network to better assist and advocate for those with learning or developmental disabilities upon completion of the program.

Judie Maxi is currently studying Justice Studies at Montclair State University with a concentration in Justice Systems. Her research interests include international and domestic human rights. She aspires to go to law school to become an attorney upon graduation.

Payton McHugh is a freshman at Montclair State University majoring in Policy Studies with a minor in Urban Studies. Her research focuses on the societal impacts of infustructure and resource allocation.

Fineshara Merceda is studying Psychology at Montclair State University with a minor in international business. Her research interests include international relations and human rights. She works as a University Fellow for the College of Humanities and Social Science and as a student service assistant at the McColgan Student Services Center at the Feliciano School of Business.

Timothy Orlando is studying Political Science at Montclair State University with minors in Environmental Justice and Pre-Law Studies. His research interests are environmental justice and climate advocacy in different regions of the world. The Project AROS lab research internship is his first experiential learning opportunity to further hone his scholarly research skills.

Giannie Rodriguez is a Senior Visual Arts major with a deep passion for art and animation. Her cross-disciplinary research interests include questions of psychologocal, sociological, and human rights-focused nature. The Project AROS Lab experience provides an excellent platform to explore her scholarly passions by working on a project on artificial intelligence, art and the role of agency in this context.

Madelyn Santorelli is a Montclair State University senior pursuing two bachelor’s degrees in International Justice and English. She is a writer and an artist. She is interested in the intersections and oppositions between the physical and the metaphysical, the individual and society, language and translation, and the distinction of poetics from politics—or lack thereof. She is drawn to theory in the light of philosophy and pulled by and through an interdisciplinary approach. She is fascinated by the “gray area.”Above all, she is a student, in and out of the classroom. She hopes to remain as such, regardless of where she is.

Loni Smith is a Political Science Major, minoring in Urban Studies (Sociology) at Montclair. His ecclectic work experience in the corporate world and serving in civil organizations have taught him the importance of serving local communities. With this experiential learning opportunity he seeks to hone his research and problem-solving skills.

Anthony Travisano is a Justice Studies major with a minor in Criminal Justice. His career goal is to work in the field of criminal justice field and hopes to improve his analytical skills to conduct legal research in the future.