Our Team

Lab Director
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Alex Ajayi, Ph.D., LP

Dr. Alex Ajayi is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota. His research program seeks to understand the impact of social marginalization, factors that underpin health and education disparities among diverse groups, and ways to reduce these disparities. He is interested in developing scalable and innovative interventions in health and education. Outside of work, he enjoys traveling, gardening, and spending time with friends and family. 

Undergraduate Students
David

David Girin

David is a third year undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Psychology (BS) with an interest in personality and counseling. Outside of school, he enjoys finding new music, thrifting, and going to the gym

 

 

 

Logan Lestina

Logan Lestina

Logan is in his third year of undergrad pursuing a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Computer Science. His interests are in counseling and clinical psychology. Outside of school, he enjoys watching movies, reading, and climbing.

 

 

 

 

Halle

Halle Bretz

Halle Bretz is in her fourth year of undergraduate school. She is studying Psychology (B.A.) with a minor in Leadership, and her psychology interests involve counseling with a specific focus on sports psychology. Outside of school, she enjoys dancing, thrifting, and trying new restaurants and coffee shops with friends and family. 

 

 

Anna Jiang

Anna Jiang

​​Anna is in her second year of undergraduate school, majoring in psychology (B.A). Her psychology interests are in counseling, stress and trauma, and cultural differences. Outside of school, she enjoys watching scary movies, anime, and theater. 

 

 

 

 

Theo

Theo Thompson- Guldseth

Theo is in his fourth year of undergrad pursuing a B.S. in Psychology with minors in Learning Technologies and Developmental Psychology. He has an interest in counseling with possibly focusing on children and adolescents. Outside of school, he enjoys playing volleyball and basketball.

 

 

 

Will Greenberg

Will Greenberg

Will is in his third year of undergrad, pursuing a bachelor of science in Psychology. His research interests include the intersectionality of identity and sexual misconduct. Outside of school, Will enjoys listening to music, playing soccer, and going for runs.

 

 

 

Picture of Cali

Cali Smith

Cali is in her fourth year of undergraduate pursuing a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Social Justice. Her psychology interests include mental health disparities in minority populations, counseling, and psychopathology. Outside of school, Cali enjoys music, reading, and traveling. 

 

 

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Amanda Lossef 

Amanda is a third year undergraduate pursuing a B.S. in Psychology, with interests in health psychology and dentistry. Outside of school, she enjoys playing chess, sketching, and leathercrafting.

 

 

 

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Anna Maristela

Anna is in her third year of undergrad pursuing a B.S. in Psychology with minors in Family Therapy and Family Violence Prevention. She plans to pursue her doctorate in counseling psychology after undergrad and has research interests in mental health disparities, interpersonal dynamics, and culturally-responsive interventions all among marginalized communities. Outside of school, she enjoys playing instruments, listening to music, and writing.

 

 

 

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Kahleesia Chapman

 

Kahleesia is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies. Her psychology interests include counseling, stress and trauma, and intersectionality. Outside of school, she enjoys eating yummy food, yoga, and watching movies.

 

 

 

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Lucy Gerst

Lucy is a third year undergraduate student pursuing a B.A. in Psychology. Her interests include counseling, cognitive and clinical psychology. Outside of school, she enjoys making art, spending time outside, and watching TV with friends and family. 

Graduate Students
Jake

Jake Schachter

Jake is a second-year PhD student from Houston, Texas and graduated from Augsburg University with a BA in psychology and a double minor in statistics and religion. He is interested in developing, implementing, and evaluating trauma-informed mindfulness-based interventions. He is also interested in minority stress, substance use, and neuroscience research. Outside of school he likes to travel, hike, and play soccer.

 

 

Headshot image of Chenhao Zhao.

Chenhao Zhao

Chenhao “Chen” Zhao is a first year PhD student from China. He received his B.S. and M.S. in clinical/community psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Chenhao is mainly interested in mental health disparities among marginalized populations, especially international students and AAPI. Outside of school, he likes playing video games and watching Japanese anime.

 

 

 

Mounika

Mounika Karri

Mounika is in the first year of a master's program. Her psychology interests are counseling within the realm of minority populations, specifically immigrant families, and bridging mental health disparities. Outside of school, she enjoys going on long walks, reading, and frequenting coffee shops (only for the chai).

 

Breyonnah Wade!

 Breyonnah Wade

 

Breyonnah is a first-year PhD student from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Princeton University. She is generally interested in mental health and education disparities among marginalized populations, particularly Black/African American and low-income populations.   

Lab Alumni

Palwasha Khan


Paul Krenik


Karly Allison


Rianna Gomes

 

Yuyi Wang