Erika Carpenter is a doctoral candidate in the Sociology Department. Her research interests include sexual health education, sexual violence prevention, and qualitative methods. She is committed to community-based research, particularly with youth and youth-serving organizations, and works to that end as a research contractor and evaluator. Erika is currently conducting qualitative research for her dissertation titled, “Comprehensive Sex Ed as Violence Prevention? Oregon Public High School Students Experiences of Safety.” Erika also teaches Human Sexuality as an adjunct faculty member in the Sociology Department at Virginia Commonwealth University. She can be reached at ec24@pdx.edu.
Andrea is a graduate student in the Sociology Ph.D. program. Andrea’s research interests are within the sociology of education and includes higher education and the connection between education and social mobility. Andrea’s current thesis focuses on the relationship between those who leave college without a degree and the student experience. She is privileged to work in the Office of Student Success within the Office of Academic Affairs at PSU and serves as the program manager for Students First which is aimed at improving student success outcomes and the student experience at PSU. Andrea is also an advocate for basic needs support for college students and is working as part of a team to study and further scale the basic needs ecosystem at PSU through the Hope Center’s Institutional Capacity Building Cohort. Please be in touch at agarrity@pdx.edu.
Tasha is a doctoral candidate in the Sociology Department. Her research interests include crime, law, and deviance, sociology of law, the U.S. court system and juries. Her current research focuses on gender in the jury selection process. She is a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Sociology Department. You can reach Tasha at ltasha@pdx.edu.
Nate is a graduate student in the Sociology Ph.D. program. His research and teaching interests include sociology of place, suicide, and social integration. An expert in quantitative methods, Nate enjoys exploring the boundaries of computational sociological methodology and data integration. Nate’s current research focuses on the effects of place on suicide rate, examining the ephemeral social aspects that tie individuals together into communities. As well as teaching methods labs as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, Nate is a Senior Research Assistant with the Veterans Administration Evidence Synthesis Program Coordinating Center and is currently Vice President of Politics with the Graduate Employees Union at PSU. Nate can be reached at nparsons@pdx.edu.
Wynn Strange (they/them) attended community college in CA before they received their B.A. in Sociology from California State University Chico and their M.A. in Sociology from Dan Diego State University; they are currently a PhD candidate in Sociology. Their dissertation is titled, "Paradoxes of recognition: Implications of legal gender and name changes and the legal consciousness of nonbinary folx." Wynn uses critical theories including queer, critical race, and decolonial theories in their areas of research in gender and sexuality, law and policy, identity, and popular culture, They participated in research at SDSU on labor violations in San Diego and Imperial counties, and at PSY on the legal needs of low-income Oregonians. They are co-author on six publications from their two years working in health services research at the Portland VA. They are currently an adjunct instructor at Pacific University PSU, and Linfield University. They have prepared eleven unique courses for these universities including Gender and Sexuality in Public Health; Program Development and Evaluation; Social Foundations of Public Health; Intro to Sociology; Hate Crimes; Medicine and Culture; and Crime, Deviance and Social Control. Wynn taught Alcohol and Other Drugs and Introduction to Sociology through the PSU Higher Education in Prison program at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. Wynn was a recipient of the 2021 Department of Sociology Outstanding Graduate Student Award and received a research enhancement award from Pacific University in 2022. In addition to their research and teaching, Wynn is involved in service work with Sociologists for Trans Justice. Through S4TJ Wynn has organized several research and writing support-oriented events. You can reach Wynn at wstrange@pdx.edu or see more about their work on their blog.
Rachel is a Ph.D. student in the Sociology Department. She has an M.S. in Statistics from Portland State University and works as a biostatistician in the Department of Family Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University. She also is a Social Science Fellow with the US Forest Service. Her research interests include environmental sociology, the sociology of disasters, the sociology of risk, and medical sociology. You can reach Rachel at rs4@pdx.edu.
Josiah “Josi” Colbert is a Ph.D. student and graduate teaching assistant for the Sociology Department. Josiah’s research interests include Technology, Inequality, and Domination. Josiah’s dissertation is supervised by Dr. Jose Padin. They are currently a graduate student representative and can be reached at colber2@pdx.edu.
Hannah Sean is a Ph.D. student and research assistant in the Department of Sociology. In the 2021-2022 school year, she served as the department’s Graduate Student Representative and received the award for PSU Sociology Department’s Most Outstanding Teaching Assistant. She also successfully defended her master’s thesis that spring, exploring differences in teachers’ job satisfaction across schools with and without instructional autonomy. For her dissertation research, Hannah Sean maintains a steadfast interest in educational inequities, specifically focusing on pedagogy and the experiences of educators. She welcomes communication and can be reached at ellef@pdx.edu.
Kaitlin (she/her) is currently a graduate student in the Sociology department at Portland State. She is currently serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA member with a community mental health organization in Portland, OR. Her research areas of interest include environment, education, and health. Her current dissertation project focuses on the intersections of environmental justice, mental health care, and technology. Kaitlin’s teaching interests include sociological theory, the sociology of health and illness, and sociolinguistics. You can reach Kaitlin at kry@pdx.edu. Please be in contact!
Alexis Lisandro Guizar Diaz is a third-year student in the Sociology Ph.D. program and a current Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Sociology Department. His research interests broadly revolve around environmental sociology, political ecology, rural & agrarian communities, water, agriculture, and Latinx populations. His most recent project explored the social and economic effects of groundwater depletion in Washington state's Columbia River basin. Alexis also serves as the interim president of the Graduate Employees Union of PSU and as the field department manager for Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), Oregon’s largest farmworker and Latinx advocacy organization. You can reach Alexis at guizar@pdx.edu.
Fourth-Year PhD Students
Tamara Ogle
Tamara C. Ogle (she/her) is a Labor and Digital Sociologist and teaching assistant in the Sociology Department, pursuing her PhD. Her research interests include ageism, misogynoir, immigration, social mobility, social stratification, labor, and political discourse. She holds a BA in Sociology and an MA in Social Research and Data Analysis from Montclair State University. Before academia, she worked in Learning & Development and Data Analysis across Finance and Higher Education, experiences that deepened her understanding of race, gender, and power in workplace settings. Tamara’s research explores how inequality operates across media, education, and the workplace to shape the lives of marginalized communities. She examines how representation, rhetoric, and institutional culture work together to define who belongs, who advances, and who is left behind. By connecting patterns in media discourse, professional life, and digital spaces, her work reveals how performances of inclusion can both mask and reproduce deeper forms of inequality. Tamara can be reached via email here: togle@pdx.edu
Third-Year PhD Students
Madi Lou Abel
Madi Lou (they/them) is third-year PhD student and graduate teaching assistant in the Sociology Department. Having earned their BS in Sexuality, Gender, & Queer Studies from Portland State University in 2021, their research interests broadly include gender and sexuality with an emphasis on transgender studies and finding joy in holding a marginalized identity. Madi Lou’s dissertation is supervised by Dr. Emily Fitzgibbons Shafer. They completed their Master’s thesis at PSU in 2025, which focused on t4t (trans for trans) relationships and how trans* people engage in connection with one another. Outside of PSU, Madi Lou serves as the Graduate Representative for the Pacific Sociological Association (PSA), as well as being a committee member on the PSA’s Committee on the Status of LGBTQIA+ Persons in Sociology. You can reach Madi Lou at xmadi@pdx.edu.
Heather Costa
Heather Costa (she/her) is a third-year student in the Sociology PhD Program and is also an adjunct instructor for the Chicanx-Latinx Studies Department at PSU. Her main research interests include social and political polarization, the effects of mass media and pop culture on the perception of transgender people in society and the effect of outside interest groups on the education system. In 2025, she successfully defended her Master’s Thesis “Controlling the Curriculum: A Content Analysis of PragerU’s Children’s Educational Material” and earned her Master’s Degree from Portland State University. Prior to attending PSU, she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology with a minor in Political Science from the University of Nevada, Reno. Heather can be reached at heathcos@pdx.edu.
Carla Edith Jimena
Carla is a tenured faculty at the University of the Philippines Los Banos and is currently pursuing her graduate doctoral degree in Sociology at Portland State University. She has served as an instructor, adjunct faculty and graduate mentor in University Studies at PSU. She has been actively involved in social science research in various capacities as a project leader, community organizer, social development specialist, team member in several action research in underserved communities in the Philippines. Carla is a believer of authentic learning and community-engaged scholarship. She discourses that knowledge is co-created and co-produced with the local community drawing from their authentic and lived experiences.
Her academic journey is grounded in the disciplines of sociology, human ecology, and development management. Her curiosity centers on analyzing human ecosystems and how the dynamics of power and inequality in communities, institutions and organizations as it interplay with nature, livelihoods and culture. She has led public service, extension and research projects focusing on community engagement and social justice work. She has published articles, agency reports and book chapters in various research and public service themes.
Carla sees herself as a global citizen who is ready to make a positive difference in the lives of many in the world. She has served as a Board Member/ Secretary of the Fulbright Oregon Chapter, a member /Past President of the Rotary Club of Los Banos Makiling and Rotary International. Ms. Carla Gonzales Jimena was a recipient of the Senator William J. Fulbright scholarship and is supported by the Philippine government and Portland State University. She can be reached at cjimena@pdx.edu.
Gabby Mota
Gabriella Mota is a third-year student in the Sociology PhD Program at Portland State University. She currently holds a position as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Sociology Department. Her research interests include intersectionality, race & ethnicity, and political sociology. She completed her Master’s Thesis, The Social and Political Identities of Latine Republicans in the U.S., at Portland State University in 2025. Gabby currently holds an MS in Sociology and a BA in Sociology with a concentration in Criminology. She can be reached at motagab@pdx.edu.
Nahal Rastegarpour
Nahal Rastegarpour is currently a third-year student in the Sociology PhD program at Portland State University. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, and a Master of Science in Sociology. Some of her graduate level accomplishments include being elected as the Sociology Department’s Graduate Student Representative for the 2024-2025 school year, winning the Virginia Cain Endowment Award for 2025, and being selected for membership to the academic achievement honor society Phi Kappa Phi. Her research interests include law, criminology, and deviance, with an emphasis on exploring the nature of police misconduct, along with the many factors which influence legal and social justice on behalf of victims of state violence. She is currently working on publishing iterations of her master’s thesis project entitled “‘This Revolution Been Televised’: Media as a Tool of Justice and an Apparatus of State Violence.” This mixed methods project focuses on cases of fatal encounters and explores the quantitative relationships between social advocacy and police accountability, while qualitatively analyzing the state’s media representation of victims through the framework of neutralization theory. Currently Nahal is on a temporary leave of absence where she plans to focus primarily on publishing, attending conferences, and expanding her completely original data set and codebook. You can reach Nahal at either Nahal.r1989@gmail.com OR Nahal@pdx.edu.
Sri Lakshmi Vedantam
Sri is a third-year graduate student in the Sociology Ph.D. Program at Portland State University, with a background in Population Studies, holding an M.Phil. and M.Sc. Her research interests include population dynamics and their implications for development, health, social networks, aging, technology, environment, and inequalities. Her goal is to contribute to a more equitable and sustainable world, harmonizing human society with our environment. Passionate about contributing valuable insights to these societal issues, she is excited to collaborate with the academic community at Portland State University. She can be reached at srilakv@pdx.edu.
Second-Year PhD Students
Amya Bradley-Woods
Amya Bradley-Woods is a second-year graduate student in the Sociology PhD program at Portland State University. She also serves as a teaching assistant in the Sociology department. Amya received her bachelor’s degree double-majoring in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Oregon in June 2024. Her research interests include mental health, racial stratification, urban sociology, and community-based participatory research. Amya can be reached at brad34@pdx.edu.
Jae Collett
Jae Collett (they/them) is a second-year graduate student in the Sociology PhD program at Portland State University. They received their bachelor’s degree in 2024 from Brigham Young University. Jae is interested in gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, and the criminal legal system. Jae can be reached at jcollett@pdx.edu.
Clover Javurek-Humig
Clover Javurek-Humig is a second-year graduate student in the Sociology PhD program at Portland State University. Their research interests include Crime, Law, and Deviance; Collective Behavior and Social Movements; and Inequality, Poverty, and Social Mobility. Clover’s current research focuses on the impact of police sweeps of encampments on horizontal, mixed-housing status aid groups in Portland, OR. Their thesis chair is Dr. Melissa Thompson. They are a Graduate Representative in the Sociology Department at Portland State University and a Community Care Coordinator at Sunrise PDX. Clover graduated Suma Cum Laude with their B.S. in Sociology from Portland State University in 2024. They currently work as a Graduate Mentor for the University Studies Department at PSU. Clover can be reached at javur2@pdx.edu.
Eiryn Renouard
Eiryn Renouard is a policing scholar in her second year of the Sociology PhD program at Portland State University. Her research focuses on police agency culture. She is currently working on a case study of Portland Police Bureau’s drone program, examining how the program’s introduction into the bureau has impacted its social and cultural structures. Eiryn received her bachelor's degree in 2019 from Gonzaga University where she triple-majored in Sociology, English, and Economics. She worked at the National Policing Institute in Washington D.C. from 2019-2025, where she co-authored publications on the impacts of police culture, firearms regulations, and community-police relationships. Eiryn can be reached at eirynr@pdx.edu.
First-Year PhD Students
Kate Bird
Katherine (Kate) Bird is currently a first year graduate student in the Sociology Ph.D. Program. Her Bachelor of Arts is also in Sociology which she received from Oakland University in May 2025. Her research interests include the Sociology of Sex and Gender and the Sociology of Sexuality. In 2023 she won the Sociology Departmental Paper Award at Oakland University for her article Lesbian Tropes: An Analysis Through the Lens of the Sociology of Gender. Her capstone research was Lost & Found: A Qualitative Study on Queer Students’ Relationships During the Transition Out of College.
If you wish to contact her she can be reached at katebird@pdx.edu and her LinkedIn can be found at www.linkedin.com/in/katherineclairebird.
Iris S. De Lis, M.S.
Photo: By Iris S. De Lis, taken in Yachats, Oregon
Iris S. De Lis (they/them) is a first year PhD student studying the sociology of higher education at Portland State University, with a focus on postsecondary learning assessment and how it can be reimagined to be more equitable, effective, and accessible for all. Iris is an interdisciplinary scholar with a master's degree in educational leadership and policy, with a focus on postsecondary adult and continuing education—the theory and practice of how adults learn. For their undergraduate work, Iris studied sexuality, gender, and queer studies, as well as the Spanish language. You can learn more about and get involved with Iris's work by visiting: www.GOALframework.org. You can reach Iris at ids@pdx.edu.
Max Fassnacht
Max Fassnacht (he/him) is a graduate student in the Sociology Ph.D. program at Portland State University. His research interests are gender, sexuality, and the environment. His current research focuses on queer, clothing-optional beaches such as Rooster Rock and Collins Beach. He has a Master’s Degree in History from the University of British Columbia. His thesis on queer spiritualities in Weimar Germany can be read here. His article in Journal of Homosexuality on Back to Nature Groups in Weimar Germany’s gay rights movement can be accessed here. You can reach Max at mafass@pdx.edu.
Suzy Pappas (Fly)
Photo Credit: Suzy Pappas (Fly)
Suzy (she/they) is currently a graduate student in the Sociology Ph.D. program. She began her educational journey in Child Development and Family Studies, spending years as a teacher and advocate within classroom environments. She returned to university and completed her BA in Sociology with a minor in Psychology at Portland State University in 2024. During this time, she worked as a Research Assistant supporting research of School-Based Health Centers across Oregon, co-authoring the publication School-Based Health Centers and Mental Health Stigma Before and During the Pandemic. Her research interests broadly focus on educational and health inequities, with emphasis on the influence and outcomes of institutional power over disabled people. When not working on research, Suzy can still be found serving her community as an educator in various capacities. She can be reached at sfly@pdx.edu.
Asif Mahmud
Asif Mahmud is a first-year PhD student in Sociology at Portland State University. He completed his BSS in Sociology from SUST in 2022. After completing his BSS, Asif started working as a Fellow of 2023 Cohort at Teach For Bangladesh. During his time working at Teach For Bangladesh, he received a full scholarship to study MEd in Educational Leadership and school improvement at BRAC University. Asif completed his Fellowship from Teach For Bangladesh in December, 2024. You can reach Asif at asifm@pdx.edu.
Ally Tippery (she/her)
Allison (Ally) Tippery is currently a first year graduate student in the Sociology Ph.D. program. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology from UC Berkeley. Ally’s research interest is the sociology of mental health – more specifically, she would like to study modern and non-traditional mental health therapies that have emerged since the Covid-19 pandemic. Aside from being a graduate student, Ally is also a qualitative research manager for a public health research company. She loves moderating focus groups, conducting in-depth interviews, leading study design, and analyzing qualitative data. You can reach Ally at atippery@pdx.edu.
Delaney Ybarra
Delaney (she/her) is a Ph.D. student in Sociology at Portland State University and serves as the Program Director for PSU’s ACCE Program. Her research explores the intersections of language, power, and belonging, especially within higher education. Currently, her work focuses on the societal consequences of monolingualism in the United States. Delaney also holds a Master’s degree in TESOL from Portland State University, where she was awarded the James R. Nattinger Scholarship in Applied Linguistics in 2021. She has published several works on higher education, including “Improving Student Support on a Decentralized Campus”. You can reach Delaney at delaney8@pdx.edu.
Non-Thesis Master's Students
Kelly Gray
Kelly is currently a graduate student in the Sociology Non-Thesis MS program. She is a researcher at Portland State University with experience in survey research and the evaluation of human services programs throughout Oregon. She particularly enjoys doing this work with mental health and addiction treatment providers. You can reach Kelly at kellgray@pdx.edu.
Celeste Janssen
Celeste Janssen (she/her) is a second-year student in PSU’s Sociology program. Her research interests include youth development, youth voice and empowerment, trauma informed care, and the role of adults in youth development programs. She works at Oregon State University Extension as the Research Coordinator for 4-H. She received her Bachelor’s from UC Berkeley. Celeste can be reached at cjanssen@pdx.edu.
Abigail Kraus
Abigail S. Kraus (she/they) is a second-year student in the non-thesis Master’s program, with a research focus in the application of sociological theory to crime trends. She graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor's degree in sociology and criminology. She would like to pursue a PhD in sociology, once she can secure the funding for such an endeavor. She has contributed on two published sociological research reports, during their time as an undergraduate intern at the Utah Foundation. You can reach Abigail at abikraus@pdx.edu.
B+M Students
Phoebe VanHook (she/her)
Phoebe (she/her) is enrolled in the Sociology Bachelor's Plus Master’s program at Portland State University. She is currently in her senior year, working on her Bachelor of Science in Sociology and Criminology. Phoebe’s research interests include Crime, Law, and Deviance; Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility; and Animals and Society. More specifically, she is interested in restorative justice, especially in regards to youth populations, health equity, and human-wildlife coexistence. You can reach Phoebe at phoeb6@pdx.edu.