Jade Salmon

Graduate Student
Salmon
Bio

Jade is a MA/PhD student in the Department of Communication at UCSB. They received their BAs in Communication and French, as well as a minor in Psychology, from the University of Arizona in 2021. Jade's research interests lie in interpersonal communication, particularly in the context of friendship and damaging behavior in close relationships.

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Abdullah Salehuddin

Graduate Student
Salehuddin

Abdullah Salehuddin studies how relational qualities shaped by experiences from relationship history affect stressor management and well-being. His current research examines the impact of parental favoritism and unresolved hurt on communal coping and caregiving.

Bio

Abdullah is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), as well as an Adjunct Professor at Santa Barbara City College (SBCC). Abdullah's research investigates various relational and communicative processes, including stressor management, apology and forgiveness, and relationship history. In the past, his research has focused on how pre-existing relational qualities, such as marital unity or burnout, influence well-being and navigation of stressful times. Currently, his research explores the impact of childhood factors, such as parental favoritism, unresolved hurt, and family environment, on caregiving with siblings for aging parents. Abdullah's research can be found in publishing outlets, including Journal of Communication, Communication Research, and Oxford University Press. At UCSB and SBCC, he also teaches courses like introduction to communication, relational communication, public speaking, and argumentation and debate.

Education

M.A. (2020), California State University, Long Beach (e.g., Interpersonal Communication)

B.A. (2018), University of California, Berkeley (e.g., Rhetoric)

Li Qi

Graduate Student
Qi
Bio

Li is a PhD student in the Department of Communication. She received her BA in Journalism from Zhejiang University and MA in Journalism and Communication from Tsinghua University. Her research interests focus on how message-relevant emotions affect individuals’ information processing, attitude formation, and behavioral intentions.

Gwen Petro

Graduate Student
Petro

My research explores how people disclose and protect their health information online. In doing so, I hope to develop a greater understanding of the factors that shape online privacy decisions to generate solutions protecting at-risk groups.

Bio

I have worked on a variety of projects at the intersection of online privacy and health information. For my master’s thesis, I conducted an experiment demonstrating how receiving personalized online advertising related to health and fitness could impact one’s self-image and online privacy perceptions. I recently published another study examining how mental health professionals protect their clients’ privacy in telehealth settings. In a book chapter I co-authored on group privacy, we consider the privacy risks posed by identifying vulnerable groups online (e.g., those with certain health conditions) and the collective nature of online privacy management. I have also worked on projects studying digital inequities, which disproportionately affect members of traditionally marginalized groups. I have conducted research examining the impact of disparate access to digital technology on a variety of quality-of-life-related outcomes (e.g., college students’ GPAs, stress, and coping ability). My research has begun to focus on privacy issues surrounding reproductive health information. I recently conducted interviews to understand how young women navigate finding abortion information online and their beliefs about privacy risks and privacy protection strategies. For my dissertation, I am designing an online privacy literacy intervention and testing whether it motivates people to protect their reproductive health information.

Education

M.A. (2021), UC Santa Barbara, Communication
B.A. (2016), Cornell University, Human Development (Communication minor)

Hannah Overbye-Thompson

Graduate Student
Overbye

Hannah Overbye-Thompson's research interests lie in understanding the effects of algorithm bias, especially as it pertains to systemic inequalities among different groups. She also broadly works on projects related to race and politics in the mass media.

Bio

Hannah's research and theoretical interests are driven by the goal of understanding how to help people navigate an algorithmically mediated world. Her current research program focuses on how algorithm knowledge and the reinvention of technology can mitigate the negative effects of algorithmically driven bias. Her research often uses quantitative and computational methods to accomplish these goals. 

Prior to coming to UCSB, Hannah was the lab manager for Stanford's Psychophysiology Laboratory, where she worked on projects related to emotion regulation. She received her B.S. from UIUC in 2019, where her research focused on understanding the effects of racially biased fake news and disinformation.

Education

B.S. (2019), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Psychology and Communication

Christopher Otmar

Graduate Student
Otmar
Bio

Christopher is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research identifies the communication mechanisms that contribute to adverse relational outcomes for those with social anxiety. The central goal of this research is to understand how interpersonal communication can improve social connection for individuals with social anxiety, offset the consequences of withdrawal behaviors, and decrease feelings of loneliness. His research also focuses on how early experiences of social ostracism impact the present-day well-being and anxiety levels of sexual and gender minority individuals. By constructing and testing theories of social connection, he aims to develop targeted interventions for LGBTQ+ youth to help foster an environment of social safety across online/mediated, educational, and familial contexts. He primarily uses multilevel longitudinal modeling and dyadic interaction analysis to explore these topics.

He received his BA in Communication and Political Science at California Lutheran University and his MA in Communication at San Diego State University. Christopher has taught Introduction to Interpersonal Communication and the Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication at UC Santa Barbara and previously taught Public Speaking at San Diego State University.

Nitzan Navick

Graduate Student
Navick

Boundary Management in the Digital Workplace, Promoting DEI in Organizations, Fully Remote Organizations, Information and Communication Technologies

Bio

Nitzan Navick is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. With a focus on the transition to fully remote organizations and the use of information and communication technologies, her research examines how employees establish and maintain work/non-work boundaries through the utilization of technological affordances. Nitzan has extensive research experience in other areas as well, covering topics such as workplace cybersexual harassment, the adoption of AI in the legal sector, and concertive control in self-organizing online communities. In addition to her academic pursuits, Nitzan has applied her expertise to real-world problems through consulting for various organizations. She has also presented her research findings at national and international conferences in the fields of Communication and Management.

Education

B.A. (2018), CSU Channel Islands, Psychology

M.A. (2021), UC Santa Barbara, Organizational Communication

Ph.D. (anticipated 2024), UC Santa Barbara, Organizational Communication

Sandi Moxley

Graduate Student
Moxley
Bio

Sandi Moxley is an M.A and Ph.D. student in the Communication Department at UCSB. She previously completed her undergrad in Communication at UCSB in 6 years ago. Since then, she worked her way up to being the Director of Communication for an online marketing company that researches, develops and markets their own health- and beauty-related products. She is ecstatic to be able to return to academia, which is where she feels that she truly belongs.

Sandi's goal is to one day become a professor. Sandi’s interests lie in mass media studies and their effects on individuals and society. She is also seeking an interdisciplinary emphasis in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences.

Nancy Molina-Rogers

Graduate Student
Molina
Bio

Nancy Molina-Rogers is a graduate student in the Department of Communication. She received her B.A. in Global Studies and Spanish from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2013, and earned a M.A. in Communication Studies from California State University, Northridge in 2016. Her academic and research interests include Media communication and exploring how portrayals of women on television impact perceptions of identity in children, adolescents, and adults.

Lindsay Miller

Graduate Student
Miller
Bio

Lindsay is an MA/PhD student in the Department of Communication at UCSB. She received her BA in Psychology from Colorado College with a minor in Environmental Policy in 2017. Lindsay's research interests center around motivating people to engage in pro-social behaviors: She is especially interested in designing interventions that encourage people to adopt sustainable practices.