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 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 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.

Cynthia is a PhD Student in the Department of Communication at UCSB. She received her BSc in Psychology with a minor in African American Studies at Howard University in 2017. She then went on to receive her MSc in Digital Anthropology at University College London in 2019, completing her master's thesis titled, Black Twitter: Temporality, (re)Spatializations, and Placemaking. Cynthia's research interests continue to lie at the intersection of all things digital, black culture, and community related, with a keen concentration on social media and the construction of worlds/reality. 

Allison is a PhD student in the Department of Communication at UCSB. She received her BA in Communication with a minor in Public Relations from Michigan State University in 2017, and her MA in Communication from Michigan State University in 2019. Allison’s focus area is interpersonal communication with research interests in gender-based violence and how interpersonal relations can play a role in preventing sexual violence and supporting those who have experienced it.

Musa is a graduate student in the Department of Communication at the University of California Santa Barbara, and a researcher in the Media Neuroscience Lab. He is passionate about the development of algorithmic tools that facilitate research in computational social science. In his research, Musa leverages advancements in natural language processing, computer vision, audio signal processing, and functional brain imaging to study the manifestation of morality across societal, behavioral, and neural levels. Musa holds a B.S. in Neuroscience from New York University Shanghai.

Xingyu is a PhD student in the Department of Communication at UCSB. She received her MS in Psychology from Arizona State University. Her research interests are in media psychology, especially about people's credibility perceptions of online information including topics such as fake news, fact-checking behaviors and selective exposure of news on social media.

Sovannie Len is a graduate student in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She earned a B.A. and M.A. in Psychology at San Jose State University before pivoting to the Communication field. Len examines how race and identity transform in conjunction with a media environment, particularly narrative media. 

Specialization: Media Effects; Race and Culture; Microaggression, Stereotypes, and Discrimination

Hyojin Lee is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She received her B.A.s in Culture Design Management and Economics from Yonsei University. She completed her M.A. in Communication at Seoul National University. Hyojin’s research interests lie in the interpersonal communication of taboo topics, especially between close relationships. Based on her experiences as a content creator on YouTube, Hyojin began her master’s research in media psychology and message effects on promoting sexual health. With her background in media effects and her current focus on interpersonal communication, she seeks to understand how online and offline settings are used to communicate and resolve barriers associated with difficult topics. Hyojin works with Dr. Jennifer Kam for The Communication & Empowerment Collaborative.

Steven is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at UCSB. He received a B.S. in Sport Management from Bowling Green State University in 2016 and an M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication from Kent State University in 2019. Steven's research interests are in the fields of political and mass communication, with a focus on media effects and political tolerance. Steven also focuses on the intersection of professional sports and politics.