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.

Hannah Overbye-Thompson is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research examines how biases in artificial intelligence shapes human behavior, perception, and technology adoption. Working at the intersection of media effects, human-computer interaction, and decision making, her current research spans three interconnected areas: (1) the diffusion of biased algorithms across groups, (2) human detection and response to algorithmic bias, and (3) the psychological and social mechanisms through which algorithmic systems perpetuate inequality. Collectively, these lines of research forward an understanding of how algorithmic bias operates as a sociotechnical phenomenon, revealing not just when and how bias occurs, but how individuals detect, workaround, and adapt to biased systems in ways that can either perpetuate or challenge existing inequalities.

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.

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.

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.

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 Kubitza is a PhD candidate in the Department of Communication at UC Santa Barbara. He received his B.S. in Sport Management from Bowling Green State University and his M.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication from Kent State University.

Steven's current research focuses on the evolution of gig work. Specifically, his research analyzes gig workers at global online news organizations through the lens of CCO. 

His research also spans the context of sport within organizational communication, with a focus on the new age of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) in collegiate athletics.

Name Pronunciation

Kyungin Kim is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research examines how legal and carceral systems, and their intersections with modes of social marginalization such as race, ethnicity, class, immigration status, and gender‚ shape everyday family communication among impacted individuals (e.g., undocumented immigrants, family members of the incarcerated). She also investigates how certain communicative practices that families develop under such circumstances can promote or hinder their well-being. Through her work, she aims to generate translational research that illuminates critical support gaps as well as the rich cultural and social capitals sustaining these families.

Kyungin brings a wealth of research experience from corporate (Airbnb), government (Korea Research Institute for Professional Education and Training), and nonprofit (World Trade Centers Association) settings to her current projects at UCSB, under the mentorship of Dr. Jennifer Kam. Her recent works have been recognized with Top Paper Awards from the Family and Interpersonal Communication Divisions at the National Communication Association. With a passion for teaching, she strives to demystify research terms and processes for students from diverse backgrounds and received the UCSB Mentoring Award in 2024.

Shawn Hill is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research uses quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods to examine police-community relations, police legitimacy, and police culture through the lens of intergroup communication and communication accommodation theory. Hill is a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) LEADS Scholar and an Executive Fellow with the National Policing Institute. He previously served on the Community Policing Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. His scholarly work includes peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and co-editing The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook on Policing, Communication, and Society, an interdisciplinary volume exploring the intersections of policing and communication. He was awarded a Dissertation Fellowship from the NIJ to study intergroup interventions between police and the public and received the 2025 Putnam Interdisciplinary Scholar Award for his cross-disciplinary collaborations. His work has been published in journals spanning communication, psychology, criminal justice, criminology, and policing. Hill holds a B.A. in English from Old Dominion University and an M.S. in Criminal Justice from Arizona State University.