PDI Presenters
Academic and Career Development
Talea Anderson
WSU Scholarly Communication Librarian
Talea works at WSU Libraries as Scholarly Communication Librarian. In this role, she talks with faculty and students about strategies for increasing the visibility of their research. She enjoys seeing the passion graduate students have for making a difference by sharing their work more widely. PDI is a great fit for her as she works with students to archive theses and dissertations in the digital repository Research Exchange.
PDI Presentation:
- Submitting Your Thesis and Dissertation
Elizabeth Bernhardt
Doctoral Candidate in Physics and GWC facilitator
I was a doctoral candidate in the department of physics and astronomy; I worked at the Graduate Writing Center as a peer-to-peer facilitator while also representing my department in the Graduate and Professional Student Association. I was involved with PDI from the very beginning, where I proposed the Writing Workshop series as a collaborative effort between the Libraries, the GWC, and GPSA PDI. I recognized a need for graduate and professional students to know how to become better writers, and I addressed this need with hands-on workshops presented by writing experts.
PDI Presentations:
- Writing Workshop Series
- Goal Setting and Project Management
- Critical Reading Strategies
- Reference Management Software
- Writers Block and Writing Strategies
Paula Chambers
Versatile PhD Founder
While dissertating in English back in 1999, I decided I would prefer a non-academic career, but there wasn’t much information out there, so I founded an online community to discuss non-academic careers for Humanities PhDs. In 2010, that community became Versatile PhD, now a leading career-planning resource for PhDs and ABDs in both Humanities and STEM. My mission is to help graduate students and new PhDs envision, prepare for and excel in non-academic careers. When I visit university campuses, I love unmasking for graduate students and postdocs new ways of understanding their accomplishments and representing themselves to non-academic employers.
PDI Presentation:
- Versatile PhD: Industry Careers with Paula Chambers
Nairanjana Dasgupta
Professor of Statistics in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Nairanjana Dasgupta (aka Jan) is a Professor of Statistics in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Washington State University. From 2017 she has held the Boeing Distinguished Professorship in Science/Math Education. She joined WSU in August 1996 only days after graduating with her PhD in Statistics from University of South Carolina. WSU has been her one and only employer in her whole career. Her research is on simultaneous testing, optimal designs, binary and ordinal data. She has authored 55 peer reviewed articles and been successful in obtaining federal grants from NIH, NSF as well as NIST. During her time at WSU she has chaired 63 graduate student committees (MS and PhD). Mentoring and Graduate education are her passion. Her theme as Boeing Distinguished Professor is data literacy and she has been organizing workshops on this topic.
PDI Presentation:
- Busting Myths of Big Data
Erin Furtak
Associate Professor, School of Education, University of Colorado Boulder
Erin is a faculty member, a parent, a researcher, and a person who enjoys writing in its many forms and finds almost no time to do it in her faculty life. As part of her work with the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity, Erin provides workshops for faculty and graduate students to help them develop better strategies for tracking their writing projects across time and managing multiple projects at one time.
PDI Presentation:
Building a Publishing Pipeline: Concrete Strategies for Increasing your Productivity
Patricia Glazebrook
Professor of Philosophy and Public Affairs, School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs
Patricia Glazebrook is Professor of Philosophy in the School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs. She has taught in the US, Canada and Germany. She has had much experience mentoring and advising graduate students in career development, and every student she has worked with has successfully been placed in either a post-doctoral or employment position. Here at WSU, she provided general advice to graduate students nearing completion of their program as part of a panel. She thinks of such work as ‘paying it forward’ for the support she has had in her professional development.
PDI Presentation:
Preparing for the Academic Job Market in Humanities, Social Sciences and Business: Best Practices
Kunter Gunasti
Assistant Professor of Marketing in the Carson College of Business
Kunter Gunasti is an Assistant Professor of Marketing in the Carson College of Business at Washington State University, Pullman where he currently teaches marketing and public policy, and consumer decision making courses. He earned his Ph.D. in Marketing from the Pennsylvania State University, Smeal College of Business. He received his BSc in Engineering from Istanbul Technical University and he holds an MBA in Financial Management from Pace University New York. Dr. Gunasti was recently a faculty member at the University of Connecticut where he won the Undergraduate Teaching Award. He enjoys presenting in PDI events to help graduate students prepare for the job market.
PDI Presentation:
Preparing for the Academic Job Market in Humanities, Social Sciences and Business: Best Practices
Isaiah Hankel (The Cheeky Scientist)
Founder and CEO of Cheeky Scientist
Isaiah is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cheeky Scientist. He is an internationally recognized industry consultant and founder of several successful biotechnology startups. He is an expert in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare industries. Isaiah specializes in helping PhDs transition into cutting-edge industry careers.
Isaiah founded Cheeky Scientist platform with the goal of helping academic PhDs transition into industry careers, and has grown this platform to over 100,000 monthly readers and over 100,000 online subscribers. Isaiah went on to create the Cheeky Scientist Association, a private, PhD-only industry career development network, which now has over 4,000 active members worldwide. He has given over 400 keynote seminars in 30 different countries.
PDI Presentations:
Industry Job Series:
Resumes and Transferrable Skills
Networking
Linked In Profile
Interviewing and Negotiating
Zach Heiden
Assistant Professor in Chemistry
Zachariah (Zach) has been an assistant professor in chemistry at WSU since 2013. Prior to coming to WSU, Zach was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. During his time as a postdoc he was involved in three faculty hiring cycles as a faculty candidate. Upon coming to WSU, Zach received experience from the “other side of the table,” being involved in the hiring of three faculty members. During his time at WSU, he has been an advocate for career development opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students. In the summer of 2015, Zach was a co-organizer of an Early Career Workshop, which was offered on the WSU campus. He also serves as a committee member for the Research Scholar’s Program, which aims at incorporating undergraduate students into research labs in their first year. Zach greatly enjoys his interactions with the GPSA Professional Development Initiative. He is happy to see the many workshops available to graduate students today, and that graduate students are now receiving professional development training, which was not offered while Zach attended graduate school.
PDI Presentations:
Applying for Academia (Lessons, Hints, and Insights into the Application Process)
The Academic Job Application
Jennifer Neelon
Compliance Analyst with Human Research Protection Program
Jennifer Neelon is a Compliance Analyst with the WSU Human Research Protection Program. Her focus of interest in in protecting human rights in a variety of settings. Her past work includes many years and a variety of experiences in social services in both government and non-profits. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Scripps College and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Idaho.
PDI Presentation:
Human Subject Research and Institutional Review Board Workshop
Karen Kelsky
Founder and President of The Professor is In
Karen Kelsky is the Founder and President of The Professor Is In, which provides advice and consulting services on the academic job search and all elements of the academic and post-academic career. She speaks nationally and internationally on topics related to Ph.D. professionalization, and is a bi-weekly columnist at Chronicle Vitae. She is a former tenured professor and department head at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and University of Oregon. Her latest book is The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your Ph.D. Into a Job (Random House 2015). She is based in Eugene, Oregon, and loves to zip up to WSU to work with the graduate students and faculty there on professional development. She has given talks at WSU including Hacking the Academic Career, and Writing a Winning Grant.
PDI Presentation:
- Hacking the Academic Job Market with Dr. Karen Kelsky (The Professor is In)
- Sexual Harassment in the Academy
Lorena O’English
Tenured Faculty, Holland/Terrell Libraries
Lorena came to librarianship after a stint working for the nonprofit election information organization Project Vote Smart, which made her value the importance of access to information. Oddly enough, she went into librarianship after being on a Foley Institute panel in 1996, and realizing what she really wanted to do! She has been a librarian at WSU since 2000 as a social sciences librarian, just recently adding government information to her portfolio. She very much values her partnership with the GPSA Professiona Development Initiative – working with graduate students in PDI workshops over the last three years has brought her professional and personal joy.
PDI Presentations:
- Writing Workshop Series
- Goal Setting and Project Management
- Critical Reading Strategies
- Reference Management Software
- Submitting Your Thesis and Dissertation
- Writers Block and Writing Strategies
- Literature Reviews
Matthew Sutton
Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professor, History
Matthew Avery Sutton came to WSU in 2008. He is a historian with a focus on the relationships among American religion, politics, and culture. He is the Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professor of History at Washington State University. Sutton is currently the Director of Graduate Studies for the history department. The PDI provided an excellent venue for working through important issues of research and publishing with a diverse, multidisciplinary group of smart students
PDI Presentation:
- Preparing for the Academic Job Market in Humanities, Social Sciences and Business: Best Practices
Daniel Vickoren
Programs and Graduations Supervisor, WSU Graduate School
I work as part of a team which guides graduate students throughout their time at WSU, from orientation and establishing their committee to final exams and mailing diplomas. I know firsthand the challenges and stress our graduate students can experience throughout their programs, so I jumped at the chance to partner with PDI. When presenting I try to offer encouragement, helpful tips, and even a few lighthearted comments to help graduate students cope with the often overwhelming stress of final exams and finishing the thesis or dissertation. Seeing students come into the presentation visibly stressed, but leave with a sense of confidence about the final steps ahead, is one of the most rewarding aspects of presenting with PDI.
PDI Presentation:
- Submitting Your Thesis and Dissertation
Communication and Collaboration
Warren Cook
PhD student, Carson College of Business
Warren Cook is a PhD student at the Carson College of Business who studies organizational behavior, which is related to how people interact with one another in professional settings. Drawing from his experience teaching courses on leadership and negotiation skills, Warren collaborated with clinical faculty member Ron Moser to host a workshop on managing professional relationships. This workshop provided an opportunity for members from the Carson College of Business to share best practices based on their own research and experience to help graduate students navigate common challenges encountered when developing one’s own network.
PDI Presentation:
- Managing Academic Relationships
Rochelle Dach
Access Advisor
Rochelle Dach is an Advisor as the WSU Pullman Access Center. She became involved with PDI after Davi Kallman presented to her department about her research and her experience using liberating structures. Shortly after they partnered together on a number of workshops and presentations for PDI and other areas of campus. Presenting to graduate and professional students has been an opportunity to meet new people and exchange ideas with colleagues in other areas of the campus.
PDI Presentation:
- Understanding Diversity in the Workplace and in Academia: Title IX and ADA
Laura Lavine
Professor in the Department of Entomology
Laura Lavine is a Professor in the Department of Entomology, member of the Teaching Academy, and Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning Facilitator (pogil.org). Laura uses a student-centered learning approach that teaches people how to work in groups at the same time that they learn discipline specific content information. In today’s competitive world, being able to memorize content is only one small part of being a success in your chosen career. Knowing how to get along with others to successfully solve problems requires more than just knowledge of a given subject but requires process skills such as oral communication, critical thinking, and information processing to name a few. Laura believes that an education at WSU gives students a competitive edge when they experience what it is like to work with others on real issues. Laura has presented in the PDI since its inception.
PDI Presentations:
- How to Successfully Work in Groups
- How to Manage Successful Groups
Fisher Qua
Backloop Consulting
Fisher owns a small consulting practice based in Seattle, WA (Back Loop Consulting) where they apply Liberating Structures to a wide variety of situations with a perfectly diverse mix of clients & partners – growing experience working with technical research & engineering teams. He has a BA from Bates College, MA (almost) from U of Michigan (Higher Education Administration), MEd from U of Washington (Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership). He has past experiences in non-profit healthcare working with college students across WA state; taught 5-week class at Bates College (Spring 2016) on using Liberating Structures to make progress on developing and spreading positive peer-to-peer health practices. Fisher came to WSU in the Spring of 2017 to lead a three day workshop on applying Liberating Structures across a range of common situations.
PDI Presentation:
- Learning to Liberate, Liberated Learning
Leadership and Professionalism
Caitlin Blestscher, PhD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Global Citizenship Program
Caitlin Bletscher is dedicated to assisting disadvantaged populations in developing their leadership capacity. For the past decade, she has worked within international and domestic contexts alongside the United Nations, nonprofit organizations, and governmental development agencies for research, education, and advocacy of refugee and migrant populations. Caitlin is passionate about global leadership, international awareness and advocacy, and community development, which is shown through her role with the Global Citizenship Program for CAHNRS. Caitlin also teaches Effective Communication and Life Skills, Global Issues in Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, Global Citizenship, and facilitates the online Tidal Leadership cohort program with working professionals. Caitlin has a Ph.D. in Agricultural Education and Communication from University of Florida. She earned her M.A. from nearby Gonzaga University, and her B.A. from George Fox University, both with specializations in communication, nonprofit organizations, and global leadership studies.
PDI Presentations:
- Leadership Workshop Serie
- Learning to Thrive, Not Just Survive: Developing Resiliency in Grad School (Spokane Campus)
Mary Kay Patton
CTTL Leadership
Mary Kay Patton is dedicated to nurturing the human spirit as an essential part of leading a rich, full, meaningful life. In so doing, she supports individuals and teams in taking values-based, committed action from a place of presence and mindfulness. She delights in designing and delivering workshops, trainings and retreats, all with the intention of shifting and deepening people’s relationship with their own true nature. An Idaho native, Mary Kay Patton has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Washington and a J.D. from the University of Idaho. Over the past 15 years, Patton has practiced civil and criminal law in both public service and private practice. Fueled by her experience in conflict resolution, social justice, and mediation, Patton now focuses her professional efforts on personal and organizational transformation.
PDI Presentations:
- Leadership Workshop Series
- Courageous Conversations: Building Agency and Transforming Your Life: One Conversation at a Time
- Understanding the Tides of Transition
Anna Whitehall
CTTL Faculty
Anna Whitehall’s focus is enhancing well-being through positive mental health. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Western Washington University and a M.A. degree in Human Development from Washington State University. Her research interest focuses on the implementation and evaluation of theory-based, large scale prevention and well-being programs in university settings. In addition to facilitating this program, she teaches a communication and life skill enhancement undergraduate course at WSU and provides customized workshops for youth organizations.
PDI Presentations:
- Leadership Workshop Series
- Learning to Thrive, Not Just Survive: Developing Resiliency in Grad School (Tri-cities Campus)
Denise Yost
Director of CTTL
Denise Yost is a creative scholar committed to interdisciplinary teaching and mentoring to inspire authentic, elevated leadership, and to develop life and interpersonal skills in students, faculty, individuals, and teams. Denise holds her B.S. and M.S. degrees in biological sciences from Washington State University, a Ph.D. in Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Sciences from the University of Maryland, and completed her postdoctoral training at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology. Denise has also been committed to professional training and facilitation for nearly a decade, applying transformative learning techniques to diverse contexts within and beyond the university setting. She translates and applies her creative and dynamic scholarly activities to learning, leadership and life. Yost is the Director of the Center for Transformational Learning and Leadership and a co-Principal Investigator on the university-wide Transformational Change Initiative at Washington State University, a five-year grant focused on students’ academic success, excellence in instruction and student mentoring. Denise continues to demonstrate that her best work is accomplished through living an integrated and inspired life.
PDI Presentations:
- Leadership Workshop Series
- Courageous Conversations: Building Agency and Transforming Your Life: One Conversation at a Time
- Learning to Thrive, Not Just Survive: Developing Resiliency in Grad School (Vancouver Campus)
- Understanding the Tides of Transition
Personal Wellbeing and Mindfulness
Anne Cox
Associate Professor in Kinesiology/ College of Education
I am a faculty member in kinesiology and I study physical activity motivation, body image and mindfulness. Lately, I’ve been investigating the role that mindfulness and self-compassion play in physical activity motivation within the context of yoga. I hold regular mindfulness drop-in sessions in my lab, participate in mindfulness programming on campus and am passionate about teaching more people about the benefits of mindfulness and how to integrate it into your life. I am grateful for the opportunity to talk about things like stress and mindfulness to our graduate students because they have high levels of stress and this is the optimal time to learn coping skills that they can take into their professional lives. Overall, I am just happy to support health and wellness at the university in any way I can whether its through physical activity, mindfulness or yoga!
PDI Presentation:
- Stress Relief and Mindfulness Workshop
Candace Chappelle
Graduate Assistant, Office of the Dean of Students
Candace was the Graduate Assistant and worked as the social media and financial literacy coordinator for the Office of the Dean of Students from August 2015 to May 2018. She has done numerous presentations and educated WSU faculty, staff, and students about financial literacy. She also served as Director of Communications for the Graduate and Professional Student Association for the 2017-2018 academic year. Candace decided to get involved with the PDI to help aid the graduate and professional students at WSU with knowledge and experiences that can help with future career paths.
PDI Presentations:
- Financial Literacy Series
- Budgets
- Credit and Debt
Michell Jaworski
Case Manager, Office of the Dean of Students
I have been working on a college campus since I was a junior in college nearly 20 years ago. I chose a career in Student Affairs because I enjoy the college atmosphere and helping other students find their path to success. I have worked on a number of college campuses in my 16 year professional career and have been at WSU since 2015. I was honored to be asked to serve as one of the first presenters for the PDI program through GPSA and the Graduate School. The Office of the Dean of Students is an office that many students are not familiar with so I enjoy the opportunity to share more information about ways that we help students (graduates as well as undergraduates) during their time at WSU and helping them to see our office as a place for advice and support.
PDI Presentations:
- Graduate Student Resources and the AWARE Network
- Financial Literacy Series
- Budgets
- Credit and Debt
- Taxes
- Saving and Investing
- Loan Repayment
Richard Pineda
Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Texas at El Paso
Dr. Pineda’s research and teaching interests focus on politics, leadership, media, popular culture and Latinidad. Dr. Pineda holds a BA in Political Science from Baylor University, an MA in Communication from The University of El Paso at Texas, and a PhD from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. His research has appeared in a number of communication journals including Text and Performance Quarterly, Argumentation and Advocacy, and The Free Speech Yearbook. Dr. Pineda serves on the editorial boards for the journals Argumentation and Advocacy and Contemporary Argumentation and Debate, the two preeminent argumentation journals in the country.
PDI Presentation:
- “But I Liked Your Post?!”: Shallow Political Engagement in the Era of Transitory Communication
Kirk Schulz and Noel Schulz
President and Professor in Voiland College of Engineering
Washington State University’s First Couple shares their lessons and advice learned over the last 30 years as they have worked to integrate family and their careers as well as having fun. Kirk and Noel met as undergraduates at Virginia Tech in the mid-80s. Over the last 30 years they have worked to balance both their careers and goals with their family and personal activities. Kirk Schulz started as the 11thPresident of Washington State University in June 2016 after seven years as President of Kansas State University. Kirk has his BS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Tech and has been a faculty member/administrator for 26 years at University of North Dakota, Michigan Tech, Mississippi State University, Kansas State University and Washington State University. Noel Schulz joined the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at WSU in August 2016. Noel has her BS and MS in EE from Virginia Tech and her PhD in EE from the University of Minnesota. She has over 23 years of faculty experience at Virginia Tech, University of North Dakota, Michigan Tech, Mississippi State University, Kansas State University and Washington State University.
PDI Presentations:
- Family, Career, and Fun: Lessons Learned as a Dual Career Couple
- Women in Film, Literature, and the Arts: Learn In (hosted by Noel Schulz)
Richard Toolson, PhD
Professor of Accounting
Richard Toolson has been a faculty member in the Department of Accounting at Washington State for over 30 years. He has taught a number of tax classes, including Introduction to Taxation, Individual Income Taxation, and Advanced Taxation. His research emphasis is how best to organize an individual’s finances in order to achieve tax efficient cash flows from investments and during retirement. He has published more than 50 professional tax articles in the most widely read professional tax and accounting journals. He received a Ph.D. and a Masters of Accountancy (taxation emphasis) from Arizona State University and an MBA degree and an undergraduate degree in Economics from Brigham Young University. He has also maintained an active CPA license since 1980
PDI Presentation:
- Tax Help for Graduate and Professional Students