Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2025, Communication

In light of mounting political backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, this study investigates how the gender and racial identity of a spokesperson influence audience perceptions of credibility and the effectiveness of DEI messaging. Grounded in source credibility theory, the study examines the impact of trustworthiness, expertise, and goodwill alongside identity congruence between speaker and audience. Using a between-subjects experimental design (N = 208), participants were exposed to a DEI message delivered by a spokesperson varying by race (Black/White), gender (male/female), and credibility profile. Results showed that all three credibility dimensions significantly predicted message effectiveness, with trustworthiness as the strongest predictor. Unexpectedly, female spokespersons were rated higher in perceived expertise, and messages delivered by Black spokespersons were viewed as more effective. However, shared identity effects were mixed: shared gender identity decreased perceived message effectiveness, and shared racial identity showed no significant effect. These findings underscore the importance of identity cues in DEI communication and offer timely implications for organizational messaging strategies at a time when the legitimacy of DEI efforts is increasingly contested.

Ed.D., Antioch University, 2025, Education

My dissertation focuses on my thesis question: How might an NGO's grassroots efforts in urban Visakhapatnam, India, propagate living justly with animals we encounter and severely Othered humans, beyond attitudes of guardianship, mitigating universalized harms to nature and society? In a transdisciplinary approach examining grassroots programs, my phenomenological study breaks down an animal advocate's assertive practices of—inclusivity and decolonialized lived norms, which persistently transcend cultural antagonisms of caste, ability, gender, sex, class, and form/species—toward creating just pluriversal multispecies communities in Visakhapatnam. Universalized urbanization across the planet has driven irreversible socio-ecological transformation marked by record ecosystem decline. Sustaining the urban via historically patriarchal and colonialized human dominion over other animals and Earth's natural resources reveals our existential disconnect with nature, including our human nature. My analysis claims phenomenologically realized premises observing real actors materializing grassroots formations of interspecies coexistence—working through nexuses of the political, economic, cultural, and religious systems of harm—in efforts toward creating self-determined, just, multispecies communities in Visakhapatnam. This attempts to bridge this gap in scholarship from within the intensities of Visakhapatnam city in urban India. Undoing normative, essentially androcentric, harm that oppresses many and despoils nature is possible. How to wrest political power and demand change-making to address biodiversity loss, food and water insecurity, and unacceptable inequities for Othered humans and animals in urban geographies has been observed and analyzed. More communities and societies applying these phenomenological realizations can help build momentum, lending to many just worlds in one pluriversal world becoming the norm. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https:/ (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2025, Educational Administration

Using a strengths-based framework, this study explores how the Fast Forward program supports students in navigating high school challenges, developing essential skills, and fostering a sense of belonging in higher education. By analyzing survey data and family narratives, my research highlights key factors contributing to college readiness, including mentorship, academic support, and personal development. The findings underscore the importance of early intervention and holistic support in closing equity gaps and ensuring long-term student success. This study provides valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and program administrators seeking to enhance pre- collegiate initiatives and improve outcomes for historically marginalized students.

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, 2025, English

Religious stories have long been used in the genre of retelling, some as inspiration, some used to imagine alternative outcomes for characters, some to reimagine common archetypes and frequently used plot features in modern literature. In such retellings, the source text may be used or reused in a variety of different ways. An increasingly popular approach to retelling has been to search for the silence in literature and tell the stories of the gaps. Lying in the gaps of many religious and ancient tales are the stories of women, survivors of assault, and others who become silenced. When retelling the stories of these women, it is not enough to simply bring them back onto the page: it is not enough to revive these characters, portray their traumas, and abandon them in the gaps once more. The retellings of silenced women require more than representation; they demand a reimagining of their voices, lives, and beings that redefines their integral roles in our stories as meaningful and profound, giving them new life on the page. In this project, I will explore the retrieval of women's stories through retellings as well as the theories of the homo sacer relating to my novel Born of Ashes and its portrayal of the experiences of marginalized voices in a modern fantasy book.

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2025, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

The objective of this research is to deeply explore the experiences of immigrant mothers who are striving to achieve higher education in their pursuit of the American dream while executing their parental responsibilities. It involves a thorough examination of the various challenges and obstacles that these women encounter, including difficulties with language, financial limitations, and disparities in cultural backgrounds. By conducting this research and incorporating personal narratives into this document, I aim to shed light on the remarkable resilience and unwavering determination displayed by immigrant mothers as they overcome these hurdles for the sake of securing a brighter future for themselves and their families. Additionally, this dissertation incorporates recommendations for policies that can enhance accessibility to higher education for immigrant mothers while simultaneously fostering diversity within academic institutions. Ultimately, the writer's goal is to raise awareness about both the hardships and successes experienced by immigrant mothers who tirelessly pursue higher education as a means of attaining an improved quality of life.

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2025, Art

Through the framework of digital dreaming, this thesis explores the intersections of transgender identity, historical narrative, and digital creation. Anchored in personal narrative and the legend of Marinos the Monk, this project investigates how archival research, artistic intervention, and engagement with virtual spaces can reclaim and reimagine marginalized histories, expanding the possibilities of self-representation in the digital era. Created during a time when transgender existence is increasingly under threat from legislative action and erasure, this work engages with low theory, queering the archive to question dominant narratives which have historically obscured or denied transgender histories. Using digital tools including 3D modeling, animation, and digital archival research I create a dynamic between artist and computer, with the computer playing the roles of both research assistant and paintbrush. Through this collaboration I reclaim lost histories and imagine trans futures unbound by the limitations imposed by dominant cultural frameworks. This work insists that transgender people have always been here, resisting the violence of erasure through the radical acts of re-remembering, re-visioning, and re-dreaming identity across time and space.

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2025, Media and Communication

Illegal gold mining, locally known as galamsey, has resulted in widespread environmental degradation in Ghana, particularly through water pollution,deforestation and public health crises. Despite regulatory efforts, affected communities continue to suffer, prompting renewed citizen-led activism. Between September and October 2024, thousands of Ghanaians mobilized both online and offline under the #StopGalamsey protest campaign, drawing national and international attention to the ecological and social consequences of illegal mining. This study critically examines how visual, digital, and embodied rhetorics shaped this protest movement, and how citizens, civil society organizations, and media institutions engaged in advocacy for environmental justice. Rooted in intersectionality and environmental justice theory, and drawing from an intercultural science communication lens, this thesis adopts a multi-method qualitative approach. It analyzes 1,313 tweets and 1,067 Instagram posts from 16 media, activist, and civil society accounts; three Daily Graphic editorials; and ten protest visuals from legacy media outlets and a civil society group, focusing on the peak of the #StopGalamsey protests, September 21 to October 31, 2024. The thematic and visual analysis uncovered four key themes: environmental and health crisis, protest and resistance, government accountability and policy failure, and media and civil society influence. Findings reveal that social media played a crucial role in mobilization, civic engagement, and transnational solidarity. Protest visuals including infographics, live protest photography and an artwork used symbolism, irony, and emotion to emphasize the urgency of the crisis. Women activists faced distinct forms of repression, revealing intersectional vulnerabilities within the environmental justice movement. Traditional media, including BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, and Reuters, amplified these messages globally, while Daily Graphic editorials mirrored citize (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2025, Management

As organizations navigate polarized perspectives on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), understanding the interplay between DEI climate, trust, leadership behaviors, and key organizational outcomes has never been more critical. Through a mixed-methods exploratory sequential design, this research examines how leadership behaviors, trust, and DEI climate impact career advancement satisfaction and turnover intentions, particularly for underrepresented groups. The findings provide actionable insights for CEOs and executives tasked with aligning these constructs with measurable business results. This research explored the dynamics of trust, DEI climate, and leadership behaviors in shaping career advancement satisfaction and turnover intentions through a mixed-methods approach comprising three studies: one qualitative and two quantitative. The first study involved semi-structured interviews with 30 African American and Caucasian executives from diverse industries across the United States. These interviews revealed that trust plays a pivotal role in accessing leadership opportunities and navigating systemic barriers. Analysis of participants' experiences highlighted trust as a key differentiator in career trajectories, particularly for African Americans, who emphasized its importance in overcoming challenges related to representation and systemic inequities. Building on these qualitative insights, the second study analyzed survey responses from 692 professionals currently working across the United States. This quantitative phase revealed that while DEI climate is often associated with positive organizational outcomes, its effect on reducing turnover intentions was inconsistent. These findings prompted a deeper examination in the third study, which also used the sample of 692 professionals. The third study found that race moderated the relationship between DEI climate and turnover intentions, with Black employees showing a significantly stronger connection between (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2025, Educational Administration

This dissertation explores the factors influencing the retention of Black women under 40 in a historically Black nonprofit organization. Using a qualitative approach, surveys were conducted with current members to identify the organizational, social, and personal dynamics that contribute to the organization's continued motivation and engagement. The study examines themes such as inclusion, motivation, engagement, and background within the organization. Findings highlight sisterhood, internal values, dedication and the organization's mission statement, offering insights into how historically Black nonprofits can better support and retain this critical demographic, fostering a more inclusive environment. This research aims to inform retention strategies that address both individual aspirations and organizational needs.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2025, Antioch Seattle: Counselor Education & Supervision

This qualitative study explored the help-seeking experiences and barriers of ethnic and racially marginalized individuals with OCD living in the United States through a sociocultural model of OCD. Participants included eight adults who self-identified as members of a racial or ethnic marginalized group and with an OCD diagnosis. Individual interviews were conducted to gain an in-depth understanding of participants' experiences and data was analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Five themes emerged from the analysis: (1) OCD Emergence, (2) Barriers to Getting Help with OCD, (3) Desire for Help, (4) Ongoing Challenges with OCD, and (5) The Importance of Finding Support. Findings revealed significant barriers experienced by marginalized individuals in their help-seeking journey with OCD in the United States. Recommendations for future research and the implications for the field of Counselor Education and Supervision are included.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2025, Antioch Seattle: Counselor Education & Supervision

This qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of transracial adoptees of the global majority (BIPOC), focusing on their bicultural identity integration and its impact on mental health. During semi-structured interviews, nine participants shared their stories of navigating cultural and racial dynamics as adoptees in predominantly White adoptive families and communities. The findings revealed six core themes: (1) the Quest for Bicultural Identity Formation, (2) Cultural Integration and Adaptation, (3) Navigating Racial and Cultural Tensions, (4) the Role of Family in Cultural Integration, (5) the Importance of Community and Support Systems, and (6) Mental Health and Therapeutic Experiences, addressing the complex interplay of identity, mental health challenges, and the healing potential of culturally responsive therapy. This study underscores the need for increased cultural competency in adoptive parenting and mental health interventions to better support the unique experiences of transracial adoptees of the global majority. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).20

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2025, Leadership and Change

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the lived experience of mid-level student affairs leaders who identify as cisgender, gay, White, and male in order to further understand the multidimensionality of embodying both privileged as well as marginalized identities. Four participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide and the resulting transcripts were analyzed utilizing the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) perspective. Experiential themes that emerged from the analysis of the individual cases as well as across the cases include unintended pathways into the field of student affairs, experiences of challenging heterosexual male supervisors and the preference for women supervisors, experiences of bias, strategies utilized to navigate privileged identities, and the role that the COVID-19 pandemic had on prioritizing the pursuit of life-work balance. Overarching themes of the tension between the values and expectations of student affairs and the pursuit of work life balance as well as the complexity of navigating the multidimensionality of privileged and oppressed identities are discussed. Unanticipated findings include the level of variation in the salience of the participants gay identity as well as the scarceness of reference to masculinity. Implications for leadership, the scope of the study, and areas for further research are also discussed. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2024, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

Positive school environments have been shown to raise academic achievement. Youngstown East High School has had six principals in six years, and there has been a strong sense of disconnect from the community in their support (both academically and athletically) of the continuous changes that have been made in the Youngstown City School District. East High School has a 99.8% economically disadvantaged population with 13.6% being English Language Learners and 27.1% students with disabilities. Using Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS) to address discipline to affect the management of absenteeism and academic interventions, what measures can be taken to raise the staff and student morale of the high school environment? How can Golden Bears Alumni contribute to the culture and climate as they relate the past to the present? Since the Youngstown City School District is focused on PBIS and must use the Academic Improvement Plan to completely move out of the watchful eyes of the State of Ohio, one must ask how, exactly, can culture and climate improve the academic and athletic performances of their students? How can the district build school pride within the school as well as the surrounding community? How can remaining alumni be used as resources to connect to outliers who could possibly invest in East High School? This study explores these questions by examining data on the effects of climate and culture within the school and community and its impact of school pride on academic achievement and athletic performance, with a specific focus on improving the school pride at Youngstown East High.

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 0, Social Welfare

This dissertation investigates the multifaceted experiences of chronic homelessness among adults in Cleveland, Ohio, with a particular focus on the roles of race and gender identity. The research aims to deepen understanding of how these social identities intersect with individual and systemic factors contributing to prolonged homelessness. It addresses critical gaps in the literature by incorporating the lived experiences and perceptions of individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, thereby offering new theoretical insights and informing future interventions within the homeless services system. Structured around three interconnected studies, the dissertation employs a mixed-methods approach to explore the dynamic relationship between social identities and chronic homelessness. The first study is a scoping review that synthesizes existing empirical evidence on the antecedents of chronic homelessness, mapping out pathways shaped by economic, social, psychological, and systemic factors. This review highlights the complex interplay of these influences and identifies gaps in the literature, providing a foundation for future research and the development of more effective interventions. The second study involves qualitative research through semi-structured interviews with forty individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. This study delves into personal narratives and system-level factors, with a particular emphasis on how race and gender shape these experiences. By employing a constructivist grounded theory approach, the research develops a theoretical model that underscores the central role of meaningful relationships and decision-making processes in the lives of chronically homeless individuals. The third study employs a simultaneous triangulation mixed methods design to explore the impact of race and gender on interactions with the homeless system of care. By integrating qualitative narratives with quantitative data, this study provides a nuanced understandin (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2024, History

This dissertation explores Edirne's transformation from a key Ottoman imperial center to a contested borderland region during the early 20th century. Edirne—historically known as Adrianople—became increasingly significant urban center as the Ottoman Empire lost European territories due to wars and the rise of Balkan nation-states during the 19th and 20th centuries. Formerly the Ottoman capital from 1369 to 1453, Edirne served as a political, military, and economic hub, vital to the empire's southeastern European domains. This dissertation situates Edirne in the context of the "long World War I period," including the Balkan Wars (1912-1913), which led to substantial territorial losses for the empire and the eventual partitioning of its lands into new nation-states in Southeastern Europe and the Middle East. This period marked Edirne's evolution into the empire's western borderlands, characterized by shifting territorial and communal boundaries. I examine how the Balkan Wars redrew borders, detailing the siege and temporary loss of Edirne to Bulgarian forces before the Ottoman recapture. I discuss how Ottoman diplomatic efforts aimed to preserve Edirne within its territories. I also emphasize the role of violence, and the use of “language of violence” by the Ottoman authorities to assert control over borderland regions. Through this lens, this dissertation argues that Edirne's borderland experience exemplifies the complexities of a "nationalizing" Ottoman state, where diverse communities complicated the empire's efforts toward centralization and homogenization, revealing an empire that, despite undefined borders, functioned in many respects like a nation-state. This dissertation thereby sheds light on Edirne as a microcosm of the broader imperial transformation in the early 20th century from empire to nation-state.

PHD, Kent State University, 2024, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

The aim of this qualitative interpretive research study is to further current scholarship about Black undergraduate women students by exploring their interactions, both formally and informally with other Black women at predominantly white institutions (PWIs). My research findings expose how Black undergraduate women formed, maintained, nurtured, or dissolved interactions with other Black women. I conducted one, semi-structured interview with each volunteer participant virtually using the Microsoft Teams platform. I asked questions from a predetermined list of open-ended questions. I used a substantive categorizing strategy to analyze all segments of data and on-going analysis. The findings of the study showed (1) participants experienced moments of support and encouragement from interacting with other Black women one on one, (2) participants actively establish connections and a sense of belonging with other Black women on campus through exchanging greetings and verbal affirmation with initially unknown Black women on campus, (3) participants navigated perceptions of communication and experienced moments of negotiating their identity expressions after interacting with diverse Black women, and (4) participants experienced challenges in their continued interaction with white friends and desire to further connect with more Black undergraduate women on campus.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, English

For Jose Esteban Munoz, queerness is not yet here–it exists beyond the here and now in a utopia we must believe in and imagine before we can build it. The current spatial- temporal “here and now” is understood, in this dissertation, as the capitalist realism defined by Mark Fisher. Meanwhile, Gloria Anzaldua invites us to think about the consciousness that privileges indigenous ways of knowing and being, while recognizing the ways colonial logic has imprinted itself on our minds, bodies, communities, and spirits through mestiza consciousness and Nepantla. Bringing these two thinkers with me—my late queer, Latinx elders—I enter posthumanist, indigenous, and queer ecological discourse with Karen Barad, Donna Haraway, and Robin Wall Kimmerer. Munoz sees queerness as a practice of becoming, and I approach indigeneity in a similar way, focusing on agency rather than a neoliberal or colonial understanding of it through the language of the colonizer. Barad's conceptualization of agential realism offers a way to understand indigeneity beyond anthropocentrism, emphasizing the relationality between people and their ecosystems. This framework highlights how indigeneity is an active, reciprocal process shaped by our connections with the natural world. The goal of this project is to call for hope, a hope that requires discipline, imagination, and care. I aim to inspire some material action regarding land stewardship and the #LandBack movement by addressing Kimmerer's call for re-story-ation through literary analysis.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2024, Leadership and Change

Anne Frank is linked to her contemporaries in about 80% of 18 English-language published and produced plays. The remaining plays pair Frank and African American icons Harriet Tubman, Emmett Till, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Research on dramatic literature with Frank as a character, the writing of plays linking her with African American personages, or history, analysis, or comparison of the process of multiple plays about Frank does not exist. A few articles extant compare the Goodrich and Hackett play with the Kesselman rewrite, a dissertation on five plays about Frank (those five plays are in the 80% mentioned earlier). The central question of this dissertation is why the playwrights of Harriet and Anne: An Original Narrative, Janet Langhart Cohen's Anne & Emmett: A One-Act Play, and Letters from Anne and Martin unite Anne Frank and African American historical figures. What were the playwrights' intentions with this linkage, and how were they fulfilled? This dissertation intends to fill this research gap in theatre history. The playwrights were interviewed using a prepared questionnaire completed by mail, email, telephone, or Zoom to discover the reason(s) for writing the three works. The writers answered using their preferred methods, and results were compiled within the work's question/answer format. Articles and the playwrights' websites were mined for additional historical data about the works and writers. The research found the plays to be works of remembrance/cultural trauma written by playwrights who shared seminal experiences regarding Anne Frank and the African American icons. The writers were driven by intense feelings of social justice, inspiring their creative works. These playwrights used Anne Frank, Harriet Tubman, Emmett Till, and Martin Luther King Jr. to communicate their thematic messages of social justice. They urged their audiences to keep these icons' history from repeating itself and honor those entities. This dissertation is available in open (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2024, Communication Studies (Communication)

Passion Works is a nonprofit art studio in Athens Ohio that employs people with and without physical and developmental differences to create fine art and production art. The studio creates art and sells their products online and in their studio space. The Mobile Art Project (MAP) was an initiative created by Passion Works Studio as a response to the closing of their studio during the COVID-19 pandemic. The MAP brought materials to the homes of studio employees so that they could continue creating products and making money during the pandemic. In this way, the MAP fostered social connections among studio members amid physical separation, and members' activities were a launching point to create new products relevant to the pandemic. As restrictions were lifted, the MAP added additional tasks including mural making and a community-based art creation practice known as circle painting. I utilized ethnographic methods and narrative sensibilities in a layered account where I use my fieldnotes, reflexive writings, participant quotes, pictures, and poetry to describe and analyze the ways that the MAP uses storytelling and artmaking to foster inclusive communities and cultivate resilience among participating populations. This research was guided by one overarching research question and two secondary research questions including: 1) How does storytelling function for participants of the MAP?; 2) How does storytelling foster individual and communal resilience?; and 3) How does storytelling foster inclusive communities? Using an iterative approach, I analyzed data to revealed three themes that define, describe, and explain how the MAP functions for communities. Those three themes include: 1) the invitation, 2) fit-ness, and 3) transportation. The MAP invites participants to create art and think about the world in different ways. It creates fit-ness through crafting environments where various abilities are embraced and uplifted symbolically through communication and materi (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2024, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

This study explores associations between the number of Medicare-certified hospitals and emergency rooms and student performance on the Ohio State Tests in English Language Arts and Mathematics for third graders enrolled in Northeast Ohio schools in 2019 and 2023. This secondary-research study uses archival data to investigate correlations between topographical and location features (rurality, Appalachian status, ESC) and individual variables (gender, race or ethnicity, economic status, English language learner, homeless, disability) and student achievement. The use of Pearson Zero-Order Correlation analysis determined that no association is present between number of Medicare-certified hospitals and emergency rooms and student achievement in Northeast Ohio. The analysis supported significant, negative correlations between student achievement in ELA and mathematics and the individual variables of Black, NonHispanic, Hispanic, Multiracial, economic disadvantage, ELL, homeless and disability. There were no interaction effects between independent and dependent variables. This research supports the need for future research into associations between alternative forms of healthcare, such as pop-up clinics, and student achievement, given the prevalence of alternative healthcare services in areas of Northeast Ohio that do not have adequate hospital or emergency room access.