Director

Jonathan Schwartz, Ph.D., served as associate dean for graduate studies at the University of Houston College of Education before becoming dean of the University of Houston-Downtown College of Public Service in August 2019. He also serves as co-director of the UH Advancing Community Engagement and Service Institute. He’s held several leadership roles in the American Psychological Association, serving as president of the Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity (Division 51) and as chair of the Society of Counseling Psychology’s Prevention Section (Division 17).

Schwartz has published in the areas of men and masculinity, prevention, bullying and intimate violence. His national recognitions include a 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award in Prevention from the Prevention Section, the 2011 Fritz and Linn Kuder Early Career Scientist/Practitioner Award from APA’s Society of Counseling Psychology and the 2008 Researcher of the Year Award from Division 51.

He previously served as associate dean of research at the New Mexico State University College of Education. Contact: schwartzj@uhd.edu

Student Researchers

Amanda Broyles, a doctoral student in counseling psychology, earned a bachelor’s in psychology and minored in women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Emory University. After graduating she worked as a lab coordinator in the Bauer Memory at Emory Lab. Her research interests center on sexual and domestic violence. She is particularly interested in how gender roles and socialization play a role in the propensity to perpetrate violence and preventative interventions that may decrease the risk of violence.

She also is interested in mindfulness as a coping mechanism for mental distress and the application of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, tap dancing, practicing yoga, exploring new music, playing with her cat and spending time with friends and family. Contact: akbroyles@uh.edu

Maddy Desrochers , a doctoral student in counseling psychology, completed a bachelor’s in psychology at Texas A&M University and a master’s in counseling psychology at UH. She has worked in various settings, including a residential treatment center for Texas foster youth, a child advocacy center and a behavioral health clinic. While at Texas A&M, she was a research assistant in social and cognitive labs focused on analyzing sex differences.

Desrochers joined the MAGIC Lab as a master’s student and completed her thesis analyzing men’s and women’s reactions to a frustration induction task. Her research interests include studying sex differences in relation to cognition, specifically aggressive and abusive traits. She loves to travel, cook and read in her hammock. Contact: Madeleine.desrochers3@gmail.com

Joshua Garcia is an undergraduate pursuing a B.S. in psychology with a minor in human development and family studies. He was born in Dallas, grew up in Northern Virginia, and attended high school in Argentina before coming to Houston. He also volunteers with the Anxiety and Health Research Lab and the Collaboration on Aging Research and Multicultural Assessment. His research interests include culture, mood dysregulation, and neurodegenerative and substance-related disorders. In his free time, Josh enjoys long-distance running, reading, and spending time with his family. Upon graduation, Josh hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.

Micheal Garza is a recent University of Houston psychology B.S. graduate with minors in LGBT studies and human development and family studies. As a first generation, sexual and ethnic minority, his passion to assist the underserved comes from a place of personal experience. His research interests focus on assessment and prevention/treatment of anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders as well as understanding horizontal hostility among the LGBT population particularly when focusing on serving underrepresented populations in the inner city Houston area. Contact: mgarza33@cougarnet.uh.edu

Beth Gill, a doctoral student in counseling psychology, completed her undergraduate degree in psychology at Florida State University. After graduation she worked as a research assistant in the pediatric diabetes lab at FSU’s College of Medicine. Her research interests include men and masculinity, the relationship between masculinity and binge drinking, as well as intimate partner violence and sexual assault prevention. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new places, reading, watching movies and spending time with family and friends. Contact:  gill.elizabethc@gmail.com

Briana Johnson is an undergraduate pursuing a B.S. in psychology with a minor in human development and family studies. She was born and raised in Houston, and the University of Houston was always her dream school. Her research interests include ongoing gender issues in adolescence with a specific interest in elementary through high school students.

She is an active member of the American Psychological Association, Society of Pediatric Psychology, American Counseling Association, Texas Psychological Association and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and is a UH cheerleader. In her free time, Johnson enjoys volunteering at the MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital, spending time with family and cheering on the Cougars from the sideline.

  Zongqi Li, a doctoral student in counseling psychology, was born and raised in Shanghai, China. She received an M.A. with a specialization in marriage and family therapy from Pepperdine University and a B.A. in psychology and a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Rochester. After graduating she worked as an associate marriage and family therapist in Los Angeles. Her research interests include attachment theories, cultural norms that rationalize domestic violence and group therapy. She is interested in how socialization plays a role in rationalizing aggression. In her free time, she enjoys running, boxing, hiking and reading. Contact: zongqili12@gmail.com

Karina Lopez completed her bachelor’s in psychology and a minor in history from the University of Houston in 2017. She also currently works in the Community and Family Medicine department as a research assistant at UTHealth and volunteers in the Anxiety and Health Research Lab at the University of Houston. Her research interests include focusing on several issues affecting underserved communities, including discrimination and substance use.

Kadija Moon is a doctoral student in counseling psychology and a Holmes Scholar in the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education program. She grew up an Army brat but since 2012 has planted roots in Houston. She completed a B.S. in psychology with a minor in human development and family studies and an M.Ed. in counseling at UH. She is currently gaining clinical experience at the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department and has former practicum experience at Houston Fire Department and Krist Samaritan Counseling Center in Clear Lake.

Her research interests include military members, veterans and their families. More specifically, she desires to aid in helping dependents understand and better cope with the strenuous life of having a parent, spouse or immediate family member deployed to a war zone and having to reintegrate back into the home front. She is currently conducting a candidacy study that looks at psychological outcomes of being military-raised. In her free time, she enjoys cheering on the Cougars, traveling, listening to music and spending time with family and friends. You will always find her at a UH football game! Contact:  kkmoon@uh.edu.

Alexandra Slaughter is a doctoral student originally from North Texas. She completed a B.A. in psychology with a clinical concentration at the University of Dallas. Her research interests are broadly focused on intimate partner violent relationships and juvenile justice-involved youth with special educational needs. She has completed practicum rotations as a doctoral student at the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department and Texas Children’s Hospital – The Center for Children and Women. She will be completing her third rotation at Texas Children's Hospital – Adolescent Medicine. In the future she hopes to work with children and adolescents. In her spare time she enjoys practicing meditation, spending time with her two cats, traveling, listening to music, the outdoors and cooking (especially making sushi!). Contact: amslaughter@uh.edu

Research Team Alumni

Addie Goodson was a member of the MAGIC Lab from July 2018 to February 2019. She primarily assisted with data collection and IRB protocols for lab projects on masculinity and its intersection with other psychosocial factors. She has worked in five research labs at Sam Houston State. She also has completed internships at the SHSU Counseling Center and the Huntsville branch of the Sexual Assault and Abuse Free Environment (SAAFE) House, providing counseling and advocacy for families and children who have experienced domestic violence and sexual assault.

Her research interests include the initiation of domestic violence and sexual assault, sexual entitlement, toxic masculinity and male victimization by other males due to homophobia or via pedophilic relationships. For fun she enjoys joking with friends and family, playing with the animals on her parents’ small farm and kidnapping stray cats to take care of. Contact: alg063@shsu.edu

  Kendall Pfeffer was a member of the MAGIC Lab from spring 2017 to spring 2018. She assisted with various projects, including coordinating campus resources and assisting with the application for a grant focused on creating a campus-wide sexual assault prevention program. She graduated from UH with a Master’s of Education in counseling. She is now pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology in New York.

Liz Hughes,  a member of the MAGIC Lab from summer 2017 to spring 2018, worked on multiple projects, including helping to create scale items for a measure of sexual entitlement and asssiting with IRB protocol submission. She graduated from UH with a Master’s of Education in counseling and is pursuing her counseling licensure.

Yousuf Muhammed was an undergraduate research rssistant with the MAGIC Lab from fall 2016 to spring 2018. He assisted with literature searches, scale item creation and other projects. He will continue to pursue his bachelor’s degree from UH and hopes to apply for an anthropology graduate program.

Samantha Sciulli Samantha Scuilli was a member of the research team from September 2016 to August 2018. She primarily assisted with the lab’s study examining the impact of violent media on aggressive behavior in men. Samantha moved to Vancouver to complete her predoctoral internship at Vancouver Coastal Health. After college she remained in Austin and worked as a research assistant and psychometrist. Her research interests include attachment styles and the social factors that influence emotion regulation and self-efficacy among trauma survivors, as well as morality and social connectedness in soldiers who have experienced head trauma. She enjoys cultural and adventure travel, scuba diving, sailing, white water rafting, caving, ballroom dancing, hula hooping and board games. Contact:  samanthasciulli@yahoo.com