Department of Psychology at Illinois State University

Diversity Task Force of Graduate Students in Psychology

As we become a more diverse and multicultural nation, there is an increased need for the Department of Psychology to match that growth. This is not only imperative to our department at Illinois State University, but to the field of psychology as a whole. The committee was initially founded in response to the American Psychological Association self-study for our doctoral program in School Psychology. The initial goal of the committee was to generate ideas for the recruitment and retention of students from diverse backgrounds in our school psychology program..

Shortly after our first meeting, the founding members realized that the school psychology student body was the most diverse it has ever been. Although exciting, the committee also found this fact unfortunate. Given this information, the founders independently decided to become a self-sustaining student body that would actively pursue the recruitment and retention of students from diverse backgrounds. Since the founding of the task force, our group has expanded to represent all graduate programs in the Department of Psychology and has been named the Diversity Task Force of Graduate Students in Psychology. All psychology graduate students are invited to join our organization. We have also become a Registered Student Organization (RSO) with program faculty member,Dr. Adena Meyers, as our advisor, which entitles our organization to university funding to support our activities. We are strictly a volunteer organization made up of students that are dedicated to our founding cause.

Task Force Members

  • Dr. Adena Meyers, Faculty Advisor
  • Brea Banks (President) School Psychology
  • Verenice D'Santiago (Vice President) School Psychology
  • Erica Ranade (Treasurer) School Psychology
  • Jamie Kremsreiter (Secretary) School Psychology
  • ShaErica Jackson (Faculty/Student Liaison) School Psychology
  • Meera Afzal, Clinical-Counseling Psychology
  • Lillian Aldawoodi, School Psychology
  • Filka Andonova, School Psychology
  • Angela Calvin, Developmental Psychology
  • Tiffany Chang, Clinical-Counseling Psychology
  • Benicia Colon, School Psychology
  • Jennifer Engelland, School Psychology
  • Martin Gallegos, Developmental Psychology
  • Lynda Hernandez, School Psychology
  • Ashley Johnson, Clinical-Counseling Psychology
  • Rachael Levine, School Psychology
  • Jennifer Mays, School Psychology
  • Eddie Mockus, School Psychology
  • Nicole Moore, School Psychology
  • Abby Ramon, Clinical-Counseling Psychology
  • Alyssa Sondalle, School Psychology
  • Kandace Waddy, Industrial/Organizational-Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology
  • Mychole Willis, School Psychology

You may also contact the Diversity Task Force by e-mail, if you wish, instead an individual member.

Meet the founding members of the Student Diversity Task Force Committee

Our Current Projects:

1. Recruitment outreach
2. Retention efforts
3. Community outreach
4. Research

For a detailed explanation of each project, please refer to our Student Diversity Task Force Action Plan (revised September 9, 2011).

Meeting Schedule

Meetings will be held in 102 Schroeder Hall.

Friday, Jan. 20, 1-2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 30, 8-9 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 17, 1-2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, 8-9 p.m.
Friday, Mar. 9, 1-2 p.m. Monday, Mar. 19, 8-9 p.m.
Friday, Apr. 6, 1-2 p.m. Monday, Apr. 16, 8-9 p.m.
Friday, May 3, 1-2 p.m.