FOCUS Summer 2016: The Big Questions by Fielding Graduate University

FOCUS 2016

The

BIG Questions

THE BIG QUESTIONS | 2016

FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | WWW.FIELDING.EDU

In this Issue FOCUS Fielding Graduate University Spring 2016 President Katrina S. Rogers, PhD

Introducing Fielding’s new school—and vision

Who we are and what we care about

VP for Advancement & Development David Edelman, MA, MBA

Associate Director, Media & Communications Starshine Roshell

How does culture influence video game design?

How do we control our own narrative?

Why do some people resist sustainability?

How do we end community violence?

Art Director Audrey Ma Photographer Jacqueline Pilar Copyeditor Frances Goodrow FOCUS is published annually by Fielding Graduate University 2020 De la Vina St. Santa Barbara, CA 93105 FIELDING.EDU Reader responses are welcome and should be sent to Starshine Roshell: sroshell@fielding.edu © 2016 Fielding Graduate University. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission from Fielding Graduate University.

Why aren’t there better therapists for transgender patients?

How do some ex-offenders stay out of prison?

Discover our schools, programs, and degrees

Meet this year’s doctoral graduates

22 Congratulations to our master’s and certificates graduates

Fielding The Big Questions All graduate institutions encourage students to come and earn degrees that allow them to achieve personal or professional milestones. For example, a Fielding student may need a coaching degree to be an effective organizational consultant or decide that a doctoral degree in educational leadership is critical to obtaining a promotion. Fielding has helped thousands of scholars do that over the years: teachers who became principals, managers who became nonprofit leaders, psychology majors who became clinicians… But one thing that makes Fielding special is that our flexible learning model allows students to come here and truly pursue their passions—to dive into, explore, and ultimately answer the Big Questions that keep them up at night.

KATRINA S. ROGERS, PHD President

“Big Questions Require

Big Answers.”

For some you will meet on the pages of this magazine, like Margaret Loo, it’s about making the world a more welcoming place for our children. For others, such as Steve Schein, answering the Big Question means having an impact on sustainability for future generations. Rather than being told what to research for the good of a discipline, Fielding students are mentored by faculty who get to know their interests and translate their curiosity into a promising line of inquiry. Such was certainly the case for the students and alumni profiled in this year’s FOCUS—all scholars who were thirsty to understand a system, and to improve it. Our students ask hard questions. They want to know not just how the world works, but also how it could change. What does it take to change a person, an organization, a system? They’re bold in their approach to graduate work, as they are often confronted with new ideas that challenge their assumptions. Big Questions require Big Answers. Big Answers require the cultivation of a habit of mind, a way of critical thinking, and mastery of research skills. This is what graduate education is at Fielding: personal, curious, and daring. For there will always be questions, and Fielding will always be here for the asking—as well as the answering.

THE BIG QUESTIONS | 2016

FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | WWW.FIELDING.EDU

In this Issue FOCUS Fielding Graduate University Spring 2016 President Katrina S. Rogers, PhD

Introducing Fielding’s new school—and vision

Who we are and what we care about

VP for Advancement & Development David Edelman, MA, MBA

Associate Director, Media & Communications Starshine Roshell

How does culture influence video game design?

How do we control our own narrative?

Why do some people resist sustainability?

How do we end community violence?

Why aren’t there better therapists for transgender patients?

How do some ex-offenders stay out of prison?

Discover our schools, programs, and degrees

Meet this year’s doctoral graduates

22 Congratulations to our master’s and certificates graduates

KATRINA S. ROGERS, PHD President

“Big Questions Require

Big Answers.”

THE BIG QUESTIONS | 2016

Preparing Leaders for

a Changing World

FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | WWW.FIELDING.EDU

ielding is dedicated to ensuring a relevant, rigorous, and accessible graduate education for today’s and tomorrow’s independent learners.

More than 40 years ago, we pioneered the distributed-and-face-to-face learning model so that mid-career students could learn where they live and work. Now with a new academic focus on leadership and an array of cross-discipline concentrations that let students personalize their program of study, Fielding’s graduate programs are positioned to meet the needs of a new generation of students.

School of Leadership Studies

All across academic spheres and professional industries, you hear the rallying cry for better leadership. With the global challenges we face—from environmental problems to growing economic inequality worldwide—tomorrow’s leaders will need to be multi-culturally competent and capable of solving complex problems across a wide variety of disciplines. Fielding responded to that need by combining its School of Human & Organizational Development and School of Educational Leadership for Change into one new overarching banner. The School of Leadership Studies aims to produce critical thinkers who possess not only deep subject matter understanding, but have the practical skills and systemic insight to create positive change in their organizations, communities, and the world around them.

Optional PhD Concentrations

Fielding has always been a place where students can come answer their Big Questions, researching the topics of greatest interest to them. Now they can further customize their course of study by selecting one of nine optional doctoral concentrations and collaborating with faculty in other programs. The optional concentrations are: Community College Leadership for Change Dual Language Leadership for Social and Ecological Sustainability Media, Technology, and Innovation Reflective Practice / Supervision Creative Longevity and Wisdom Inclusive Leadership for Social Justice Leadership of Higher Education Systems Organization Development

About Fielding MISSION Fielding Graduate University provides exemplary interdisciplinary programs within a distributed and relational learning model grounded in student-driven inquiry and leading to enhanced knowledge. This community of scholar-practitioners addresses personal, organizational, societal, ecological, and global concerns in pursuit of a more just and sustainable world.

VISION Our vision is to be an innovative global community dedicated to educating scholars, leaders, and practitioners to transform the world.

VALUES ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE: We commit to the highest quality scholarship, research, and practice. COMMUNITY: We support a collaborative learning environment built on inclusion and mutual respect. DIVERSITY: We commit to having a faculty, staff, and student body that is representative. We embrace and celebrate the wisdom, knowledge, and experiences of our diverse community. LEARNER-CENTERED EDUCATION: We create an interactive experience that responds to the interrelated personal and professional lives of our students. SOCIAL JUSTICE: We commit to advancing equality in society. TRANSFORMATIONAL LEARNING: We inspire a re-examination of one’s world view and underlying assumptions to enable a deeper understanding of self and society.

Fast Facts Student Body Demographics

Enrollment 1,168 Women 74% Men 26% Age Range 22–79

Faculty

Total Faculty 178 Total Staff 83 Students-to-Faculty 7:1

Race and Ethnicity

American Indian or Alaska Native 2% Asian 4% Black or African American 14% Hispanic or Latino 9% White 50% Two or More Races 4% Race/Ethnicity Unknown 8% International Students 9%

Aggregated data based on Fall 2015 census data as reported to Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

THE BIG QUESTIONS | 2016

Preparing Leaders for

a Changing World

FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | WWW.FIELDING.EDU

ielding is dedicated to ensuring a relevant, rigorous, and accessible graduate education for today’s and tomorrow’s independent learners.

School of Leadership Studies

Optional PhD Concentrations

VISION Our vision is to be an innovative global community dedicated to educating scholars, leaders, and practitioners to transform the world.

Fast Facts Student Body Demographics

Enrollment 1,168 Women 74% Men 26% Age Range 22–79

Faculty

Total Faculty 178 Total Staff 83 Students-to-Faculty 7:1

Race and Ethnicity

American Indian or Alaska Native 2% Asian 4% Black or African American 14% Hispanic or Latino 9% White 50% Two or More Races 4% Race/Ethnicity Unknown 8% International Students 9%

Aggregated data based on Fall 2015 census data as reported to Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

THE BIG QUESTIONS | 2016

FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | WWW.FIELDING.EDU

How does culture inform video game design and vice versa?

ALYEA SANDOVAR Current doctoral candidate

rowing up in Bogota, Colombia, during the height of drug lord Pablo Escobar’s power, Alyea Sandovar was surrounded by violence.

“Walking out of your house to go to school, you have this fear,” she remembers. “You’re not quite sure if you’re going to come home that day. You always feel like you are one degree away from someone who got kidnapped or killed, so it’s this palpable fear. Even though my mother did her best to shield us from what was happening, it weighed on me all the time and you can’t escape it.” But summers offered a respite. Sandovar visited with her grandmother, and they would play games: board games, memory games, and more. “She’d make up games in order for me to get snacks,” she says, laughing. “She encouraged us to dress up and do theater.” In a childhood where safety and security were uncertain, playtime offered welcome relief. “I just remember looking at my world and wondering, Why is this happening? What is

this madness? There must be a way to fix it,” she says. “And I guess my way is through play and games.”

“It’s not just about playing, but about the communities of people who play them and support each other as they play. It’s a way to connect with people.”

When visiting friends returned to the United States, they left behind an old Atari console, which sparked a lifelong love of video games for Sandovar. She saw them as a way to fuel her love of learning without having to memorize and regurgitate facts, as she did in school.

As someone whose early cultural experiences had such an impact on her worldview, Sandovar is interested in the cultural cues that video game designers inject—consciously or unconsciously—into their games.

“If you failed a test at school, you didn’t get to repeat it. You were just done,” she says. But with video games, “if you do terribly, you try again and again and you do better next time. I remember feeling like, ‘Oh, I can do this! It just requires some practice!’” Decades later, Sandovar has had lots of practice playing video games—and now she studies them at Fielding.

“We have the privilege to be able to create. What are we going to do with it?” As an 80-billion-dollar industry, video games are “impacting humanity in a big way,” says Sandovar, who wants everyone to know that “there are so many non-violent games out there—so many!—games that support collaboration, games that help family members understand the experience of having Alzheimer’s or PTSD, games like Journey that leave you inspired. Some studios have entire research teams dedicated to promoting harmony and decency in play.” It’s this interaction between players that Sandovar finds promising.

How can we use the media to take back our own narrative?

“It’s an ethical and moral thing. We have the privilege to be able to create. What are we going to do with it?” Sandovar is currently establishing a design research company in the Netherlands, and will soon graduate from Fielding. But it won’t be the end of her education.

Marie was a single mother of four when she was targeted by a man who pretended to be a church leader, but turned out to be an impostor. By preying on her religious beliefs and putting her through increasingly tortuous tests of faith—from selling off family heirlooms to sending her children to live with their father—he and his accomplices kept Marie isolated from her friends and family, exploiting her financially, psychologically, and physically. She was a victim of human trafficking. When she finally broke free, she was destitute and suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder. “I kept the story to myself,” she says. Eventually, though, she worked up the courage to talk about it, hoping it might spare others from falling victim to cunning predators. “I was filmed for what I was told would be a prestigious documentary for a prestigious network,” she recalls. “I thought they would handle my story sensitively and accurately—but when it aired, it was fictionalized, sensationalized. Through editing, they constructed entire sentences that I never said. I was mortified.” It aired repeatedly all over the world, and each time she was flooded with emails and social media comments blaming and insulting her. “I had to go back to crisis counseling,” she said. “How I was publicly represented did not reflect my narrative. The disconnect was so monumental.” But rather than hide her head in the sand, Marie enrolled in Fielding’s Media Psychology PhD program.

“It’s important not only for game designers, but for all people who create, to think about how we influence consumers,” says Sandovar, who was invited to present her research at the ICA Young Scholars Preconference in Puerto Rico last year. “Game designers are creators of cultural artifacts. People consume or interact with these cultural artifacts, and absorb the values and the worldviews embedded in the designs. Then they go create something else—it’s cyclical.” For example, she says, “You go play a game and the only character you can choose to be is male. If I’m of the gender not represented, I think, eek, here’s another way I’m not represented in society. Or I then go to make a game, and think, OK, this is just how games are made—so I just give the same options.

“I can talk about the importance of ethical media ... and I can speak from a place of authority.”

CHRISTINE MARIE Current doctoral candidate

ave you ever had your words twisted? Your character misrepresented? Lies spread about you, far and wide? If so, then you know how powerless it can make you feel.

Christine Marie knows the feeling all too well. First, she was the victim of a horrible crime. Then she was re-victimized when a television company aired a humiliating account of her story.

“I love, love, love learning!” she says. “I will undoubtedly spend my whole life learning.”

“I was portrayed in such a ridiculous and shameful way,” she says. “None of it was based on my true story; it was based on their highly altered version with a victim-blaming spin. I thought my life was over.”

And playing video games, of course. “The interactive possibilities of video games are unique and amazing. We can use them to make real change in the world—to bring us together instead of separating us.” •

When Marie learned about Fielding’s Media Psychology program, “I thought, this is my answer,” she says. “What was once the worst experience of my life has become one of my greatest gifts because I can talk about the importance of ethical media and its influence on people’s lives. And I can speak from a place of authority.”

“I’ve had a special interest in studying how public humiliation and media cruelty impacts the subjects of the stories,” she says. “I’ve learned about personal branding and how to correct misrepresentations and to change your narrative—and your life—by being in control of your media.” Now Marie is helping other women take back their stories. She launched voicesfordignity.com, a nonprofit organization that speaks out against all kinds of abuse and exploitation, and aims to empower survivors. “I’ve been able to coach some of these women on how to tell their stories to the media,” says Marie, who shares with them what she’s learned at Fielding about positive psychology and post-traumatic growth. “Unlike my story, their stories are being told in a way that brings them honor.” She hopes to one day be able to train journalists, film students, producers, and other media on the importance of being sensitive with people’s stories—to always remember that lives are more important than ratings. “I’ve been through a lot,” she says, “and I thought that I would never find a way to create my own happy ending. But the Media Psychology program made that possible.” •

THE BIG QUESTIONS | 2016

FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | WWW.FIELDING.EDU

How does culture inform video game design and vice versa?

ALYEA SANDOVAR Current doctoral candidate

rowing up in Bogota, Colombia, during the height of drug lord Pablo Escobar’s power, Alyea Sandovar was surrounded by violence.

this madness? There must be a way to fix it,” she says. “And I guess my way is through play and games.”

“It’s not just about playing, but about the communities of people who play them and support each other as they play. It’s a way to connect with people.”

How can we use the media to take back our own narrative?

“I can talk about the importance of ethical media ... and I can speak from a place of authority.”

CHRISTINE MARIE Current doctoral candidate

ave you ever had your words twisted? Your character misrepresented? Lies spread about you, far and wide? If so, then you know how powerless it can make you feel.

Christine Marie knows the feeling all too well. First, she was the victim of a horrible crime. Then she was re-victimized when a television company aired a humiliating account of her story.

“I love, love, love learning!” she says. “I will undoubtedly spend my whole life learning.”

THE BIG QUESTIONS | 2016

FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | WWW.FIELDING.EDU

What motivates people to take action toward sustainability? I

It’s just Fielding alum Steve Schein playing his saxophone in the orchard behind his home.

“It’s a vehicle to launch a group of scholar-practitioner sustainability change agents out into the world, equipped with the capacity to make real and lasting change for social and ecological justice,” he says. “What could be more important than that?”

Schein, who graduated from the School of Human & Organizational Development in 2014, grew up hiking, camping, climbing trees, and generally taking refuge in the great outdoors. Now, after a decadeslong corporate career followed by an ecological re-awakening, Schein is working hard to protect “the wonder of nature” so future generations—including his own three kids—can continue to enjoy it.

“I had a great teacher who taught me about permaculture,” Schein says: “how to build topsoil through cover crops, how to bring bees through continuous pollination and support beneficial insects.”

Schein developed a certificate program in sustainability leadership for Southern Oregon University and believes Fielding’s new doctoral concentration in Leadership for Social and Ecological Sustainability is filling a much-needed educational niche.

“It just feels good to wander among the fruit trees, smell the peaches ripening, hear the wind and the birds and the tones of the horn,” he says, “stare up at the clouds, and appreciate the wonder of nature.”

Schein discovered a few factors that influence people’s motivation to work toward sustainability. One is significant experiences that take place early in a person’s life that form their ecological worldview. Another is their ability to think over long time frames. Still another is their capacity to see themselves in relationship to the bigger systems in which they operate, both human organizational systems and the earth’s ecosystems we depend on for life. ublished in 2014, Schein’s dissertation became the basis for his 2015 book, A New Psychology for Sustainability Leadership, which has been reviewed in US News and World Report, the Guardian, and Psychology Today.

f you happen to be wandering through the forests of Ashland, Ore., during the summer months and hear “Fly Me to the Moon” warbling from deep within the woods—don’t be alarmed.

chein was a CPA and international auditor with Nabisco brands before cofounding a New York Stock Exchange company and retiring from the corporate world at age 44. He moved onto Oregon land and began gardening—and that’s when it all started.

studying what I call the eco-social sciences. I looked at developmental psychology with Judy Stevens-Long and Katrina Rogers, environmental sociology with David Blake Willis, ecological economics with Rich Applebaum, and indigenous worldviews with Four Arrows. I used all of the social sciences to analyze what amounted to 75 interviews with corporate sustainability executives.”

STEVE SCHEIN, PHD 2014 Graduate

“But at the same time, the awareness that we could change, and that business had to be the big lever, and that there was the beginning of a Our interdependence with nature was suddenly so clear to him. It was movement, was very energizing. And it really became my mission.” 2007, and he began reading books about ecology, such as Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and about sustainability, such as The key, he realized, would be finding out what inspires people to Lester Brown’s Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization. take action on sustainability: Why are certain people so motivated— while there is so much resistance from others? “I read all the data on climate change and how the major ecosystems on Earth were threatened,” Schein says. “We still have too small a subset of executives in companies who are ‘all in’ as far as sustainability,” he says. “So I started attending conferThen he attended the Bioneers conference in San Rafael, Calif., which ences and asking how corporate sustainability executives became infocuses on solutions to environmental problems. There he met Ray terested in sustainability. But I didn’t really know how to think about Anderson, the first CEO of a multinational public company to adopt the findings and organize the data.” a do-no-harm-to-the-earth policy. Schein knew that corporate world firsthand—and he knew it held the keys to an ecological revolution. Schein had earned his master’s degree in human and organizational development at Fielding in 2004, so in 2012, he decided to return for “I had a big epiphany that we needed to change businesses,” he his PhD. “[Fielding President] Katrina Rogers is one of the other few says. “It was a really deep, painful realization and on one level, it scholars in the world to look at ecological worldviews in the corpofelt terrifying; I felt a deep sense of fear. rate world,” says Schein. “I was able to really expand the literature by

“The awareness that we could change, and that business had to be the big lever, was very energizing. And it really became my mission.”

When he’s not keynoting conferences like May’s International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology, Schein now finds himself … well, back where he started, proving that nature really is cyclical. “I’m back in the corporate world,” he says. “I started a consulting company and I’m working with companies to elevate sustainability to the highest level for them—to integrate it into their strategy, leadership, and culture. It’s a big challenge, but I’m very excited about it.” He’s helped companies reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save millions of gallons of water, for example. “I feel urgency around it. It’s the imperative of our generation. We still have a long way to go, but there are lots of encouraging signs.” Right now, though, his focus is on the buzzing, blossoming ecosystem in his own backyard. “The orchard is blooming right now,” he says. “I was just getting the irrigation system going and cutting the grass yesterday. The cherries will be first. By July, there will be plums, peaches, and blueberries ripening in the hot summer sun!” We can almost hear that saxophone now.•

THE BIG QUESTIONS | 2016

FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | WWW.FIELDING.EDU

What motivates people to take action toward sustainability? I

It’s just Fielding alum Steve Schein playing his saxophone in the orchard behind his home.

f you happen to be wandering through the forests of Ashland, Ore., during the summer months and hear “Fly Me to the Moon” warbling from deep within the woods—don’t be alarmed.

STEVE SCHEIN, PHD 2014 Graduate

“The awareness that we could change, and that business had to be the big lever, was very energizing. And it really became my mission.”

THE BIG QUESTIONS | 2016

FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | WWW.FIELDING.EDU

How do we, as mothers, address community violence? K

haaliq Johnson and his mother had a plan. They both worked with special-needs children, and Khaaliq was about to enter the master’s degree program at Lincoln University. His mother promised to earn her doctorate, and when they both graduated, they would start a practice supporting at-risk kids in their Philadelphia community.

“The goal was to hang our shingle and be a team working together with children and families that were challenged,” says Dorothy Johnson-Speight, MHS LPC. But her family was about to face its own unimaginable challenge. In December of 2001, at age 24, Khaaliq was shot seven times and killed—over a parking-space dispute. The gunman had murdered another person just months before. “I didn’t think I was going to survive it,” Johnson-Speight says. She had lost a daughter 15 years earlier to bacterial meningitis.

“As a mom, we think our only purpose in life is to protect our children. When that falls apart, you think, oh, my god, what kind of mother must I be that I wasn’t able to save my child? I was ready to give up. I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to live.”

lected as a Soros Justice Fellow and speaker at The Women of the World Summit in New York. Despite such successes, though, she knew she wasn’t done. For one thing, she needed help taking this issue and the organization to a national level. For another, she had made a promise to Khaaliq to earn her EdD—and she intended to keep that promise. “I realized I needed to finish the work we agreed to do together,” says Johnson-Speight, who chose Fielding in part because her professors had recommended it 20 years ago when she earned her master’s in human services, and in part because Fielding’s values dovetail with those of Mother’s in Charge. “This has to do with social injustices and social change and that’s what Fielding stands for and represents.”

Every day at Fielding, she says, her thinking is challenged and she gets a new perspective on things she thought she already understood, including how to engage others to create change in public policy and unfair systems. She’s inspired by the grand plans of her fellow students, too. “The majority of students I’ve met are visionaries like myself and they want to see the world a better place,” she says. “You’re thinking, at times, that you’re the only one out there and suddenly you’re connected with other like minds. It’s empowering. I’ve heard some things people are doing and think, wow, that’s amazing—I never thought of that!” Mothers in Charge now has chapters formed or forming in 12 cities across the country, including Brooklyn, Atlantic City,

Kansas City, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. And Johnson-Speight shows no signs of stopping. “I think I will always be doing some piece of this work,” she says. “Mothers in Charge gave me a reason to continue to parent Khaaliq, to allow me to have a special connection with my son. I tell mothers all the time when they’ve lost children, even though they’re gone, there’s still a bond that will forever be. And how you maintain that is the saving grace. “I still have a chance to talk about Khaaliq and do something in memory of him. It was a saving grace. It gave me a purpose in life when I didn’t think I had a purpose anymore.” •

Khaaliq Johnson, below left, had just been accepted into Lincoln University’s master’s program when he was shot and killed at age 24. His mother Dorothy Johnson-Speight, below right, spoke to Hillary Clinton about the devastation of community violence. DOROTHY JOHNSON-SPEIGHT Current doctoral candidate

room was packed with women sharing the same grief, pain, fears, and frustrations that she did. Out of that meeting grew Mothers in Charge, Johnson-Speight’s grassroots nonprofit organization with a mission that works to prevent violence through education and intervention.

Stronger than her pain and grief, though, was her desire to keep Khaaliq’s memory “Homicide is a public health epidemic,” she alive. “I didn’t want his life or his death says. “It’s the leading cause of death among to be in vain. I decided that I had to live African American males ages 14 to 34. It’s in order to do something for his legacy,” not some incurable disease—it’s a crisis.” she says. “My goal was to do something around preventing other mothers from re- By talking to women about what they need, ceiving the terrible phone call that I got.” Mothers in Charge has been able to offer grief counseling, youth mentoring, angerSo she invited some women to meet at a lomanagement and conflict-resolution classes, cal church one Saturday morning. “I didn’t job-training courses for women returnhave the answers,” she says, “but I knew I ing home from prison, and many more wanted to do something around the issue of programs. violence prevention in our community, and I wanted to hear from the folks who were In recognition of her work, Johnson-Speight most impacted by it—because I couldn’t do was named Philadelphia Citizen of the Year it alone.” by the Philadelphia Inquirer, was invited to speak to Michelle Obama at the White Though she had told only a few mothers House, and met the Pope during his visit to about the meeting, word spread and the a Philadelphia prison. She was recently se-

“This has to do with social injustices and social change and that’s what Fielding stands for and represents.”

THE BIG QUESTIONS | 2016

FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | WWW.FIELDING.EDU

How do we, as mothers, address community violence? K

“This has to do with social injustices and social change and that’s what Fielding stands for and represents.”

THE BIG QUESTIONS | 2016

FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | WWW.FIELDING.EDU

Why aren’t there more — and better— therapists who can help transgender patients? still had a lot to learn on the subject. “The bottom line was that my husband and I wanted our child to be happy,” Loo says, “and we would do whatever we could to help her.” They took the teen, whose nickname now is Fifi, to a therapist to help with the depression—but their interaction only seemed to make matters worse. So they saw another therapist…and then another.

MARGARET LOO, PHD 2016 Graduate

ometimes when you can’t find the right person for the job, you just have to do it yourself. That’s what drove Margaret Loo to earn her PhD in clinical psychology at Fielding. Loo was a stay-at-home mother of three when her teenage son fell into a deep depression. As he withdrew more and more, she begged him to tell her what was wrong.

One day, he scribbled on a tiny scrap of paper and put it in her hand. It said I want to be a girl. “That took me by surprise,” she recalls. “I knew very little about transgender issues. I had to do research and basically learn everything from scratch that I could.” This was years before Caitlyn Jenner came out as transgender, and the general population

feeling isolated, just as Fifi had. “So to see them all there in various stages of transition, becoming happy,” Loo says, “it was very rewarding.” But she wasn’t done. In order to transition fully with gender reassignment surgery, patients often need to provide documentation from a clinician who has seen the patient for at least 18 months. And Loo wanted to help with this step of the process, too. So when the director of one of the counseling facilities where she was interning recommended Fielding, she applied. “He had a great opinion of it,” she says, “and I liked that you could keep working while going to school.” She did keep working—and has been working ever since. In her counseling work with transgender clients, she has helped young people come out to their own parents, a process she knows firsthand.

“They come to therapy and the depression lifts. And they get happy with themselves.”

“We experienced a lot of negativity from psychiatrists and psychologists,” Loo says. “I love getting them connected to doctors “They didn’t believe she was who are understanding about the process— transgender because of the way she dressed. and knowledgeable!” she says. And while They said she was mentally ill. They said all there is still a lot of stigma and ignorance these things that were insulting. I was pretty surrounding transgender issues, things have surprised that they were so inexperienced and improved a bit in the years since Fifi came negative about it.” out. Now there’s even a psychologist in their hometown who is female-to-male transgenBeyond frustrated that no one could help der himself. her child feel better, Loo made a decision to become what was missing in the world: To Loo, though, the most significant changes a therapist for transgender people who are those that still take place when a strugwere in transition. gling transgender person gets to share their feelings with a knowledgeable, compassionIn her mid-40s and without so much as a ate, and supportive therapist. She saw it bachelor’s degree, “I had a long way to go,” when Fifi eventually found a psychologist she recalls with a grin. She earned her BA who made her feel comfortable. And she sees in psychology at UCSB and an MFT from it with her own patients, too. Antioch University, developing a transgender support group in her hometown. “I was just “They come to therapy and the depression sitting there by myself for a month,” she says, lifts,” Loo says with a huge, bright smile. giggling. “No one came.” “And they get happy with themselves.” • Eventually, though, one person showed up. Together, they talked. That person brought more people. And soon the group was 15 to 20 people strong. A lot of them spoke of

Why do some exoffenders reenter society successfully while others return to prison?

e hear a lot about our nation’s overcrowded prisons, and the factors that contribute to them: social, psychological, economic, parental...

What we don’t hear much about are the hundreds of thousands of convicted people who serve time—and don’t return to a life of crime. “The focus always seems to be on what is wrong,” says Hector De Jesus, a Fielding doctoral candidate. “But of the nearly 700,000 U.S. prisoners returning to society each year, more than half have been successful in not recommitting another crime and/or returning to prison. I want to tell the stories of these men who have managed not to return back to prison or commit a crime, and find out how they were able to do it.” To that end, he has conducted interviews with 12 men who have served time, been released, and reentered society without returning to crime or prison. But there’s an interesting twist to his research: De Jesus is not only the author of the study. He’s a subject, as well. “I interviewed myself,” he says. “I’m one of the participants in the survey.”

wenty years ago, De Jesus served three years in prison for a nonviolent crime. “I grew up in a very strict, stable, supportive Catholic household,” he says. “But due to some stupid mistakes, I ended up on the wrong side of the law.”

After his release, he headed to college, earning an AAS and then a master’s in human services from Lincoln University. He’s now working towards his EdD at Fielding.

“What attracted me to Fielding was the feeling that these people care—like they actually see me,” he says. “As opposed to giving me a list of what they wanted me to do, they were asking me, ‘What is it that you want to accomplish?’” His first day in the program, the members of his cohort took turns promising to support each other and affirming their intention to graduate with an EdD. “When it came to me, I started crying,” he recalls, “because even just standing there, I couldn’t believe after all I’d been through that I could be earning my doctorate.”

“I know what it is to be labeled for those past mistakes. I’m able to talk the talk. I’ve walked the walk.” As he nears graduation, he credits his cohort and Fielding’s faculty—especially his mentor, Lenneal Henderson—for their suggestions, encouragement, and research help. “A lot of them actually had more faith in me than I had in myself, and reminded me how valuable a contribution I could make,” says De Jesus, whose personal history has been a huge asset to his studies. “I see the devastating effects of going in and out of jail. I know what it is to be labeled from those past mistakes. I’m able to talk the talk, I’ve walked the walk, and I’m using my experience to educate and inform others.”

HECTOR DE JESUS Current doctoral candidate

In his interviews with ex-offenders, De Jesus has found that a sense of self-worth goes a long way toward preventing recidivism. Many of his subjects had gone back to prison several times before they finally turned away from crime for good. “One of my questions was, ‘What was different this time?’” he says. “They explained that they had reached a level of maturity in their lives. The majority of them were fathers and they felt a responsibility to others in their families and communities.” After graduation, De Jesus plans to present his findings to policy makers and hopes to create a re-entry program to help ex-offenders like him transition successfully to life after prison. If he succeeds, it will be the full-circle ending he’s been dreaming of for 20 years. “It will mean that I contributed to the very same community I was at one point cast off from. It will feel like I’m giving back,” he says. “I just want to be an example to others that there is a life after incarceration, that change is possible, that given opportunity, we can overcome something—and that people can change.” •

THE BIG QUESTIONS | 2016

FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | WWW.FIELDING.EDU

MARGARET LOO, PHD 2016 Graduate

“They come to therapy and the depression lifts. And they get happy with themselves.”

Why do some exoffenders reenter society successfully while others return to prison?

e hear a lot about our nation’s overcrowded prisons, and the factors that contribute to them: social, psychological, economic, parental...

After his release, he headed to college, earning an AAS and then a master’s in human services from Lincoln University. He’s now working towards his EdD at Fielding.

HECTOR DE JESUS Current doctoral candidate

THE BIG QUESTIONS | 2016

FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | WWW.FIELDING.EDU

Schools & Programs School of Leadership Studies Students learn theory, engage in research, and create new knowledge to address today’s most pressing issues. Recognizing the interconnections between individual, educational, organizational, and community development, we take a systemic, multidisciplinary approach to the study and practice of leadership. DOCTORAL DEGREES EdD, Leadership for Change Become a catalyst for positive change in your school, agency, or community. Designed for professionals inspired to tackle the challenges in today’s educational, human services systems, and non-profit organizations. PhD, Human Development Focused on individual and transformational growth in personal, organizational, and cultural settings. Empowers scholar-practitioners with foundational and current research across the lifespan. PhD, Organizational Development and Change Develop the knowledge to help organizations and communities thrive in today’s complex world. Emphasizing a multidisciplinary integration of human and organizational systems, this degree creates new approaches to inclusive leadership and sustainability. PhD, Infant and Early Childhood Development A multidisciplinary degree including mental health, education, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech and language development, and the neurosciences. Curriculum includes physiological, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, social, and cross-cultural perspectives.

MASTER’S DEGREES MA, Digital Teaching and Learning Helps educators integrate technology into their curriculum to better serve students. Combines collaborative online courses with self-paced competency-based delivery.

Nonprofit Leadership Certificate Through practical applications and a project-driven curriculum, the program focuses on strategic planning, fundraising, talent management, evaluation, marketing, board and executive leadership. Organizational Consulting Certificate Designed to provide direction for external practitioners in building a brand and successfully positioning their businesses, as well as for internal practitioners who wish to create powerful outcomes in their organizations. Organizational Development and Leadership Certificate An introduction to assessment and evaluation, leadership development, team and group development, and organizational design that allows students to lead change that matters.

School of Psychology

MA, Organizational Development and Leadership Acquire the skills and theoretical knowledge to become a competent and confident leader. Study theories that describe how complex organizational systems work.

The School of Psychology represents diverse perspectives on how to study the individual in the social context. Fielding’s community of scholar-practitioners helps define the future of psychology at every level—from theory to research and practice.

CERTIFICATES

DOCTORAL DEGREES

Comprehensive Evidence Based Coaching Certificate Within the past decade, the coaching profession has grown rapidly in businesses, schools, and organizations. EBC is a multidisciplinary coach certification program that can be completed in one year through online, teleconferencing, and face-to-face sessions.

PhD, Clinical Psychology Our APA-accredited clinical psychology PhD prepares individuals to become licensed practitioners in most states and to contribute to knowledge through teaching and research. Five optional “hot topic” concentrations in neuropsychology, forensics, health psychology, parent-infant mental health, and violence prevention are available.

Educational Administration Certificate Designed to prepare educators to earn the California Preliminary Administrative Services Credential (PASC) and become instructional leaders in a collaborative learning environment. Evidence Based Coaching for Organization Leadership Certificate Designed specifically for students or professionals with at least 24 hours of coach training, this offers practice in specific coaching skills as well as tools and strategies for working with individuals and teams in organizational contexts.

PhD, Media Psychology Fielding developed the first PhD in media psychology in the country, combining theories of psychology as a foundation for the study of media and technology. It focuses on the junction where cognitive science, information strategy, and media innovation impact social advocacy. MASTER’S DEGREES MA, Media Psychology The master’s degree in media psychology focuses on the psychology of audience engagement, consumer neuroscience, branding and transmedia, and innovations in mixed and mobile media. This degree is offered online to an international student body. CERTIFICATES Media Psychology Certificate A 3-course, online certificate for professionals in diverse fields. You will analyze how media and technology can best be used for socially constructive ends, and gain practical knowledge. Postdoctoral Certificate, Neuropsychology Led by renowned faculty, this certificate is unique in that it blends formal instruction in neuropsychological foundations, theories, and disorders with current assessment practices. Postdoctoral Respecialization Certificate, Clinical Psychology Prepares those who have a PhD in a nonclinical area of psychology for clinical practice and license eligibility in most states.

Postbaccalaureate Certificate, Clinical Psychology Builds knowledge of clinical psychology and psychopathology as well as critical thinking, scholarly writing skills, and research skills. Perfect for those who want to position themselves as strong candidates for doctoral programs in clinical psychology.

Common Doctoral Framework The doctoral programs at Fielding (with the exception of Clinical Psychology) are designed with a Common Doctoral Framework that includes foundational courses, electives, leadership competencies, optional concentrations, a research/praxis project, and a dissertation. DOCTORAL CONCENTRATIONS Students can individualize their doctoral program and expand their professional expertise by selecting one of our optional shared doctoral concentrations. Each typically includes a minimum of three tailored courses and access to a community of scholar-practitioners who are passionate about this specialized field of study:

• • • • • • • • •

Community College Leadership for Change Dual Language Leadership for Social and Ecological Sustainability Media, Technology, and Innovation Reflective Practice/Supervision Creative Longevity and Wisdom Inclusive Leadership for Social Justice Leadership of Higher Education Systems Organization Development

Centers and Initiatives Marie Fielder Center for Democracy, Leadership, and Education The Marie Fielder Center provides a multidisciplinary and interschool space for Fielding’s faculty, students, and alumni to engage in research, public discourse, and advocacy on the advancement of social democracy, leadership, and education. This research and policy center promotes Marie Fielder’s principles of transformational change for social justice as exemplified through her life’s work, her philosophy, and her contributions to equity, education, and justice. Institute for Social Innovation conducts research, professional development, and organizational consulting to build human capital and sustainable change. Doctoral faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and others in the Fielding community provide scholarly and practical expertise for projects conducted around the country and abroad. The Alonso Center for Psychodynamic Studies brings together psychologists and psychiatrists, educators, writers, and artists, organizational development experts, and the general public to strengthen our understanding of and support for adaptive, resilient human relationships. Worldwide Network for Gender Empowerment (WNGE) is an engaged and diverse group of global members committed to research, collaboration, and action in support of women’s and gender issues. WNGE is focused on impacting change in education, healthcare, environment, violence prevention, equality, and globalization. WNGE has been granted consultative status to the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council.

THE BIG QUESTIONS | 2016

FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | WWW.FIELDING.EDU

School of Psychology

CERTIFICATES

DOCTORAL DEGREES

• • • • • • • • •

THE BIG QUESTIONS | 2016

FIELDING GRADUATE UNIVERSITY | WWW.FIELDING.EDU

Doctoral Graduates SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP STUDIES EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP FOR CHANGE

Wael M. Abdeljabbar, EdD A Comparison of Blended, Online,

and Face-to-Face Modalities in STEM Programs: The Influence on Student Success and Retention

Kaitlin Julieann Boger, EdD Computerized Cognitive Behavioral

Therapy: Engaging and Maintaining Community Mental Health Center Patients

Anne J. Brown, EdD Positive Philosophy in Education through Spiritual Path, The Circle of Courage

Kristine A. Clark, PhD First Encounters of a Trusting Kind: Ex-

Danny R. Jaques, EdD Binding To Community: A Grounded Theory

Brett L. Clay, PhD Personality Styles in Change Leadership Theory: A Study of the Clay Change Type Indicator

opment for Technology Integration: Evaluation of a Three-Tiered Model

ploring Millenials’ Inital Trust Decisions In New Leaders

Mark James Jordan, EdD A Phenomenological Study of Risk

and Resilience: LGB Youths’ Perceptions of Homophobia and Their Resilience

Ranodda DeChambeau, PhD Paradox in the Public Sector: The

Roan L. Kaufman, EdD How Might The Ayahuasca Experience Be

Keith H. Earley, PhD A Qualitative Study of the Lived Experiences

Pamela Roberta Kennebrew, EdD Innovation, Resiliency, and Transformation: Older African American Women Respond to Economic Injustice Using Mindful Strength Consciousness

Jane Feng, PhD International Adjustment in a Dual Cultural Con-

Laura Jean McGuire, EdD Seen but Not Heard: Pathways to

Presence of Mind in the Workplace

Experience of Regulatory Personnel

a Potential Antidote to Western Hegemony: A Mixed Methods Study

as Foreign Language Learning

Improve Inclusion of LGBT Persons and Sexual Trauma Survivors in Sexual Health Education

Marilyn Cooper, EdD Barriers to Education Faced by Incarcerated

Mary Cathryn McLennan, EdD Looking at Challenging Behavior

and Formerly Incarcerated African American Men

Through a Different Lens: An Implementation Science Approach

Charissa Cordon, EdD Heutagogy in Oncology Nursing: The

Jannise M. Newby, EdD Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Career

Indre Cuckler, EdD Competency-based Education Re-(Defined):

May 1, 2015–April 30, 2016

Margaret A. Hunter, EdD Innovative Approaches to Faculty Devel-

Derek Burnett, EdD Assessing Blended Learning in Adult, English

Experience of Nurses and the Factors that Facilitate and Hinder SelfDetermined Learning in Nursing

Development Intervention Program for Adults in Mid-Career Transition

Jenne E. Palmer, EdD Creating Independence Through Student-

of Black Women Equity Partners in Elite Law Firms

text: Voices of Western Executive Expatriates in Shanghai

Heidi Cabot Forbes Öste, PhD BE-ing @Work: Wearables and

Clinton J. Fuhs, PhD A Latent Growth Analysis of Hierarchical Complexity and Perspectival Skills in Adulthood

Colleen M. Goddard, PhD The Sacred Language of Objects: How Alice K. Tom, EdD Videoconferencing as a Disruptive Innovation: An Empirical Case Study of English Language Learning in China

Trends and Implications in Scholarly Discourses of Higher Education

Owned Strategies (Project CRISS): Educator Accounts of the Impact of Project CRISS on Student Learning

Yoko Tonaka, EdD Social Network: A Qualitative Approach to

Gail Lynam Dutcher, EdD Faculty’s Role in the Retention of Non-

Kristin O. Palmer, EdD Massive Open Online Courses: Evalua-

Colleen White, EdD The Black Press: An Agent of Educational

David Mark Gross, EdD An Action Research Approach to School

Tammy J. Povich, EdD Positive and Negative Aspects of Treatment

HUMAN AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

traditional Undergraduate Students

Improvement at Alma Heights Christian High School

Paula C. Herring, EdD Business and Economic Empowerment:

Stories from Women of Rwanda

tion and Usage Patterns of Residential Students in Higher Education

Services as Expressed by Clients Diagnosed with Comorbid Tourette Syndrome and Recommendation for Improvements in Treatment Approaches Regarding Counseling Services

Harriette Thurber Rasmussen, EdD In Their Shoes: A Qualita-

tive Study of Peer Observation and Its Impact on Collective Efficacy Among Elementary School Teachers

Tami G. Raubvogel, EdD An Investigation of Culturally Competent Qualities and Effective Leadership Practices in Dual Immersion Programs

Jacqueline Silver, EdD Education of Jewish Children in Nazi Occupied Areas Between 1933 - 1945

Jenefer Dayle Snyder, EdD Developing a Community College:

Grow Your Own Leadership Development Program That Addresses Local Community Needs

Examine the Nature of Social Networking Usage and Social Change: 1827-1965

Sheila A. Bergman, PhD Perspectives, Approaches, and Experiences in Curating Contemporary Art: A Phenomenographic Study Allison Gayle Bichel, PhD Communal Commitment: An Ethnographic Case Study of the Calgary Stamp

Cortes J. Bicking, PhD Toyota Production System (TPS) TheoriesIn-Action and Lean Implementation Theories-In-Action: A Contrast in Maximization of Human Potential

Zarat Y. Boyd, PhD Experiences in Contemporary Church Planting Amanda Ford Eastman Buschi, PhD How Executive Coaches’ Meaning Making Informs Their Choices in Coaching Sessions

Cynthia L. Caldwell, PhD A Case Study Exploring Leadership, Work Team Engagement, and Safety Performance in a High-Risk Work Environment

End-of-Life Doulas Experience the Use of Transitional Objects as a Significant Part of the Dying Process

Robert Green, PhD Fat Persons Finding Meaning in Their Experiences of Humiliation: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Sherrie M. Blevins Green, PhD Our Stories, Our Voices: How PhD Students of Color View Mentoring in Science and Engineering Graduate Programs Lise Hebabi, PhD What Makes a Difference? An Exploratory Study of Small Group Interactions