Who we are

M. Gloria González-Morales, PhD, the Director of the Worker Wellbeing Lab, is associate professor of psychology at Claremont Graduate University (California). Dr. Gonzalez-Morales is the Director of the Center for Academic & Faculty Excellence (CAFE). CAFE is dedicated to nurturing and developing inclusive excellence in teaching and learning through specialized graduate courses (e.g., Inclusive Excellence in College Teaching Certificate), and programming for faculty and alumni such as the ‘Course (Re)Design Institute”.  

Dr. González-Morales’ research has been funded with scholarships and grants, including a prestigious Fulbright scholarship and funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. Her studies involve the disciplines of occupational health psychology and positive organizational psychology that focus on stress, work-life issues, victimization, incivility and civility, and positive organizational interventions to enhance well-being and performance. Her research has been published in some of the world’s top-ranked applied psychology outlets such as Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Work & Stress, and Journal of Organizational Behavior. Her European research team @BrightSideWork was awarded the 2017 best paper award from the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology for her research on respite workplace interventions to foster employee well-being. Dr. Gonzalez-Morales’ intervention study to reduce abusive supervision was awarded the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology Best Paper Award 2017 & 2018.

Dr. González-Morales is associate editor of Journal of Business and Psychology and past associate editor of Work & Stress Journal. She also serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Stress & Health and Occupational Health Science. 

Dr. González-Morales has more than 15 years of experience consulting for organizations from Canada, Europe, and U.S. organizations in different sectors (i.e., government, healthcare, hospitality, non-for profit, energy, manufacturing). As executive director of Organization & Management Solutions (2013-2020), she has led more than 20 consulting projects in diverse areas of practice: competency modeling and recruitment & selection systems, organizational development & change, needs analysis, performance management systems, engagement surveys, leadership & team development and training.

Gloria is from Tenerife (Canary Islands). She got her Psychology Degree at Universidad de La Laguna (Canary Islands, Spain) and completed her dissertation, awarded with the European PhD (Doctor Europaea), in 2006 at University of Valencia (Spain) in the Work and Organizational Psychology Interuniversity Doctoral Program. In 2007, Gloria moved to Virginia (USA) to do research as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at George Mason University for two years. She also was a postdoctoral researcher at University of Delaware for a year before starting at University of Guelph on May 2010. She is  at Claremont Graduate University since January 2020.

Gloria splits her working time and her personal time between California, Arizona (where Igor lives), and Spain (where all her family is). Kloe and Copi are the names of the grey tuxedo cats that you can see playing in her zoom background.

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Email: gloria.gonzalez@cgu.edu

Meetings: https://calendly.com/meetingatcgu

Dr. Cindi Gilliland received her Ph.D. in social psychology at Michigan State University in 1992. She is a Clinical Full Professor and Director of the Master of Human Resource Management Program in the Division of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences at Claremont Graduate University, as well as President of Gilliland Consulting, a management consulting firm with local and international clients of all sizes and across all sectors. She serves on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee for CGU and as co-Advisor for CGU PIHRA. She is a member of the International Positive Psychology Association, the Academy of Management, and the Society for Human Resource Management.

Cindi is also a university award-winning Professor of Practice Emeritus in the Management and Organizations Department of The Eller College of Management at The University of Arizona. Cindi has taught 20,000 undergraduate, graduate, and executive students in her thirty-year university career. Cindi has served as a University of Arizona Faculty Fellow, Co-Chair of the UA President’s LGBTQ Advisory Council, UA Campus Community Relations Committee member, Eller College Diversity Committee member, Business Advisory Board member for MBA Net Impact and Enactus, Board of Directors member for Child and Family Resources and the Tucson Women’s Business Center; and Faculty Advisor for Wildcats CARE.

Cindi’s interests include resilience and well-being, social innovation, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has been married to Dr. Stephen Gilliland (also of CGU) for 28 years, and they have two adult children, Austin, 27, an MBA student at London Business School, and Caitlin, 25, a York University psychology student in Toronto, Ontario.

Veronica is a third-year Ph.D. student in organizational behavior, having acquired a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with minors in Jewish Studies and Cognitive Science. With over 1300 hours of research experience and extensive training in research methods, Veronica has conducted research on queer leaders, self-efficacy, and gender equity. Her primary focus is under-represented groups in leadership, particularly women. In addition to her research, Veronica has 3 years of consulting experience and currently works as a Project Manager in the Accenture Talent Innovation Lab and as a Diversity and Inclusion Intern at Dollar General’s HR Department. She is passionate about using Systems Thinking to make organizations more equitable, one step at a time.

Megan Benzing is a Ph.D. student in Positive Organizational Psychology researching work as a calling theory, prosocial/citizenship behaviors, work engagement, and mentoring. She is also researching remote work during the pandemic, specifically exploring the impact successful nano transitions can have on work-life balance. She earned her M.A. from Claremont Graduate University in 2020 with a dual concentration in Positive Organizational Psychology and Evaluation.

Megan has worked as an internal and external consultant for 6 years. She has managed and evaluated organizational development programs such as mentoring, virtual coaching, and leadership development. Megan currently works at LinkedIn as a People Science Researcher, conducting primary and secondary research on emerging topics within positive organizational science. Her greatest passion is diving into data to not only make informed business decisions, but also for her own continuous learning.

Alyssa is a Doctoral Candidate in Positive Organizational Psychology. She is currently conducting her dissertation research on high-quality connections, work engagement, burnout, and remote work. In particular, she is interested in relational interactions at work and the positive effects it has on employees.

Before venturing into organizational psychology, Alyssa initially pursued a career in marketing after receiving her BA from the University of Pennsylvania. She worked as a strategy consultant for Bayer Healthcare’s brands before pivoting into a technology innovation startup that specialized in AI-driven, gamified e-commerce products. After 7 years of marketing in NYC,  Alyssa  realized that while she still loved business and psychology, she wasn’t interested in selling products; she wanted to make a difference in people’s lives and focus on employee engagement, healthy work-life balance, and burnout prevention. To that end, she left her job as Director of Product Marketing, traveled through Asia and Europe for four months, and started anew at Claremont Graduate University in 2018. She has been an independent consultant for the past 4+ years.

Ashley is a Ph.D. student in the Organizational Behavior program. She earned her B.A. and M.A. in Psychological Science from California State University San Marcos (CSUSM). Her research has focused on the experiences that inhibit underrepresented groups (e.g., Hispanic/LatinX, women) from pursuing and persisting in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) fields. She is the project manager for a 5-year NSF study across 12 California State University campuses that examines how a balanced identity can influence minority groups’ success in STEM. Her research interests include diversity, well-being, and a sense of belonging in the workplace.

Chloe is a PhD student in the positive organizational psychology and evaluation program at Claremont Graduate University, where she focuses on employee wellbeing and positive workplace climates. She believes in attending to the health of employees as a means of elevating performance and commitment to one’s organization.

Chloe’s background includes over 4 years of experience in developing data driven marketing solutions concentrated on client return on investment. She has significant experience across diverse businesses and an extensive background in building customer acquisition strategies. She aims to combine her business experience and positive organizational psychology education in the field of consulting. There, she can close the academic-practice gap by applying empirically validated research at the organizational, team, and individual level.

When she is not participating in class, the Worker Wellbeing Lab, or working, she is likely walking her dog or playing beach volleyball.

Cecelia is a PhD candidate in organizational psychology at Claremont Graduate University, where she focuses her research on understanding and eradicating the gender disparity in organizations and industries such as leadership, STEM, entrepreneurship, and more.  She is passionate about creating organizational spaces where women feel a deep sense of meaning and belonging, and where they can thrive professionally and personally.

With over 15 years of professional experience, Cecelia received her MBA from the University of California, San Diego and her Master of Science in Global Leadership from the University of San Diego, both while concurrently working in various roles across the medical device and pharmaceutical industries including medical education and training, sales, marketing, and human resources.  She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California, Davis, and has had a lifelong passion for understanding people and helping them thrive.  Cecelia is also an ICF credentialed leadership coach and she creates and conducts customized workshops on leadership, influence, change and more.

Krys has earned her Master of Education in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of Missouri-Saint Louis (UMSL), holds a Master of Science in Human Resources Management from Claremont Graduate University (CGU), and is currently working on her MA in Positive Organizational Psychology and Evaluation.

As a coaching facilitator and previous clinical mental health professional in the metropolitan area of greater St. Louis, Krys has trained others on practical methods that are useful for thriving both professionally and personally for everyday life. In her most recent consulting roles, she has provided leadership development training, conducted interviews, provided coaching and feedback on performance, and resume review. Additionally, Krys has experience with data analysis, write ups, and presenting data results and visuals.  

Shine is pursuing a PhD in Education at CGU’s School of Educational Studies. Since starting at CGU in 2019, she has conducted multiple research projects with UCI, USC, and CGU. Her projects range in saving face, South East Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander representation, social network analysis and health, and marginalization in online communities. Her main research interests are academic victimization and power dynamics. To practically apply her research, she is currently working as Assistant Director at The Dignified Learning Project, a nonprofit organization that engages in an interdisciplinary approach to enhance education’s responsibility to cultivate justice, equity, and liberation. Outside of her research, she works as a Graduate Assistant at CGU’s Office of Student Life, Diversity, and Leadership where she founded kin·dle, a program for continuing students to develop community.

By the end of Spring 2022, she will be a recipient of CGU’s Allies of Dreamers Certificate. After earning her PhD, she intends to pursue an M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy and become a licensed therapist so that she can provide affordable therapy to graduate students. While she has multiple interests academically, professionally, and personally, at her core she is a storyteller who seeks accountability. During her busyness, she strives to prioritize rest by hiking, journaling, catching up with friends, and listening to music.

Savannah Leslie is a current OB PhD student and a San Diego State University graduate with a BA in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. She is a Consultant/Organizational Supervisor for the crisis and support hotline “Community Helpline” and is a Consulting Associate in two firms focusing on organizational development, leadership, change management, and DEI. Her current projects relate to increasing support for volunteer wellness through monthly wellness check-in meetings and survey feedback, reconstructing volunteer performance evaluation scales, creating a workshop on how to personally mitigate remote meetings amongst COVID impacting an employee’s work-life balance, and increasing positive diversity initiatives through new diversity platform analysis.

She has 3+ years of research and applied experience in occupational health psychology, training/selection, organizational behavior and development, and data science. Her interests pertain to job performance, employee well-being, occupational health, workplace values/norms, ICT demands, and work-life roles/demands. Post-PhD, she plans to consult organizations on issues surrounding worker performance relative to technology demands, org norms, and employee well-being.

Soren Rasmussen is working on a PhD in Positive Organizational Psychology at Claremont Graduate University. Prior to discovering psychology, Soren received an MBA from The University of Memphis in International Business and spent more than 20 years working in various corporate functions in companies ranging from large global organizations to small start-ups in both Europe and the US.

Gavriella Rubin (she/her) is a PhD candidate in Positive Organizational Psychology at Claremont Graduate University (CGU). She is passionate about understanding stress, burnout, structural interventions for improved well-being, and Humanistic approaches to psychology. Gavriella received her BS in Applied Psychology from New York University (NYU) and MA in Yoga Studies with a focus on Yoga Therapy from Loyola Marymount University (LMU). After completing her bachelor’s degree, Gavriella worked as a TA in Positive Psychology and Meaningful Leadership at NYU and subsequently Yoga and Theology at LMU. Outside of academia, Gavriella teaches yoga and meditation in and around Los Angeles.

Nohelia  is a second-year doctoral student in the Organizational Behavior Ph.D. program. She received her B.A. in Psychology from George Mason University and her M.A. in Industrial Organizational Psychology with a specialization in Group Processes and Organizational Behavior from CUNY, Brooklyn College. Her research interests encompass diversity, gender, and belonging in the workplace.

Emily Zavala received her B.A. in Psychology from California Lutheran University and is currently working on her PhD in Positive Organizational Psychology at Claremont Graduate University. Outside of the classroom, she works as a Police Service Representative with the Los Angeles Police Department in the capacity of an emergency operator and police dispatcher for the past 14 years. Guided by personal experience, her research is focused on the emotional labor of first responders and the development of practices to preserve and enhance their well-being.