Society For the Psychology of Men and masculinities
Advisory Committee
Amy Ahart, M.A., joined the International Boys’ Schools Coalition in April of 2015. Honored to be joining IBSC, Amy looks forward to working as part of the team to further the IBSC mission of educating and developing boys’ education through her interests in leadership development, educating the individual student, and supporting academic environments that educate and celebrate global students and citizens. Prior to joining IBSC, Amy worked with the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) as Senior Director of the Annual Conference. For 10 years, Amy curated and led the NAIS Annual Conference, an event that attracted 4,000 - 6,800 attendees. Each year, Amy was privileged to work with outstanding educators, school leaders, keynote speakers and education enthusiasts to dive deeply into education, educational leadership and professional development. Amy received her Master of Public/Non-Profit Administration degree from New York University and her undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Lafayette College.
Freeden Blume Ouer, Ph.D., has been at Tufts University since 2012, first with the Education Department and now in his position as associate professor of sociology. He is also affiliated with American Studies and the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program. From 2017-2010 he was co-chair on the Board of Representatives for the Boston Consortium for Graduate Studies in Gender, Culture, Women, and Sexuality. Dr. Blume Ouer serves on numerous editorial boards: as an associate editor for Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society (as well as a book review editor) and for the Critical Perspectives on Youth book series with NYU Press; and as an editorial advisory board member for the Critical Studies in Gender & Sexuality in Education book series with Routledge Press.
Bruce A. Bracken, Ph.D., is a school psychologist and Professor of Educational Foundations at The College of William & Mary. In addition to conducting research in psychoeducational assessment, Dr. Bracken was co-principal investigator on two five-year Jacob Javits Department of Education grants. He has authored or co-authored several tests. He co-founded and is co-consulting editor of the Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, and sits on several national and international editorial boards in psychology and education. Dr. Bracken Chaired the APA Committee on Psychological Testing and Assessment, served on panels for the National Academies of Science and the National Institute for Literacy, and currently is Past-President of the International Test Commission. Dr. Bracken is a Diplomate in the American Board of Psychological Assessment, a Fellow in two divisions (16 and 53) of the American Psychological Association, and was inducted into the Society for the Study of School Psychology.
Joseph M. Cervantes, Ph.D., Joseph M. Cervantes is a mental health professional who is informed by both his Chicano/Latino and Native American roots, as well as by years of professional training as a child and family psychologist. Nurturing a deep respect for the interconnectedness of all life, as well as the role that one's psychospiritual heritage plays in one's life journey, has made Dr. Cervantes increasingly aware of a life force that is a significant core of our being. Dr. Cervantes is humanistically oriented both by personal upbringing and professional training. As a professor, his teaching interests at the university have focused primarily in three areas: ethics, clinical spirituality, and multicultural instruction. Areas of research have been primarily focused in ethnic and cultural diversity along with writing about clinical spirituality. Dr. Cervantes has found that the interaction between these two content areas are extremely valuable for practice in the new millennia, and relevant to document how this interaction occurs. With the advent of increased acceptance for a wide range of human diversity in our worldview philosophies, it has become imperative that we also document and research those arenas that help our society to advance.
Judy Y. Chu, Ed.D., is a Lecturer in the Program in Human Biology at Stanford University, where she teaches a course on Boys’ Psychosocial Development. She earned her doctorate at Harvard Graduate School of Education where, supervised by Carol Gilligan, Ph.D., her research examined boys’ gender socialization, relationships, and development during early childhood and adolescence. Focused on boys as active participants in their own socialization and development, Chu’s studies explore how boys negotiate their identities, behaviors, and relationships in light of cultural constructions of masculinity that manifest in their everyday interactions. Her work highlights boys’ relational strengths and aims to help foster boys’ healthy resistance against societal pressures that can undermine their sense of integrity and hinder their relationships.
Adrian H. Huerta, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of education in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. His research focuses on boys and young men of color, college access and equity, and gang-associated youth. His research has been funded by the ECMC Foundation, Center for Research on College to Workforce Transitions, Volunteers for America, and others. His scholarship appears in Boyhood Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, Teachers College Record, The Urban Review, Urban Education, and other practitioner and scholarly journals. He is a past recipient of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Minority Dissertation Fellowship.
Danielle Kerr, M.A., Danielle Kerr is an assistant professor at Florida State University Schools (FSUS), Florida State University's K-12 lab school. Mrs. Kerr currently teaches 7th grade civics and serves as the school district's new teacher induction program coordinator. In 2019, she was chosen as the FSUS District Teacher of the Year, one of 74 teachers in the state of Florida recognized for excellence in teaching. She is also an active member of the Florida Teachers Lead Network, an alumni network for Florida teachers of the year.
Mrs. Kerr holds a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in Social Science Education and a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction, also from Florida State University.
Ronald F. Levant, Ed.D., ABPP., is currently Professor Emeritus of Psychology at The University of Akron, where he was Dean of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences, Professor of Psychology, and Core Faculty in the Counseling Psychology Program. Dr. Levant was the 2005 President of APA, and served as the Editor of the Psychology of Men and Masculinity from 2007-2015. Dr. Levant has authored, co-authored, edited or co-edited 19 books and over 250 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters in the psychology of men and masculinities, family and gender psychology, and advancing professional psychology. He has developed and evaluated a number of psychological measures designed to assess a variety of gender-related constructs.
Will Lewis, Ed.S., attended the University of South Alabama receiving a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and an Educational Leadership certification. Furthermore, he attended the University of West Alabama receiving a Master’s degree in Elementary Education and a Ed.S in Educational Leadership. During his time in education, he has served as a classroom teacher, Title I Facilitator, Behavior Coach, Assistant Principal, and Interim Principal. Will Lewis has also had the opportunity to work at all three (3) levels: elementary, middle, & high school. Furthermore, he has worked in ESOL, rural, urban, and magnet schools creating a wide variety of experiences to share with fellow educators. Will Lewis also owns and operates Middle 2 Elite Consulting, LLC focusing on school culture & climate, RTI, instruction best practices, new teacher training, student leadership, and school discipline.
CJ Pascoe, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Oregon where she teaches courses on sexuality, masculinity, social psychology, and gender. Her current research focuses on masculinity, youth, homophobia, sexuality and new media. Her book, Dude, You’re a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School, won the American Educational Research Association’s 2007 Book of the Year Award as well as an honorable mention for the American Sociological Association's Section on Sex and Gender’s Distinguished Book Award. Dude documents the relationship between homophobic harassment, heterosexism and masculinity in high school. In it CJ suggests ways we might begin to redefine gender norms that are damaging to both boys and girls. CJ is currently working on three projects: conducting fieldwork for her new book on youth cultures, examining homophobia in online spaces, interviewing GLBTQ young people about their life experiences, as well as writing about contemporary shifts in definitions and understandings of masculinity and homophobia.
Paul Poteat, Ph.D., conducts research on the school-based experiences of sexual and gender minority youth. His research on Gender-Sexuality Alliances has identified individual- and group-level mechanisms by which these school-based extracurricular groups empower and promote resilience among youth from diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. His work also examines bias-based harassment using an ecological framework to consider individual and peer factors that contribute to such behavior or that buffer against its effects. Dr. Poteat has served as Associate Editor for the Journal of Research on Adolescence and The Counseling Psychologist, and serves on the editorial board and as a reviewer for journals in the areas of counseling, developmental, educational, and school psychology, and in the fields of education and public health. In addition, he is actively involved in the professional organizations of the Society for Research on Adolescence, Society for Research in Child Development, and the American Psychological Association.
Michael Reichert, Ph.D., Michael Reichert is an applied and research psychologist who has long been an advocate for children and families. From counseling youth involved in the juvenile justice system and leading treatment teams in a psychiatric hospital to managing an independent clinical practice, Dr. Reichert has tested his understanding of children with real, even life-threatening, challenges. He has also immersed himself in research and consultation experiences that have afforded a deeper understanding of the conditions that allow a child to flourish in natural contexts: families, schools and communities. He has created and run programs in both inner city communities and in some of the most affluent suburban communities in the world. Working across such varied conditions, he has come to a profound appreciation for the hard science of human development. Since 1984, Dr. Reichert has maintained a clinical practice outside Philadelphia, PA, specializing in work with boys, men and their families.
Dr. Lea Theodore is a Professor at the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University, where she serves as the Director of both the Master’s and Doctoral Programs in School Psychology. Dr. Theodore also provides psychoeducational services in private practice and consults with public and private schools, hospitals, and behavioral health centers. Additionally, Dr. Theodore was hired as a consultant by the Supreme Court for the state of Virginia and General District Court of the Commonwealth of Virginia to provide diagnostic evaluations for individuals brought to Emergency Departments, presenting her findings and recommendations to a judge in a court of law. Dr. Theodore edited the comprehensive Handbook of Evidence-Based Interventions for Children and Adolescents (Springer) and has published approximately 80 refereed articles and chapters.
Learn more at: https://www.adelphi.edu/faculty/profiles/profile.php?PID=0869
Niobe Way, Ed.D., Niobe Way is Professor of Developmental Psychology and the founder of the Project for the Advancement of Our Common Humanity at New York University (PACH). She is also co-director of the Center for Research on Culture, Development, and Education at NYU. Her work focuses on the intersections of culture, context, and human development, with a particular focus on social and emotional development and how cultural ideologies influence developmental trajectories. The Listening Project, her current project with Joseph Nelson, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, David Kirkland, and Alisha Ali, aims to foster curiosity and connection in and outside of middle school classrooms across New York City. Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and numerous foundations. She is a contributor to Huffington Post, Psychology Today, and her research is regularly featured in mainstream media outlets.
Cristy Weggelaar, Ed.D., is a veteran high school English teacher and a passionate advocate for all students. An avid traveler, she has taught in the United States; Benin, West Africa; and American Samoa. She currently lives and teaches in Cairo, Egypt. Cristy holds a master’s degree in teaching from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership: Curriculum and Instruction from Portland State University. Her doctoral research focused on the importance of authentic caring relationships in engaging boys in secondary classrooms.