Jennifer Alvarado
Jennifer received her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Management and Leadership at California Polytechnic University, Pomona. In her undergrad, Jennifer collaborated with the PolyTransfer Program, where she helped evaluate the effectiveness of National Transfer Week. Her research interests include exploring work-life balance specifically in remote work settings and employee selection and retention. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys exploring new hiking trails, trying new coffee shops, going to the gym, and watching movies.
Second Year Internship: Blackmore Partners
Yedid Chavez Jimenez
Yedid graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Psychology. Early in her career, she worked as an immigration paralegal before transitioning to Human Resources. This experience inspired her to pursue a master's degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and return to SF State as a graduate student. Yedid has volunteered with the Mentoring Undergraduate Student Experience (MUSE), where she provided support and resources to an undergraduate psychology student preparing to apply to graduate programs. She also joined the Employee Selection and Retention Lab, where she had the opportunity to assist other students with their thesis work. Her research interests include employee selection and retention, organizational change, and employee well-being. In her free time, Yedid enjoys urban hiking, watching scary movies, and exploring new restaurants.
Second Year Internship: Integral Talent Systems
Cristian Gomez
Cristian earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of La Verne in 2023. Initially focused on forensic psychology, his interests shifted to I.O. psychology after a course in applied psychology highlighted its practical benefits for workplace settings. This introduction revealed how Cristian could make a meaningful impact on both organizations and employees, such as his father, by creating more positive work environments. As a graduate student at SFSU, Cristian's current research focus is on different leadership styles and their relationships with employee performance and stress. He is also involved in Dr. Wright's Employee Selection and Retention Lab, where he supports his peers and the lab with their projects. Cristian’s areas of interest include employee selection, training and development, recruitment, and employee motivation. In his free time, he enjoys watching movies, cheering on the Los Angeles Dodgers, and spending time with friends and family.
Second Year Internship: TBD
Luis Gutierrez
Luis graduated from San Jose State University in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Business. Here, he developed a keen interest in HR analytics and data-driven decision-making. While undergoing his undergraduate studies, Luis primarily worked at Tesla’s Fremont Factory as a test-driver and an assembly line production associate. His I/O research interests include AI, training and development, person analytics, and employee motivation. Luis worked in Dr. Sanchez's WorkTech Lab, where he learned how to peer edit, led a project on VR perceptions, and was also the program coordinator for MUSE. In his free time, Luis enjoys playing video games, watching movies, and exercising.
Second Year Internship: Azul Systems, Inc
Kassidy Martinez
Kassidy is a second-year graduate student and plans to graduate with an M.S. in Industrial Organization Psychology in Spring of 2025. Prior to grad school, she worked at a Behavior Therapist for Easterseals Southern California and Autism Learning Partners, using behavior modification to help children on the autism spectrum. She taught for a Deaf & Hard of Hearing class for the summer 2024 term at San Francisco Unified School District. She currently works as a substitute teacher for San Francisco Unified School District.
Second Year Internship: Susan G. Komen Foundation
Oliver Nocedal
Starting his career in tech at age 21 without a high school degree, Oliver quickly advanced from an electronic tester to a project coordinator at Digidesign. Within five years, he became a project manager for new product introductions at Logitech, where his career flourished. In 2008, he joined Ultra-Clean Technologies (UCT) for a higher salary. However, when the recession hit, UCT moved most of its operations to the Far East. After over a year of job searching in a tough job market, he secured a Union job at UCSF, prioritizing job security despite limited growth opportunities. Determined to advance, he returned to school and is now in his second year of the Master’s IO program, interning at UCSF, where he is helping develop a just-in-time online training learning library.
Second Year Internship: UCSF
Nico Tocchni
Nico started his undergrad in engineering, but decided that he wanted to pursue psychology. After spending a year working in ABA therapy, he realized that the clinical aspect of psychology was not where he belonged. He applied to the SFSU MSIO program because he felt that he could improve both the efficiency and quality of the workspace. Now he am working in an internship where he gets to be apart of the change in the workplace and he is proud of it.
Second Year Internship: Lightmatter
Monica Tran
Monica Thuy Tran graduated from California State University, East Bay in 2022 with a B.S. in Psychology, concentrating in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. As a Vietnamese second-generation immigrant, Monica was motivated by her experiences of limited resources growing up. Instead of being deterred by these challenges, she channeled her energy into creating the resources she wished had been available to her. During her undergraduate studies, she dedicated herself to learning how to design, facilitate, and advertise communication, career, and leadership development workshops, determined to make a difference for others facing similar obstacles. Monica is driven to make a positive change by continuously volunteering for programs such as Mentoring Undergraduate Student Experience (MUSE) and Asian American Women Association (AAWA) to engage with students as an academic and professional mentor, and organize and facilitate career seminars, workshops, and other events for the community. Also, during Monica’s undergraduate studies, her research focused on personality, neurodiversity, and group dynamics. She worked as a Lab Manager for Dr. Erica Baranski, overseeing a team of scholars, publishing research posters, and coding qualitative data. At SFSU, Monica serves as a research assistant in the Workplace Technology Research Lab, leading projects with Dr. Sanchez on projects involving AI, virtual reality, virtual teams, virtual environments, and gamification. Monica's current research interests include trust in advice, virtual environments, efficient team dynamics, and communication strategies. Outside of work, Monica enjoys practicing martial arts, running, and camping.
Second Year Internship: DRS Consulting
Nishka Vipul
Nishka earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Cognitive Science from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2022. During her undergraduate studies, she served as a Student Outreach Ambassador, a crisis counselor, and worked as a research assistant at UCLA’s Baby Lab, where she explored multi-sensory attention and perception in infants. Her commitment to mental health advocacy was further exemplified through her role as a mental health coach for UCLA’s Depression Grand Challenge research project. This experience deepened her understanding of human behavior, fueling her desire to apply these insights to enhance workplace dynamics. At San Francisco State University, Nishka is a research assistant in Dr. Diana Sanchez’s Workplace Technology Research lab, focusing her research on perceptions of remote work policies among early career professionals. She is also developing a behaviorally-anchored rating scale to assess equity values in job applicants as part of her thesis work with Dr. Kevin Eschleman, Dr. Christian Wright, and their respective labs. As the co-president of the Industrial Organizational Psychology Student Association, Nishka is dedicated to giving back to the community that has supported her growth. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, experimenting with new recipes, and connecting with the outdoors.
Second Year Internship: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
McGyver Ye
McGyver graduated from the University of California, Irvine, with a B.A. in Psychological Science and a minor in Digital Information Systems. As an undergraduate, he served as a teaching assistant for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and contributed to various research projects ranging from developing digital health resources to collecting saliva samples. His experience as a teaching assistant ignited a passion for applying evidence-based practices in the workplace, leading him to pursue a master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Currently, he works as a research assistant in Dr. Sanchez's WorkPlace Technology Lab, serves as a mentor for the MUSE program, and interns as an HR Liaison for the United States Department of Agriculture. In his free time, he enjoys playing video games, running, and spending time with his orange cat, Theo.
Second Year Internship: Department of Agriculture
Victoria Zaarour
Victoria received her B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Business from the University of California, San Diego. During her undergraduate years, Victoria consistently achieved academic excellence and balanced her studies with active involvement in organizations like Circle K and working at her university within the Business & Financial Department. Victoria's passion for diversity and inclusion led her to join the EDI Accountability Committee at UCSD. Post-graduation, Victoria continued working at UCSD as a Procurement Analyst while also volunteering as a crisis counselor for Crisis Text Line and working part-time as a Behavior Technician at Advanced Behavioral Health. At San Francisco State University, Victoria has immersed herself in research and professional development. She volunteers as a mentor in the Mentoring Undergraduate Student Experience (MUSE) program, providing guidance to underserved undergraduates about graduate school opportunities. Victoria has also been actively involved in two research labs: the Health & Organizational Psychology (HOP) Lab and the Employee Selection and Retention Lab, where she further explores her interest in burnout and employee wellbeing. In her free time, Victoria enjoys binge-watching movies and shows, exploring new music, and trying new cafes.
Second Year Internship: Projection Consulting
Julie Zhu
Julie graduated from the University of Toronto with an HBSc in Psychology in 2022. During her time there, she conducted an independent research study on subjective well-being and crime rates in the U.S. and was actively involved in various student organizations as a volunteer coordinator and video editor. Currently, she works as a research assistant in Dr. Sanchez’s WorkTech Research Lab, where she explores remote work perceptions among early career professionals and has published an article on salary disparities among job applicants with disabilities. Her areas of interest include promoting fairness in selection processes and exploring the potential of artificial intelligence in this space. In her free time, Julie enjoys traveling, good food, and staying active.
Second Year Internship: Arista Networks