Dr. Richard Velayo’s research group, the Internationalizing the Teaching of Psychology (iToP) Team, focuses on strategies that help infuse international content and promote a global perspective within the discipline of psychology at the higher education level. Student research assistants work on projects related to the following: 

(1) identifying effective pedagogical strategies to internationalize psychology courses, 
(2) developing of an assessment tool for an internationalized psychology course, and 
(3) applying Internet-based technologies (IBTs) as teaching and research tools to help infuse international content. 

Research projects generally involve the design and development of online surveys, identification of and access to resources (e.g., instructors, courses, multimedia materials), and curriculum-based applications of IBTs. Students who are particularly interested in the use of social media technologies, international students, and/or those who have lived abroad or have traveled extensively in other countries are especially sought. For more information, please contact me at rvelayo@pace.edu. 

Sarika Persaud is a doctoral student in the Clinical-School Child Psychology PsyD program at Pace University. She is also a Graduate Assistant to Dr. Velayo. Sarika completed her Master's degree in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University, and received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at St. John's University. She is the General Secretary on the national board of Hindu Students Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about issues that affect Hindu-American students academically and socially. Sarika runs a blog, Sword + Flute (swordandflute.wordpress.com), where she writes on issues in adolescent psychology, women's psychology, religion and culture. Sarika is also a member of a dance company, Srijan Dance Center, as a professional solo and group artiste specializing in Kathak, a form of Indian classical dance, as well as Indian folk dance styles.

Simin Ghahghahi is a masters student in the Psychology program at Pace University and a member of Dr. Velayo’s IToP research team. She received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of San Diego. Her recent work experiences include counseling adolescents with eating disorders in an inpatient residential facility and working with male inmates through a literacy program at San Diego Juvenile Hall. Currently, she is conducting a literature review on a cross-cultural examination of depressive rumination in college students. After obtaining her masters degree, she plans to attend a doctorate program in Clinical Psychology.

Sonia Javani received her Bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Central Florida. Currently, she is a second-year Masters in Psychology student at Pace University (New York City) and a member of Dr. Velayo's IToP research team. For the past year, she has been working as an academic coach at OASIS (college support program at Pace for students with autism spectrum disorders and other learning differences). Her experience at OASIS has made her very interested in research on various support programs that are available to students with special needs and exploring strategies to internationalize these services. After she completes her MA degree, she intends to pursue a doctorate in school psychology.

Michael Trush M.S.Ed. is a fourth year Doctoral student in the School-Clinical Child Psychology Psy.D program at Pace University and a member of Dr. Richard Velayo’s ITOP (Internationalizing the Teaching of Psychology) research team. His current research interests involve the implications of multimedia presentation modality, recall strategy, and culture, and their impact on memory. Michael is also a psychology extern at Lenox Hill Center for Attention and Learning. Additionally, he is co-founder of Daniel’s Music Foundation, a non-profit foundation that provides free music education for individuals with physical and developmental disabilities.   

Wallis Back obtained my Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Economics as a Marketing major from Lehigh University in 2013. She took a year off to volunteer in the VA Hospital in the Psychiatric Unit and was the Jr Data Analyst for a startup online website. The following fall, she enrolled as a Master’s student in Psychology at Pace University and will earn my degree come December 2015. She is an active participant in two research labs (IDID; Individual Differences in Development and IToP; Internationalizing the Teaching of Psychology), in addition to being the MA in Psychology program student representative, the Master’s representative for the Graduate Psychology Student Association (GPSA) and a member of the Master’s Faculty Committee. She is currently working on my Master’s thesis which addresses attitudes towards entheogenic psychedelic substances in therapy and the level of an individual’s spiritual well-being. Upon graduation, she intend on gaining experience teaching and researching within the broad field of Cognitive and Spirituality Psychology in hopes of beginning as full time doctoral student in Fall 2016.

Sahiba Bhatnagar is a second year student working towards her MA in psychology at Pace University. She is currently a member of Dr. Velayo’s IToP (Internationalizing the Teaching of Psychology) team. She is also a participant in Lisa Rosenthal’s social psychology lab which focuses on race and gender issues. Sahiba has her bachelor’s of arts and sciences from Rutgers University, where she also majored in psychology. Her focus currently is on her independent study, which focuses on the perceptions of mindfulness in the western world and how it would be best implemented. Additionally she publishes articles on these topics onto her blog https://myndfulmatters.wordpress.com

Lucio Forti is a second year Masters student in the Psychology MA program at Pace University and a member of Dr. Richard Velayo’s ITOP (Internationalizing the Teaching of Psychology) research team. His current research interests are in best practices and strategies that can leverage technology in order to infuse international perspectives into the psychology curriculum. Lucio is also a member of the Academic Technology team at Pace where he leads training workshops and collaborates with faculty seeking to implement cutting edge video, and web technologies in their courses. As an intern for the International Council of Psychologists at the United Nations, Lucio also pulls from his background in systems engineering and web development in order to work closely with other NGOs advocating for the inclusion of mental health issues in the global agenda at the UN.

Ranya Marjieh is currently a second year student in the MA Psychology program at Pace University and a member of Dr. Velayo’s IToP (Internationalizing the Teaching of Psychology) research team. During the course of this semester, Ranya will be embarking on an independent study exploring the newly emerging realm of internationalized graduate psychology programs. She is currently a certified Teacher’s Assistant and this research will serve not only to contribute to internationalizing the teaching of psychology, but will also be relevant to her current occupational field. Ranya has experience working with youth in psychological settings and would like to broaden her horizons and work with an adult population. Ultimately, Ranya aspires to become a clinical psychologist working in a private practice and focusing her work on internationalizing psychology and its practices in a therapeutic setting among a clientele of varying cultural backgrounds.

Suchun Dong is a first year student in the MA psychology program at Pace university and a member of Dr. Richard Velayo’s ITOP (Internationalizing the Teaching of Psychology) research team, and Dr. Sonia Suchday’s "The Heart and Mind Lab" which focuses on the connection between the mind and body. Before attending graduate school, she worked as a teacher and helped kids with mental disorders in China. The desire to help more children overcome their psychological problems persuaded me to study psychology in more depth in the USA. After receiving her masters degree from Pace, she intends to pursue a Doctorate degree in child psychology. As an international student, her current research interest lies in the internationalization of psychology as a discipline.