SPSSI 2023 Two-Year College Teaching and Mentoring Excellence Award

Cari Stevenson is a community psychologist and professor at Kankakee Community College. Her commitment to addressing pressing social issues has manifested in innovative and collaborative initiatives. One focus has been on supporting student veterans in their transition to civilian life. Through participatory action research, they established a Veterans Resource Center (VRC) on campus, driven by the veterans themselves, providing a vital space for camaraderie and resources. This initiative not only positively impacted the local community but also served as a national model, shared through conferences and publications, contributing to the broader conversation on effective support for student veterans.

Stevenson also developed a partnership with the American Veterans Service Dog Academy (AVSDA), resulting in a symbiotic empowerment approach to service dog training for veterans with post-traumatic stress. This initiative not only addresses mental health challenges but also involves students in behavioral psychology principles through a reciprocal community program. The success of these projects has led to the expansion of the training program into a credited certificate program, aligning with the recent passage of the PAWS Act, which increased funding for service dogs for veterans. Furthermore, this initiative led to exploring community inclusion for people with disabilities, particularly those with service dogs. Stevenson’s work emphasizes that education goes beyond the classroom, and students play a vital role as change agents in addressing society's most pressing issues.

SPSSI 2022 Two-Year College Teaching and Mentoring Excellence Award

Dr. Catherine Ma (she/her/hers) is the first Chinese full professor of psychology at Kingsborough Community College at the City University of New York (CUNY). She earned her Ph.D. in social-personality psychology from the Graduate Center, CUNY, and is a mother to three fabulous children who make her proud every day and one spoiled pug. She immigrated to the United States from Kowloon, Hong Kong, became a naturalized citizen, and overcame many struggles as an immigrant and first-generation college student. She has presented and written extensively on the maternal experiences of breastfeeding, mothering challenges in medicine, critiquing the current breastfeeding paradigm, racial bias in youth sports, the impact of Asian American studies in academia, imposter syndrome, and antiracism pedagogy in the classroom. Her love of research parallels her love of teaching at a racially diverse college because she finds it a privilege to teach students who share similar beginnings. Dr. Ma is an active board member of the Asian American/Asian Research Institute of CUNY and dedicates her time to mentoring students of color and historically underrepresented faculty. She established the Yuet Chun & Tai Yee Ma Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund to honor the legacy of her grandparents.

Note: Not Awarded in 2021

SPSSI 2020 Two-Year College Teaching and Mentoring Excellence Award

Dr. Lisa A. Kirby is Professor of English and Director of The Texas Center for Working-Class Studies at Collin College, where she teaches writing and American literature. Dr. Kirby completed her Ph.D. in English at Texas Christian University. Her research areas include Working-Class Studies, 20th-century American literature, and women’s writing. Along with Dr. Laura Hapke, she is co-editor of A Class of Its Own: Re-envisioning American Labor Fiction (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008). Her work has also appeared in Women’s Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Philip Roth Studies, The Journal of Popular Culture, and Academic Exchange Quarterly. Dr. Kirby is also the founding Director of The Texas Center for Working-Class Studies at Collin College, which seeks to raise awareness about issues of social class and work and to provide opportunities for collaboration among faculty, students, and community members. The center hosts an annual conference, sponsors a student organization, and seeks to raise awareness about the working class both at Collin College and in the community.

SPSSI 2019 Two-Year College Teaching and Mentoring Excellence Award

Dr. Mariana Vaillant Molina, is Assistant Professor of Psychology at Miami Dade College. She earned a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Florida International University in 2011. Dr. Molina teaches several undergraduate courses in developmental and social psychology and often integrates undergraduate authentic research on social issues such as food insecurity and human trafficking. Her teaching incorporates a deep understanding and appreciation of research methods and often includes problem-based learning, service-learning experiences, and reflection. Dr. Molina is chairperson of the Student Interdisciplinary Symposium, a co-curricular annual event she designed, showcasing students’ scholarly work at Miami Dade College. Dr. Molina also serves as co-advisor for the Hialeah campus chapter of the International Honor Society of Community Colleges, Phi Theta Kappa. She often mentors student members and officers with their honors programming in that role.