Support I-O Psychology at CSU

Meet the First-Year Cohort

Alex Bush

• Research Interests: Occupational Health Psychology, employee well-being, burnout, safety culture/climate
• Advisor: Gwenith Fisher
• Masters Institution: Cloud State University
• Undergraduate Institution: Cloud State University
• Outside of Work: Cooking, hanging out with my dogs, concerts, travel

Sally Hoffman

• Research Interests: Work-family conflict, employee well-being, occupational health psychology
• Advisor: Kim French
• Masters Institution: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
• Undergraduate Institution: Birmingham-Southern College
• Outside of Work: Reading, spending time outside, and hanging out with friends

Kyle Inselman

• Research Interests: Career development, work volition, calling
• Advisor: Bryan Dik
• Masters Institutions: University of Utah (M.Ed.), University of Denver (M.A.)
• Undergraduate Institution: University of Colorado Boulder
• Outside of Work: Watching documentaries, practicing yoga, hiking, photography

Tony Ramirez

• Research Interests: Unions, leadership, corporate social responsibility, and employee health and well-being benefits.
• Advisor: Keaton Fletcher
• Undergraduate Institution: Colorado State University
• Outside of Work: Reading, comedy shows, running, exploring coffee shops

Mikey Savage

• Research Interests: Neurodivergent employee experiences, recovery from work, organizational training, and employee learning
• Advisor: Gwenith Fisher
• Masters Institutions: Old Dominion University
• Undergraduate Institution: Southern Utah University
• Outside of Work: Playing board games, thrifting with my partner, and taking our dogs on adventures

Faculty Updates

Kim French

Dr. Tammy Allen (USF), Dr. Kim French, Tony Ramirez, Luiza Flores, and Malory Bostwick at SIOP

The Work Family Health Lab examines how managing work and family affects individual and family health and wellbeing. This year we are excited for Sally Hoffman (MA, UT Chattanooga) to join our lab! We are still focused on a mixed-methods NSF funded grant to understand employee health and wellbeing benefits access and communications in collaboration with the LION Lab.

We’ve been busy publishing pilot studies, publishing policy briefs (in collaboration with Danni Gardner), and presenting to academic and applied (HR, occupational health professionals) audiences on this topic. In the last year, we’ve collaborated with so many incredible students from CSU and Georgia Tech on this work, including Malory Bostwick, Luiza Flores, Tony Ramirez, John Poturalski, Sarah Rose, Jess Cortez, Gino Sechi, Lauren Moran, Spencer Garcia, and Trevor Todd.

Luiza and Malory are both developing their thesis proposals. Luiza is interested in how the structure of PTO policies affect perceived bias and use. Malory is interested in the intersection of callings and the work-family interface; she is working with our newest RA Kenzie Murray and Bryan Dik on a systematic review. Luiza‘s work on single parent work-family conflict won Best OHP Poster at the annual ERC Research Day – Yay Luiza!! Malory gave a stellar podium talk at Research Day on how benefits are (effectively) communicated. Sally has already hit the ground running, developing a study to explore how parenthood impacts recovery choices and effectiveness. Kim has also been developing her qualitative methods chops this year—a long delayed professional goal!

Danni Gardner

Members of the RISE lab have continued to conduct, present, and publish research related to identity, stigma, and worker experiences over the past year. Lab research was presented at the recent SIOP conference in Denver, and the Work, Stress, and Health conference in Seattle. Notable graduate student milestones include Danielle West, who proposed and defended her Master’s thesis on vocational calling in LGBTQ+ employees, and Kinjal Chheda, who advanced to doctoral candidacy after presenting her comprehensive portfolio document. Dr. Danni Gardner also earned recognition from SIOP this past year after receiving the 2025 Joel Lefkowitz Early Career Award for Humanistic I-O Psychology. Finally, an honorary member joined the RISE lab this past Spring, as Danni and her husband Ryan welcomed their first child in early May. We are excited to see what the next year will bring, both personally and professionally!

Josh Prasad

Dr. Brittany Lynner, Dr. Josh Prasad, Dr. Kelsie Colley

The Prasad Lab includes Hannah Finch and Kesea Nutter, with Dr. Brittany Lynner and Dr. Kelsie Colley as recent Lab Alumni. Brittany is starting a new role as a People Scientist at Capital One, and Kelsie is continuing in her role as an Organizational Design Consultant at State Farm. Hannah is continuing her work as faculty member at Front Range Community College as she works towards her dissertation. Finally, Kesea is diligently preparing for her comprehensive exam. Our research continues to focus on promoting neurodiversity through evaluating online asynchronous video interviews as well as investigating applications of machine learning and generative AI to talent management. Of note, we continue NSF funded work related to using large language models to examine drivers of persistence among STEM students. Two babies also joined the Lab this past year – Kesea welcomed Kaleb Nutter to her family and Josh welcomed Arlo Prasad to his!

Keaton Fletcher

The LION (Leadership in Organizational Networks) Lab is chugging along! New graduate student Tony Ramirez has hit the ground running, absolutely crushing data collection and qualitative analyses for an NSF-funded study on workplace benefits. Allie Kom, now in her second year, is thriving as a funded MAP-ERC OHP trainee, knocking multiple projects on participation equality within teams out of the park. Cooper Drose, a LION Lab graduate student still based at Georgia Tech, is proposed his dissertation on leader workaholism this semester after rocking his productive summer internship with Korn Ferry.  Shelby Davis, 4th year, is a new addition to the LION Lab and is making great progress towards proposing her dissertation on mistreatment of educators, and passed her comprehensive exams.

Undergraduate lab manager Lander Wilkinson has been instrumental in wrapping up a massive NSF-funded team-based data collection effort as well as her honors thesis on veterinarian job attitude reactions to Prop 129 in Colorado that introduces a new class of veterinary worker. And Claire Burnett earned her PhD this year! She’s full-time at Russell Reynolds Associates—no more dissertation edits!

Bryan Dik

Danielle West, Malory Bostwick, Kyle Inselman, Dr. Bryan Dik, Ryan Lizerbram

Members of the LIVE (Longitudinal Investigation of Vocational Exploration) Lab, formerly known as the Calling and Meaningful Work Lab, include a mix of I-O and Clinical students: Malory Bostwick, Kyle Inselman, Nyima Tenzin, and Danielle West. Our work is focused on launching the LIVE (Longitudinal Investigation of Vocational Exploration) Project, a new study that is expected to become the largest-ever longitudinal study of calling and vocation. The study will track two cohorts of first-year and graduating students drawn from 36 colleges and universities over time, studying their developing and evolving sense of calling, vocation, and purpose as they progress through their education and establish a career. The project also will include studies of faculty and staff. The project is funded with a $2.1 million grant from the Council for Independent Colleges with support from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Gwenith Fisher

Members of the Fisher Lab continue to advance occupational health psychology (OHP) research through diverse projects and collaborations. This year, the lab welcomed two new first-year doctoral students, Alex Bush and Mikey Savage, who bring fresh momentum to the team’s growing body of work.

Ryan Lizerbram is now the senior member of the lab and a PhD candidate. His dissertation focuses on flow-based learning, examining how adaptive training, goal-setting, and feedback systems can help unlock meaningful learning experiences and facilitate better training transfer. Supporting Ryan’s work is the Lizard Lab, a team of passionate undergraduate research assistants: Samantha Anderson, Eli Jespersen, Zia Harimon-Smith, Joaquin Ruiz, Caius Lang, and Mariana Prieto Gonzalez. Alex Bush is pursuing several lines of inquiry. He is conducting a scoping review of burnout, stress, and moral injury among dental professionals across private practice, corporate dental service organizations, and community clinics. Mikey Savage is exploring multiple facets of recovery and inclusion. His work includes investigating how neurodivergent and neurotypical employees differ in their recovery experiences from work. Mikey is also conducting a meta-synthesis of mindfulness interventions. All in all, the Fisher Lab continues to combine rigorous empirical work with applied relevance, contributing valuable insights to the field of OHP.

2025 Work, Stress, and Health Conference Back row: Brittany Lynner, Dr. Gwen Fisher, Gino Sechi, Ryan Lizerbram, Alex Bush, Malory Bostwick, Dr. Keaton Fletcher Front row: Destiny Castro (Rice), Allie Kom, Katie McMahon, Luiza Flores, Kinjal Chheda, Dr. Kim French, Dr. Annette Shtivelband, Dr. Rebecca Brossoit (Rice)

Work Updates

Publications

• Benson, A. L., Colley, K. L., Prasad, J. J., Willis, C. M., & Powell-Rudy, T. E. (2025). Comparing Autistic and Neurotypical Responses to Conventional and Modified Questions in Algorithmically Scored Asynchronous Video Interviews: A Textual International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 33(1), e12512.
• Fletcher, K. A., Ramirez, T., French, K. A., & Bostwick, M. (2025). Masculine contest culture is associated with less access to, and knowledge of, mental health benefits. Career Development
• French, A., Smith, C., Lee, S., & Chen, Z. (2025). Can allostatic load cross over? Short-term work and nonwork pile-up on parent and adolescent diurnal cortisol, physical symptoms, and sleep. Journal of Applied Psychology.
• Gardner, D. M., French, K. A., & Fletcher, K. A. (in press). Expanding access to overlooked reproductive benefits in organizations: Highlighting fertility treatment and abortion accessibility. In E. B. King, Q. M. Roberson, & M. R. Hebl (Eds.), Call to Action for Policymakers: Defending and Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives. Information Age Publishing.
• Inselman, M. (2025). Is dharma the same as calling? Considering religio-cultural context in cross-cultural calling research. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 53, 387-399.
• Kenny, E., Di Fabio, A., & Dik, B. J. (2025). Calling, careers, and career counselling. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 53.
• Marsh, D. R., & Dik, B. J. (2025). Calling’s dimensions and career development among undergraduate students. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 53, 357-370.
• Moran, L. H., French, K. A., Fletcher, K. A., Garcia, S. C. & Todd, T. (2025). Organizational healthcare benefits as signals of values. Journal of Business and Psychology. [Moran, French, and Fletcher contributed equally]
• Nutter, K. K., Prasad, J. J., & Peck, L. E. (2025). A cross-lagged analysis of the reciprocal relationship between job search behaviors and employee turnover intentions. Journal of Personnel Psychology.
• Prasad, J. J., Davis, S. N., & Gardner, D. M. (2025). Evaluating the bi-directional relationship between authenticity at work and job Current Psychology, 1-4.
• Prasad, J. J., Gardner, D. M., Finch, H. M., & Ponce-Pore, I. E. (2025). From a point to a line: investigating social and ethnic predictors of longitudinal academic performance and degree attainment. Current Psychology, 44(3), 1840-1855.
• Sheppard, D., Trzebiatowski, T. M., & Prasad, J. J. (2025). Paternalism in the performance context: Evaluators who feel social pressure to avoid exhibiting prejudice deliver more inflated performance feedback to women. Journal of Business and Psychology, 40(2), 439-454.
• Sitzmann, M. French, K. A., & Fletcher, K. A. (2025). Whose interests should technology serve? Employees versus shareholders. Industrial-Organizational Psychology, 18, 35-39.
• van Zyl, E. & Dik, B. J. (2025). Beyond universal prescriptions: Toward a person-centered, bottom-up science of wellbeing. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 10, 42.

Current doctoral students: Allie Kom, Shelby Davis, Danielle West, Mikey Savage, Kesea Nutter, Ryan Lizerbram, Alex Bush, Kyle Inselman, Sally HoWman, Tony Ramirez (not pictured: Malory Bostwick, Kinjal Chheda, Hannah Finch, and Luiza Flores)

Presentations

• Bostwick, , French, K. A., Fletcher, K. A., & Ramirez, T. (2025). Benefits communication isn’t working: A person-centric perspective on learning about employee health and well-being benefits. Symposium presentation at the 2023 Work, Stress, & Health Conference, Seattle, WA.
• Flores, L., French., K., Allen, T. (2025). Work-family conflict of single parents. Poster presentation at the 2025 Biannual Work, Stress, and Health Conference, Seattle,
• French, K. A., Fletcher, K. A., Gardner, D. M., Allen, T. D., Prasad, J., & Jordan, A. (2024). Critiquing expectations for multi-study papers for peer-reviewed publication. Poster presentation at the 2025 Annual Conference of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Denver, CO.
• French, K. A. Ramirez, T., Fletcher, K. A., Bostwick, M. L. (2025). How well do people know their family-friendly benefits in the S.? Symposium presentation at the 2025 Annual Conference of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Denver, CO.
• Ramirez, , Fletcher, K. A., French, K. A., & Bostwick, M. (2025). Masculinity contest culture is associated with less access to/knowledge of mental health benefits. Symposium at the 2025 Annual Conference of the American Psychological Association. Denver, CO.
• Sechi, G., Fletcher, K. A., & French, K. A. (2025). The role of challenge/hindrance demands and sensation seeking on workplace autoerotic activity. Poster presentation at the 2025 Biannual Work, Stress, and Health Conference, Seattle, WA.

Milestones

• Kim French, Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor
• Rebecca Clancy, Earned PhD
• Kelsie Colley, Earned PhD
• Chloe Goldman, Earned PhD
• Brittany Lynner, Earned PhD
• Roz Stoa, Earned PhD
• Kinjal Chheda, Passed Comprehensive Exams
• Hannah Finch, Passed Comprehensive Exams
• Ryan Lizerbram, Passed Comprehensive Exams
• Danielle West, Earned MS

Awards

• Danni Gardner, 2025 Lefkowitz Early Career Humanitarian IO Psychology Award
• Josh Prasad and Colin Willis, 2026 SIOP Small Grant
• Keaton Fletcher, 2026 Lefkowitz Early Career Humanitarian IO Psychology Award

IOPAC Updates

The Industrial/Organizational Psychology Association of Colorado (IOPAC) is the I/O graduate student organization at Colorado State University. IOPAC had a busy semester, participating in a park cleanup volunteer day, community building at Painting with a Twist, and hearing from guest speakers Dr. Nic Smith (UTA) and Dr. Melissa Robertson (UGA).

IOPAC Volunteer Day: Luiza Flores, Mikey Savage, Ryan Lizerbram, Danielle West, Alex Bush, Sally HoWman, Tony Ramirez

IOPAC at Painting with a Twist: Sally HoWman, Kyle Inselman, Malory Bostwick, Kesea Nutter, Allie Kom, Danielle West, Tony Ramirez, Mikey Savage

IOCC (IO Community & Conversation) guest lecture with Dr. Nic Smith

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SIOP 2026

SIOP 2026 Presentations