Academic Advisory Board
The institute’s academic advisory board is comprised of SJSU administrators, faculty and coaches.
Thalia Anagnos
SJSU Vice Provost, Undergraduate Education
thalia.anagnos@sjsu.edu
(408) 924-3861
SJSU Associate Vice President of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs Thalia Anagnos is a former engineering professor and 2012 recipient of the Outstanding Professor Award. Anagnos helped organize the SJSU Expanding Your Horizons Conference to interest women in STEM fields for more than 20 years.
William Armaline
Associate Professor, Sociology And Interdisciplinary Social Sciences
william.armaline@sjsu.edu
(408) 924-2935
William Armaline is director of the Human Rights Program at SJSU. An interdisciplinary scholar, Armaline studies social problems related to political economy, environmental sustainability, race theory and anti-racist action, pedagogy and transformative education, inequality and youths, mass incarceration and the war on drugs.
Cole Armstrong
Associate Professor, Kinesiology
cole.armstrong@sjsu.edu
(408) 924-8932
Cole Armstrong holds a doctoral degree in sport management from Florida State University. His research focuses on management in sport organizations, sport marketing, and the influence of sport on identity development.
Travis D. Boyce
Chair And Associate Professor, Department Of African-American Studies
travis.boyce@sjsu.edu
(408) 924-5872
Shaun Fletcher
Assistant Professor, Public Relations
shaun.fletcher@sjsu.edu
(408) 924-3393
Shaun Fletcher, '03 Public Relations, has provided communications strategies for Apple, the Volkswagen Group of America and the Center for Health Futures in Florida. His research includes political discourse and rhetorical analysis, as well as cultural communications within healthcare as it relates to African-American men.
Phylis West Johnson
Program Director, SJSU School Of Journalism And Mass Communications
phylis.west@sjsu.edu
(408) 924-5997
Phylis West Johnson is a researcher and practitioner who studies virtual worlds, augmented reality and virtual reality and their interplay with humanity. The author of five books and more than 100 paper presentations, Johnson is the former editor of the Journal of Radio and Audio Media.
Susanna Khavul
SJSU Professor Of Management
susanna.khavul@sjsu.edu
(408) 924-3502
Susanna Khavul’s research focuses on entrepreneurial finance, international entrepreneurship and firm failure. She has previously taught at the University of Texas, Arlington and London Business School. Her articles have appeared in Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of International Business Studies, and Journal of Management Studies.
Peter Lee
Professor, Social Work
peter.a.lee@sjsu.edu
(408) 924-5850
Peter Lee’s research includes the psychological development and adjustment of Asian Americans and ethnic groups in the child welfare and mental health systems. The co-creator of Social Workers in the Library, Lee served as associate director of CommUniverCity San Jose and director of SJSU’s "UP" Pre-College program.
Amy Leisenring
Associate Dean, Inclusive Student Success, College of Graduate Studies
amy.leisenring@sjsu.edu
(408) 924-5756
Amy Leisenring is the faculty director to the Academic Counseling Center for Excellence in the Social Sciences. Her scholarship explores the sociology of higher education and the way race, gender and class-based inequalities shape students' experiences. Leisenring teaches in the areas of gender, family and qualitative research methods.
Marcos Pizarro
Professor, Mexican American Studies
marcos.pizarro@sjsu.edu
(408) 924-3607
Marcos Pizarro coordinates MAESETR@S, a social justice organization that implements a transformative education model with Latinx communities. The co-coordinator of the Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice, Pizarro is Faculty-in-Residence for Chicanx-Latinx Student Success at SJSU and co-coordinator of Adelante.
Susan Snycerski
Assistant Professor, Psychology
susan.snycerski@sjsu.edu
(408 924-5662
Trained as a behavioral pharmacologist, Susan Snycerski has taught psychology, research methods, human drug use and abuse, mental retardation, behavioral pharmacology and toxicology, American Psychological Association writing workshops, and clinical trials administration. Snycerski has published empirical, theoretical and review papers, as well as book chapters and encyclopedia chapters.
Bonnie Sugiyama
Director, PRIDE & Gender Equity Center
bonnie.sugiyama@sjsu.edu
(408) 924-6158
Pronouns: they or she
Bonnie Sugiyama is the director of the San Jose State University PRIDE Center and Gender Equity Center. They have worked on social justice issues as a student and a professional at several CSU campuses for 20+ years, including: the advocating and founding of the PRIDE Center at Sacramento State; the re-visioning of Sonoma State University’s Center for Culture, Gender and Sexuality (now known as the HUB); and the founding director of the PRIDE Center at San Jose State University.
In the community, Bonnie also serves as the President of the Board of Directors for Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS), the parent organization of Outlet, an LGBTQ+ youth organization; and is a board member of the Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee (BAYMEC), an LGBTQ+ political action committee. They have also served on the national board of the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals as the People of Color Co-Chair.
Bonnie holds a B.S. in Management Information Systems and a M.A. in Educational Technology from California State University, Sacramento.
A. Lamont Williams
Assistant Professor, Kinesiology | Sport Management
lamont.williams@sjsu.edu
(408) 924-3014
A. Lamont Williams is a Scholar-Activist. Dr. Williams received his Ph.D. in Sport Management from the College of Education at Florida State University. At San Jose State University, he currently teaches Theory, Sociocultural Perspectives, and Management. His research interests include (but are not limited to) intercollegiate athletics, civil rights legislation, and athlete activism. Dr. Williams is also a DEI consultant for major sport teams and universities across the nation, specializing in workplace diversity education and development of inclusive policies.
