Conference Directors
SUPC was founded, and continues to be run,
entirely by undergraduate students at Stanford University. A
different Executive Director is selected each year from among many
talented individuals interested in the position. These individuals
perform their duties on an entirely volunteer basis, out of their
devotion to psychology, and because of their interest in helping to
facilitate student networking, promote student development, and
advance psychological science. Below is a listing of the current
Executive Director and all previous Executive Directors.
Current Conference Director
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Brittany Torrez - Executive Director 2016
Brittany Torrez is a senior majoring in Psychology
with Honors. During her time at Stanford she has worked as a
Research Assistant in the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab,
the Mind, Culture and Society Lab, and the College
Transition Collaborative. Brittany was a member of the SUPC
Board of Directors in 2015, prior to becoming Conference
Director. After graduation, she plans to continue pursuing
her own line of research related to social status and
pro-social behavior. In her free time, she loves exploring
new cities, trying to find authentic Italian pizza, and
playing guitar.
SUPC Senior Advisor(s): Moiead Charawi
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Previous Conference Directors
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Nichole Kim - Executive Director 2015
Nichole Kim was a senior majoring in Psychology
when she directed SUPC.
While at Stanford, she worked as a Research
Assistant in Language Learning Lab, Interpersonal Perception
and Communication Lab, and Center for Interdisciplinary
Brain Science Research. Nichole was an abstract reviewer for
the 2014 Conference before serving as Director of SUPC. After college,
her dream is to use her knowledge of Psychology to develop a career in User
Experience Research. In her free time, she loves traveling,
cooking, listening to music, and skiing.
SUPC Senior Advisor(s): Moiead Charawi
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Moiead Charawi - Executive Director 2014
Moiead Charawi was a freshman considering
double majoring in Computer Science and Biology, with a
concentration in Neurobiology, when he directed SUPC. He currently works as the
undergraduate research lab coordinator and webmaster at the
Political Psychology Research Group, headed by Jon Krosnick.
After completing his undergraduate education, Moiead hopes
to satisfy his entrepreneurial spirit and enter the vibrant
culture of startups in Silicon Valley. In the free time that
he has, Moiead loves to listen to music and sing, as well as
read about influential visionaries that have shaped the
world that we live in today.
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Michelle Okereke - Executive Director 2013
Michelle Okereke was a sophomore majoring in
Psychology, with a specialization in Mind, Culture, and
Society, when she directed SUPC. She minored in Film and Media Studies
or Computer Science. She worked in the Mind,
Culture, and Society Lab as a Research Assistant on the
Inequality and Well-Being project. Previously, she worked as
a Social Psychology Abstract Reviewer for the 2012
Conference. After college, Michelle plans to pursue graduate
education or apply her knowledge of psychology to a career
in marketing or human resources. Outside of psychology
research, Michelle is currently the Financial Officer for
the Black Psychology Student Association and the Director of
Advertising for FLiCKS, is involved with the Stanford NAACP,
and briefly worked as a Research Assistant on a project in
Stanford Law’s Criminal Justice Center. In her free time,
Michelle loves watching movies and surfing IMDb.
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Lemaat Michael - Executive Director 2012
Lemaat Michael was a senior majoring in Psychology (focus on Health and Developmental Psychology) and a
minor in Creative Writing when she directed SUPC. She worked as a research
assistant in the Carstensen Life-Span Development Lab
studying how social, cognitive, and emotional processes change
over the lifespan.
She also conducted research on issues facing the
education system in America, as well as on Fragile
X syndrome. Lemaat hopes to pursue either a degree in
Medicine or a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology so she
can have an impact by working directly with children who
have various life-altering disorders. In addition to serving
as the Executive Director of SUPC,
Lemaat was the president of Stanford's Black
Psychology Student Association, as well as the Stanford
Ethiopian and Eritrean Students Association. In her free
time, she enjoys relaxing, reading, and catching up
on all things outside of Stanford.
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Rebecca Johnson - Executive Director 2011
Rebecca Johnson was a senior majoring in
Psychology, with minors in Economics and Religious Studies,
when she directed SUPC. She worked on research projects on
maladaptive and adaptive responses to bullying, neural
reward mechanisms, and pro-social versus self-oriented
vocational goals on developmental outcomes. She also pursued
an honors thesis on the stigmatization of mental illness,
and hopes to pursue a PhD in health policy and ultimately a
career in mental illness advocacy with a focus on mental
health as a relevant and pertinent global health issue. In
addition to SUPC, Rebecca was the co-president of Stanford
Women in Business, a Conference Director for the Stanford
Association for International Development, and a Board
Fellow with Stanford Nonprofits. In her free time, Rebecca
loves backpacking, going to music festivals, and exploring
new countries.
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Kyonne Isaac - Executive
Director 2010
Kyonne Isaac was a senior majoring in Psychology,
with a minor in African & African American Studies, when she
directed SUPC. She worked in the Mind, Culture & Society
research lab for three years, conducting research
that explores identity, race, culture and prejudice within
the individual and its interaction with society. Her honor's
thesis focused on identity affirmation in response to the
perpetual foreigner stereotype in the Asian American
community and its impact on interactions with other American
minority groups. While at Stanford, she also volunteered as Co-President for the Stanford NAACP. She
hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in Social Psychology and become a
university professor. In her time away from school, she enjoys dancing
and reading.
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Adriana Miu - Executive Director
2009
Adriana Miu was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to the U.S.
in 2001. While directing SUPC, she was a junior majoring in
psychology and economics at Stanford. She joined a lab doing
research on HIV intervention with online social networks,
such as Facebook and Myspace. Past research projects include
testing stigma and people's willingness to pay for an HIV
test in a test bundle compared to a separate test. In
addition to her interest in social psychology, she also
enjoys learning about stress and motivational factors in
students. She hopes to become an educational psychologist,
and combine her knowledge and experiences in the fields of
psychology, education, and economics. In her free time, she
likes to read, play piano, ping pong, and basketball.
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Peter Radu - Executive Director
2008
Peter Radu was a junior at Stanford majoring in psychology
when he directed SUPC. He also served as the president for
the Psi Chi chapter at Stanford, and was the principal
investigator of a study examining the ability of behavioral
measures of impulsiveness to predict relapse in individuals
recovering from substance addiction. Peter was also involved
as a research assistant on a project exploring the facets of
therapeutic listening, a direct relationship to his interest
in the writings and theories of Carl Rogers. He hopes to
pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. When not in the lab
or library, he enjoys playing on the Stanford club hockey
team and, in the fall, supports the rapidly-improving
Stanford football team.
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Lauren Anas - Executive Director
2007
Lauren graduated from the University of Oregon in 2004 with
a major in Psychology and a minor in Business. While at the
University of Oregon, she worked for a clinical lab
investigating the role that stressful life events play in
the onset and maintenance of major depressive disorder.
While directing the Conference, Lauren served as a research
coordinator for the Stanford Mood and Anxiety Disorders Lab,
a position that she held for two years. In addition to
psychology, she enjoys reading and spending time outdoors.
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Carolina Gutierrez - Executive
Director 2006
Carolina is originally from Salinas, California, and was a
master's student at Stanford while serving as SUPC Executive
Director. She also completed majors in both Psychology and
German Cultural Studies, and a minor in Ethics in Society,
at Stanford. Previously, she worked as a Lecturer's
Assistant for the Introduction to Psychology course and
helped with research in the Departments of Psychology and
Psychiatry. Hoping to go to law school or a school of public
health, she was specifically interested in the intersection
of health/ medicine and race/ ethnicity/ culture. She worked
for Kaiser Family Foundation for over a year on issues
related to minority health policy. In her free time, she
enjoys gossiping with her sister, trying new foods, and
Latin dancing.
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Eva Chen - Executive Director 2005
Eva Chen was a senior from Taiwan majoring in Psychology and
coterming in Sociology while serving as SUPC Executive
Director. She conducted research in the Tsai Culture and
Emotion Lab since her sophomore year, and worked on a Bing
project looking at the differences in affect valuation in
preschool children. In the summer before her senior year,
she worked in the Boroditsky Cognation Lab, looking how
languages influence thought. Eva completed an Honor's thesis
on the relations between religion and emotion. She also
served as Director of Internal Affairs ('03-'04) and
Director of Programming & Events ('04-'05) for the Stanford
Undergraduate Psychology Association, and as the Financial
Officer for the Stanford Chapter of Psi Chi. In addition,
she served as Associate Director for SUPC 2004 and directed
SUPC 2005. Eva hopes to go on the graduate school in
psychology and eventually return to Taiwan as a professor.
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Felicity Miao - Executive Director
2004
Felicity Miao, originally from Hong Kong, was the Lab
Manager for Dr. Jeanne Tsai's Culture and Emotion Lab at
Stanford University while the Executive Director for SUPC.
She had just recently graduated from Stanford with both a
B.A. and M.A. in psychology. Her Honors and Master’s thesis
explored the underlying mechanisms responsible for
differences in affect valuation (ideal emotions) between
Asian Americans and European Americans. During her four
years as a student at Stanford, Felicity was a teaching
assistant for several courses, and was awarded the
Centennial Teaching Assistant Award as well as the
Departmental Teaching Assistant Award for outstanding
teaching. Felicity was also active in the department by
serving as the President and Vice-President of the Stanford
Undergraduate Psychology Association, and as an Associate
Director for the 3rd SUPC. In addition, she was a member of
the Student Council for the Western Psychological
Association (WPA) in 2003-2004.
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Michael Osofsky - Executive
Director 2003
Michael Osofsky is originally from New Orleans, LA. He
graduated from Stanford with a B.A. and M.A. in Psychology,
and received both Departmental Honors and University
Distinction, as well as several awards including the
Firestone Medal for Excellence in Research, the Dean’s Award
for Academic Accomplishment and the James W. Lyons Award for
Service. Michael was also selected in 2003 by USA Today to
their ALL-USA First Academic Team as one of the top 20
college students nationwide for overall excellence in
academics, leadership and extracurricular pursuits. During
his four years at Stanford, Michael conducted research under
the mentorship of Philip G. Zimbardo and Albert Bandura,
involving more than 300 interviews with correctional
officers who directly work with executions in Louisiana,
Mississippi and Alabama. In addition, he has given more than
15 professional presentations and has published 5 articles
on his research. Michael was President, Vice-President, and
Peer Advisor of the Stanford Undergraduate Psychology
Association, Co-President of the Stanford Chapter of Psi
Chi, a two-time ASSU Undergraduate Senator, and a Director
for the 1st and 2nd SUPC.
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Sarah Mascarenas - Executive
Director 2002
Sarah Mascarenas is originally from Tempe, AZ, and completed
law school at Yale after leaving Stanford. While pursuing
her master's and bachelor's degrees in psychology at
Stanford, she served as Co-President of Psi Chi, advised on
the department's curriculum committee, and was a teaching
assistant for several courses. Her academic research
explored relationships between cortisol levels, rumination,
and negative cognitive bias in major depressive disorder. As
Executive Director of SUPC in 2002, she increased the
conference's community outreach program, launching a high
school psychology poster contest and giving guest lectures
at local high schools. While Sarah maintains her love for
psychology and her commitment to community affairs, her
current interests lie in the regulation and operation of
financial markets. She is looking forward to a career in
investment banking and eventually hopes to launch her own
clothing line in Los Angeles.
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George Slavich - Conference
Founder &
Executive Director 2001
George Slavich is an assistant professor and
Society in Science: Branco Weiss Fellow in the Department
of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA. He founded
SUPC while completing undergraduate and graduate coursework
in psychology and communication at Stanford. After receiving
his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Oregon,
he was a clinical psychology intern at McLean Hospital and a
clinical fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard
Medical School. He subsequently completed post-doctoral
training in psychoneuroimmunology, first in the Health
Psychology Program at UCSF and then at the Cousins Center
for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA. In addition to his
research, which examines how social experiences affect
health, George has been a long-time champion of student
interests. In addition to SUPC, he founded the Western
Psychological Association Student Council in 2002 and helped
found the Society of Clinical Psychology's Section on
Graduate Student and Early Career Psychologists in 2006. He
has received several awards for these contributions.
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Did you Know...
● SUPC was founded in 2001 by Stanford undergraduate George
Slavich, who wanted to institutionalize Stanford's ability
to "give psychology away" to undergraduate and high school
students worldwide
● The Conference is, and has always been, run entirely by
Stanford students who volunteer their time to promote
psychological science
● The position of Executive Director of SUPC is very coveted
-- many Stanford students apply for just one position
● Previous Executive Directors of SUPC are now renowned
psychologists, economists, lawyers, and executives
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