Lab Team
%20-%20Copy_JPG.jpg)
Teceta Tormala, PhD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Teceta Tormala (she/her) received her BA from Duke University in Psychology and Spanish, and her PhD in Social Psychology from Stanford University. She is currently an Associate Professor at Palo Alto University.
Teceta's research interests center on how identity and culture interact within nested ecological contexts to shape the lived experience of individuals, and how systems can facilitate wholeness, wellness, and liberation.
Maya Wong, MS
4th Year PhD Student
Maya Wong (she/her) received her BS from Northeastern University in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology with a minor in Psychology and her MS in Clinical Psychology from Palo Alto University. She is currently a third-year student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Palo Alto University.
Maya is passionate about ensuring that mental health treatment is accessible and equitable for communities of color and for those who hold intersecting minority identities, with specific attention paid to the deleterious impacts of identity-based trauma. She is also interested in promoting resilience and wellness in these communities through liberation psychology frameworks in research and clinical work. She hopes to become a board-certified SMI psychologist, with clinical experience supporting individuals with SMI toward recovery and research experience contributing to studies on cognitive deficits and rehabilitation in individuals with psychosis and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.
Akemi Kawano, BA
4th Year PhD Student
Akemi Kawano (they/she) graduated from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA with their BA in Psychology. Akemi is a third-year Clinical Psychology PhD student at Palo Alto University currently in the LGBTQ and DCMH emphasis.
Akemi’s research interests revolve around identity, culture, and community as sources of interpersonal harmony and resiliency post-trauma. Their interests stem from their values in Liberation and Womanist ideologies that seed cultures of accountability, visibility, and validation. More specifically, Akemi seeks to explore the avenues through which psychosocial knowledge, services, and wellness can become more accessible.
Jose Ramirez, BA
3rd Year PhD Student
Jose Ramirez (He/Him) graduated from Eastern Washington University with a BA in Psychology where he received the Dean Jeffers W. Chertok Honored Student award. Jose is a second-year Clinical Psychology PhD student at Palo Alto University currently in the DCMH emphasis.
Jose has 7 years of experience working with inpatient psychiatric populations in hospital settings. Jose’s interests include mental health education, disseminating mental health awareness in communities (especially underserved communities), improving mental health care and accessibility, impacts of intersecting minority identities on well-being, Latin-X populations, and applied psychology. Jose seeks to apply research findings, mental health education, and clinical practice to promote well-being within all communities.
Alexa Wright, MS
3rd Year PhD Student
Alexa (Lexi) Wright (she/her) received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from DePaul University and her Master of Science Degree in clinical psychology from Palo Alto University before transferring to the doctoral program. She is currently a second-year doctoral student in clinical psychology at Palo Alto University (PAU).
Lexi is passionate about neuropsychology, inclusion, equity, and implementing social justice and anti-oppressive practice within all aspects of her clinical work. She hopes to specialize working with BIPOC women and other individuals with intersecting minoritized identities. Within her research, she hopes to gain a deeper understanding of the unique neuropsychological effects of race-based traumatic stress and the ways in which the intentional analysis of this can help support interventions that promote decolonized healing, liberation, and wellness amongst these vulnerable populations.
Selena Saad, BA
3rd Year PhD Student
Selena Saad (she/her) completed her undergraduate education at the University of California, Santa Barbara with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Black Studies. She is a second-year student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Palo Alto University.
​
Selena's goal is to make mental healthcare more accessible to Black and Brown youth in lower-income neighborhoods. Part of this includes ensuring that the care offered is effective at treating their specific needs and making sure to address trauma related to racism, classism, and other forms of oppression at the individual and at the societal level.