The Community Social Psychology program at UML is proud to employ a number of talented, nationally regarded faculty members who tackle issues of social justice both in their work and in their every day lives.  Professor Jana Sladkova is no exception to this rule.  Dr. Sladkova came to UMass Lowell in 2008 and has taught in the CSP program since her arrival.  Originally hailing from the Czech Republic, Dr. Sladkova received her PhD from the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City in 2006. Though her main interests are immigration and deportation issues, Dr. Sladkova has recently been working on a project with fellow psychology professor Dr. Alyssa McCabe on the lived experiences of children with immigrant parents.  Working from a small grant, the project has morphed from children’s experiences with deportation to studying the children’s narrative development as bilingual in a country that mostly values English speakers.  CSP student Isabel Cano serves as a research assistant on this project, helping with specific tasks such as recruitment.  The project is currently being written up for the journal Latino Studies.

            Dr. Sladkova also continues to work on her PhD dissertation that looked at the experiences of Honduran migrants.  When I asked why she focuses on the experiences of Latino people, she described that she feels a special connection to Latino culture and finds the power differentials involved in the experiences of different immigrants to be interesting.  The manuscript for her dissertation will be published in the Psychological Interventions journal, and because it is published in both English and Spanish, she is excited that she will finally be able to share her work with the community she studied in Honduras.

            Perhaps one of the most important points that Dr. Sladkova elaborated on was that she is “excited that the government is finally talking seriously about immigration reform.”  Though it may not be the direct result of research on immigration, she believes it has “helped to push in that direction.”  This belief that socially responsible research may lead to real world policy change is one of the common threads that binds CSP faculty members.  Stay tuned for other profiles of faculty work!

            In 2007, the Center for Women & Work hosted its first ever Women’s Works event as a celebration of the creativity of UMass Lowell affiliated craftswomen. Five years, the annual Women’s Works event has expanded to celebrate the creative lives of women artists beyond the borders of the university grounds. This year, the event is boasting nearly 40 female artists and performers, all gathering to celebrate the often private world of women’s creative pursuits.

            The Women’s Works event has three major goals. The first is as a fundraiser for the Center for Women & Work, a University research center committed to the advancement of women and diversity in the work force. The Center for Women & Work is comprised of an interdisciplinary team of dedicated scholars and students invested in the exploration of the role of gender in work as well as a commitment to developing programming that addresses the institutional inequities faced by diverse groups. Women’s Works is one of two major fundraising events for the Center: vendors agree to donate 25 percent of their proceeds to the Center after the event.

            The second goal of the Women’s Works event is to provide voice to the often private realm of women’s creativity. Most of the vendors featured at the event have a professional life that is entirely detached from their creative pursuits: a psychiatric nurse makes intricate handmade cards, an English professor designs colorful stained glass, and a retired optician knits wool hats. The skill of these crafts often remains under-appreciated as women consider them hobbies tangential to their professional work. The Women’s Works even provides a public forum for women to share their own work and celebrate the works of others in the context of acknowledging the personal and social value of such creative endeavors.

            The third goal of the Women’s Works event is to foster a spirit of entrepreneurship among craftswomen. Some of the vendors have well-established small businesses dedicated to their artistic pursuits, while other vendors have never even considered that their skills could be financially lucrative. The Women’s Works event encourages women to recognize and be compensated for the monetary value of their work, and to network with other successful female entrepreneurs while considering the potential of their own crafts to move from hobby to business.

            Like all the years before, this year’s Women’s Works event promises to be a vibrant, energetic opportunity for members of the Lowell community to explore the more creative side of many of the people we interact with professionally every day. The event is open to the public and we encourage anyone interested to stop by, check out the vendors, bid on a silent auction item and support the Center for Women & Work.

WHEN: Thursday, November 29th from 2-7pm

WHERE: UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center (50 Warren St., Downtown Lowell, MA)

5pm for Wine & Cheese with special performances

  I believe that we can take pride in the fact that Community Social Psychology is a self-selecting program. Only those who have a strong sense of social justice and drive to make the world a better place for all people tend to apply. Many of our CSP students have already applied classroom experiences to the world beyond, even before coming to the program. One student in particular, Alessandra Cecala, is the founder of the non-profit organization, Take Heart, dedicated to furthering education about organ donation. Originally inspired by her father’s need for a heart transplant, Alessandra’s project has grown from idea to 501(3)(c) organization in only a few short years. Most of Take Heart’s events have been benefit concerts that charge no admission, but take donations. In addition, they have some really cool custom-made t-shirts to help support their cause. Check ‘em out, they’re pretty rad! In the spring, the organization launched its first media campaign reaching over 1000 hits on YouTube. Alessandra also recently told me that Take Heart is in talks for a possible credited internship for a UMass Lowell undergrad. This sounds like a great next step for expanding the organization. Seeing work like Alessandra’s is inspiring and shows that as community psychologists, we are able to make changes and spread awareness in our communities. In her own words, “it’s not what you say or do, but what you leave behind.”

Take Heart has an event coming up on Friday, October 19^th called the “Superheroes Show” at 7 pm at the 119 Gallery in Lowell. Please come out and support donning your finest superhero costume! Admission is free, but donations are always welcome and suggested. 

Posted by: Susie Paterson

ONE WEEK AWAY! Please forward to friends and colleagues. Spread the word!!

Attention CSPers!

Please come, support this event, support the beneficiaries, support the cause, and support a classmate (I'm performing one of the pieces in the show). I'd love to see you all there! Details are on the attached poster. Please forward this to friends, other classmates/groups and spread the word!

From the Producers of The Vagina Monologues

V-Day Lawrence presents: 

A MEMORY, A MONOLOGUE, A RANT & A PRAYER 

3 Shows only! Friday, April 13 at 7pm & Sat, April 14 at 2pm & 7pm

JOIN US! Get your tickets today! $15 Admission

Buy your tickets here: http://vdaylawrencemmrp.eventbrite.com/

Thanks so much!

Mirakel G. Mayoral

Come check out our first annual Take HeART Project where local artists bring pieces to sell / auction and a percentage will go to our cause. We will also be having a Take Heart themed competition piece that artists can sign up for and create a piece for! The show will be featuring photography, paintings, sculpture and more! We will also have music, fashion, and poetry (the competition piece also applies in each of these genres!). Please let us know if you would like to be involved!

Email: accecala@takeheartinc.net if YOU would like to have your work at the show!

We will be having LIVE music, art, fashion, poetry, & MORE!

The event will be catered by Dariel Rosado and meal & drink tickets will be purchased before the event HERE as well as at the event!


WHEN: Sunday April 29th 12pm-8pm

WHERE: The Ant Cellar - 780 Broadway Street, Lowell, MA

WHY: For all of you local artists to get your name out, make some dough, & donate to a great cause!

HOW: Get tickets here: http://takeheartproject.eventbrite.com/ !!

For those who cannot make it, we will have live interactive viewing of art on our website!

We hope to see you there!!

With love & hope,
Take Heart Inc
Alessandra Cecala
Founder

Congratulations to this year's CSP awardees!

Outstanding Student—Danielle Marie Carkin

Research Award—James Worthley

Campus Leadership Award—Maria McDuffie

Community Leadership Award—Daniel Bach & Megan Lewis

Outstanding Alumnus/a—Paul Marion

Please also join us on Tuesday, April 24 at the ICC Junior Ballroom for the Psychology Recognition Ceremony  (reception at 5:30, ceremony at 6:00).

Written by CSP student Megan Lewis

For my practicum I have been working on a project called The Ex-Smokers’ Hall of Fame. An initiative of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, UMass Lowell has collaborated with the Northeast Tobacco Free Community Partnership to bring The Ex-Smokers’ Hall of Fame to the university.

The Hall of Fame celebrates the powerful stories of UMass Lowell faculty, staff, and students who have successfully conquered their addiction to tobacco. Their personal quitting stories delve into why they quit, how they quit, and how quitting smoking has changed their lives. These participants hope their stories will inspire other smokers to quit as well. 

The Ex-Smokers’ Hall of Fame recognition reception will be held on Monday, April 23^rd at noon in the Tsongas Arena. Chancellor Marty Meehan will be there to give a brief speech and show his support.

I hope to see you all there!

Megan Lewis

UMass Lowell Center for Women & Work invites you to…

Thursday December 1st (2-7pm) at the University Inn and Conference Center in downtown Lowell for a great holiday shopping alternative… plus a chance to bid on amazing silent auction items.

Join the action to bid on….

~ tuition for online Undergraduate Course offered through Division of Online and Continuing Education

~ a cozy handmade 100% cashmere shrug donated by the Hub Mill Store
~ 3 month membership to The Club- Fitness, Health & Spa in Lowell

~ a fabulous night in a bed and breakfast nestled in the White Mountains

~ an original art piece made by a Psychology Dept. faculty member

~ a mini photo shoot donated by Tara Bedard Photography

~ 2 tickets to “Rock of Ages” performed at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium

Drop by the University Inn & Conference Center in downtown Lowell on Dec. 1st (2-7pm) for our Women's Works event to celebrate the creative women of Lowell – and to raise funds to support the Center for Women & Work. 

Check out the facebook page at:  www.facebook.com/WomenWork

Danielle Bergeron graduated from our program in 2007.

As of June 14^th, 2011, Danielle Bergeron is now the President and CEO of the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce.   This organization has a mission that includes :  “ …. bringing members of the business community together to unify them to produce initiatives that serve their interest in ensuring their community is a place where they want to locate and sustain their business.”   The organization cited Danielle’s “…energy, charisma and marketing sense…” as one of the reasons she was named president.

On September 22^nd, 2011 this organization hosted their 16^th annual business expo bringing together over 1000 attendees to intermingle with Greater Lowell local businesses.  This event was just one of many events the GLCCB hosts in the regions of Billerica, Dracut, Lowell, Chelmsford, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro and Westford.  Danielle can be seen on the cover of the September 2011 issue of Journal Magazine touting the event.

Following her graduation from the Community Social Psychology program at UML, Danielle started a business called Frills and Thrills Wedding and Events, a company specializing in wedding and event planning in the Lowell area.  In the years after she has also moved into teaching about how to effectively use social media both through her company and as an adjunct professor at Middlesex Community College.

When she is not working at the GLCC or Thrills and Frills, Danielle also co-hosts a radio talk show entitled “Business Lunch with the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce” with Jeanne Osbourne on 980 WCAP.  According to her LinkedIn profile, Danielle also is involved in many other organizations with her community of Lowell.  These include, but are not limited to, Young Professionals of Greater Lowell (Secretary), Merrimack Valley Food Bank (Secretary), Salvation Army (Public Relations Committee Chair) and UMass Lowell's College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Advisory Board.

Clips of her talk show can be found at www.youtube.com/greaterlowellchamber under the Business Lunch playlist

For the press release on Danielle being named the president of the GLCC: http://www.prlog.org/11541278-greater-lowell-chamber-of-commerce-names-new-president.html

Post written by Dan Bach.  Special thanks to Professor Richard Siegel for bringing this article to our attention.

Do you have know someone or an organization that deserves a spotlight?  Feel free to send me suggestions at nellie_tran@uml.edu.