Lab Co-Leads:

Wenhao David Huang, PhD, MBA has full professor appointments at Department of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, Department of Biomedical and Translational Sciences, and Department of Educational Psychology at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is also a faculty affiliate at Illinois Informatics and Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies. His research is focused on implementation of interventions to optimize individuals’, organizations’ and communities’ motivation and capabilities to engage with intended interventions for the purpose of change.Email: wdhuang@illinois.edu

Karen Tabb Dina, PhD, MSW is a full professor in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Social Work and a full professor at the Beckman Institute. She is a faculty affiliate at Carle Foundation Hospital, the Lemann Institute for Brazilian Studies, and the Women and Gender in Global Perspectives. Her research agenda focuses identifying risk factors for morbidity and mortality among perinatal women and clinical factors to improve minority health.Email: ktabb@illinois.edu

Lab Partners:

Jeanette Andrade, PhD, is an assistant professor and dietetic internship director at the University of Florida. Her current research focuses on nutrition education, specifically on developing innovative educational materials to promote dietary behavioral changes among low-income adults, especially those who have kidney disease. She is actively involved in the scholarship of teaching and learning, exploring ways to enhance leadership among undergraduate and graduate students.

Kelly Best, PhD, (Hutti) is on the faculty of the School of Technology at Eastern Illinois University. This is her eighth year (2020) as an instructor in the Organizational Development program, teaching classes such as Web-based Training and Instruction, Strategies and Processes for Teaching and Training, Leadership, Diversity in Organizations, and Conflict in Organizations. She has a Master’s degree in Business Administration and B.S. in Career and Technical Education and a PhD in Human Resource Development. Her research interests include instructional design, expertise development, and competency development.

Danying Chen, PhD, studied in Human Resources Development at the College of Education. Her ongoing work is focused on career adaptability, staff training and development, boundary-less careers, motivation and leadership among female leaders within non-profit organizations. She is working on her dissertation on how occupational identity development and social influence affect one’s career decision making.

Syeda Mohd Hajaraih, PhD received a PhD in Human Resource Education with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry and career services. Skilled in Supervision, Nonprofit Organizations, Adult Education, Human Resource Development, Training, Analytical Skills, and Program Evaluation. Current interests include HRD for Community Development specifically in public health issues such as maternal mental health and increasing access to mental health services for minorities and underserved populations.

Wan-Jung Wendy Hsieh, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at National Taiwan University.

Dazhi Yang, PhD, is a full professor in Educational Technology with a joint/adjunct appointment in Engineering at Boise State University. She teaches graduate courses on research design and data analysis, project-based learning, and technical and grant writing. Her research lies at the intersection of STEM education and technology supported learning.

Sun Joo Yoo, PhD, is a visiting professor at Sookmyung Women University, Seoul. She was a HR Principal Consultant at Samsung SDS. She earned her doctoral degree from University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Her research interests include performance consulting, design on-off line learning environments, instructional technologies, and organizational climate and culture. More details can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunjooyoo.

Lab Associates:

Yaning Cao is a PhD student in Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership Department at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her concentration is Human Resource Development. Yaning’s research is focused on employees’ organizational commitment, motivation, and engagement in international higher education institutions. More details could be found here: www.linkedin.com/in/yaning-cao

Viktoria Loidl is a PhD Student in Human Resource Development at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her doctoral research focuses on the future of work, more specifically preparing organizations and employees for change related to digital transformation, as well as sustainable life and career design. Viktoria aims to leverage education, strategic consulting, and human-centered design to implement and drive organizational growth and innovation. 

Jung Sun Sung is a PhD student in Department of EPOL at the University of Illinois. She is also a program evaluation researcher focusing on program implementation, effectiveness, impacts, sustainability, and diversity. She has led efforts to evaluate various University level STEM outreach and workforce development programs since 2013.