Ph.D. in Applied Organizational Psychology

First-Year Doctoral Students

Zenora Ali
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Coming Soon

Sayeedul Islam, M.A., MBA
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After spending a misbegotten youth reading comic books and listening to heavy metal/alternative music, Sayeedul Islam received a B.A. in Economics from Rutgers University. Later he received an MBA in Human Resources Management and an M.A. in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Prior to attending Hofstra University, Sayeedul worked as the Center Manager of the East Hanover Kaplan Center. He managed all of the faculty and human resources functions for all of northwestern New Jersey. Sayeedul's research interests include program evaluation (specifically in the area of training evaluation), team performance/appraisal, customer satisfaction, recruitment, and organizational attractiveness. Sayeedul's personal interests include making people say his full name rather than his nickname (Sy), movies (especially horror/sci-fi/genre flicks), going to concerts, enjoying sequential art/graphic novels, and playing sports. He currently teaches SAT, GRE, and GMAT courses for Kaplan Test Prep and does research with the I/O Psychology department.

Albert Kennedy, M.A.
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Al Kennedy is currently employed as a training intern at Winthrop-University Hospital's human resources department in Mineola, NY, where his primary responsibilities include facilitating orientation programs and customer service training for new hires, and working with online training technology. Al's research interests include training and development, work motivation, organizational justice, and customer service. He earned his B.A. in Psychology from Dowling College and his M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Hofstra University. His goal is to one day join the world of academia, teaching psychology courses at the graduate and undergraduate level and conducting research. Outside of his academic pursuits, Al is very into music, both playing it with friends (vocals and keyboards), and listening to it as well. He is an avid Texas hold'em poker player and one day hopes to participate in the tournament circuit. He also enjoys reading anything he can get his hands on, usually graphic novels.

Vahe Permzadian, M.A.
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Vahe completed his undergraduate degree at Queens College by earning a B.A. in psychology. He then obtained a M.A. in experimental psychology from Brooklyn College in 2006. Vahe has been working as an academic advisor/counselor in Queensborough Community College since 2002. His research interests include motivation, personnel selection, and job satisfaction. Vahe is a huge sports fan and enjoys watching NFL & NBA games. He professes his allegiance to the Dolphins, Seahawks, and the Celtics.

Lindsay Pyc, M.A.
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Lindsay received a B.S. in Applied Psychology from Ithaca College in 2006. She continued on to obtain an M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Hofstra University in 2008. Lindsay is currently employed as a Research Assistant in the Center for Home Care Policy & Research for the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. She assists in completing internal and grant-funded program evaluation projects. She also works on promoting and expanding the utilization of data among company employees.  Additionally, Lindsay is a Teaching Assistant for undergraduate psychology statistics and research methods courses at Hofstra University. Lindsay’s research interests include program evaluation, legal issues and validity studies, and occupational health psychology. Originally a Buffalonian, Lindsay is a devoted Bills, Sabres, and Blue Jays fan and thoroughly enjoys cheering on her teams. During her free time, Lindsay enjoys going to the beach, long-distance running, gallivanting around Manhattan, and touristy activities around the world. 

Indre Staninaite
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Coming Soon

Rajni Walia, M.A.
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Rajni received a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Spanish from the University of Texas at Arlington. She continued on to obtain a M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. Rajni has recently ventured to New York from Texas to pursue her dreams of getting a Ph.D. Currently, Rajni is employed as a Research Assistant at North Shore Long Island Jewish in the Office of Community Health. Rajni’s previous work experience has been at the University of Texas Health Science Center (as a Research Associate in the School of Public Health), the United States Office of Personnel Management (as a Human Resources Specialist), and Tesoro Corporation (as an Organizational Development Intern in the Department of Talent Management and Organizational Effectiveness). Her research interests consist of examining the effectiveness of teamwork as it relates to outcomes, training evaluation, organizational justice, and counterproductive work behavior. As an active researcher, Rajni is currently expanding her knowledge base of team effectiveness under the supervision of Dr. Metlay with the hope of setting a foundation to build her dissertation off of. When not immersed in studying or working, she enjoys learning about different cultures, gallivanting around the world, and trying to add new languages to the ones she already knows (Hindi, Punjabi, Spanish, and last but not least English).