Winners of Annual Excellence Award & Prize

Lata Murti, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Sociology on the Santa Maria Valley Campus of Brandman University, and a consultant for the Our American Journey: Many Voices, One Nation exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. She received her Ph.D. in American Studies and Ethnicity, with a graduate certificate in Gender Studies, from the University of Southern California in 2010. Her work has appeared in creative, journalistic, online, and academic publications.

Dr. Shino Kurosaki obtained her B.A. and M.A. from International Christian University, Tokyo, and M.Ed. (TESOL) from Temple University, Japan Campus. Motivated by her residence in France and further study of French, she started her study on French and Japanese EFL learners’ collocation knowledge and use of English. She received her Ph.D. in applied linguistics from the University of London. She works as a lecturer in several universities in Japan. Her research interests include English as a Foreign Language, with the particular focus on vocabulary use and English for Academic Purposes.

Patricia Millar, Ph.D., works as a transition coach helping individuals to take up new phases of their lives with greater confidence. She is available to consult to families that have been affected by cultic systems and to individuals who need the support of a transition coach as they explore who they are and who they want to become. Patti’s passion is to better understand the trauma that occurs in contexts of coercion and violence and to investigate the core processes and enablers of post-traumatic growth. Prior to obtaining her doctorate, she held senior consultant and management roles in organization development and learning solutions.

Dr. Gillian Towler Mehta holds a Bsc(honors) degree in Sociology awarded by the University of Hatfield, UK. She also holds an Masters of Arts in Sociology awarded in the USA by Bryn Mawr College. During her residence outside the UK she collaborated with Professor J. R. Hinnells, the foremost authority on the Modern Zoroastrian Diaspora in the world, and analysed the data they had gathered from the Zoroastrian surveys. Upon returning permanently to the UK she was awarded a Ph.D. by the University of Liverpool in Philosophy.

James Walter Penn, Jr. was born in February 1960, in Peoria, Illinois. His parents planted gardens and trees, and were active volunteers in community and civic affairs. For as long as he can remember, Jim was interested in these activities. The family camped frequently, and were consistent supporters of conservation efforts. Jim graduated from Douglas MacArthur High School in Decatur Illinois in May of 1978. He graduated with a B.A. in political science from the Department of Arms Control and Disarmament at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1983. He then embarked on several years of volunteer conservation and social work in Latin America, mostly in Peru, where he is still active in these activities. Jim received an M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida in 1999.