Lexi LaChappa
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Lexi LaChappa (she/her) is a second-year graduate student studying ecological-community psychology at MSU. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2020 with a major in psychology and a minor in community action and social change. She previously worked as a research assistant in several labs studying successful outcomes in diverse youth and student populations. Her research interests include positive youth development, program development and evaluation, and institutional and community student supports, with a particular focus on engaging Indigenous and Latine youth. In her free time, Lexi enjoys critiquing TV shows and movies with her partner, provoking zoomies in her pets, and family gatherings by the lake.
Takatso Sibanda is a first-year Ecological-Community Psychology doctoral student at MSU. She is a KU Leuven and NUST Institute of Development Studies alumna. She worked as a Research Assistant at the Ali Douglas Development Consultancy focusing on the evaluation of civil society programs facilitating access to comprehensive health services for people of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression in Zimbabwe. Takatso’s research interests include community-centered evaluation practice; access to comprehensive mental well-being and HIV/AIDS care services, as well as creating safer, more inclusive spaces for marginalized groups. She explores the use of film as a visual methodology which incorporates narrative inquiry and storytelling in qualitative research. In her free time, she enjoys reading novels, cooking, creative writing, taking long walks and spending time with family and friends.