QUICK LINKS

QUICK LINKS
LISA MENDELMAN, PhD
Assistant Professor of English and Digital Humanities
lisa.mendelman@menlo.edu
650.543.3863 phone
Lisa Mendelman, Assistant Professor of English and Digital Humanities
Lisa Mendelman is an expert in the medical and digital humanities, with a focus on gender, race, and affect in twentieth-century America. She has published widely in these areas, including her recent book, Modern Sentimentalism (Oxford UP, 2019). She frequently teaches film, visual art, and popular music as well as novels and non-fiction. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Education Background
- Ph.D. in English, University of California, Los Angeles, 2015
- M.A. in English, Stanford University, 2007
- B.A. in English, Stanford University, 2004
Professional Activities
Courses taught
- Digital Humanities & Cultural Analytics
- Sex & Culture
- American Mental Health
- Joking Matters: Humor and Modern American Fiction
Research Interests
- Medical Humanities
- Digital Humanities
- American Literature
- Critical Race, Gender, Disability, and Affect Studies
Selected Publications
- Modern Sentimentalism: Affect, Irony, and Female Authorship in Interwar America, Oxford University Press, 2019. 256 pages.
- “Character Defects: The Racialized Addict and Nella Larsen’s Passing.” Modernism/modernity, vol. 26, no. 4, 2019, pp. 727–52.
- First author, “Sentimental Avatars: Gender Identification and Vehicles of Selfhood in Popular Media from Nineteenth-Century Novels to Modern Video Games.” With Rabindra A. Ratan, Joseph Fordham, Megan Knittel, and Oskar Milik. Games and Culture, 2019. doi.org/10.1177/1555412019879812.
- “Ambivalence and Irony: Gendered Forms in Interwar America.” Arizona Quarterly, vol. 71, no. 4, 2015, pp. 23-52.
- “Feeling Hard-Boiled: Modern Sentimentalism and Frances Newman’s The Hard-Boiled Virgin,” American Literary History, vol. 26, no. 4, 2014, pp. 693-715.
Recent Presentations
- “Sex and Sentiment: Writing The Emotional History of the Modern Woman.” San Francisco State University Department of English, 2020.
- “Against Interpretation: Wharton, Suicidality, and Modern Mental Health.” Modern Language Association Conference, Seattle, 2020.
- “Ironic Attachment: Jewish Women in Interwar American Literature and Culture.” Modern Language Association Conference, Seattle, 2020.
- “Diagnosing America: Mental Health and Modern Literature, 1890-1940.” Americanist Research Colloquium, UCLA Department of English, 2019.
- “Sex and Sentiment: Affect, Irony, and Female Authorship in Interwar America.” UCLA Department of English, 2019.
- “Diagnosing America: Mental Health and Modern Literature, 1890-1940.” Second Book Project, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department of English, 2019.
- “Modernism’s Straw Men: Sentiment and the Modern Woman.” Modernist Studies Association Conference, Toronto, 2019.
Awards & Honors
- Harris Manchester College / Oxford University Summer Research Institute Fellowship
- Digital Humanities Summer Institute Scholarship, University of Victoria
- Modernist Studies Association Research Travel Award
- Charles B. Emerick Teaching Award
- Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts / US National Science Foundation Travel Award

Janis Zaima, Ph.D.
Professor of Accounting
janis.zaima@menlo.edu
650.543.3709 phone

Evan Lau, PhD
Visiting Professor, Biology
evan.lau@menlo.edu650.543.3864 phone
Human Biology (Bio 101)
Dr. Lau teaches Introductory Biology for non-majors. The lecture and lab course covers scientific method, chemistry of living organisms, cell structure, cell reproduction and cancer, how cells harvest energy, human anatomy, organ systems, human evolution and migratory history and applications of genetics and genomics in our daily life.
A microbiologist by training, Dr. Lau is studying the ecology and evolution of microbes in seawater and as microbiota of human and mouse mouths, trachea and lungs. He is currently collaborating with faculty at San Francisco State University to study the virome and microobiome of sea stars affected by wasting disease off the west coast of the US, stretching from Alaska to California.
You can read more about Dr. Lau here.

Leslie E. Sekerka, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Business Ethics
Director, Ethics in Action Research & Education Center
lsekerka@menlo.edu
650.543.3701 phone
Ethics | Ethical Awareness | Moral Decision-Making | Adult Moral Development
Dr. Sekerka’s field of expertise addresses ethical awareness, moral decision-making and the influence of self-regulation, and how to establish workplace environments where ethical strength is both developed and supported. In her Ethics in Action executive speaker series, she underscores the essential nature of ethics in managers’ every day business decisions. Sekerka states, “I help students understand that unethical actions can cost millions of dollars.” She adds that “Short-term gains may put you ahead today, but the reputational costs and consequences over time will be deleterious to your character, and the strength of the company will ultimately erode.”

Melissa Michelson, PhD
Dean of Arts & Sciences
Professor, Political Science
melissa.michelson@menlo.edu
650.543.3844 phone
650.888.4810 mobile
Voter Mobilization and Turnout | Political Participation for Minorities | Elections | LGBTQ Politics | Muslim American Politics
Dr. Michelson is an expert in national and California state politics, with a particular focus on marginalized communities including ethnic/racial minorities and the LGBT community. She has published widely in the areas of Latino, Black, Asian, and youth voter participation, on immigration, on LGBT Rights, and on Religion and Politics. Her most recent book, Listen, We Need to Talk, discusses how to change attitudes about LGBT rights. She has a Ph.D. from Yale University.

Fabian Eggers, PhD
Professor, Marketing and Entrepreneurship
fabian.eggers@menlo.edu
650.543.3871 phone
Entrepreneurial Marketing | Strategic Planning | Management
Dr. Eggers has taught numerous courses in the areas of entrepreneurial marketing, strategic planning, management, small company growth, and marketing. He is actively involved in international projects in marketing and entrepreneurship and started and consulted several startups in the recent past. Dr. Eggers is the co-chair of the annual Global Research Symposium on Marketing and Entrepreneurship. He received his MBA in Management /Marketing from the University of Hamburg, Germany and his doctorate in Entrepreneurship from Leuphana University of Lüneburg.

Leslie E. Sekerka, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Business Ethics
Director, Ethics in Action Research & Education Center
lsekerka@menlo.edu
650.543.3701 phone
Ethics | Ethical Awareness | Moral Decision-Making | Adult Moral Development
Dr. Sekerka’s field of expertise addresses ethical awareness, moral decision-making and the influence of self-regulation, and how to establish workplace environments where ethical strength is both developed and supported. In her Ethics in Action executive speaker series, she underscores the essential nature of ethics in managers’ every day business decisions. Sekerka states, “I help students understand that unethical actions can cost millions of dollars.” She adds that “Short-term gains may put you ahead today, but the reputational costs and consequences over time will be deleterious to your character, and the strength of the company will ultimately erode.”

Dima Leshchinskii, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Finance
dleshchinskii@menlo.edu
650.543.3873
Dr. Leschchinskii received an Honors Diploma in Applied Mathematics from Tomsk State University, Russia, an MBA from the University of Utah, and his Ph.D. in Management (Finance) from INSEAD (Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires or European Institute for Business Administration), France.
Manish Tewari, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Finance
manish.tewari@menlo.edu
650.543.3928 phone

Kathi Lovelace, PhD
Professor of Human Resource Management
kathi.lovelace@menlo.edu
650.543.3848 phone
Stress and Wellness | Management Skills Development | Leadership Development
Dr. Lovelace’s expertise encompasses stress and wellness within the workplace and management skills development. Her research within these domains includes leadership development (and coaching) efforts aimed at managing high demands and increasing long term control, including physical fitness, optimism and experiences of flow. Current research extends this individual focus to the organizational level by proposing workplace spirituality as an organizational factor that can facilitate improved performance and well-being. She recently served as a special issue editor for the Journal of Management Education on the topic of Stress, Performance and Wellness and has experience developing curriculum on stress and health in the workplace and management skills.
Dr. Lovelace is a veteran teacher and has extensively researched interdisciplinary and skill-based pedagogy. In the classroom, Dr. Lovelace uses on-line simulations in team leadership, change management, human resource strategy, and staffing of human resources. Her current research in this area is examining the effectiveness of simulation-based training on student’s use of evidence-based management. She also serves on the editorial board of the Academy of Management Learning and Education journal. Dr. Lovelace earned a Ph.D. in Organization Studies with a minor in Social Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Isenberg School of Management, in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Marianne Marar Yacobian, EdD
Professor, Global Studies
mmarar@menlo.edu
650.543.3742 phone
Global studies | Diversity | Social Science | Middle East
Dr. Yacobian teaches Diversity in the Workplace, Social Science, and Global Studies. She earned her doctorate and Outstanding Dissertation Award at the University of San Francisco in International & Multicultural Education with an emphasis in Second Language Acquisition. She is an expert in race-relations and social stratification, specializing in the institutional and structural implications of discrimination. Her research explores education as a vital means of bridging systemic inequities among marginalized and dominant groups. Her research interests include the Palestinian Conflict and human rights education.
Lisa Mendelman
Assistant Professor, English
lisa.mendelman@menlo.edu
650.543.3863 phone
American Literature | Critical Race and Gender Studies | History of Psychology
Dr. Mendelman is an expert in 20th- and 21st-century American literature, with a particular focus on constructions of gender, race, and other social categories. She has published widely in the areas of modern American literature, gender studies, and the history of psychology. She frequently teaches film, art, and popular music as well as novels and non-fiction. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Marianne Marar Yacobian, EdD
Professor, Global Studies
mmarar@menlo.edu
650.543.3742 phone
Global studies | Diversity | Social Science | Middle East
Dr. Yacobian teaches Diversity in the Workplace, Social Science, and Global Studies. She earned her doctorate and Outstanding Dissertation Award at the University of San Francisco in International & Multicultural Education with an emphasis in Second Language Acquisition. She is an expert in race-relations and social stratification, specializing in the institutional and structural implications of discrimination. Her research explores education as a vital means of bridging systemic inequities among marginalized and dominant groups. Her research interests include the Palestinian Conflict and human rights education.

Fabian Eggers, Ph.D.
Professor, Marketing and Entrepreneurship
fabian.eggers@menlo.edu
650.543.3871
Entrepreneurial Marketing | Strategic Planning | Management
Dr. Eggers has taught numerous courses in the areas of entrepreneurial marketing, strategic planning, management, small company growth, and marketing. He is actively involved in international projects in marketing and entrepreneurship and started and consulted several startups in the recent past. Dr. Eggers is the co-chair of the annual Global Research Symposium on Marketing and Entrepreneurship. He received an MBA in Management /Marketing from the University of Hamburg, Germany, and his doctorate in Entrepreneurship from Leuphana University of Lüneburg.

Dima Leshchinskii, PhD
Associate Professor, Finance
dleshchinskii@menlo.edu
650.543.3873 phone
Dr. Leschchinskii received an Honors Diploma in Applied Mathematics from Tomsk State University, Russia, an MBA from the University of Utah, and his PhD in Management (Finance) from INSEAD (Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires or European Institute for Business Administration), France.
Manish Tewari, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Finance
manish.tewari@menlo.edu
650.543.3928 phone

Kathi Lovelace, Ph.D.
Professor of Human Resource Management
kathi.lovelace@menlo.edu
650.543.3848
Stress and Wellness | Management Skills Development | Leadership Development
Dr. Lovelace’s expertise encompasses stress and wellness within the workplace and management skills development. Her research within these domains includes leadership development (and coaching) efforts aimed at managing high demands and increasing long term control, including physical fitness, optimism and experiences of flow. Current research extends this individual focus to the organizational level by proposing workplace spirituality as an organizational factor that can facilitate improved performance and well-being. She recently served as a special issue editor for the Journal of Management Education on the topic of Stress, Performance and Wellness and has experience developing curriculum on stress and health in the workplace and management skills.
Dr. Lovelace is a veteran teacher and has extensively researched interdisciplinary and skill-based pedagogy. In the classroom, Dr. Lovelace uses on-line simulations in team leadership, change management, human resource strategy, and staffing of human resources. Her current research in this area is examining the effectiveness of simulation-based training on student’s use of evidence-based management. She also serves on the editorial board of the Academy of Management Learning and Education journal. Dr. Lovelace earned a Ph.D. in Organization Studies with a minor in Social Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Isenberg School of Management, in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Leslie E. Sekerka, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus of Business Ethics
Director, Ethics in Action Research & Education Center
lsekerka@menlo.edu
650.543.3701
Ethics | Ethical Awareness | Moral Decision-Making | Adult Moral Development
Dr. Sekerka’s field of expertise addresses ethical awareness, moral decision-making and the influence of self-regulation, and how to establish workplace environments where ethical strength is both developed and supported. In her Ethics in Action executive speaker series, she underscores the essential nature of ethics in managers’ every day business decisions. Sekerka states, “I help students understand that unethical actions can cost millions of dollars.” She adds that “Short-term gains may put you ahead today, but the reputational costs and consequences over time will be deleterious to your character, and the strength of the company will ultimately erode.”

Melissa Michelson, PhD
Dean of Arts & Sciences
Professor, Political Science
melissa.michelson@menlo.edu
650.543.3844 phone
650.888.4810 mobile
Voter Mobilization and Turnout | Political Participation for Minorities | Elections | LGBTQ Politics | Muslim American Politics
Dr. Michelson is an expert in national and California state politics, with a particular focus on marginalized communities including ethnic/racial minorities and the LGBT community. She has published widely in the areas of Latino, Black, Asian, and youth voter participation, on immigration, on LGBT Rights, and on Religion and Politics. Her most recent book, Listen, We Need to Talk, discusses how to change attitudes about LGBT rights. She has a Ph.D. from Yale University.

Mark Hager, PhD
Professor of Psychology
mhager@menlo.edu
650.543.3780 phone
Mentoring | Developmental Networks
Dr. Hager’s research focuses on mentoring, developmental networks, technology and pedagogy in higher education settings, including undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral work.

Dima Leshchinskii, PhD
Associate Professor, Finance
dleshchinskii@menlo.edu
650.543.3873 phone
Dr. Leschchinskii received an Honors Diploma in Applied Mathematics from Tomsk State University, Russia, an MBA from the University of Utah, and his PhD in Management (Finance) from INSEAD (Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires or European Institute for Business Administration), France.
Margaret McFarland, JD
Visiting Professor of Law and Real Property
Director, The Real Estate Center @ Menlo College
margaret.mcfarland@menlo.edu
650.543.3705 phone
Dr. McFarland earned her Juris Doctor degree in law from the University of Michigan and a Master’s degree in Urban Studies from the University of Chicago. She has wide experience and knowledge in the areas of real property law, urban planning, affordable housing, housing finance, corporate governance, ethics and non-profit associations. Prior to coming to Menlo College she was a Professor of Practice for over 10 years at the University of Maryland where she not only established a graduate program in real estate development and a minor in real estate at the undergraduate level, but also founded the Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development.

Marianne Marar Yacobian, EdD
Professor, Global Studies
mmarar@menlo.edu
650.543.3742 phone
Global studies | Diversity | Social Science | Middle East
Dr. Yacobian teaches Diversity in the Workplace, Social Science, and Global Studies. She earned her doctorate and Outstanding Dissertation Award at the University of San Francisco in International & Multicultural Education with an emphasis in Second Language Acquisition. She is an expert in race-relations and social stratification, specializing in the institutional and structural implications of discrimination. Her research explores education as a vital means of bridging systemic inequities among marginalized and dominant groups. Her research interests include the Palestinian Conflict and human rights education.

Sean Pradhan, PhD
Assistant Professor of Sports Management and Business Analytics
sean.pradhan@menlo.edu
Sports Fan Behavior | Sports Analytics | Sports Marketing | Sports Sponsorship | Consumer Psychology | Experimental Design
Dr. Pradhan’s research revolves around the reactions of sports fans to various issues in sports management (e.g., fans’ impressions of various types of team performance and athlete behavior, league-wide sponsorship initiatives, and product endorsements), along with the application of analytics and statistics to player and team evaluation. His research program takes a multidisciplinary approach, blending theory from management, marketing, psychology, and statistics. His ultimate objective with his research is to produce practical implications for the field of sports management.
His previous studies have assessed the utility of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques to the ranking of regular seasons in the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Modern Era, financial performance of publicly-traded Serie A clubs, and prediction of playoff team capabilities in Major League Baseball (MLB), as well as the application of social psychological theory to the marketing of deviant (i.e., poor performance or immoral behavior) and distinguished athletes (i.e., high performance and honorable conduct). He has also studied domestic and international fans’ responses to the NBA’s jersey sponsorship initiative, in collaboration with the University of Michigan’s Center for Sport Marketing Research (C-SMAR).
Dr. Pradhan earned his Ph.D. in Sport Management from the University of Michigan. He has a strong background in the field of psychology as well, having attained his B.A. in Psychology from San Francisco State University and M.A. in Research and Experimental Psychology from San José State University.

Melissa Michelson, PhD
Dean of Arts & Sciences
Professor, Political Science
melissa.michelson@menlo.edu
650.543.3844 phone
650.888.4810 mobile
Voter Mobilization and Turnout | Political Participation for Minorities | Elections | LGBTQ Politics | Muslim American Politics
Dr. Michelson is an expert in national and California state politics, with a particular focus on marginalized communities including ethnic/racial minorities and the LGBT community. She has published widely in the areas of Latino, Black, Asian, and youth voter participation, on immigration, on LGBT Rights, and on Religion and Politics. Her most recent book, Listen, We Need to Talk, discusses how to change attitudes about LGBT rights. She has a Ph.D. from Yale University.

Marianne Marar Yacobian, EdD
Professor, Global Studies
mmarar@menlo.edu
650.543.3742 phone
Global studies | Diversity | Social Science | Middle East
Dr. Yacobian teaches Diversity in the Workplace, Social Science, and Global Studies. She earned her doctorate and Outstanding Dissertation Award at the University of San Francisco in International & Multicultural Education with an emphasis in Second Language Acquisition. She is an expert in race-relations and social stratification, specializing in the institutional and structural implications of discrimination. Her research explores education as a vital means of bridging systemic inequities among marginalized and dominant groups. Her research interests include the Palestinian Conflict and human rights education.