Meet the Team!
Dr. Anita Blanchard, PI
Dr. Anita Blanchard is a professor of Psychological Science and Organization Science at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. She graduated from Claremont Graduate University with a PhD in Organization Psychology. Currently, she is the director of the Virtual Identity, Community, and Entitativity (V.I.C.E) lab, which studies online and face-to-face groups. Dr. Blanchard studies how communication technology affects individuals, groups, and organizations. She is particularly interested in how online groups and communities develop as well as the outcomes of these groups and communities. Her research advances theories about entitativity (i.e. groupy-ness) and sense of community for both online and face-to-face groups.
Dr. Joe Allen, Co-PI
Joseph A. Allen, Ph.D., is a Professor of Industrial and Organizational (I/O) Psychology at the University of Utah. Before he completed his doctorate (Ph. D.) in Organizational Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) in 2010, he received his Master of Arts degree in I/O Psychology at the UNCC in 2008 and his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the Brigham Young University in 2005. His research focuses on three major areas of inquiry including the study of workplace meetings, organizational community engagement, and occupational safety and health. He directs the Center for Meeting Effectiveness housed in the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. Dr. Allen’s recent work can be found at www.joeallen.org
Emilee Eden, Lab Manager
Emilee Eden is the research manager for the Center for Meeting Effectiveness of the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Utah. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Biostatistics from Brigham Young University, followed by a Masters of Public Health from the University of Utah. Her expertise lies in the intersection of epidemiology, public health, and research methodologies. With a keen interest in human behaviors and interactions, her work at the center focuses on exploring and enhancing the dynamics of meetings to improve overall effectiveness and occupational well-being. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, traveling, and playing sports.
Jordan Duran, Graduate RA
Jordan Duran is an advanced PhD student in the UNC Charlotte Organizational Science program. His main interests include communication technology and the ethical ramifications of artificial intelligence design. He has been the lab manager in VICE for 2 years.
Halle Hangen, Graduate RA
Halle Hangen is a MA student in Anthropology at UNC Charlotte, interested in both human and non-human primate social behavior and primate conservation. She graduated from the University of Rochester in 2022 with a B.S. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences. In addition to her current master’s research on White-Handed Gibbons in Thailand, she is studying entitativity in virtual groups with the VICE lab as a Graduate Research Assistant.
Sam Clarkson, Graduate RA
Sam Clarkson is a graduate student in the General Psychology MA program at UNC Charlotte. He received his BA in Psychology and Sociology from Winthrop University, and he is interested in interpersonal relationships. His main focus is on romantic relationships, particularly early romantic relationship development and courtship behaviors, which he has been able to explore in his graduate work whilst gaining insight into entitativity and group dynamics as part of the VICE Lab.