newsletter_2025 - Flipbook - Page 2
New Faces in the College
New Faculty
Yajaira Núñez-Cortés
Anthropology
Dr. Jorge Lumbreras joins the
Department of Psychology as an
assistant professor. He is a firstgeneration Mexican-American faculty
and researcher who specializes in
Industrial-Organizational Psychology. His
research interests and current projects
focus on first-generation professionals,
social identity management (i.e., codeswitching), and the Latine worker
experience. He is excited to start his work
at Sac State with its many wonderful
faculty and students!
New Staff
Adwoa Akyianu
EdInsights
Saahir Shafi
Public Policy & Administration
Dr. Yajaira Núñez-Cortés is joining the
Department of Anthropology as an
assistant professor. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Smithsonian Tropical
Research Institute (STRI) in Panama
and at Instituto de Investigaciones
Antropológicas at Universidad Nacional
Autómoma de México (UNAM). She
received her PhD and MA from the
University at Albany, SUNY, and her
Licenciatura and BA at Universidad de
Costa Rica. Her research focuses on
the archaeology of southern Central
America, post-Classic Mesoamerica,
the development of social complexity,
economic and diet inequality, and
migration and mobility in the past.
Jorge Lumbreras
Psychology
2025
Dr. Saahir Shafi has joined the Department
of Public Policy and Administration as
the Hazel Cramer Endowed Chair and an
assistant professor. Her research explores
the intersection of comparative public
policy, public health, and governance.
She focuses on evaluating policymaking
during crises, with particular attention
to intentional policy design, errors in
information processing at both individual
and subsystem levels, and institutional
friction at the macro level. Dr. Shafi
earned her PhD in Public Administration
from Pennsylvania State University,
with a specialization in Health Policy
and Administration. Prior to her current
role, she served as a faculty member at
California State University, Dominguez
Hills (CSUDH), where she was actively
involved in community-engaged teaching,
research, and service.
Adwoa V. Akyianu joins EdInsights as
the Social Media and Communications
Coordinator. She earned her bachelor’s
degree in psychology from Sac State,
where she also served as vice president
and president of the Black Student Union,
developing skills in advocacy, teamwork,
and community mobilization. With
years of experience in marketing and
communications, Adwoa specializes in
crafting messages that inspire action and
foster inclusion. Her work is shaped by
her identity as a Black, first-generation,
woman-identifying professional and
her dedication to centering voices that
have been historically marginalized. She
envisions a future where equity is not
an aspiration, but a lived reality, a world
where access, resources, and safety are
guaranteed for all.
Beth Hart
EdInsights
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