A. Michelle Wright, PhD
Founder at Wright Research LLC
Research Specialist at Sanford Center for Financial Planning and Wellness at Western Michigan University
Experienced consultant with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in Data Analysis, Statistics, Qualitative Research, Methodology and Study Design, Psychology, Financial Education, and Writing. Strong community and social services professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) focused in Cognitive Psychology from Wayne State University.
Wright Research LLC
•	Conduct a wide variety of research services including: cognitive testing, cognitive bias assessment, technical report writing and study reporting, grant proposal consulting, copy editing, manuscript development, and general research support.
Kalamazoo, Michigan Area
Founder
Western Michigan University - Haworth College of Business
https://www.linkedin.com/company/western-michigan-university---haworth-college-of-b
•	Lead qualitative research at the Sanford Center, including: participant database design, development of data collection instruments and procedures, hypothesis development, statistical analysis, and reporting of research findings.
•	Publish and present research findings to promote awareness of the Center.
•	Assist with HSIRB paperwork, organizational documents, and university requirements.
Kalamazoo, Michigan Area
https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4E0BAQFGc9zrLOe3dQ/company-logo_100_100/0/1616761816603?e=1655942400&v=beta&t=M2VODkwh1IgKK6aR7Ko0kioP6mdmoRNvmsl0D9gOzm0
Research Specialist at Sanford Center for Financial Planning and Wellness
Western Michigan University
https://www.linkedin.com/company/westernmichu
•	Worked with faculty across the university, including the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, to develop and submit grant proposals. Primary responsibilities included budget development, proposal review, and ensuring compliance with university, state, and federal guidelines.
Office of the Vice President for Research
https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C560BAQE9-K9PnQclIg/company-logo_100_100/0/1633032392527?e=1655942400&v=beta&t=WUCew6RSq20EpXh3VOBnHHonH5dnXaJcuII1HZpQSsc
Research Program Officer
Wayne State University School of Medicine
https://www.linkedin.com/company/wayne-state-university-school-of-medicine
•	Statistics consultant and manuscript writer for $2.6 million NIMH R01 6-year prospective study. Primary responsibilities included longitudinal modeling (SEM using LISREL), robust statistics and data cleaning (SPSS), hypothesis testing and manuscript development, and dissemination of results to scientific community and broader public.
https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4E0BAQGKsSChYWT6Ng/company-logo_100_100/0/1520345272833?e=1655942400&v=beta&t=VEkeYCa4cJnwRbPhkRpR8q9zfBs52RoGOhGO4vLQrOY
Research Assistant
Wayne State University
https://www.linkedin.com/company/wayne-state-university
Courses Taught: Introduction to Psychology,  Elements of Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, APA Writing
https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4D0BAQFVWmT5IsrY_Q/company-logo_100_100/0/1591178690810?e=1655942400&v=beta&t=5Ab4HA591t4512pebifr1Sk3GpCz-6SM5DUBZ7zbyLo
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Cognitive Psychology
https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4D0BAQFVWmT5IsrY_Q/company-logo_100_100/0/1591178690810?e=1655942400&v=beta&t=5Ab4HA591t4512pebifr1Sk3GpCz-6SM5DUBZ7zbyLo
Wayne State University
https://www.linkedin.com/school/wayne-state-university/
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Psychology
https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4D0BAQFVWmT5IsrY_Q/company-logo_100_100/0/1591178690810?e=1655942400&v=beta&t=5Ab4HA591t4512pebifr1Sk3GpCz-6SM5DUBZ7zbyLo
Wayne State University
https://www.linkedin.com/school/wayne-state-university/
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
Psychology
https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4E0BAQEJ6KPMOpjn1Q/company-logo_100_100/0/1643212586153?e=1655942400&v=beta&t=15UrgnkAWz_qIFggE78O9XH3CB-LYvZgIzuThkew0JQ
Mercer University
https://www.linkedin.com/school/mercer-university/
The decision to attend college is a question of human capital investment, yet resources
to help practitioners frame human capital investment decisions remain elusive and few
include the “gold standard” of finance: Net Present Value (NPV). Can one discuss
human capital investment with an average adolescent using a traditional NPV
approach? Motivated by this question, we presented 10 barriers to maximizing
education-career NPV (e.g., clarity of costs, immature adolescent brains, individual
discount rates, etc.). We outline an iterative, research-based approach to educationcareer investment, including framing the conversation, calculating paired NPVs, and
structuring the decision. This multi-step framework leverages practitioner expertise to
help adolescents consider important lifelong financial wellness implications of human
capital investment.
Human Capital Investment for Adolescents: Barriers and Opportunities
Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning (Forthcoming)
https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3440674
This study examines quantitative skill among 164 students in an introductory finance course. Results indicate that undergraduate Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) students exhibit alarming deficiencies in content-specific quantitative skills for introductory finance with only about one in four students demonstrating even the basic required skills. We augment extant BBA quantitative skill literature, which focuses primarily on ability, by introducing standardized metrics of student attitudes toward mathematics. We utilize ACT Math scores as direct measure of ability and GPA as an indirect proxy for ability. The Attitudes Toward Mathematics Inventory (ATMI) provides a direct measure of math attitude and the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) dictionary for “work” words provides an indirect measure of math attitude. Both proxies for ability and both proxies for attitudes are significant determinants of quantitative preparedness. Furthermore, dominance analysis, a statistical technique to rank order the importance of predictors, indicates that student attitudes about mathematics accounts for more variance in quantitative performance than GPA, the commonly employed proxy for ability. These attitude measures are viable tools for assessing quantitative preparedness in math intensive business courses, such as introductory finance.
Quantitative Skill and Introductory Finance: Does Ability Dominate Attitude?
Journal of Financial Education (article forthcoming)
https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3298186
Unemployment is associated with poor health among refugees and immigrants; however, the degree to which discrimination in employment contributes to poor health remains unclear because of methodological limitations. This cross-sectional study aims to investigate factors associated with perceived discrimination, ethnicity and migration status, and their implication on health (self-rated health [SRH] and depression). Perceived discrimination was investigated in 273 Iraqi skilled workers, refugees, and immigrants who are members of a professional scientific organization. It was hypothesized that unemployment, ethnicity (Arab), and migration status (refugee) would be associated with perceived discrimination. Additionally, it was hypothesized that participants who endorse discrimination are more likely to report poor health. Results revealed that more individuals who were unemployed (46.4%) reported perceived discrimination, χ2(1, N = 273) = 6.63, p < .05; however, when linear regression modeling was applied, age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.36), gender (OR = 2.13), and ethnicity (OR = 2.15), but not migration status, became significant predictors of discrimination. With respect to health, age (OR = 2.25), length of residency (OR = .93), language skills (OR = 3.00), and perception of discrimination (OR = 2.12) were predictors of SRH, while ethnicity (OR = 3.93), age (OR = 1.39), and discrimination (OR = 3.26) were significant predictors of depression. Notably, perceived discrimination was a predictor in both health variables. In conclusion, there appears to be a link between discrimination and health in a homogenous refugee and immigrant sample.
Perception of discrimination in employment and health in Refugees and Immigrants
Stigma and Health
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/sah0000068
Although kidnapping is common in war-torn countries, there is little research examining its psychological effects. Iraqi refugees (N = 298) were assessed upon arrival to the U.S. and 1 year later. At arrival, refugees were asked about prior trauma exposure, including kidnapping. One year later refugees were assessed for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression disorder (MDD) using the SCID-I. Individual resilience and narratives of the kidnapping were also assessed. Twenty-six refugees (9 %) reported being kidnapped. Compared to those not kidnapped, those who were had a higher prevalence of PTSD, but not MDD, diagnoses. Analyses examining kidnapping victims revealed that higher resilience was associated with lower rates of PTSD. Narratives of the kidnapping were also discussed. This study suggests kidnapping is associated with PTSD, but not MDD. Additionally, kidnapping victims without PTSD reported higher individual resilience. Future studies should further elucidate risk and resilience mechanisms.
Kidnapping and Mental Health in Iraqi Refugees: The Role of Resilience
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5037049/
Across two studies, we investigated the influence of narcissism and self-esteem along with gender on phenomenological ratings across the four subscales of the Autobiographical Memory Questionnaire (AMQ; impact, recollection, rehearsal, and belief). Memory cues varied in valence (positive vs. negative) and agency (agentic vs. communal). In Study 2, we used different memory cues reflecting these four Valence by Agency conditions and additionally investigated retrieval times for the autobiographical memories (AMs). Results were consistent with the agency model of narcissism [Campbell, W. K., Brunell, A. B., & Finkel, E. J. (2006). Narcissism, interpersonal self-regulation, and romantic relationships: An agency model approach. In E. J. Finkel & K. D. Vohs (Eds.), Self and relationships: Connecting intrapersonal and interpersonal processes. New York, NY: Guilford], which characterises narcissists as being more concerned with agentic (self-focused) rather than communal (other-focused) positive self-relevant information. Narcissism predicted greater phenomenology across the four subscales for the positive-agentic memories (Study 1: clever; Study 2: attractive, talented) as well as faster memory retrieval times. Narcissism also predicted greater recollection and faster retrieval times for the negative-communal AMs (Study 1: rude; Study 2: annoying, dishonest). In contrast, self-esteem predicted greater phenomenology and faster retrieval times for the positive-communal AMs (Study 1: cooperative; Study 2: romantic, sympathetic). In both studies, results of LIWC analyses further differentiated between narcissism and self-esteem in the content (word usage) of the AMs.
Narcissism, self-esteem, and the phenomenology of autobiographical memories
Memory
https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2016.1223848
Previous refugee research has been unable to link pre-displacement trauma with unemployment in the host country. The current study assessed the role of pre-displacement trauma, post-displacement trauma, and the interaction of both trauma types to prospectively examine unemployment in a random sample of newly-arrived Iraqi refugees. Participants (N = 286) were interviewed three times over the first two years post-arrival. Refugees were assessed for pre-displacement trauma exposure, post-displacement trauma exposure, a history of unemployment in the country of origin and host country, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Analyses found that neither pre-displacement nor post-displacement trauma independently predicted unemployment 2 years post-arrival; however, the interaction of pre and post-displacement trauma predicted 2-year unemployment. Refugees with high levels of both pre and post-displacement trauma had a 91% predicted probability of unemployment, whereas those with low levels of both traumas had a 20% predicted probability. This interaction remained significant after controlling for sociodemographic variables and mental health upon arrival to the US. Resettlement agencies and community organizations should consider the interactive effect of encountering additional trauma after escaping the hardships of the refugee's country of origin.
Unemployment in Iraqi refugees: The interaction of pre and post-displacement trauma
Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5096965/
PURPOSE:
This study examined refugees' resource needs and utilization over time, investigated the relationships between pre-displacement/socio-demographic variables and resource needs and utilization, and explored the role of resource needs and utilization on psychiatric symptom trajectories.
METHODS:
Iraqi refugees to the United States (N = 298) were assessed upon arrival and at 1-year intervals for 2 years for socio-demographic variables and pre-displacement trauma experiences, their need for and utilization of 14 different resources, and PTSD and depressive symptoms.
RESULTS:
Although refugees reported reduction of some needs over time (e.g., need for cash assistance declined from 99 to 71 %), other needs remained high (e.g., 99 % of refugees reported a need for health care at the 2-year interview). Generally, the lowest needs were reported after 2 years, and the highest utilization occurred during the first year post-arrival. Pre-displacement trauma exposure predicted high health care needs but not high health care utilization. Both high need for and use of health care predicted increasing PTSD and depressive symptoms. Specifically, increased use of psychological care across the three measurement waves predicted more PTSD and depression symptoms at the 2-year interview.
CONCLUSIONS:
Differences emerged between need for and actual use of resources, especially for highly trauma-exposed refugees. Resettlement agencies and assistance programs should consider the complex relationships between resource needs, resource utilization, and mental health during the early resettlement period.
Determinants of resource needs and utilization among refugees over time
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4791200/
Math is central to finance education, yet three-quarters of this sample of 159 introductory finance students lack critical quantitative skills on the first day of class, leading to overall underperformance. By utilizing criterion-referenced mathematics pretest items and matching applied finance posttest items, we find that students with substandard math skills rarely catch-up in the quantitative aspects of introductory finance. Indeed, the pretest determines a significant proportion of final exam performance with the average student gaining a meager 5% between pretest and posttest. We discuss curricular implications of these findings and research-based approaches to facilitate course readiness.
Know Math or Take a Bath on a Finance Final Exam
Journal of Economics and Finance Education (article forthcoming)
https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3326763
Downtown Kalamazoo Inc.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/downtownkalamazoo
The Coalition for Growth focuses on driving entrepreneurship and investment Downtown. Members guide efforts to support existing businesses Downtown, attract new businesses, provide support to start-ups and determine incentives for Downtown development projects.
https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C560BAQHVJSBXVFEaFA/company-logo_100_100/0/1547659603532?e=1655942400&v=beta&t=OctNH0pH1PHK-PWo1OfjiJgFXhyQ4WIZ6ZHC4D0G5pY
Coalition for Growth Committee Member
Downtown Kalamazoo Inc.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/downtownkalamazoo
The mission of the Brand and Engagement Committee is to promote the image of downtown Kalamazoo through advertising, special events and education campaigns as a uniquely vibrant, dynamic, safe and inviting regional center that offers business, retail, entertainment, arts and cultural opportunities for all.
https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C560BAQHVJSBXVFEaFA/company-logo_100_100/0/1547659603532?e=1655942400&v=beta&t=OctNH0pH1PHK-PWo1OfjiJgFXhyQ4WIZ6ZHC4D0G5pY
Brand and Engagement Committee Member
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-ross-37bb6752
Grandville, MI
Michelle Ross
Chief Operating Officer at First United Credit Union
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziqian-li-b85569113
Duluth, GA
Ziqian Li
Project Engineer
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rukmini-ramakrishnan-45781859
San Francisco Bay Area
Rukmini Ramakrishnan
Software Development Engineer, Advertising Products
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishichhibber
San Jose, CA
Rishi Chhibber
Staff Engineer II @ VMware
https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaretshumbarger
Portland, OR
Margaret Shumbarger
Partner Outreach Associate at Democracy Works
https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharywang2002
San Francisco Bay Area
Zachary Wang
UC Berkeley CS
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-bonifer
Greater Kalamazoo Area
Andrew Bonifer
Student at Western Michigan University
https://www.linkedin.com/in/venkat-krishnamurthy
Fremont, CA
Venkat Krishnamurthy
Intelligent RPA Pre-Sales / Cloud RPA / IT Leader / Technical Project Manager / Cloud Architect
https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyagoyal
New York, NY
Priya Goyal
Staff Software Engineer Tech Lead at Facebook AI
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-klobus-0b564612b
Syosset, NY
Rachel Klobus
Available for New Opportunities
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-maguire-mba-cpa-ab34762a
Princeton, NJ
Jim Maguire, MBA, CPA
VP Finance at Duet Microelectronics
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cody-gutowski-596ab3203
Mount Pleasant, MI
Cody Gutowski
--
https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbieandrzejak
Kalamazoo, MI
Abbie Andrzejak, LMSW
LMSW at Western Michigan University
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-geier-40216850
Kalamazoo, MI
Brett Geier
Associate Professor at Western Michigan University -
https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-whisman-10504772
Greater Kalamazoo Area
william whisman
Sr. Oracle Database Administrator at Western Michigan University
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayberkow
Kalamazoo, MI
Jay Berkow
Professor at Western Michigan University
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoleraemartinez
Grand Rapids Metropolitan Area
Nicole Martinez
Associate Director of Scholarship Development at Western Michigan University
https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-lem-b7b03441
Kalamazoo, MI
Patrick Lem
Supervisor Facilities Management
https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjenonline
New York, NY
Ben Jen
Serial Entrepreneur | Investor (Early Stage, Seed / Series A-C) | Startup Advisor | Chief Strategy Officer
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwandra-nickole-lampkin-507746129
Kalamazoo, MI
Dwandra Nickole Lampkin
Associate Professor/Actress/Writer