9:34 is a symbolic representation of the meaning we make of the world around us based on our perceptions, life experiences, and cultural identities. For some, 9:34 may reflect three distinct and meaningless numbers; for others, each number holds deep and consequential purpose. For others still, 9:34 could be a time, day or night, a Bible verse, or the time stamp on a song or film that had a profound influence on our lives. In Dr. Cruz’s lab, 9:34 reminds us that we all see the world through different lenses, some we are aware of, others we are not. It also serves to demonstrate that we have the individual and collective power to create shared meaning across diverse experiences towards self-and-group actualization for a purpose greater than ourselves.
Dr. Cruz and his lab study the unconscious, invisible, and/or covert dynamics that occur in workplace contexts specific to diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI). The work falls into three areas:
Target experiences and responses to working under conditions of systemic stereotype threat
Perceiver perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors towards historically excluded groups in organizations (e.g., gay and lesbian managers, Latine women leaders, trans/nonbinary employees)
System-level diagnoses, analyses, and interventions to foster organization-wide DEI change
the 9:34 lab
Meet the Team
-
Yaro Fong-Olivares
Co-Principal Investigator
Yaro Fong-Olivares, M.S., is the Executive Director of the Gloria Cordes Larson Center for Women and Business (CWB) at Bentley University. In this role, she leads the CWB’s mission-driven work to advance women’s leadership in business from the classroom to the boardroom. She partners with the staff and CWB stakeholder community to develop and deliver programs informed by research and best practices. She also serves as a subject matter expert on leadership development for women and gender-variant individuals and brings an intersectional feminist lens to the content the CWB produces. Yaro is currently pursuing a doctorate in Organizational Leadership Psychology at William James. She holds an M.S. in Organizational Change Management from The New School and a B.A. in Sociology from Barnard College. Yaro also serves as Past-President of the Executive Committee of the New York Center for the Study of Groups, Organizations and Social Systems, and as an affiliate and certified consultant for the A.K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems.
-
Wiley Davi
Co-Principal Investigator
Wiley Davi is professor of English & Media Studies at Bentley University. Wiley's teaching and research interests span the fields of writing, diversity, leadership, and service-learning. Wiley is co-author of Leading with Uncommon Sense (2020) and has published articles and delivered presentations on the intersections of race, gender, leadership, and teaching. Wiley is also a program facilitator for Bentley's Center for Women & Business. Outside of Bentley, Wiley is a facilitator for the Erasmus Centre for Women and Organisations. Wiley holds a Ph.D. from Tufts University in Massachusetts.
-
Adrian Ramonetti
Undergraduate Research Assistant (RA)
Adrian is a junior at Bentley University from Long Island, NY. He is majoring in Management with a concentration in Entrepreneurship and a double minor in Sustainability and CIS. Adrian is aspiring to work as a consultant after graduating from Bentley.
-
Maria Eduarda Pereira
Undergraduate Research Assistant (RA)
Maria is a junior from Malden, MA specializing in Management with an Entrepreneurship concentration and a Minor in Marketing. Maria plans to blend her entrepreneurial spirit and marketing finesse, to make waves in the business world upon graduation.
-
Interested in Joining the lab?
Email Dr. Cruz
