From Accounting to Psychology?
My career journey began in public and private accounting, where I spent five years gaining valuable insights into business operations. While I ultimately realized that accounting wasn't the right long-term fit for me, my experience there honed my problem-solving skills and sparked my interest in addressing the "people problems" that organizations encounter.
This led me to transition into a career in research and college teaching, where I had the opportunity to lecture at the State University of New York. I continued my education and earned my Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from DePaul University in Chicago. Although the Covid-19 pandemic affected my final years of study, it also provided the flexibility to work remotely.
Update - January 2025
I relocated to North Carolina in March of last year to take part in the Deep Remembering program with naturalist and survival expert Luke McLaughlin. I completed the program in December 2024 and have since settled in Winston-Salem, NC.
EXPERIENCE
WORK EXPERIENCE
EDUCATION
Jan 2019-Dec 2020, Jan 2023- Present
Research Associate
BASIL CONSULTANTS
I continue to gain valuable expertise in assessment, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness at Basil. I've worked with colleagues to help leaders, teams, and organizations perform more effectively and creatively. Basil develops tailored solutions like individualized assessment and coaching, workshops, and other customized interventions. Synthesized interview data from 360-degree interviews and personality assessments to inform leadership development across varied industries. Conducted an analysis of the diversity needs of a multinational food science company and crafted recommendations for encouraging diversity in leadership and across departments. Crafted the weekly newsletter and multiple company blog posts.
Aug 2015-May 2018, Sep 2021- Present
Psychology Adjunct Lecturer
THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK (SUNY) AT NEW PALTZ
Classes: Introductory Psychology, History and Systems in Psychology, Psychology of Motivation, Health Psychology, Industrial Psychology, Social Psychology, and Evolutionary Psychology. In graduate school I worked as at Graduate Teaching Assistant for Psychology of Perception, Social Psychology, and Research Methods.
Actions: Prepare and present lectures on a variety of Psychology topics from the Psychology of work behavior and motivation to Social Psychology. Evaluate and provide feedback on in-class writing assignments, design exams and mentor students.
Jan 2016-Jan 2017
Personal Assistant/Accountant
THE FALCON/ENVIRONMENTAL LABWORKS
Actions: Personal Assistant to Tony Falco. Handled invoicing, accounts payable, annual tax write-ups for three businesses. Assisted publicist in updating marketing materials (e.g., updating the Falcon website, social media accounts, newsletter, and promotional copy for musicians and bands) to promote sales. Served as a liaison between booking manager and artists to coordinate acts on dual stages within the music venue. When needed, I worked as a backup lab tech at the Water Testing Lab, often completing waste water reporting for Ulster County. Completed application for the Ulster County CFA grant to fund the Falcon Underground Beer Garden with second stage and deck overlooking Marlborough Falls, which included a comprehensive marketing budget.
The Falcon Underground "Rock 'n Roll Museum", Oct 2016
Jan 2011-Sep 2012
Plant Accountant
MCC Project Enterprise, First cups produced. Aug 2013
METAL CONTAINER CORPORATION/ANHSEUSER-BUSCH INBEV
Actions: Prepared, steered and presented monthly performance meetings to company CEO and colleagues. Communicated with subject matter experts in engineering, production and operations on a monthly basis both to strengthen knowledge of manufacturing process and associated costs, and to complete month-end close process. Assisted steering team in developing and modifying procedures to increase efficiency thereby reducing production costs. Analyzed conversion cost of manufacturing facility weekly and monthly to assess financial position compared with budgeted targets.
Aug 2008-Dec 2010
Junior Accountant
SIMON, TAPPER, EDELMAN & WILNER, PA
Actions: investigated tax research topics and presented findings to ensure consistency among colleagues, and assure firm guidelines met all legal requirements. Prepared and presented numerous federal and state tax returns to provide clear and concise explanations of computations and legal implications therein, to assure accuracy and client satisfaction. Communicated daily with clients, along with state and federal taxing authorities to tackle a broad range of tasks; from bookkeeping and tax accounting to corporate dissolutions.
Heading 2
2018-2024
Ph.D.
Industrial-Organizational Psychology
DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
DePaul University School of Science and Health • Chicago, IL, USA
Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology
Master of Arts in Industrial-Organizational Psychology
Thesis: Identifying the Strategic Core of Interactive Teams
Dissertation: A Systematic Exploration of Theoretical, Conceptual, and Methodological Alignment of Social Network Analysis in Organizational Behavior
2012-2014
Master's Degree
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT NEW PALTZ
State University of New York at New Paltz • New Paltz, NY, USA
Master of Arts in Psychology
Psychology Department Student of Excellence 2014
SUNY New Paltz Outstanding Graduate 2014
Thesis: Musical Aptitude and Emotional Intelligence
2004-2008
Bachelor's Degree
JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY
Johnson & Wales University • Providence, RI, USA
Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Magna Cum Laude
Associate in Science in Accounting, Magna Cum Laude
EDUCATION
RESEARCH
Microsoft Excel - Advanced
Microsoft Word - Advanced
Power Point - Advanced
SPSS Statistics - Proficient
R - Proficient
Critical Thinking - Advanced
SAP - Advanced
Research Design - Advanced
College Teaching - Advanced
Spanish - Conversational
PROJECTS
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Gleason, M. (data analysis in progress). Investigating the relationship between self-esteem and the impact of value affirmations.
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Citera, M., and Gleason, M. (manuscripts in progress). Sources of Self-Efficacy: Reliability & Validity.
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Geher, G., Rolon, V., Holler, R., Betancourt, K., Chason, M., Gleason, M., Mabie, B., McCarthy, M., Rawlins, B., Thomson, G., You’re Dead to Me! Fitness and Affect-Related Consequences of Social Estrangements (in preparation)
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Gleason, M. Data Mining: The Future of Psychological Research . . . or a Runaway Train? [Book review of Dataclysm: Who We Are (When We Think No One’s Looking), by Christian Rudder] Published by The Journal of the Evolutionary Studies Consortium 03/15/2015.
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Gleason, M., Geher, G. Musical Aptitude and Emotional Intelligence. Investigating the relationship between musical production and perception and emotional abilities 12/15/2014.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
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Gleason, M. E. & Rauvola, R. S. (May 2023). Emotional Job Demands: Psychometric Review and Analysis [Poster]. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Annual Conference, Boston, MA, United States.
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Meyers, A. & Gleason, M. (April, 2020). Linking Team Collaboration to Team Performance via Network Metrics. Submitted as an academic presentation for the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology (virtual conference).
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Gleason, M. (April, 2015). Does Musical Skill Signal Emotional Ability? Academic presentation given at the North Eastern Evolutionary Psychology Society Conference 2015, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
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Gleason, M. & Geher, G. (April, 2014). Is Musical Skill Related to Emotional Ability? The Effect of Ability and Training on Emotional Intelligence. Poster presented at the North Eastern Evolutionary Psychology Society Conference 2014, New Paltz, New York, USA.
Self-Esteem and Value-Affirmations
I am currently analyzing data for my own study examining whether trait self-esteem moderates the effectiveness of value-affirmations related to belongingness. The value affirmation literature suggests reflecting on core personal values can have lasting positive effects. Affirmations exercises typically involve reflecting on personal relationships/belongingness. Interestingly, Sociometer Theory posits that perceived social acceptance or rejection informs self-esteem. By integrating these two theoretical perspectives, I devised a study to examine whether relationship-based affirmations are effective for everyone or just individuals with high self-esteem. I am currently analyzing data collected over the past three semesters.
Sources of Self-Efficacy
I am working with a colleague examining how different sources of self-efficacy contribute to performance and self-efficacy beliefs. Our paper examines the reliability and validity of a newly constructed self-efficacy measure. This new scale aims to improve upon the sources of academic self-efficacy scale (SASES) developed by Hampton (1988) in a number of ways. Using data collected from two separate studies we are assessing its psychometrics. These prior studies utilized multiple self-efficacy scales, which allowed us to perform a factor analysis. It was hypothesized that SASEs would have a factor structure that would match the theoretical factor structure proposed by the original scale and be inter-correlated with other measures of self-efficacy. In essence, we are assessing the reliability and internal consistency of the scale. In addition, we are looking at the predictive and convergent validity of the new scale compared with standard measures.
My interest in this domain involves how performance accomplishments, in particular, contribute to projected task success and actual competence. Prior research has investigated college student's sources of self-efficacy and the magnitude of their mathematics self-efficacy. For females, perceived performance accomplishments (past performance) predicted math self-efficacy. Actual performance, however, did not. Thus, beliefs about past performance can be a stronger predictor of future task success than objective past performance. I am striving to fully understand the link between self-beliefs, feedback, and performance.
SKILLS
EXPERTISE
RESEARCH DESIGN
My first assignment as a graduate assistant at SUNY was as a teaching assistant for undergraduate Research Methods. This position offered me the opportunity to teach a level 300 lab. Thanks to the guidance of the New Paltz faculty, this experience caused my knowledge of experimental design and social psychology to skyrocket.
TEACHING & MANAGING PRIORITIES
I was offered a full-time lecturer position in the Psychology Department teaching five sections, last spring. I am extremely grateful to have been given such a wonderful opportunity to refine my teaching methods. Even with this substantial workload, I was able to collect data for an in-person survey that I designed. I am currently analyzing the findings using SPSS.
VERSATILITY
I am experienced in tax law, budgeting, cost management, SPSS analytic software, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and various tax and accounting software programs. I can effectively write budget reports, academic publications and promotional copy and grants. My presentation skills are well-honed; I am confident presenting research findings in a way that is both clear and engaging.
HONORS & AWARDS
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December 2014, Psychology Department Outstanding Graduate Award
State University of New York, New Paltz
December 2014, Psychology Department Student of Excellence Award
State University of New York, New Paltz
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April 2013, Psychology Department Travel Grant Award
State University of New York, New Paltz
May 2006, 2008, Attained Associates and Bachelor degrees Magna Cum Laude
Johnson & Wales University, Providence, RI
September 2005-May 2008, JWU Accounting Association Officer
Johnson & Wales University, Providence, RI
September 2005, 2006, Student Faculty Scholarship Award
Johnson & Wales University, Providence, RI
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HOBBIES/INTERESTS
SONGWRITING
I play guitar, sing, and write songs. Prior to grad school, I was the "front lady" of an indie-rock band in Nyack, NY. I currently write and perform in the Winston-Salem area.
TRIATHLONS & ACCESSIBILITY
I'm a long-distance runner and triathlete. I completed the Lake Meridian Triathlon this past summer near Seattle WA with my brother Adam, who is a blind athlete.
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PODCASTING
I'm excited to share that I've recently launched a podcast with three friends here in Winston-Salem called SOul Curious. We delve into candid conversations about spirituality, thriving in romantic relationships, fostering community connection, and approaching trauma healing. SOul Curious explores what it means to "do the work" to heal and thrive in relationships. We offer a "no filter" perspective on how three women, each at different stages of life and relationship status, are navigating their healing journeys.
Interview with Cashavelly at Songbird Supper Club. Sep 2024
Artists impacted by Hurricane Helene WNC, Songbird Supper Club, Dec 2024
Performance, Songbird Supper Club. Sep 2024
