CURRENT OFFICERS
Select any photo to learn more or contact the officer. Also, if you would like to serve on our leadership board, please contact Dr. Divya Ramachandran.
Divya Ramachandran, Chair
Divya is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Manitoba, Canada. She earned her Ph.D. in Business Administration (Marketing) from Georgia State University. She also holds a Master of Science in Marketing Research from Michigan State University, and an MBA in Marketing from S. P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai, India. Prior to academia, she worked in sales and marketing, marketing research, and strategy in telecom, media, and banking sectors. Her research interests include the new-age technology – marketing interface, digital media, customer experience, and customer engagement. Her research has been published in journals such as the International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Retailing, and Journal of Business Research.
Divya currently serves as the Chair of the American Marketing Association (AMA) Higher Education Special Interest Group (HigherEd SIG). She has previously served as the Vice Chair – Marketing and Communications of HigherEd SIG, and the Assistant Vice Chair of Online Engagement, Chair-Elect, and Chair of AMA Doctoral Student Special Interest Group (DocSIG).
Mathew Joseph, Executive Vice President
Dr. Mathew Joseph is currently a Research Professor and Marketing Consultant based in Dallas, Texas. Prior to this position, he was the NuStar Distinguished Professor of Marketing at St Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. He also served as Professor of Marketing at the University of South Alabama and at Georgia College & State University. He has taught at University of Bari, in Italy, Universidade Nova Lisboa in Portugal, Southern Cross University & Swinburne University in Australia and the University of Waikato in New Zealand. Dr. Joseph completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Southeast Missouri State University and his PhD at Waikato University, New Zealand.
Dr. Joseph is a member of several professional associations, including the American Marketing Association and the Society for Marketing Advances. Dr. Joseph was the Past President and Board Member for the Society for Marketing Advances. Dr. Joseph is also a regular presenter at numerous professional and academic conferences and serves on the editorial board of several journals.
Dr. Joseph’s main areas of research include Cross Cultural Marketing, Service Quality, Marketing Strategy, Health Care Marketing, Social Media, Sports Marketing, and Marketing Education.
Mathew has an extensive list of publications (more than 100 articles in journals and conference proceedings). In addition, he has published several professional articles and reports.
Kevin Giang Barrera, Vice Chair of Marketing Communications
Kevin P. Giang Barrera is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Texas El Paso. He earned his Ph.D. in Business Administration (Marketing) from the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University (GSU). He also holds a Master of Science in Marketing from Georgia State University, a Master of Business Administration degree from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV, Brazil), and a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree from Universidad Nacional Experimental del Táchira (UNET, Venezuela).
His research interests lie at the intersection of marketing strategy, technology, innovation, and customer experience (CX). His foundational research on the conceptualization of the Metaverse and its implications for marketing is published in the Journal of Business Research.
Kevin currently serves as the Vice Chair of Marketing Communications for the AMA Marketing for Higher Education Special Interest Group (HigherEd SIG). Prior, he also served as the Vice-Chair of Special Events for the HigherEd SIG and as the Vice-Chair of Online Engagement, Chair-Elect and Chair of the AMA Doctoral Student Special Interest Group (DocSIG).
Sona Klucarova, Vice Chair of Research
Sona Klucarova is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She earned her Ph.D. in Business Administration (Marketing) from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL, and completed her postdoctoral work at MBS School of Business in Montpellier, France. She is a behavioral researcher studying conspicuous consumption, luxury retailing, influencer marketing, societal issues, and advertising. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, Marketing Letters, Psychology & Marketing, and others.
Sona has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses at higher education institutions in Austria, China, France, Taiwan, and the U.S. She is the recipient of the 2025 AMA Teaching & Learning SIG’s inaugural Rising Star in Marketing Education Award.
Sona currently serves as Vice Chair of Research for the AMA Marketing for Higher Education SIG. She previously served as the SIG’s Vice Chair of Membership.
Kiwoong Yoo, Vice Chair of Technology and Data Analytics
Kiwoong Yoo is an incoming Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Colorado Denver. He will graduate from the University of Tennessee in May 2026 with a Ph.D. in Business Administration (Marketing). He holds a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Cornell University and a B.B.A. in Accounting from Hofstra University.
Kiwoong's research examines how firms leverage marketing strategies to navigate disruptions (e.g., natural disasters, technological innovation). His work has been published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and the Journal of Retailing. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York, where he worked as an auditor and consultant at Deloitte, advising clients across industries, including gaming and healthcare insurance. Beyond research, he is an adventurous foodie (especially if they're spicy dishes).
Mithila Guha, Vice Chair of Research
Mithila Guha serves as Vice Chair of Research for the AMA Marketing for Higher Education Special Interest Group. She is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Marketing and AI Faculty Fellow at the Lucas College & Graduate School of Business, San José State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Quantitative Marketing (with a minor in Computer Science) from LeBow College of Business, Drexel University, a Master of Economics from North Carolina State University, and her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Economics from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
As an empirical researcher, her work sits at the intersection of brand-consumer online activism, artificial intelligence, and social impact marketing. She applies text analytics, machine learning, and econometrics to large-scale social media data to generate insights where digital strategy meets purpose-driven marketing. Her work appears in the Journal of Business Research and the Journal of Brand Management, among other outlets.
Aisha Ghimire, Vice Chair of Membership
Aisha Ghimire earned her Ph.D. in Business Administration (Marketing) from the University of Mississippi. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Southern Mississippi. Her research focuses on marketing strategy, influencer marketing, and marketing in the era of AI.
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Atefeh Yazdanparast Ardestani, Vice Chair At-Large
Atefeh Yazdanparast is the Fernandez professor of marketing and Department Chair at East Texas A&M University College of Business. She studies social psychology of consumer decision making. Her research focuses on sensory marketing and the interplay of consumers and digital technology. Her work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Advertising, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, and Psychology & Marketing. She is a senior associate editor for Journal of Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Intelligence & Planning, an associate editor for Journal of Global Marketing, and a member of the review board for Journal of Advertising and International Journal of Bank Marketing. Dr. Yazdanparast has received several awards, including the Beta Gamma Sigma Professor of the Year from Clark University, the Master Scholar Award from the Marketing Management Association, the Excellence in Teaching Award from the National Society of Leadership and Success, and the Teacher of the Year Award from the University of Evansville.