Katheldra Alexander

Katheldra Alexander is a native of the Bahamas but has lived in North Carolina for 19 years. She graduated with a degree in hospitality management from Bethune-Cookman University and a M.S. in organizational leadership and change from Pfeiffer University.

Alexander has more than 20 years of industry experience specifically onsite foodservice operations servicing the higher education and corporate dining sectors. She has taught hospitality courses at the University of the Bahamas and held other training roles throughout her career. Her research interests include restaurant and food safety, diversity, equity and inclusion, and leadership and training. Katheldra is an inaugural fellow of the 2022 Bloomin’ Brands DE&I Fellowship for AHED (Alliance for Hospitality Equity & Diversity).

Alex Arhin

Alex Arhin is a native of the Central Region of Ghana, Africa. Arhin received his B.S. in tourism management from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana and his M.S. in tourism management and planning from the University of Girona in Spain. His research interests are in the areas of organizational resilience, workforce empowerment, and sustainability. In addition to his studies, Arhin enjoys traveling and exploring new cultures.

Courses Taught

 HTMT 280 – Foundations of Tourism
HTMT 388 – Resort Development and Management

Badr Badraoui

Badr Badraoui joined the College of HRSM in 2022 after earning a bachelor’s in international business from Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Germany and a master’s in business administration/major tourism from Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Switzerland. A native of Rabat, Morocco, Badraoui’s research interests include technological applications within the tourism and hospitality industry, customer experience, service management and experiential marketing. He has over 15 years of professional experience across seven countries and is fluent in four languages. In his spare time, Badraoui enjoys playing soccer, outdoor activities and visiting new places.

Ali Iskender

Ali Iskender was born in Turkey to parents from Macedonia and Kosovo. Iskender obtained his bachelor's of science in economics from the University of Anatolia and in business administration from Uludag University, Turkey. He also participated in a one-year study at Opole University of Technology, Poland. After several years' experience working in accounting and finance, he attended the University of Florida, where he obtained his master’s degree in tourism. His research interests include film-tourism, the impact of popular culture on travel behaviors, and branding and marketing in tourism.

Iskender's studies are funded by the Richardson Family SmartState Center of Economic Excellence in Tourism and Economic Development under the direction of Simon Hudson, Ph.D.

Hui Jiang

Hui Jiang is from Shandong, China, and received a B.S. in hospitality management and an M.S. in tourism management from Sun Yat-sen University. Her research interests include tourism investment, destination marketing and social networking.

Mina Kim

Mina Kim joined the doctoral program in hospitality and tourism management in fall 2023. A native of Busan, South Korea, Kim earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from Daegu Catholic University and a master's in tourism studies from Pusan National University. Her research interests lie in understanding the psychological and behavioral attributes of tourists related to participation in leisure and tourism as well as tourist pro-environmental behaviors using mixed methods research. In her spare time, Kim enjoys yoga, pilates, cooking, spending time with her cats and traveling.

Seonjin Lee

Seonjin Lee began the hospitality and tourism management Ph.D. program in fall 2023 and is a Presidential Fellow at the University of South Carolina. Hailing from Busan, South Korea, Lee studied at Pusan National University for his undergraduate degree in tourism and convention and later earned a master's from the school in tourism studies. Additionally, he has over five years of experience working as an interpreter, including two years of service as an interpreter in the Republic of Korea Navy. Lee is interested in understanding the impact of tourism activities on local populations, the sustainability of the tourism industry, and the use of spatiotemporal data analysis for tourism research. In his spare time, Lee enjoys brewing coffee, playing guitar and computer programming.

Lali Odosashvili

Lali Odosashvili is from Tbilisi, Georgia, where she received her B.S. in business administration - tourism and her MBA in tourism from Ilia State University and her M.S. in hospitality management from the University of Delaware. Odosashvili received the Best Student Led Completed Paper Award at the 8th Annual ICHRIE SECSA Federation Conference in 2023 and was an author on multiple research publications. The same year, she was promoted to head of marketing for Hybrid Interaction, Ltd., after working in business development for the organization for over a year. Her research areas of interest include policy and governance studies in tourism, tourism development in developing countries, consumer behavior, and gambling tourism. Her hobbies include disc golf, archery and reading. Odosashvili is also fluent in three languages including English, Georgian and Russian.

Omid Oshriyeh

Omid Oshriyeh, hailing from Tehran, Iran, holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in tourism management, with a specialization in tourism marketing, from the University of Tehran. His current research focuses on sustainability and climate change, risk perception, customer experience, and consumer behavior. Additionally, he serves as an editorial associate for Tourism Analysis, a peer-reviewed journal.

Courses Taught

HRTM 482 – Sustainable Tourism Planning and Policy

Ghazal Shams

Ghazal Shams is from Isfahan, Iran, and received her B.S. in statistics and M.S. in business administration with a focus in marketing from Islamic Azad University. Shams's research interests are in emergent technologies in marketing (e.g., AI, metaverse), human-computer interaction, service research, service innovation, and customer satisfaction.

Courses Taught

HTMT 344 – Personnel Organization and Supervision

Damla Sonmez

Damla Sonmez is from Antalya, Turkey, where she earned her B.S. in business administration from Antalya Bilim University. Sonmez earned her M.S. in hospitality management from the University of Florida. She has made her mark in the classroom at USC having earned the Outstanding Doctoral Student Teacher of the Year award in back-to-back years. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, cooking and music.

Research Interests

Consumer behavior
Human resources management
Human-centric engagement

Courses Taught

HTMT 364 – Conference and Meeting Planning
HTMT 590 – Social and Cultural Issues in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry (co-instructor)

Published Research

Sonmez, D., Ali, F., Wildes, V., & Cobanoglu, C. (2023). The Hijabi servers: Customers' perception of employees' physical appearance in restaurants. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 114, 103569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2023.103569
Sonmez, D., & Taylor Jr., S. (2024). Nutrition and nature: Means-end theory in crafting sustainable and health-conscious meal kit experiences. Sustainability, 16(8), 3327. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16083327

Awards

Outstanding Doctoral Student Teacher of the Year – 2023 & 2024

Yang (John) Zhuang

Yang (John) Zhuang, originally from Shanghai, China, is a Ph.D. candidate in hospitality and tourism management at the University of South Carolina. He holds a B.S. in hotel management from Macao University of Tourism and an M.S. in international wine management from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Zhuang's research focuses on wine tourism, wine education, health tourism and consumer behavior. Beyond academics, he has a passion for history, literature and culinary arts, especially baking. Fluent in Cantonese and Shanghainese, Zhuang is an advocate for language diversification and enjoys traveling, capturing moments through photography during his adventures.