Nurcan Ensari

nensari@alliant.edu

Clinical Psychology | Distinguished Professor

  • Los Angeles

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Nurcan Ensari

Biography

Dr. Ensari is a Distinguished Professor at the California School of Professional Psychology. Trained as a social psychologist, her work bridges clinical, social and organizational psychology, with a sustained focus on multicultural identity, inclusion, prejudice reduction, leadership development and well-being among multicultural populations. Her experimental and non-experimental research on intergroup relations focuses on the application of the Personalization Model in reducing prejudice. She has conducted cross-cultural and international research across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Dr. Ensari has held multiple senior academic and administrative leadership roles, including Systemwide Director of OP Programs, Faculty Assembly Chair and Strategic Planning Committee. She serves as an ad-hoc reviewer and editor for leading psychology and interdisciplinary books and journals including Encyclopedia of Leadership Studies by Sage, Group Processes and Intergroup Relations Frontiers Journal, PSPB, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision-making Processes. Her professional service includes membership on the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Women’s Inclusion Network and the International Affairs Committee.

In addition to her academic research, Dr. Ensari is deeply engaged in community-based and applied work. She is the Director of SPARKS-USA, a leadership development and empowerment program that aims to prepare immigrant and multicultural women for professional careers. Dr. Ensari has extensive experience delivering workshops and invited talks at universities in the U.S., Thailand, Hong Kong, UK, Greece, and Turkey, and contributes to national and international professional organizations through mentoring and committee service. She has also served as a media commentator on women’s leadership.

She is a recipient of the Alliant Equity and Inclusion Faculty Fellowship.

Professional Interests

  • Ethics, diversity, equity, and inclusion in professional practice
  • Immigration, acculturation, identity, and belonging
  • Intergroup bias, Islamophobia, religious discrimination
  • Gender issues, stereotyping, women empowerment
  • Work burnout. wellbeing at work, and resilience
  • Strengths-based leadership development, charismatic leadership, and empowerment

Education and Certifications

  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The Kravis Leadership Inst., Claremont McKenna College, LA, 2000-2001
  • Ph.D., Social Psychology, University of Southern California, LA, 2000
  • M.S., Social Psychology, University of Southern California, LA, 1998
  • M.A., Social Psychology, Bogazici University, Istanbul, 1995
  • B.S., Mathematics, Bogazici University, Istanbul, 1992

Courses

  • Cultural Diversity in Organizations
  • Ethics, Diversity and Corporate Responsibility
  • Conflict Management
  • Advanced Statistics
  • Workshop in Data Management in SPSS
  • Research Design and Methods
  • Professional and Ethical Issues in I/O Psychology
  • Social Psychology in Organizations
  • Introduction to Scholar Practitioner Model
  • Intergroup Relations
  • Theories of Personality

Scholarship and Contributions to the Field

  • Nagpal, M., & Ensari, N. (2025). The Mediating Role of Non-verbal Behaviors in the Relationship Between Interdependent Self-construal & Transformational Leadership. ABAC ODI JOURNAL, 13(1), 1-14.
  • Ensari, N., & Riggio, R. (2023). Muslimophobia: Overcoming religious discrimination and exclusion in the workplace. In Barnes, J. (Eds.), ILA.
  • Ensari, N. (2023). Ataturk and Turkish Transformation. In Goethals, G. R., (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Leadership Studies, Sage.
  • Ensari, N., Schlaerth, A., & Camden-Anders, S. (2023). The constructive management and resolution of conflict. In Friedman, (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Mental Health.
  • Ensari, N., & Riggio, R. (2020). Exclusion of inclusion in leadership theories. In Ferdman, B., Prime, J., & Riggio, R., Inclusive Leadership: Transforming Diverse Lives, Workplaces and Societies, Routledge.
  • Hosboyar, M., Ensari, N., & Lopez, D. (2018). A quasi-experimental study on flexible work arrangements. Journal of Management, Marketing and Logistics, V.5, 153-165.
  • Karabati, S., Ensari, N. & Fiorentino, D. (2017). Job satisfaction, rumination, and subjective well-being: The moderated mediational model. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(2), 1-18.
  • Boyd, M., Kim, M., Ensari, N., Yin, Z. (2014). Perceived motivational team climate in relation to task and social cohesion among male college athletes. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 44, 115–123.
  • Ensari, N., & Murphy, E. S. (2003). Cross-cultural variations in leadership perceptions and attribution of charisma to the leader. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision-Making Processes, 92, 52-66.
  • Ensari, N., & Miller, N. (2002). Out-group must not be so bad after all: The effects of disclosure, typicality and salience on intergroup bias. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 313-329.
  • Ensari. N., & Miller, N. (1998). Effects of affective reactions by an out-group on preferences for crossed categorization discussion partners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 1503-1527.