Celebrate Social Work Doctoral Students!
The PhD process is a challenging one, and we believe that celebration is essential during the process! We would like to celebrate with you! This page is a space to highlight the recent accomplishments of social work doctoral students, including research, practice, or funding. Click the button below to nominate a colleague (or yourself) to be featured on SSWR DSC social media, newsletters, and this page.
Recent Doctoral Student Accomplishments
Image depicts Leo Kattari (He/They), smiling at the camera wearing a blue button down with small white polka dots. Leo is in front of a mauve colored wall and wears tortoise shell colored thin rimmed glasses.
Congratulations Leo Kattari (He/They)
About Leo Kattari’s Accomplishment
Leo successfully defended their thesis titled "Motivators for Transgender and Gender Diverse Related Activism and Policy Action in the United States" in October 2023. Dr. Kattari will be starting at University of Michigan Dearborn in Spring 2024.
About Leo:
Leo Kattari (MSW) earned his Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver. They are a passionate advocate for health equity and social justice with over a decade of experience in the areas of health education, organizational development, community mobilization and organizing, policy, public health data and evaluation. Leo’s work has an emphasis on health disparities, health policy, and advocacy through story-telling. They have provided presentations, trainings, and consultation services on leadership development, cultural responsiveness, putting data into action, and story-telling techniques throughout the U.S. to agencies such as the Mayo Clinic, various state and county health departments, and the U.S. Department of Human Service’s Office of Adolescent Health. He is invested in community driven and data informed action that advances health equity through public policy, funding priorities, and innovative systems change.
Congratulations Sangeun Lee (She/Her/Hers)
About Sangeun Lee’s AccomPlishment
As a newly selected member of 23rd committee of the National Institute for Unification Education (NIUN), Sangeun was invited to attend a symposium for overseas NIUN members by the Ministry of Unification, along with two dozen from the United States and Germany. The National Institute for Unification Education (NIUN) is an organization that raises awareness of inter-Korean relations and peaceful unification on the Korean Peninsula by providing timely education in Korea and abroad. Requested by the President of the Republic of Korea in 1980 to promote experts in unification education in 1980, the NIUN was embarked in 1988 with 850 members as its first committee directly governed by the Ministry of Unification. In 2022, it started its 23rd committee with 723 elected members all across the globe – 604 from Korea and 119 from the United States, Germany, Japan, and China. The symposium aims to expand preparation for peaceful inter-Korean unification with the Korean people and the international community.
During the seminar, Sangeun visited historical areas related to the Korean war, including the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) located at the center of the Korean peninsula. The DMZ was established on July 27, 1953, when the Armistice Agreement was signed during the Korean War. Being served as a buffer zone between the two Korean countries, it is often regarded as no man’s land since no military personnel, installations, or activities are allowed. The symposium includes lectures by professors and experts in the multi-disciplines from the NIUN regarding inter-Korean relations and national policies on peaceful unification on the Korean Peninsula and current status of North Korea and its changes. It lasted five days between September 26 and September 30. On the last day, during the comprehensive discussion session, Sangeun raised questions on how to promote awareness of the human rights situation in the North among social workers and social work researchers in the United States.
About Sangeun Lee
Sangeun Lee is a Ph.D. candidate at the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research at Bryn Mawr College. Sangeun is a licensed social worker (LSW) and a certified case manager (CCM) who has been working with the Asian immigrant population since 2009. Sangeun was selected as a national policy fellow at the Network for Social Work Management (NSWM) and the recipient of the McPherson Presidential Award for Excellence at Bryn Mawr College in 2020. In 2021 and 2022, Sangeun was selected to attend the Doctoral Scholar Institute (DSI) by the Rutgers School of Social Work and the NSWM. Furthermore, Sangeun has published more than ten academic journal articles on Asian American immigrant populations, Asian human service workers, the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 Racism, and ethnic-community engagement against COVID-19 Racism during her doctoral training.
Research Interests
Asian American immigrant populations with limited English proficiency, COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 racism, and community engagement against COVID-19 racism
Image depicts Sangeun Lee. She has shoulder length black hair and smiling and wearing a black dress and a loosely tied black and white patterned scarf. Sangeun is standing in front a building.
Congratulations Binah Malka Stinnett-Bloemhof (She/Her)
Image depicts Binah Malka Stinnett-Bloemhof, smiling into the camera. The photo is a close-up of Binah’s face. She wears a navy top, brown rimmed glasses, and has wavy dark brown, shoulder length hair.
Congratulations Binah Malka Stinnett-Bloemhof (she/her) on receiving Jews of Color Initiative (JoCI) research grant. Binah is a 1st year social welfare & policy PhD Student at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University.
About Binah’s Accomplishment
“I have been awarded a research grant from JoCI (Jews of Color Initiative) to examine how self-identified Black Jewish women in the U.S experience and understand their prenatal Health Care experiences with regard to seeking out or working with a healthcare professional of their shared Jewish faith.The goal of the research is to add to the literature available about Jews of Color that is reflective of our shared lived experiences.By adding to the literature, this may assist social workers and medical professionals in addressing any bias they may have towards JOCs (in this case Black Jewish women) and how it impacts how they may practice their professions. The hope is this research can additionally be utilized by academic professionals specifically within the world of Social Work when engaging with, and teaching/preparing students to enter the profession and educate students about bias and the concept of intersectionality.”
About Binah Malta Stinnett-Bloemhof
Binah Malka Stinnett-Bloemhof is a newly admitted Ph.D. student at Yeshiva University’s School of Social Work. Prior to being admitted to her Ph.D. program Binah completed her MSSW (Masters of Social Work Science) at Columbia University where she served as a guest lecturer focusing on the impact of anti-black racism & anti-Semitism on human development. Additionally, she helped develop the social work school’s Jewish Caucus as a founding member, where she worked with fellow students to address the university’s response to anti-Semitism and anti-black racism. Binah is a seasoned Jewish communal professional, having worked in the field in an array of roles.
Binah Malka Stinnett-Bloemhof’s research interests:
Anti-Black Racism, Intersectionality, Anti-Semitism, Paternal/Maternal health