Doctoral Student Committee Members

The DSC was created by students to support their peers through the doctorate process. The members of this committee come from various programs, with different research expertise, and at different points in the program. There are three subcommittees on the DSC, and they are the Communications Subcommittee, Conference Subcommittee, Student Engagement Subcommittee, and Mentoring Subcommittee. The chairs of each subcommittee are listed below.

We’re thrilled to welcome students from a variety of program timepoints as well, getting new insight from first and second year students while also gaining the wisdom of the doctoral candidates joining the DSC! Below, each sub-committee is described briefly and the list of new committee chairs and members are noted. Check out full biographies for our new members on our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SSWRDSC/

The service year of the DSC goes from April to March of each year. If you are interested in applying to be on the committee, applications open in February after the SSWR Annual Conference. Please reach out to one of us to inquire about this process or to learn more about what the DSC does! We would love to hear from you!

Doctoral Student Committee Chair

Communications Subcommittee

The Communications Sub-Committee facilitates networking and experience sharing among doctoral students through our bi-monthly newsletter co-produced by the entire sub-committee, the SSWR Doctoral Student Members Facebook, and the SSWR Doctoral Student Website. This year we hope to expand our networking into the Twitter space and update the SSWR Doctoral Student Website with more resources to support service, teaching, research, and equity efforts. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the Chairs, Hannah Boyke or Alauna Reckley

Alauna Reckley, MSW

Communications Committee Co-Chair

Pronouns: She/Her

The University of Alabama

Research Interests: Intellectual Disabilities with a current focus on individuals with Down Syndrome

Hannah Boyke,

MSW

Communications Committee Co-Chair

Pronouns: They/Them

Michigan State University

Research Interests: crimmigration and the intersection of the immigration enforcement and criminal legal system and immigrants’ rights in immigration court

Julisa Tindall, LISW-CP

Pronouns: She/Her

University of South Carolina

Research Interests: maternal health care disparities and mental health concerns among Black women, racial and health equity, and racial prejudice and discrimination

Saira Afzal, MSW

**Pronouns:** She/Her
Bryn Mawr College
**Research Interests:** Child and Adolescent Mental Health, access to health care, marginalized youth

Shani Saxon, LMSW

**Pronouns:** She/Her
Wayne State University
**Research Interests:** BIPOC mental health issues; Human behavior; Child & Adolescent mental health

Priyanjali Chakraborty, MA

**Pronouns:** She/Hers
The University of Texas at Arlington
**Research Interests:** Healthcare access among low-income immigrant populations

Leah Munroe, MSW

**Pronouns:** She/Her
Louisiana State University
**Research Interests:** Chronic pain and disability, substance use disorders, and social determinants of health

Katie McCoog, LCSW CATP

**Pronouns:** She/Her
Simmons University
**Research Interests:** Child & Adolescent Mental Health; Family Systems; Trauma Therapy; Behavior Health; Leadership; Psychodynamics; Humanistic Therapy

Shawn McNally, MSW

Pronouns: He/Him

University of South Carolina

Research Interests: School Mental Health (e.g., services, service use, promotion, stigma/messaging)

Nari Yoo

**Pronouns:** She/Her
New York University
**Research Interests:** Minority mental health; immigrants and refugees; racial/ethnic minorities; access to care

Emily Joan Lamunu, MSW

**Pronouns:** She/her
Boston University
**Research Interests:** Children and Adoloscents living with HIV/AIDS

Bonnie Horgos, MSW, LGSW

Pronouns: She/Her

University of Minnesota

Research Interests: Multidimensional continuum models of alcohol and substance use, Alcohol and cultural hegemony, Critical feminist research methods and methodologies, Hungarian assimilation in the United States

D’Wayne James, MSW, LMSW

**Pronouns:** He/Him
Howard University
**Research Interests:** Clinical Social Work, Black Community, Social Media, Mental Health

Seon Kyeong Ahn, MSW

**Pronouns:** She/her
EWHA Women’s University
**Research Interests:** Child and Adolescent development, Child abuse, poverty, Mobile/media utilization and cyberbullying, suicide intervention, reclusive and isolated youth, big data

Umaira Khan, LMSW

**Pronouns:** She/Her
University of Houston
**Research Interests:** Disability Justice, Decarcerating School Practices, Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Mentoring Subcommittee

The Mentoring Sub-Committee aims to support doctoral students to form connections with peers and faculties through programs: Coffee with a Scholar, Conference New Attendee Program, and Writing Retreats. This year we hope to expand our programs beyond mentor-mentee matching to provide support and resources on how to actively seek mentorships with peers, professionals, and faculties. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the co-chairs of the committee: Nadia Neimanas and Jordan Goodwin

Nadia Neimanas, MSW

**Mentoring Committee Co-Chair**
**Pronouns:** She/her/hers
Arizona State University
**Research Interests:** Environmental justice within urban settings and systems of justice and power

Jordan Goodwin, LSW, M. Div

Mentoring Committee Co-Chair

Pronouns: She/her/hers

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Research Interests: Solutions to housing instability & homelessness, the mental health and trauma of marginalized populations, LGBTQIA+ issues, and social determinants of health

Abigail Lash-Ballew, MSW

Pronouns: She/her/hers

University of Toronto

Research Interests: White supremacy, racism, and xenophobia in child welfare systems; social justice, anti-racist and anti-oppressive pedagogies; international peacebuilding and conflict transformation efforts

Nina Johnson, MSSW

Pronouns: She/her/hers

Indiana University

Research Interests: Understanding the lived experiences, needs, and barriers of BIPOC college and graduate students accessing holistic health wellness resources on their campuses

Shelton Young, MSW, LCSW, LSSW

**Pronouns:** He/Him
University of Illinois, Chicago
**Research Interests:** Anti-deficit HIV prevention in gay, bisexual, and queer African American male youth, culturally reflective sexual health messaging, mental health among LGBTQ+ youth.

Anthony Gómez, MSW

Pronouns: He/him/él

University of California, Berkeley

Research Interests: Child and family well-being within contexts of adversity; child welfare; transition-age youth; child development; parenting

Guoping Jin, MSW

**Pronouns:** She/Her
University of Pittsburgh
**Research Interests:** Gerontological social work, intergenerational relationships, and older immigrants

Levone Lee, MSW

**Pronouns:** He/Him
University of Kentucky
**Research Interests:** Child & Adolescent Positive Development

Charles LaBarre, LMSW

**Pronouns:** He/Him
State University of NY at Buffalo
**Research Interests:** Substance use treatment & recovery among minoritized groups and recovery capital

Mavis Smith, LCSW

**Pronouns:** She/Her
Yeshiva University
**Research Interests:** Chronic illness, race, and mental health

Santhoshraj Srinivasan, MSW

**Pronouns:** He/Him
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
**Research Interests:** Perinatal Mental Health; Trauma-Informed Care; Clinical Social Work; Mental Health and Trauma for Marginalized Populations; Correctional Social Work Practice and Policy Research

Erick da Luz Scherf, MSW

**Pronouns:** He/Him/Ele
University of Alabama
**Research Interests:** Immigration Policy, Health Disparities, Human Rights

Carina Montoya, MSW, CCTS-S

**Pronouns:** She/They
Case Western Reserve University
**Research Interests:** Transgender and Gender Expansive Joy, Child & Adolescent Sexual Trauma, Sexual Violence Intervention and Prevention, LGBTQIA+ Wellness

Juliann Li Verdugo, LMSW

**Pronouns:** She/她/Ella
University of Washington
**Research Interests:** Severe Mental Illness, Asian American and Latino/e/a Mental Health, Health Disparities, Anti-Racism

Michelle Zaragoza, LCSW

**Pronouns:** She/Ella
University of California, Berkeley
**Research Interests:** Latinx mental health and well-being, Immigration, Community-based participatory research

Juan Wang, MSW

**Pronouns:** She/Her
University of South Carolina
**Research Interests:** Early childhood education and care, early childhood expulsion and suspension practices, mental health consultation, and positive parenting program

Shawn E. Parra, LSW, MSW, MA

**Pronouns:** They/Ele/El
The University of Illinois at Chicago
**Research Interests:** BIPOC LGBTQIA+ Health Equity

Hui Hu, MSW

**Pronouns:** She/her
The University of Hong Kong
**Research Interests:** Child & Adolescent Mental Health, Social-Emotional Learning, Digital Well-being

Yvonne Mbewe, LCSW

Pronouns: She/Her

University of Connecticut

Research Interests: Forced Migration, Unaccompanied Immigrant Youth, International Social Work, Grief & Bereavement

Sommer Blair, MSW, LISW-CP

**Pronouns:** She/Her
University of Pittsburgh
**Research Interests:** Interracial Group Dynamics and Whiteness

Conference Subcommittee

The Conference Sub-Committee hosts 3 student-led events: Meet the Scientist, The Doctoral Student Luncheon, and the DSC Social Hour. Our goals are to highlight the incredible research and projects from doctoral students, foster connection, and provide a platform for issues that are important to students. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the Co-Chairs, Alizé Hill or Taylor Reed.

Alizé Hill, MSW

**Conference Committee Co-Chair**
**Pronouns:** She/her/hers
University of Chicago
**Research interests**: educational equity, the schooling experiences of marginalized youth, abolitionist social work, the experiences of multiracial families, and youth activism

Taylor Reed, MSW

**Conference Committee Co-Chair**
**Pronouns:** She/Her
University of California at Los Angeles
**Research Interests:** Criminal Legal System, Collateral Consequences, Racially Equitable Policies, Black Studies

Travis Scheadler, MSW

**Pronouns:** He/Him
Ohio State University
**Research interests**: Sport for Social Justice, Advocacy & Activism, LGBTQ+ Rights

Esmeralda Rubalcava Hernandez, LMSW

Pronouns: She/Her/Ella

The University of Texas at Arlington

Research interests: Race, Immigration, Policing, Anti-racism, Anti-colonialism

Monte-Angel
Richardson, MSW

**Pronouns:** She/They
University of Toronto
**Research interests**: Gun Violence, Community-Based Methods, Trauma

Kyria Brown, MSW, MPH

**Pronouns:** She/Her
Washington University in Saint Louis
**Research interests**: Perinatal Harm Reduction

Amy Pei-Lung Yu, MSW

**Pronouns:** She/Her
The University of Texas at Austin
**Research interests**: Intellectual and developmental disabilities; Autism spectrum disorder; Caregiver support; Professional support; Culturally tailored interventions

Yuanyuan Yang, MPA, MSW

**Pronouns:** She/Her
Washington University in St. Louis
**Research Interests:** Asset building and child & adolescent mental health

Krushika Uday Patankar

**Pronouns:** She/Her
New York University
**Research interests**: Domestic Violence, Restorative Justice, Child Protection/Family Policing, Intervention Development, Implementation Research

DeKeitra Griffin, LCSW

**Pronouns:** He/King
Louisiana State University
**Research Interests:** LGBTQIA+ and intersections of mental health, substance use, HIV, sex work, and intimate partner violence

Emily Nothnagle

**Pronouns:** She/Her
Ohio State University
**Research Interests:** Sport Social Work; Sport-Based Positive Youth Development; Mental Health in Sport

Student Engagement Committee

The student engagement committee is tasked with developing programing for doctoral students throughout the year outside of the SSWR conference. The creation of this sub-committee manifested as a result from the desire for doctoral students to engage and connect with each other throughout the year to network, share resources, and trainings as well as the opportunity to allow more students the opportunity to serve on the SSWR DSC. If you have any questions about the Student Engagement Committee, you can contact the committee chair, Durrell Malik Washington Sr.