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 Leah Munroe

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

Leah Munroe, MSW

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

Umaira Khan, LMSW

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

Emily Joan Lamunu, MSW

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

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

Chenyu Zhao, MSW

**Pronouns:** She/her
The University of Texas at Arlington
**Research Interests:** Mindfulness, Physical Activity, Adolescent Mental Health, Social determinants of health

Ruijie Ma, MSW

**Pronouns:** She/her
University of Pittsburgh
**Research Interests:** Poverty and income policy, child flourishing, child maltreatment prevention

Kevin Yu, MSW

Pronouns: He/him

Michigan State University

Research Interests: Child Welfare and Youth Homelessness

Jennifer Elliott, MSW

Pronouns: She/her

University at Buffalo

Research Interests: Intimate Partner Violence, Cultural Responsiveness

Luisa (Lucy) Prout, MCJ

**Pronouns:** She/her
New York University
**Research Interests:** Intimate partner violence, domestic violence, restorative practices, restorative justice

Marsha McDowell, M.A.

**Pronouns:** She/they
University of Arizona Global Campus
**Research Interests:** Parenting on the Spectrum, Support Needs of Parents with Autistic Dependents, Trad Wife Movement

Nico Juárez, MSW

Pronouns: He/him

University of Michigan

Research Interests: Community Organizing, Water and Land Rights, International Social Work, Social Inequality, Racial and Economic Justice

Sadaf Sedaghatshoar, MA

**Pronouns:** She/her
University of Louisville
**Research Interests:** Oncofertility, HIV care, Reproductive health, Cancer survivorship, Qualitative methods

Yujeong Chang, MSW

**Pronouns:** She/her
The Ohio State University
**Research Interests:** Child Maltreatment; Child Development; Resilience; Parenting; Child & 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

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.

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

Mavis Smith, LCSW

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

Erick da Luz Scherf, MSW

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

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

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

Shawn E. Parra, LSW, MSW, MA

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

Michelle Zaragoza, LCSW

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

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

Yahan Yang , MSW, RSW

**Pronouns:** She/Her
University of Toronto
**Research Interests:** Anti-Asian Racism and Family Communication; Asian Canadian Youth Identity and Community Building; Technology, IPV, and Immigrant Women; Immigration Policy Discourse & Labor Impacts

Qingqing Yin, MSW

**Pronouns:** She/Her
University of Pittsburgh
**Research Interests:** Aging in place, neighborhood environment, and spatial disparities

Alice W Jones, MSW

**Pronouns:** She/Her
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
**Research Interests:** Refugees and immigrants, Child Welfare, Nativism and Discrimination, Social Determinants of Health

Zoe Baccam, MPH MSW

Pronouns: She/Her

Arizona State University

Research Interests: Violence and trauma, Intergenerational Trauma, Refugees and Migrants

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, Esmeralda Rubalcava Hernandez or DeKeitra Griffin.

Esmeralda Rubalcava Hernandez, LMSW

Pronouns: She/Her/Ella

The University of Texas at Arlington

Research interests: Anti-colonial racial studies at the intersection of policing and immigration systems, decolonization, and anti-oppressive social work pedagogy

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

Monte-Angel
Richardson, MSW

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

Ashley Brevil, MSW, LCSW

**Pronouns:** She/Her
University of Central Florida
**Research interests**: Black maternal health, mental health, and health disparities, reproductive justice, critical race feminism, and Sojourner Syndrome

Ana Liseth Ponciano

Pronouns: She/her/ella

University of Texas at Arlington

Research interests: Men's Mental Health in the Latin/Hispanic Community, Decolonizing Therapy, First-Generation College Student Support Programs, Diversity, Equality

Amy Xu, MSW

Pronouns: She/her

Ohio State University

Research interests: Technology for social support and epistemic Justice

Jeeyeon Hong

Pronouns: She/her

University of Texas at Austin

Research interests: Adolescent mental health, solution-focused brief therapy, school mental health, suicide prevention, program evaluation

Anna Wasim, MSSW

**Pronouns:** She/her
University of Denver
**Research interests:** Child welfare, family services, program evaluation, implementation science

Blake Conley, LCSW, MSW, MPH

Pronouns: He/him

University of Kentucky

Research interests: Conservation Social Work, Artificial Intelligence in Social Work Education, Clinical Social Work (specifically on personality disorders and complex trauma), and Environmental Justice

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 co-chairs, Ninah Bell and Julia Lesnick.