Meet Our Students & Graduates
Cohort 2023 | Cohort 2022 | Cohort 2021 | Cohort 2020 | Cohort 2019
Cohort 2024
![]() Emily Beebe |
Emily Beebe (she/her) is pursuing a dual MSW/PhD at the GCSW, blending her background in research with survivor advocacy. Her research focuses on racial and gender injustices, policy change, trauma, and systems abolition through an intersectional lens. Motivated by her experience as a survivor advocate, she supported clients navigating various systems, including child welfare, criminal justice, and healthcare. |
![]() Tasia Brown |
Tasia Brown, a first-generation college student, focuses on exploring the unique experiences of People of Color (POC) in higher education. Through preventive interventions, she aims to foster resilience and investigate post-traumatic growth, enhancing well-being and academic success. Her research examines the impact of social groups, gender, and socioeconomic status on POC's college experiences, while advocating for policies to alleviate stressors. Currently pursuing her MSW/PhD at the University of Houston, Tasia's future goals include becoming a research professor and founding a nonprofit mentoring first-generation students. |
![]() Stephanie Eisenbaum |
Stephanie Eisenbaum brings nearly a decade of experience as a medical social worker to her role at the GCSW, where she directs the GLOBE program and serves as adjunct faculty. Now embarking on a part-time PhD, she is passionate about health equity and believes healthcare is a human right. Her interests include interdisciplinary teamwork, addressing social determinants of health, and amplifying the voices of healthcare social workers. Stephanie holds Bachelor's degrees in Social Work and Spanish from UT Austin and an MSW from Boston College. Outside of work, she enjoys outdoor activities and time with her family and dog, Beans. |
![]() Andrea Elmore |
Andrea Elmore, a graduate of Mississippi Valley State University and the University of Michigan, brings experience as a mental health coordinator in Miami and a therapist in Dickinson, TX. Her background fuels her passion for supporting marginalized youth within the education system. |
Monique de Oliveira |
Monique de Oliveira, a Brazilian Law graduate, transitioned from legal advocacy to social work, driven by a passion for justice and equity. With a master's from UT Austin in clinical social work, she focuses on providing housing interventions and therapeutic support to marginalized communities, especially older homeless individuals. Now pursuing her doctorate at the University of Houston, she aims to address the homelessness crisis through collaborative research and interdisciplinary guidance. |
![]() Leanne Prendergast |
Leanne Prendergast, President and Co-Founder of Love our Lives, empowers girls and young women to lead happy, healthy lives. A renowned motivational speaker and activist, she advocates for change in various forums, including WE Day, the United Nations, and TED Talks. Leanne holds a bachelor’s in Human Rights and Equity studies from York University and a Masters in Community and International Development from Andrews University. With certifications from prestigious institutions like Harvard and the University of Cambridge, she focuses on policy reform to address racial and gender disparities. Honored by Phi Kappa Phi and the Royal Commonwealth Society, Leanne has received numerous awards, including the Commonwealth Youth Award and the Harry Jerome Award for Leadership. She aims to research the impact of mental health disorders on girls of Color and develop effective interventions. |
Cohort 2023
![]() Haley Brown |
Hayley Brown is a justice and equity social scientist specializing in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. Currently, Hayley is a co-owner of Outlier Intelligence, LLC, a research and evaluation consulting company. For the last five years, she worked as the Senior Director of Research and Evaluation at the Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology (AnitaB.org), leading the Evidence & Influence team responsible for internal research, evaluation, and monitoring. In this role, Hayley collaborated with 100+ tech companies to assess and enhance their structural equity, driving improvements in representation, career advancement, and inclusion for marginalized genders in the tech workforce. Before joining AnitaB.org, Hayley worked in academia, focusing on intervention research to promote faculty diversity. Her work at the GCSW focuses on workplace action research, aiming to combat discrimination and harassment and enhance access and belonging for historically marginalized groups. Her work centers on dismantling structural inequities and challenging traditional power dynamics to foster lasting positive change. Hayley received her MBA and MSW from University of Houston, and she holds an English bachelor’s degree from Rice University. |
![]() Tierra Murray |
Hi, my name is Tierra Murray from Tennille, Georgia. I am a first-year PhD student with the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston. My current research interests include teen dating violence, intimate partner violence, curriculum development, mental health and wellness, and HIV prevention. |
![]() Oi Yee Agnes Ho, LCSW (she/her) |
Agnes is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She received her MSW from the University of Houston and a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honors) Degree in Social Work from the City University of Hong Kong. Agnes serves as a Director of Student Wellbeing Office at Rice University and has previous experience in clinical counseling and outreach services in government and non-profit settings. Her research focuses on mental health disparities among marginalized adolescents and young adults. She is passionate about helping marginalized and diverse student populations, particularly first-generation students with limited income, and supporting their needs for well-being. |
![]() Ayesha Tariq |
Ayesha Tariq born and raised in Pakistan, is an international PhD Student at GCSW. She holds a Master's degree in Philosophy of International Relations. With her prior experience at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Pakistan, she worked to rehabilitate internally displaced populations, especially women living in Pak-Afghan border areas. By managing numerous in-kind grants, she worked to strengthen communal resilience to Violent Extremism influence by increasing citizens’ engagement in their community’s decision-making, building acceptance within and across communities, and creating linkages between communities and the government to promote social cohesion. Along with extensive work experience in the development sector, she has also taught and mentored numerous undergraduate students in Pakistan. Her current research focus extends to communities with refugee conditions, aiming to amplify voices of their lived experiences, closely engaging with their culture, socio-political customs, and gender dynamics. She perceives the world through a gendered perspective, fueling her keen interest in delving deeper into the gender-differentiated experiences faced by vulnerable populations, especially immigrants and refugees. She is fluent in Urdu, Punjabi, and English, along with basic knowledge of Arabic. |
Cohort 2022
![]() Alexandra Hood |
Alexandra’s research is centered on addressing systemic racial injustices to advance equity, resilience, and emotional well-being for Black girls and Biracial girls. To frame her inquiry, she uses Black Feminist Thought, Critical Race Feminism, and Intersectionality to examine the influence of adultification on Black and Biracial girls’ identity development. Given Alexandra’s dissertation proposals specific focus on Black and Biracial girls with multi-system involvement, including the Child Welfare System, Juvenile Carceral System, Educational System, and Mental Health System, she has formed a collaborative partnership with a Travis County District Family and Dual Status Court and Judge to deepen the comprehensive understanding of multi-system involvement, and center Black and Biracial girls’ experiences. Alexandra is an adjunct faculty member and proud graduate of MSU Denver’s MSW program. |
Umaira Khan |
Umaira Khan (she/her) is a PhD student at University of Houston, where she focuses on mental health and educational experiences of youth of color. Her dissertation examines mental health impacts of exclusionary school practices. With a background in youth-serving systems such as Treatment Foster Family Care and special education, she brings an interdisciplinary approach to her practice and research. Umaira has also taught pre-service special education teachers as an adjunct instructor at New York University. In addition to her doctoral studies, Umaira works as a community-based therapist serving women, children, and families in crisis. She is also a member of the Communications Sub-Committee for the Society for Social Work Research (SSWR) Doctoral Student Committee. Umaira holds a Master of Social Work from Nazareth University and a Master of Science in Teaching from Pace University. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her daughters, who continually inspire her with their curiosity. |
![]() Sheroo Mukhtiar |
Sheroo earned her MSW from Washington University in St. Louisa nd a BSW from Nirmala Niketan in Bombay. She has completed several leadership programs including Leadership Houston and the American Leadership Forum. Sheroo has over 28 years of experience in non-profit leadership and has gained a wealth of knowledge, skills, and experience in managing and operating nonprofits, including program implementation, strategic planning, fundraising, and board development. She has operated as Executive Director for 5 different organizations before her current role as CEO for SERJobs. As a result of these experiences, Sheroo is interested in exploring nonprofit leadership, organizational dynamics, and related issues. She is passionate about developing resources that will enable leaders from within the nonprofit sector to lead and grow impactful organizations. |
![]() Virginia Richard |
Virginia is a proud graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana and the University of Southern California. She also received a Masters in Theology and Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary. She has worked as a math teacher and interventionist which fuels her interest in school-based research. Her research interests include racial/ethic identity development and cultural awareness and competency, specifically within the school context. |
![]() Andrew Robinson |
Andrew was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and is a licensed master’s social worker in Texas, having graduated from the GCSW in May 2020. Since graduating, Mr. Robinson has worked as an adolescent outpatient therapist, providing individual, family, and group psychotherapy for teens diagnosed with a mental illness or substance use disorder. Mr. Robinson is trained in adherent Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and is a volunteer for the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder (NEA-BPD). Andrew’s research interests focus on mental health in the aging LGBTQ+ community and exploring the ethical use of data science & open-source technologies to improve treatment outcomes among underserved and highly stigmatized populations. In his free time, Andrew loves watching horror movies with his dog, Mouse, fiddling around on his electric violin, shooting film photography, and having weekend dinners with his family. |
![]() Chelsea Sanchez |
Chelsea Sanchez, LCSW is a native Houstonian and proud alumna of the Garland School of Social Work, where she earned her BSW and MSW. Throughout her practice experience, Chelsea has provided case management and mental health services to refugees, survivors of human trafficking, and children and families impacted by the child welfare system. She has presented for conferences and coalitions on building effective coalition partnerships, facilitated professional development regarding trauma-informed care, coordinated advocacy response teams for law enforcement operations, and taught as adjunct faculty at Baylor University. Her research interests include trauma, human trafficking, health and mental health equity, and global social work. |
Cohort 2021
Gregory Gomez |
Gregory is a dual degree (MSW/PhD) student at The University of Houston’s Graduate College of Social Work. He is interested in researching how mental health therapies, grounded in evolutionary biology and liberation psychology, can reduce substance use and improve life expectancy and whole being. He focuses on the healing of personal and collective identities, especially for the racially and ethnically othered and those who have been caged. Gregory received his undergraduate degree in biology from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio and an M.Ed. from The University of Notre Dame. In his free time, he is either cooking for his family or playing with his two young sons. |
André Harris |
André Marcel Harris is an individual living with sickle cell disease and a national sickle cell advocate. He has served on and currently serves on various sickle cell disease and rare disease-related advisory boards with pharmaceutical companies and government agencies. Mr. Harris moved to Houston, Texas in August 2020 for his MSW/PhD program at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. He completed his MSW internship as a Policy Analyst for the Texas Legislature and received his MSW in December 2021. His research interests as a PhD student broadly are the sexual and reproductive health of individuals living with Sickle Cell Disease. In Houston, he joined the Sickle Cell Association of Houston Executive Board where he heads up their legislative advocacy portfolio. He has experience in engaging in community discussion and presenting on sickle cell-related topics at symposiums, meetings, and conferences. He is a proud member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., for which he was appointed National Sickle Cell Liaison Director in 2021. Mr. Harris was appointed to the Texas Sickle Cell Task Force and Multi-Disciplinary Team of the Texas Department of State Health Services Sickle Cell Data Collection Program grant from the CDC in 2023. |
Jesse Hartley |
Jesse’s previous community, education, and professional experience brought her to pursue doctoral education at the Graduate College of Social Work. Jesse’s research examines the impact of historical and present-day structural violence, rooted in white supremacy and anti-Blackness, to disrupt hegemonic social work education and child welfare spaces. She is exploring social work’s unwillingness to address the field’s complicity in upholding and reinforcing white supremacy in the classroom and social welfare institutions. Employing interdisciplinary methods, Jesse aims to support the agency of marginalized individuals in the interest of dismantling (and ultimately abolishing) toxic systems. Jesse holds a Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Clinical Psychology from Mississippi State University, and a Master of Social Work from Tulane University. She comes to Houston by way of New Orleans, Louisiana joined by her companion of ten years, her rescue dog Sadie. |
Aly Kramer Jacobs |
Aly Kramer Jacobs, LMSW is a doctoral student in the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston. She has nearly 20 years of direct practice experience and leadership service in a non-profit violence prevention and intervention agency for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Committed to supporting survivors in healing from experiences of trauma, her research interests center the vital need for programming and therapeutic initiatives that are empowering, effective, and culturally affirming for survivors of gender-based violence. In her free time, Aly enjoys working out and spending time with her husband, son, and two foster-fail dogs. |
Tanya N. Rollins, MSW |
Tanya Rollins received her BS in Psychology from Texas A&M University in 1990 and
her MSW from Texas State University-San Marcos in 2007. She retired from the child
welfare system after thirty years. She worked in roles as an investigator, intake
specialist, intake supervisor, training specialist, training manager, and disproportionality
manager. In her role as the Child Protective Services Disproportionality Manager for
the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, she was charged with examining
the racial and ethnic disparities in the child welfare system while working with internal
and external partners to eliminate the disparities. She was instrumental in the implementation
of the Knowing Who You Are project in Texas. She has presented at numerous national,
regional, and state conferences on poverty, child welfare, racial and ethnic identity,
and disparities in the child welfare system. Ms. Rollins had the honor of working
with Austin community leaders while participating in Mayor Steve Adler’s Task Force
on Institutional Racism. She was recognized by the Austin Urban League and TexProtects
Child Protection Roundtable for her advocacy work. She is a co-founder of the Travis
County Race Equity Collaborative and a member of the Texas Taskforce for LGBTQI+ Youth
in Care. |
Katya Strohl |
Katya’s research focuses on holistic health equity—specifically accountability in the use of government grants to outsource health and human service programs to Voluntary Health Organizations and Nonprofits. This passion is based on her career working within multiple government funding structures in nonprofits and community colleges. She has seen both the positive and negative impact of these programs as a clinical case worker, program coordinator, and Americorps Member for a Boys & Girls Club, a student success specialist, and as an operational team member charged with expanding programs and increasing Diversity & Inclusion initiatives at a non-profit. Katya has her MSW from the University of Washington and an M.S. in Sports, Recreation, and Tourism from the University of Illinois. |
Cohort 2020
Cohort 2019
![]() Alberto Cabrera |
Alberto Cabrera, LCSW-S, is a PhD Candidate at the University of Houston, Graduate College of Social Work, where he also works as a research affiliate with the MH-RITES Research Center. Cabrera is experienced as a therapist, board approved supervisor, field instructor, and director in mental health settings and has taught graduate students in clinical practice and practicum courses as an adjunct professor. His research within the Latinx community focuses on advocacy, improving access to mental health services, and empirically supported treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Drawing from his professional and clinical experiences, Cabrera’s program of research aims to assist people living with OCD and related mental health conditions. He received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Houston and master’s degree in social work from Baylor University. He can be contacted at acabrer3@central.uh.edu |