Year in Program: 1st year
Research Interests: Unique IPV risk factors for disabled individuals with caregivers, the influence of gendered healthcare on psychological outcomes of nonbinary/gender non-conforming individuals following IPV
Pronouns: They/she
Hometown: Cherry Hill, NJ
What does "Empowerment" mean to you?: Empowerment includes the recognition of one's distinct position and autonomy in society, and utilizing such positionality to uplift oneself and others. Empowerment isn't solitary; it thrives within a supportive community that encourages both personal development and collective advancement.
Year in Program: 2nd year
Research Interests: I am interested in intimate partner violence, gender-based violence, Asian Indian experiences, multiculturalism, prevention and intervention programming, and trauma-informed care.
Pronouns: She/her
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
What does "Empowerment" mean to you?: Personally, empowerment is the process of developing a sense of agency, and using this ability to enact change on an intrapersonal or societal level.
Year in the program: 1st year in the Master's program in Child and Family Development
Research Interests: I am interested in research with child development and trauma.
Hometown: Medina, Ohio
Pronouns: She/Her
What does "empowerment" mean to you?To me, empowerment means pushing forward in the face of adversity and striving to create a better life for oneself and better future for others
Year in the program: 3rd year
Research Interests: I am interested in intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration, trauma-informed care, prevention and intervention programming, and program evaluation.
Hometown: Houston, TX
Pronouns: She/Her
What does "empowerment" mean to you? From a survivor-advocate perspective, empowerment is the act of actively listening, supporting, and advocating for survivors' rights based on their expressed needs. It is also the act of helping survivors recognize their strength and capacity to change their lives.
Year in the program: 4th year
Research Interests: I am interested in gender-based violence victimization and perpetration, LGBTQ+ experiences, social support, trauma-informed care, feminism, and multiculturalism.
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Pronouns: They/them/theirs
What does "empowerment" mean to you?
Empowerment occurs at all levels of a person's life; it is the development of a sense of personal power, an ability to affect others on an interpersonal level, and enacting change on social institutions on an institutional level.
Year in the program: 4th Year
Research Interests: Intimate partner violence, South Asian cultural values and experiences, arts-based trauma interventions, feminism, and multiculturalism
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Previous Education: B.S. Psychology and B.A. Theatre, University of Maryland, College Park
Year in the program: 5th year
Research Interests: Looking at the LGBT+ community and how IPV looks differently within that community compared to heterosexuals and looking into different ways to use the research we find to advocate for more LGBT+ specific IPV support and resources. Additionally, looking into the interplay that gender has within the LGBT+ community and different types of IPV that are perpetrated within same sex relationships.
Hometown: Ohio
What does "empowerment" mean to you?
Empowerment means being able to use your support systems and those who you are close with to overcome an obstacle that you are going through in your life. I firmly believe that people are not islands and that we need others in order to lift us up and help us deal with the struggles that we have in our lives. I also think that it means being able to learn from our past and taking those experiences we've had and becoming stronger from them. Lastly, I think for me, it also means being able to use my voice as a weapon and speak out against things I don't believe in or having conversations with others to widen my knowledge about different areas that I may not have as much background in.
Year in the program: 6th year/internship
Research Interests: Measure development and measurement issues, needs assessment, LGBTQ+ individuals and oppressed populations broadly
Hometown: Strongsville, OH
Internship: Henry Ford Health Science Center (Health Psych)
Year in the program: 6th year/internship
Research Interests: Broadly, my research interests include applied research related to the fields of eating disorders and trauma.
Hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Prior Schooling: The Ohio State University (BA)
Pronouns: She/her
What does "empowerment" mean to you? Claiming or re-claiming one's power, rights, self-esteem, confidence, and authority over their lives in order to thrive!
Internship: Rogers Behavioral Health (Adult Trauma)
Year in the program: 6th year/internship
Research Interests: the effects of incarceration and reentry on families and mental health, developmental crime prevention and vocational development, and health-related prevention and promotion in general
Hometown: Sterling, VA
Pronouns: She/her
What does "empowerment" mean to you? Empowerment makes me think of strengths-based therapy. It's a marvelous privilege to help people notice the things they're good at and then collaboratively figure out ways for them to put those strengths to work in achieving their goals.
Internship: WVU Medicine University Health Care
Alumni
Research Interests: Trauma and PTSD broadly within the criminal justice system, prison/incarceration as trauma, decarceration, social justice within the justice system, protective factors in reentry and rehabilitation
Hometown: Kent, Ohio
Pronouns: she/her
What does "empowerment" mean to you? Empowerment is the process of finding power, strength, and determination to passionately chase after personally valued goals and dreams, with both individual and collective impacts.
Internship: Federal Medical Center, Lexington
Alumni
Research Interests: interpersonal trauma, gender based violence (e.g., intimate partner violence, sexual violence), PTSD, resilience, Latinx and Mexican American culturally specific strengths, prevention and intervention research
Hometown: I was born in Mexico and grew up in Wichita, Kansas
Dissertation Topic: An Adaptation of the Resilience Portfolio Model for Latina Survivors of Interpersonal Trauma
Internship Placement: Southwest Consortium
Alumni
Research Interests: Her research interests focus on refugee and immigrant populations, Arab Americans, trauma, oppression, resiliency, community participatory research, and culturally specific interventions.
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
What does "empowerment" mean to you?
Identifying one’s strengths, available choices, and ways to improve their situation which gives them confidence and control and results in them being able to improve their own life, their immediate context, and in turn the world at large.
