About
Academics for Black Survival and Wellness
Academics for Black Survival and Wellness was organized by a group of Black counseling psychologists and their colleagues who practice Black allyship. Guided by a Black feminist frame, we hope to foster accountability and growth for non-Black people and enhance healing and wellness for Black people.
We are so grateful to our incredible team of collaborators (additional profiles forthcoming), and we especially want to honor the labor of the undergraduate and graduate healing and research assistants from the WELLS collective at the University of Florida.
Pearis L. Bellamy, M.S.
(She/her)
University of Florida Counseling Psychology
Doctoral Candidate & Co-Founder of Academics for Black Survival and Wellness
Pearis L. Bellamy is a rising fourth-year counseling psychology doctoral candidate at the University of Florida. Pearis' research interests include trauma specifically intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and racial trauma. She is a proud HBCU alumna and hopes to be an HBCU professor. As a Black doctoral student studying and experiencing racial trauma, Pearis dreamed up Academics for Black Lives, alongside her mentor, in hopes of providing healing and support for Black people through collective action in academia.
Della V. Mosley, PhD (She/her)
Assistant Professor at the University of Florida & Co-Founder of Academics for Black Survival and Wellness
Dr. Della V. Mosley is an Assistant Professor in the APA-accredited Counseling Psychology Program at the University of Florida. She created and leads the Wellness, Equity, Love, Liberation, and Sexuality (WELLS) Healing and Research Collective. She is a Black queer feminist, scholar, activist, and healer committed to Black liberation. Dr. Della’s research focuses on facilitating the wellness of Black and/or queer and transgender People of Color and is undergirded by Black feminist-womanist-paradigms and liberating methods of inquiry (i.e. qualitative research methods). She uses practical, evidence-based, and culturally mindful solutions to fight anti-Black racism and facilitate the healing and liberation of Black people. She has published in top-tier journals, has been invited to speak nationally, and is engaged in radical social justice advocacy work for Black liberation. Dr. Della is an American Psychological Association Minority Fellow, co-authors the Psychology Today blog, “Healing through Social Justice” with the Psychology of Radical Healing Collective, and currently serves as the Presidential Task Force Co-Chair for the American Psychological Association Society of Counseling Psychology.
Carlton E. Green, PhD (He/him)
Director of Diversity Training & Education, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, University of Maryland, College Park
Carlton E. Green is the Director of Diversity Training & Education in the Office of Diversity & Inclusion at the Univesity of Maryland, College Park. He is also a licensed psychologist in the state of Maryland. He provides therapy to individuals and couples, while also serving as a trainer/facilitator to higher education institutions, mental health agencies, and businesses.
Helen Neville, PhD (She/her)
Professor, Counseling Psychology and African American Studies
Helen A. Neville is a professor of Educational Psychology and African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before coming to Illinois in 2001, she was on the faculty in Psychology, Educational and Counseling Psychology, and Black Studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia where she co-founded and co-directed the Center for Multicultural Research, Training, and Consultation. Dr.
Neville has held leadership positions on campus and nationally. She was a Provost Fellow and participated in
the CIC/Big 10 Academic Alliance Academic Leadership Academy. She is the past president of the Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race, which is a division of the American Psychological Association (APA). She has co-edited 8 books and (co)-authored over 90 journal articles and book chapters in the areas of race, racism, and racial identity, and diversity issues related to well-being. Dr. Neville has been recognized for her research and mentoring efforts including receiving the Association of Black Psychologists’ Distinguished Psychologist of the Year award, the APA Minority Fellowship Award, Dalmas Taylor Award for Outstanding Research Contribution, APA Graduate Students Kenneth and Mamie Clark Award, the APA Division 45 Charles and Shirley Thomas Award for mentoring/contributions to African American students/community, and the Winter Roundtable Janet E. Helms Mentoring Award.
Candice Hargons, PhD (She/her)
Assistant Professor of Counseling
Dr. Hargons (formerly Crowell) earned her PhD from the University of Georgia in 2015. She directs the RISE^2 Research Team (Relationships, Intimacy, and Sexual Enrichment | Race, Intersectionality, and Social justice Engagement), where they study sex, social justice, and leadership – all with a love ethic. Recent projects have included the Healing Racial Trauma project and studying sexual narrative of Black students. Her work has been featured in various media, including the New York Times, Huffington Post, and Therapy for Black Girls.
Dr. Hargons teaches Diagnosis/Psychopathology, Ethics, Social Justice Consultation, and Practicum. She is a licensed psychologist specializing in sex therapy and healing racial trauma. She has served as a leader in the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students, the Kentucky Psychological Association, and the Society of Counseling Psychology. Dr. Hargons is an APA Minority Fellow.
Jioni A. Lewis, PhD (She/her)
Associate Professor, Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education, University of Maryland, College Park
Dr. Jioni Lewis is an Associate Professor in the Counseling Psychology Program at the University of Maryland, College Park. Prior to joining the faculty at UMD, she was on the faculty in the Department of Psychology at the University of Tennessee for seven years (2013 – 2020). Her scholarship is focused on the impact of discrimination on the health and well-being of people of color, with a specific focus on the intersection of racism and sexism experienced by Black women, as well as resilience, radical healing, and other protective factors that buffer individuals against the negative effects of these experiences. Dr. Lewis co-founded the Critical Race Collective at UTK, which is an interdisciplinary community of scholars who apply critical race theory in their research, teaching, and activism. She is also the current President of the Psychology of Black Women (Section 1) of the American Psychological Association, Society for the Psychology of Women (Division 35).
Kimberly Burdine, PhD (She/her)
Assistant Director, Training Director, Student Counseling Center, The University of Texas at Dallas
Dr. Kimberly Burdine (pronouns: she/her/hers) is a licensed psychologist and has worked in university counseling for nearly a decade. She currently serves as Assistant Director, Training Director at The University of Texas at Dallas Student Counseling Center. She has also served as Director of Community Engagement and as coordinator of equity initiatives for Black mental health. In her work with the college student population, providing services for students who are marginalized and underserved has been most rewarding. This work includes consultation and support for various departments, offices, and student organizations to destigmatize mental health concerns and promote equity, affirmation and diversity consciousness. Dr. Burdine’s primary research interests are cultural identity-based stress and trauma and multicultural competence in teaching, training and supervision. She feels most “at home” professionally when providing consultation, prevention and outreach programming, group therapy, training and supervision.
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Valene A. Whittaker, PhD (She/her)
Psychologist, Military Sexual Trauma Services Coordinator, and Black Employment Special Emphasis Program Manager, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Medical Center (Bedford, MA)
Dr. Valene Whittaker is a licensed psychologist and the Military Sexual Trauma Services Coordinator at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts. She also works closely with the hospital EEO office as the Black Employment Special Emphasis Program Manager. Dr. Whittaker obtained a PhD from the Counseling Psychology Program and a Graduate Minor in African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her professional interests include racial identity, race-related stress and trauma; integration of multicultural and social justice values in psychology practice and training; and trauma recovery and resilience within Veteran, Active Duty, and Military communities. Her professional service leadership roles include Chair of the APA Membership Board; APA Div. 17 Vice President for Communications, Boston regional representative to the Massachusetts Psychological Association (MPA) Board of Directors, and co-chair of the MPA Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs.
Bryana H. French, PhD (She/her)
Associate Professor in Graduate School of Professional Psychology, University of St. Thomas
Bryana H. French, earned her PhD in Counseling Psychology at the University of Illinois and she completed predoctoral internship at the University of Maryland Counseling Center. After interning at the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, she began her career at the University of Missouri with a joint tenure-track position in Counseling Psychology and Black Studies. She then joined the faculty at the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of St. Thomas and is now a licensed psychologist and tenured Associate Professor. Her research has two foci: sexual coercion using a Black feminist framework and healing from racial truama. She provides social justice pedagogy and multicultural consultation. Dr. French has held multiple leadership roles in the American Psychological Association and is currently APA Council Representative for Division 17: Society of Counseling Psychology. She was recently co-chair the Division 45 Presidential Task Force: Promoting Healing through Social Justice and which has a standing blog on Psychology Today from the “Psychology of Radical Healing Collective”.
Delia Steverson, PhD (She/her)
Assistant Professor of African American Literature, University of Florida
Dr. Delia Steverson is an Assistant Professor of African American Literature at the University of Florida. Using Critical Disability Studies, Black Feminism, and Critical Race Theory, her research investigates how Black and disabled people have found ways to survive and care for themselves and others despite economic, political, and social systems that constantly seek to destroy them. Recently a recipient of the Humanities Scholarship Enhancement Fund and the Rothman Faculty Fellowship, Dr. Steverson’s research emphasizes the transformative potential of writing as a site of identity formation and resistance for Black folx. Her work has been published in The Journal of American Culture as well as The South Carolina Review, and she currently serves on the executive council for the Society for the Study of Southern Literature. She also works as a curriculum consultant for transnational experimental education programs, developing writing courses and training instructors, which she loves.
Hector Y. Adames, PsyD (He/Him/They/Them)
Associate Professor & Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Hector Y. Adames is an AfroLatinx who received his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the APA accredited program at Wright State University in Ohio and completed his APA pre-doctoral internship at the Boston University School of Medicine’s Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology (CMTP). Currently, he is an Associate Professor at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Chicago Campus and the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the IC-RACE Lab (Immigration Critical Race And Cultural Equity Lab). His research focuses on the ways that racism, colorism, and skin color, influence wellness. He has earned several awards including the 2018 Distinguished Professional Early Career Award from The Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race, Division-45 of the American Psychological Association (APA). You can follow him on Twitter & Instagram @HYAdames
Chris Busey, PhD (He/him)
Assistant Professor, University of Florida
Dr. Christopher L. Busey is an assistant professor in the Teachers, Schools, and Society program in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida where he primarily teaches courses for the Critical Studies in Race, Ethnicity and Culture specialization. He is also affiliate faculty for the Center for Latin American Studies and the African American Studies program. Dr. Busey’s transdisciplinary research agenda draws from multiple strands of Black thought such as African Diaspora theory, AfroLatinx/American studies, transnational Black feminism, and decolonial studies. More recently, Dr. Busey’s research examines Afro-Latinx/Afro-Latin American history and citizenship education, intersections of African-American and Afro-Latin American racial thought, and the racial politics of education for Afro-descendants across the Americas.
Sunshine Adam (They/them)
MA Candidate at the Center for Gender, Sexuality, and Women Studies Research at the University of Florida
Sunshine Adam is currently a MA student at the Center of Gender, Sexuality, and Women Studies Research at the University of Florida. As a proud member of the WELLS Healing and Research Collective, their research centers the wellness of Black and Afro-diasporic communities. As a Black, queer, Afro-Latinx immigrant, Sunshine is mindful of the multiple systems that contribute to the marginalization of many, and feels honored to have the opportunity to fight for those who may not have the same privileges. Ultimately, they aspire to obtain a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and work full time towards the liberation of Black, queer, and/or marginalized folks.
Jeannette Mejia, M.S. (She/ her)
University of Florida Counseling Psychology Doctoral Student
Jeannette Mejia is a rising third-year Counseling Psychology doctoral student at the University of Florida. Her interests include, applying Black Feminist approaches to facilitate the healing from anti-Black systems of oppression and processes necessary to achieve Black liberation. She is especially interested in using models of critical consciousness, resistance, and strength to achieve and construct wellness with and for Black, poor, queer and/or transgender, Spanish-speaking immigrants of color. She is a proud Black woman of Dominican descent who engages in Black feminist work with deep love for Black people.
Garrett Ross (He/him)
University of Florida Counseling Psychology Doctoral Student
Garrett Ross is a rising third year counseling psychology doctoral student at the University of Florida. Garrett’s research focuses on Black feminist approaches to healing from anti-Black racism and exploring mechanisms that facilitate Black folx critical consciousness and commitment to intersectional racial justice. He receives joy from mentoring Black students and desires to translate both his research and practice beyond academia.
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Amber Lewis (She/her)
University of Florida WELLS Research Assistant and University of Akron Counseling Psychology Doctoral Student
Amber Lewis is a University of Florida (and WELLS) graduate and a rising second year doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program at the University of Akron. Her research interests include promotion of mental health/resources in the Black and LGBT+ communities, how Black students cope with racial trauma, intersectionality and examining the barriers to wellness Black women are subjected to
LaNya Lee (They/them or she/her)
WELLS Healing and Research Assistant, University of Florida Undergraduate Student
LaNya Lee is a rising fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Florida majoring in psychology with a minor in sociology. LaNya is a member of the WELLS Healing and Research Collective under the supervision of Dr. Della V. Mosley. Their current research interests include alternative options to prisons that lead to healing and wellness, the healing and wellness of QTPOC communities with a specific focus on Black queer/trans individuals, and fighting anti-Black racism. They aspire to utilize and hold a Black feminist framework to seek the healing and liberation of Black people and other marginalized communities.
Mariah Emerson, MS (She/her)
Founder of Hrblgy
Mariah Emerson is an herbalist, ethnobotanist, wellness practitioner, and founder of Hrblgy — an herbal wellness initiative and apothecary with a mission to bring wellness back home. Her mantra is “heal self, heal others”, which carries the truth that by cultivating space for healing within, we heal the Collective.
Sade Abiodun (She/her)
Neuroscience Doctoral Student at Princeton University & Videographer
Sade Abiodun is an incoming first-year Neuroscience doctoral student at Princeton University. Her research interests focus on neurocinematics (the neuroscience of film) and naturalistic approaches to examining emotion regulation and sociaffective cognition. She is an ardent advocate for equity, diversity, and representation in science, and has done work with multiple groups and organizations dedicated to supporting and uplifting the voices of scientists of color. She hopes to bridge the gap between film and science through the creation of visual experiences that center and celebrate blackness.
Natalie Malone, M.S. (She/her)
Counseling Psychology Doctoral Student, University of Kentucky
Natalie Malone is a third-year counseling psychology doctoral student at the University of Kentucky. She is a member of the RISE^2 Research Team and advised by Dr. Candice Hargons. Broadly, her research interests include social justice topics, and love, sex, and spirituality among Black folx. As a scientist-practitioner and activist, she aims to address systemic-level barriers to mental health affecting communities of color, promote sex-positivity, and celebrate all expressions of Black love throughout the diaspora.
Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, PhD (She/her)
Professor, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, Ph.D. is a Professor at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCSPP) where she serves as the faculty coordinator for the concentration in Latinx Mental Health in the Counseling Psychology Department. She is the Co-Director of the IC-RACE Lab (Immigration Critical Race And Cultural Equity Lab). She co-authored the book Latino/a Mental Health: History, Theory and within Group Differences (Routledge Press). She is the co-author of an upcoming book tiled, Race and Colorism in Latino Communities: Towards a Racially Conscious Understanding of Latinxs. Her research focuses on colorism, skin-color differences, parenting styles, immigration, unaccompanied minors, multiculturalism, and race relations. She has earned a number of awards including the 2018 American Psychological Association (APA) Distinguished Citizen Psychologist Award. You can follow Dr. Chavez-Dueñas on Twitter @NYChavez
Kevin Nadal, PhD (He/Him/They/Them)
Professor of Psychology, City University of New York
Dr. Kevin Nadal is a Professor of Psychology at the City University of New York. He is the founder of the LGBTQ Scholars of Color Network; past president of the Asian American Psychological Association; and National Trustee of the Filipino American National Historical Society. He has published over 100 works, including 10 books such as Filipino American Psychology; Microaggressions and Traumatic Stress; and Queering Law and Order. He has contributed to the Huffington Post and Buzzfeed and has been featured on NBC, CBS, ABC, FoxNews, The Weather Channel, and HGTV. He has received awards from the American Psychological Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and in 2018, he was named one of NBC's Pride 30.
Roberto L. Abreu, PhD (He/him/his/el)
University of Florida, Assistant Professor, Counseling Psychology
Dr. Roberto L. Abreu is an Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Florida (UF) and the director of the Collective Healing and Empowering VoicEs through Research and Engagement (¡Chévere!). His research explores ways in which marginalized communities resist systemic oppression and promote bienestar colectivo (collective well-being), with a particular focus on Latinx communities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) and gender nonbinary individuals, and the intersection of Latinx and LGBTQ and gender nonbinary individuals and communities.
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Anneliese Singh, PhD (She/they)
Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Provost for Diversity and Faculty Development, Tulane University
Anneliese Singh, PhD, LPC (she/they) is a Professor in the School of Social Work with a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology and serves as Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity/Chief Diversity Officer at Tulane University. Anneliese is trained as a counselor and counseling psychologist, and her scholarship and community organizing explores the resilience, trauma, and identity development experiences of queer and trans people, with a focus on young people and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. She has written extensively on multicultural and social justice competency development in the helping professions, and equity and justice efforts in higher education. Dr. Singh is the author of The Racial Healing Handbook: Practical Activities to Help You Challenge Privilege, Confront Systemic Racism, and Engage in Collective Healing and The Queer and Trans Resilience Workbook. Anneliese founded the Trans Resilience Project to translate her LGBTQ+ research findings into school and community-based change efforts, including NIH-funded work with trans and nonbinary people in Project AFFIRM. Her TEDx Talks have explored gender liberation, and she has been described as a transformative speaker inspiring “real-world” social change. Anneliese passionately believes in and strives to live by the ideals of Dr. King’s beloved community, as well as Audre Lorde’s reminder that “without community, there is no liberation.
Grace Chen, PhD (She/her)
Licensed Psychologist in Independent Practice
Grace A. Chen, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist, coach, and consultant based in Menlo Park, CA. She received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Chen supports psychology graduate students in their professional development through her Psych Grad Corner workshops, advising, and online resources. She works with a variety of individuals, including Asians/Asian Americans, other People of Color, immigrants, women, and LGBTQ folks. She is a member of the Psychology of Radical Healing Collective (with fellow psychologists of color) and provides consultation and group facilitation regarding radical healing from racial trauma. Dr. Chen values sharing knowledge about wellness and resisting oppression through blogs, podcasts, and community presentations.
Kate A. Ratliff, PhD (She/her)
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Florida
Dr. Kate A. Ratliff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Florida. Her research aims to understand how group-based biases form, how they change, and how they influence behavior. She is particularly interested in bias that operates automatically and without intent, and her most recent work seeks to understand the impact of bias-education initiatives. Dr. Ratliff serves as the Executive Director of Project Implicit, Inc., a non-profit organization and international research collaboration with the mission to provide public education about implicit bias and to run a “virtual laboratory” for internet data collection.
Carla Prieto, M.Ed. (She/her)
University of Florida Counseling Psychology Doctoral Student
Carla G. Prieto is a rising fourth year counseling psychology doctoral student at the University of Florida. She is a member of the WELLS Healing and Research Collective, and her research interests include critical consciousness, resilience, and the psychological, sexual, and vocational wellness of LGBTQ+ BIPOC.
Maria Saldana (She/her)
University of Florida Gender, Sexualities, and Women's Studies Masters Student
Maria Saldana is a rising second year graduate student in the Center for Gender, Sexualities, and Women's Studies Research at the University of Florida. Her research interests include how marginalized folks move towards healing, activism, and liberation. Her heart continues to be in Iquitos, Peru where her family resides.
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Maddie Crowley (She/her)
University of Florida undergrad student, WELLS Disability Consultant and Research Assistant
Maddie Crowley is a fourth year undergrad student studying Linguistics, Education Sciences, and Disabilities in Societies at the University of Florida. Maddie's main research interests include exploring the disabled/crip identities as they intersects with race and sexuality and how disabled/crip folx experience community, collectivism, and healing.
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Alex Colson (They/them)
WELLS Healing and Research Assistant, University of Florida undergraduate Class of 2020
Alex Colson is a rising fourth-year undergraduate studying Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Florida. They aspire to pursue a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and work towards the collective liberation of marginalized communities, especially within academia. Their current research interests include aspiring white allyship and the healing and wellness of Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming communities. Through their involvement in the WELLS Healing and Research Collective, under the supervision of Dr. Della V. Mosley, Alex has explored the traumatic experiences of People of Color who were involuntarily hospitalized, healing for student activists, and accountability of white counseling psychologists to People of Color and Indigenous Indidivuals.
Jess Trochez (She/her/they/them)
MA Candidate at the Center for Gender, Sexuality, and Women Studies Research at the University of Florida; WELLS Research Consultant and Healing Assistant
A recent graduate of the University of Florida with two Bachelor's in Psychology and Women's Studies, Jess Trochez is currently a rising second year graduate student in the Center for Gender, Sexualities, and Women's Studies Research at the University. She is a pansexual, first-generation college student, first-generation Honduran-American with invisible disabilities. Jess envisions herself as a counseling psychologist with an emphasis on social justice and Black and feminist of color frameworks and an academic researcher that advocates for marginalized identities. She is also hopeful and motivated to encourage more Central American representation in Psychology and Women's Studies while addressing anti-Blackness in Central American communities and scholarship.
Ashley Colocado Garcia (She/her)
WELLS Research Assistant, University of Florida Undergraduate Class of 2020
Ashley Garcia is a rising fourth-year undergraduate student studying Psychology at the University of Florida. Under the supervision of Dr. Della V. Mosley and through involvement with the WELLS Healing and Research Collective, Ashley has explored healing for student activists as well as using a Black feminist approach to heal from anti-Black racism. Ashley’s research interests include the collective healing and liberation of Black, queer, and other marginalized folx. She is proud to come from a Filipinx immigrant family and is working towards translating her research to her communities.
Zoe Pestana (She/her)
Lab Technician, University of Florida
Zoe Pestana is currently working as the lab technician in the Brain, Cognition, and Development lab at the University of Florida. She graduated in 2018 from Hampshire College with a undergraduate degree in Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology. Her senior thesis explored the role of empathy in the chronic pain community and also worked as an advocate for individuals with chronic illnesses. She is an upcoming doctoral student at the University of California in Davis focusing on how infants process emotions and how this may lead to mental health disorders as they age and develop. She is also interested in how early interactions with caregivers shape the infant brain to support later development of social cognition behavior. This includes looking at the role of racial familiarity and bias, parenting approaches and environment.
Teagan H. Murphy (She/her)
WELLS Research Assistant, University of Maryland Sociology Doctoral Student
Teagan Murphy is a sociology doctoral student at the University of Maryland and was a member of the WELLS Healing and Research Collective under the supervision of Dr. Della V. Mosley. She is a scholar, an activist, and an abolitionist. Broadly, Teagan's research focuses on stigma and collective action. She is currently working on studies related to socioeconomic trauma and vegan food justice. She aims to use Black feminist frameworks to highlight the contributions of Black and Indigenous communities and create space for intersectional analyses in her work.
Maggie Moskal (She/her)
University of Florida undergrad graduate, University of South Carolina Clinical-Community Psychology Doctoral Student
Maggie Moskal is a recent University of Florida (and WELLS) graduate and a rising second year doctoral student in the Clinical-Community Psychology program at the University of South Carolina. Her research interests include resilience, healing, and promotion of mental health/resources in ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ communities. Her current research involves mental health literacy and advocacy applications for high school students in response to COVID-19, and the impact of active shooter drills on student mental health.
Kirsten A. Gonzalez, PhD (She/her)
Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Kirsten Gonzalez is an Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology and steering committee member of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality program and the Latin American and Caribbean Studies program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Kirsten’s scholarship explores the psychological well-being of LGBTQ+ People of Color, the intersection of Latinx and LGBTQ+ identities, social justice advocacy interventions, and sociopolitical experiences of marginalization across race, ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
Whitney Wheeler, PhD (She/Her)
Licensed Psychologist
Whitney Wheeler is a psychologist in Austin, TX, specializing in the treatment of anxiety and trauma in adults and teens. Her research has centered on social justice, focusing on ally development, anti-racist education, and enhancing LGBTQ well-being.
Lisa S. Scott, PhD (She/her)
Professor of Psychology, University of Florida
Lisa Scott leads a laboratory-based experimental research program that aims to understanding how infants, children, and adults attend, perceive and learn about the visual world. Her research uses measures of behavior, eye-tracking, and EEG to better understand learning and neural specialization over time and across development. Dr. Scott is currently a Jacobs Foundation Learning Sciences Exchange International Fellow, she was awarded the Women in Cognitive Science Leadership Award in 2018, she held the UF College of Liberal Arts and Science’s Colonel Allen R. and Margaret G. Crow Term Professorship from 2018-2019 and was a National Academy of Sciences Kavli Fellow in 2014. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation since 2011, including a CAREER Award, and she has had funding from the National Institutes of Health and from the US Army Research Institute for the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Scott is a member of the United Faculty of Florida’s UF Union Bargaining Team and is currently working to improve policies, support systems, and resources for women and minoritized groups at the University of Florida.
Hannah Bayne, PhD (She/her)
Assistant Professor of Counseling, University of Florida
Dr. Hannah Bayne is an Assistant Professor of Counselor Education at the University of Florida. Her research centers on empathy and connection across value conflicts, as well as how counselors can effectively and competently work with clients through consideration of systems of oppression and privilege. She is currently engaged in work related to LGBTQ+ affirmative counseling, exploring implications of the manifestations of White Progressive identity and racism, and applying social justice praxis in counselor training and development. Her teaching and consultation work focuses on counselor skill development, particularly in the areas of cultural humility, multicultural awareness, and the skill of broaching to facilitate dialogue about race and culture.
Nicole Gravina, PhD (She/her)
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Florida
Dr. Nicole Gravina is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at University of Florida. She specializes in designing behaviorally-based workplace interventions that promote employee safety and healthcare delivery. She cares deeply about developing socially just interventions that respect employee dignity and preferences. In addition to her faculty appointment, Nicole has consulted in a wide variety of industries including healthcare, human services, manufacturing, public utilities, insurance, and grocery distribution. She has published over 30 articles and book chapters and delivered over 100 presentations, trainings, and workshops. In 2019, she was honored with the APA Early Career Innovation Award in Consulting Psychology.
Gregory Samanez-Larkin, PhD (He/him or they/them)
Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University
Gregory Samanez-Larkin is the Jack H Neely Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. Research in his lab examines age differences and individual differences in motivation, learning, decision making, and health behavior change. Although their research is not focused on diversity, inclusion, equity, or activism the lab has been deeply committed to creating an environment that supports and empowers trainees of color and other under-represented groups in neuroscience. Samanez-Larkin also co-directs the Duke Lifespan REU funded by NSF with Drs. Makeba Wilbourn and Sarah Gaither.
Ollie Trac (they/them)
University of Florida Graduate, Psychology, B.S., WELLS HRC Research Assistant
Ollie identifies as a queer and nonbinary Southeast Asian American and survivor of psychiatric harm. They graduated from the University of Florida in the Spring of 2020, and a proud member of the WELLS Healing & Research Collective under the mentorship of Dr. Della V. Mosley. They are invested in the survival and wellness of Queer & Trans BIPOC communities, with a special interest in uplifting the lived experiences of BIPOC survivors in the Hearing Voices, C/S/X, psychiatric survivors movements.
Tracy Argueta (she/her/ella)
University of Florida, Psychology Doctoral Student Specializing in Behavior Analysis
Tracy Argueta is a rising fourth-year PhD student in Psychology with a specialization in Behavior Analysis at the University of Florida. Tracy's research focuses on reinforcement in the provision of applied behavior analysis therapy to children with autism/autistic children. She also researches racial and ethnic disparities in behavior analysis services and careers. Tracy is a proud immigrant from El Salvador who finds joy in creating and cultivating community.