Meet our Counseling Psychology program graduate students and learn about their varied backgrounds, research interests, and future aspirations.
Rosa is a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program. Her research addresses the mental health and safety needs of youth through a community based lens. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a specialization in Social Justice and Community Leadership from California State University, Monterey Bay, where she was a Ronald E. McNair, Sally Casanova, and LSAMP scholar. Rosa has experience in community based and participatory action research, and has worked closely with community organizations and public K-12 schools in the Monterey County area.
Hillary is a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program under the supervision of Dr. Wendy Hadley. Before the program, Hillary received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with minors in Spanish and Social Work and later worked as a Behavior Therapist for children 3-20 in various settings. During Hillary’s studies at UO she is engaging with clinical and research activities with adolescent mental health, emotion regulation, Latin American populations, and interventions with children, adolescents, and their families. In the future, Hillary aspires to continue clinical and research opportunities using evidence-based practices and interdisciplinary work while viewing clients through a humanistic and holistic lens.
Angie is a doctoral candidate in Counseling Psychology. Angie completed her BA and MA in Interdisciplinary American Cultural Studies at the Universität Tübingen. Prior to pursuing graduate studies at the University of Oregon, she worked in the non-profit sector conducting street outreach, case management, and crisis services. As a clinician, Angie is interested in community public mental health settings in rural setting and with minoritized communities. As a researcher, Angie is interested in applying community-driven and qualitative research methods in exploring the roles of peers, promotores, and community members in providing and increasing access to mental health care.
Shaylah is a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program. Her academic background includes a BA in Psychology from Arizona State University, graduate certificate in Conflict Resolution and Mediation from Colorado State University, and a MS in Couples and Family Therapy from the University of Oregon.
Her research focuses on the unique contextual factors that impact mental health and well-being outcomes for athletes both at the elite and youth level. As a former collegiate and professional track and field athlete, she is passionate about contributing to research that will support best practices and prevention measures for this population.
Chris (he/him/el) is a 5th year doctoral candidate in the Counseling Psychology program. He has a background in college counseling and public health with a focus on chronic illness. His research focuses on the effects of diabetes on mental health and family functioning. As a clinician, he is passionate about serving minoritized populations, including offering services in Spanish. His clinical focus centers on substance use, severe and persistent mental illness, trauma, and internalizing disorders. Chris has participated in the Spanish Language Psychological Service and Research Specialization and hopes to work in integrated care settings in future.
Patricia is a doctoral student in the counseling psychology program. Prior to coming to UO in Fall 2022, Patricia got her bachelor’s degrees in psychology and sociology from the University of Florida where she worked as a research coordinator after graduating. Patricia’s research interests include adolescent risk taking and its relationship to substance use, emphasizing sexual risk. Her Clinical interests include personality disorders and navigating life-changes. Patricia aims to advocate for underrepresented groups and serving Spanish speaking communities in her work.
Kelly Jean is a doctoral student in the University of Oregon Counseling Psychology program. Under the supervision of Dr. Nichole Kelly, Kelly Jean studies behavioral health, stigma, and discrimination with a focus on eating behaviors and weight-based discrimination. Prior to beginning her doctoral program, Kelly Jean attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in psychology and social work. She also served as a post-baccalaureate research associate in the Yale School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry supporting research studies investigating behavioral pharmaceutical interventions for binge eating disorder prior to beginning the Counseling Psychology PhD program.
Noor is a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology PhD program. Her research interests include trauma, substance-use, self-regulation, and risky behaviors of both adult and adolescent populations. Her previous work conducted through the University of Washington studied harm reduction approaches to substance use. She hopes to continue harm reduction practices through mutual aid groups in Eugene, as well as social activism in her communities.
Daisy is a third-year Counseling Psychology doctoral student and current Lead Co-Facilitator role of the Student Advocacy Leadership Association. Her research interests broadly include immigrant/refugee mental health, particularly integration and acculturation processes. Her clinical interests include working with Spanish-speaking individuals and immigrant/refugee communities to provide culturally-relevant mental health services. An advocate for immigrant and refugee rights, Daisy is currently a co-facilitator of the Advocating for Latina/o Achievement in School (ALAS) program, supporting newcomer Spanish-speaking high school students. ALAS promotes academic success, critical consciousness, cultural pride, and advocacy skills.
Aaron is a doctoral candidate in Counseling Psychology. Clinically, Aaron integrates relational-cultural and emotion-focused approaches in work with groups, couples, families, and young adults. Aaron’s research has qualitatively explored ways that families interact with the justice system. His work has emphasized restorative practices and improving supports for families navigating post-carceral reentry. Prior to graduate school, Aaron earned a B.A. in Humanities from the University of Oregon. He previously worked as a high school teacher and on staff with juvenile justice and wilderness therapy programs. Aaron and his wife Shannon are parents to one daughter, Brooklyn.
Alyssa earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Cal Poly Pomona. As an undergraduate, she worked at a group home facility where she worked closely with clinicians and Spanish-speaking families as a Spanish translator and as a behavioral specialist. Upon graduating, Alyssa spent 2 years working in clinical research at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center and UCLA Semel Institute, working with individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. As a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology Program, her research focuses on protective factors, social support, academic persistence, and career development among Latine students.
Michelle is a doctoral candidate in the Counseling Psychology program. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Cognitive Neuroscience at Rutgers University-Newark. Her research interests center around understanding intimate partner violence among Asian and Pacific Islander communities with an emphasis on the Filipino population. Through advocacy and research, she hopes to contribute to the development of culturally informed intervention programs for survivors of IPV and their families.
Geselle is a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program and a first-generation college graduate. She gained research experience in the PRO-Health Lab and as a Data Coordinator at California State University, Long Beach. Geselle is deeply committed to supporting the Latino community through prevention efforts for childhood trauma resulting from child abuse. She is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Oregon, where she plans to develop evidence-based, culturally sensitive interventions to empower Latino families and prevent abuse through prevention-focused research and outreach.
LP is a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program. LP received an MA, also in Counseling Psychology, from the University of Denver in 2022. LP’s research interests include disordered eating, the intersection of gender identity and body image dissatisfaction, weight stigma, and illness identity formation through media. LP’s clinical work focuses on adults, particularly those experiencing disordered eating and body dissatisfaction and members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community.
Sammy (she/her) is a Counseling Psychology PhD student in Dr. Nichole Kelly’s RENEW Lab. She previously attended Brown University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in public health and Hispanic studies and worked as a research assistant at Brown’s Center for Health Promotion and Health Equity. Prior to graduate school, Sammy worked as a Fulbright-Nehru research fellow at Sangath’s Addictions and related-Research Group in Goa, India. Broadly, her research aims to develop culturally relevant, scalable interventions that address eating- and body image-related concerns among individuals from minoritized backgrounds, particularly in global settings.
Jasmine is a doctoral candidate in the Counseling sychology program. Jasmine's research focuses on the cultural responsiveness of mental health treatments and interventions. In 2022, Jasmine received a Diversity Supplement grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to support her dissertation research testing the feasibility and acceptability of the Family Check-Up Online with Spanish speaking parents with histories of substance misuse. In the future, Jasmine hopes to further engage the Latine community in shaping mental health services through a community-based participatory approach.
Thomas is a doctoral student in the University of Oregon’s Counseling Psychology program. He received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Portland State University. Prior to starting at the University of Oregon, he worked in worked in secure psychiatric facilities, medical detox centers, addiction treatment programs, and as a freelance writer and researcher. His primary research interests include preventing young adult substance use, improving substance use treatment with insights from basic and applied research, and developing science-based interventions that can protect people from substance-related harms.
Sam (he/him) is a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program. His interests include positive youth development, risk/resilience processes, and school-based mental health intervention. Sam received his BA in Psychology from Grinnell College and later worked as a clinical research assistant at the Bradley/Hasbro Children’s Research Center. He is a proud New Englander who appreciates Eugene’s natural beauty and courteous drivers.
Bonnie is a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology and certificate in public health from the University of Colorado Boulder. Before starting at UO, Bonnie worked as a Professional Research Assistant for the Renée Crown Wellness Institute where she co-developed and implemented an eating disorder prevention program alongside an interdisciplinary team utilizing youth participatory action research. Bonnie’s research interests include disordered eating prevention and intervention among historically underserved communities, body image, and weight-based discrimination prevention and intervention.
Zoe is a doctoral student in Counseling Psychology. Before joining this program, she was a clinician, student, and researcher at the University of Kentucky. Her research interests include social stressors, risk factors for well-being, and mental health. Zoe hopes to continue her research by identifying and investigating strategies that promote mental health in underrepresented populations.
Annika is a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program. Prior to joining CPSY, she worked at an eating disorder treatment center leading CBT, DBT, and yoga groups. Additionally, she worked as an interventionist with the Minnesota Center for Eating Disorder Research, working with families. Most recently, she developed a workshop to address disordered eating for a non-profit that works with individuals in substance use recovery and folks exiting incarceration. Annika hopes to tie in concepts from her previous experiences to develop community-based interventions that address and prevent disordered eating in groups traditionally left out of the research space.
Amanda is a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program. Her research centers on enhancing parent-child and family relationships to foster positive and equitable youth development. She strives to use her findings to create interventions that build on family strengths while addressing ecological barriers to accessing and utilizing care. Amanda earned dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology and criminology from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Omar joined the Counseling Psychology and Human Services PhD program in the Fall of 2023. With a bachelor’s degree in Chicana and Chicano studies, his research lies at the intersection of language, adverse life experiences, and academic/mental health outcomes of Latine/x communities. During his training at UO, Omar will be a part of the Spanish Language Psychological Service and Research specialization while gaining experience in cognitive-behavioral therapy. In the future, Omar hopes to offer culturally informed counseling services to Spanish-speaking communities and continue his research endeavors specializing in community-based research approaches (i.e., Community-based participatory research).
Christina is a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program. Prior to this, she achieved a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and worked for two years as a disease intervention specialist, providing educational counseling and advocacy for individuals diagnosed with HIV and STIs in San Antonio, Texas. Under the direction of Dr. Wendy Hadley, she aims to advance research on adolescent risk-taking behavior within the context of evolving digital landscapes. She hopes to pursue a career researching and implementing effective interventions that promote healthy mental and sexual development in adolescents.