Graduate Students
Amber Alaniz, M.S.W., L.M.S.W.
Title/Position
Ph.D. Student
Amber is interested in contributing to research in the areas of sexuality, health disparities, and mental health of people with disabilities. She is currently working on a project with Dr. Mercedes Bern-Klug evaluating the impact of quality of services for people in end-of-life care in nursing homes with family support.
Dana Cheek, M.S.W., L.I.S.W., C.A.D.C.
Title/Position
Ph.D. Student
Dana Cheek's research interests involve examining the integration of the primary care clinics with behavioral health consultants and/or social workers. Her research will look at the role of the social worker to help improve patient wellness and reach health outcomes. It will focus on social services necessary for treating the whole person, and she hopes to identify specific tasks that the behavioral health consultant/social worker performs that are consistently noted to be useful in the setting by other healthcare providers and patients, such as referrals for entitlement programs.

Abigail Heaton, M.S.W., L.M.S.W., C.A.D.C.
Title/Position
Ph.D. Student
Abigail’s research interests include how food security, poverty, and housing status impact health and health disparities.

Carrie Means, M.S.W., L.I.S.W.
Title/Position
Ph.D. Student
Carrie is interested in conducting research in caregiving, withplans to focus on caregivers of children, adolescents, and younger adults who have complex medical issues. Carrie is an advocate for experiential learning opportunities.

Megan Ronnenberg, M.S.W.
Title/Position
Ph.D. Student
Before returning to school to earn her M.S.W., Megan Ronnenberg worked in a number of social work-related positions, including field organizing for political campaigns, volunteer coordinating for non-profits, and teaching in a daycare center. As an early childhood educator, she saw firsthand how caregivers and teachers can impact child development. She would like to contribute research to the early childhood field to help agencies and caregivers be more aware and responsive to the needs and barriers faced by marginalized children and families.

Christine Sherrod, M.S.W., L.M.S.W.
Title/Position
Ph.D. Student
Christine would like to further explore the intersection of design, moral leadership, and social work education in the hopes of preparing future professional social workers for the unique policy, political, and environmental issues that comprise the context of our collective lived experience.
Morgan Stangl, M.S.W., L.M.S.W.
Title/Position
Ph.D. Student
Morgan's primary research interests involve examining the role of multi-cultural competency in higher education student services and counseling services.