Student Awards and Recognition

The Crown Family School congratulates all of our students... those who graduate this June and those who will return to us next year.
Danielle Rose Adams
Dissertation: Assessing Real-World Access to Community-based Mental Health Services for Adolescents: A Mixed-Methods Mystery Shopper Study
Chair: Jennifer Mosley, Associate Professor
Dylan John-Franklin Bellisle
Dissertation: The Role of the Earned Income Tax Credit in Family Economic Decision Making: Moving Beyond an Individual Actor Model
Chair: Julia Henly, Professor
Bridgette Mary Davis
Dissertation: Access Delayed; Success Denied: How Administrative Burdens Shape College Opportunity for First-Generation, Low-Income Students
Chair: Jennifer Mosley, Associate Professor
Justin Sean Harty
Dissertation: Fatherhood in Foster Care: Black Fathers Aging Out of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Care
Chair: Waldo E. Johnson, Jr., Vice Provost & Associate Professor
Meghan Jarpe
Dissertation: Left Out in the Cold? The Funding Position of Youth Homeless Service Providers in a Data-Driven Field
Chair: Jennifer Mosley, Associate Professor
Darnell Leatherwood
Dissertation: A National Assessment of School District Variation in Black Student Academic Achievement
Chair: Julia Henly, Professor
Mina Lee
Dissertation: The Role of Social Ties in Accounting for Racial Inequality in Labor Market as Experienced by Asian Americans
Chair: Julia Henly, Professor
Hannah MacDougall
Dissertation: Understanding Nonprofit Hospital Community Benefits: A Mixed Methods Approach
Chair: Jeanne C. Marsh, George Herbert Jones Distinguised Service Professor
Marion Malcome
Dissertation: “We Don’t Complain, We Just Survive”: Black Mothers’ Experiences of Depression, Racism, and Violence in Chicago
Chair: Deborah Gorman-Smith, Dean & Emily Klein Gidwitz Professor
Tonie Elizabeth Sadler
Dissertation: From High School to the Cliff: How Disability Policies Shape Post High School Pathways for Young Adults with IDD and Their Families in Chicago
Chair: Harold Pollack, Professor
Nicole Odina Williams
Dissertation: “Now I Have More Freedom, but More Work”: African American Boys Following the Transition to High School
Chair: Julia Henly, Professor
Jade Wong
Dissertation: Ambivalent Adventures with Standards
Chair: E. Summerson Carr, Associate Professor
Wilma Walker Memorial Award
This award is given to a first year student for outstanding work in the first year and promise of future achievement in social work.
2022 Recipient: Chris Akel

The Solomon O. Lichter Memorial Prize
This award is presented to a graduating Master’s degree student for scholarship and professional leadership.
2022 Recipients:


Maya Bauer
Nell Crittenden
Danie Nitardy
Sonia G. Berz Award
This award is given to graduating master's degree students for outstanding work, with special consideration given to promise of future achievement in the field of service to older adults.
2022 Recipients:
Benny Kuang

Jahee Yi

Crown Community and Leadership Award
This award is given to graduating (inclusive of master's degree and doctoral) students who have demonstrated their commitment to social justice, within the communities they belong to, the Chicago community and/or the Crown/University community in order to create a more just and equitable world.
2022 Recipients:
Dani (Danielle) Adams

Niki Colon

Sophia Etling
Henry Rosh

Chavelle Taylor

Miranda Thompson
Demeatreas Whatley

Yudi Xia

Crown Family School Student Organization Award
This award is given to a student organization that has demonstrated commitment within the personal communities they are a part of, the Chicago community, and/or the Crown/University community through active service, engagement and collaboration.
2022 Recipient: White Accountability Group
Excellence in Field Education Award
This award recognizes two graduating students for exemplary contribution in their concentration of fieldwork.
Chris Akel - 1st year student

Sam Martinez - 2nd year student

Simons Doctoral Student Teaching Award
2022 Recipients:

Dani Adams
Bridgette Davis
Advocates’ Forum is an academic journal that explores implications of clinical social work practice, social issues, administration, and public policies linked to the social work profession. The Editorial Board of Advocates’ Forum seeks to provide a medium through which Crown Family School students can contribute to public thinking about social welfare and policy in theory and practice. Above all, Advocates’ Forum serves to encourage and facilitate an open, scholarly exchange of ideas among individuals working toward the shared goal of a more just and humane society.

Authors/Titles
- Gwen Boone, "Mental Health Concerns in the Time of COVID-19"
- Olivia Daprile, "Bolstering the Indian Child Welfare Act"
- Sophia Eisenberg, "Expanding Work-Based Learning to Students with Disabilities in Chicago: A Proposed Pilot Program"
- Armando Garcia, Nicholus Tint Zaw, Gracia Lee, Adrian Hernandez, "The Mental Health Outcomes of Income Generating Activity in the Friendship Bench Program"
- Anna Gurolnick, "Youth of Color with Disabilities in Chicago: Criminalization as a Violation of Human Rights"
- Bethany Kacich, "Our Silent Zombie: Commercial Nuclear Waste Storage in the United States"
- Eleanor Munk, "Protecting Our Elderly in Times of Pandemic and Beyond"
- Guutaa Regass, "The Impacts of Urban Agriculture: Black Earth Farms"
Editor-in-Chief
Mansi Mehta
Editorial Board

Thomas Bates III
Alexa Cinque
Olivia Daprile
Fernanda Esteves
Brooke Ferguson
Nida Khafiyya
Mansi Mehta
Faculty Advisor
Janelle Goodwill, PhD, Neubauer Family Assistant Professor
The Trauma Informed Care Workshop Series is a yearlong series of workshops that focus on increasing awareness of self, understanding the significance of trauma and its impact on individuals and communities, and reflecting on how trauma informed care fits into their personal and professional lives.
Christin Adams |
Katie Dudek |
Zatio Kone |
Charlie Ruiz |
Chris Akel |
Kate Dulin |
Carolina Kuhl |
Emma Rust |
Jessica Andrade |
Sophia Eisenberg |
Rebekah Lamont |
Naomi Salcedo |
Sarah Atlas |
Julia English |
Jessica Levinson |
Amalia Salmeron |
Laurell Baker |
Jessica Escutia-Calderon |
Nicole Levonyak |
Anna Samulski |
Alexandra Bayer |
Fernanda Esteves |
Jindian Li |
Brooke Schwartz |
Charles Beck |
Sophie Etling |
Frederica Lipmann |
Danielle Schwartz |
Olga Bednarek |
Faezeh Fathizadeh |
Xinran Liu |
Hannah Scott |
Sophia Berger de Souza |
Alyssa Fatigato |
Alejandra Lopez |
Daniel Seeder |
Arunima Bhattacharjee |
Bryanhdi Flagg-Oglen |
Lina Malene Hille |
Sheila Shankar |
Madeline Bick |
Tyler Frazier |
Maaryah Malik |
Melanie Simon |
Madeleine Boesche |
Jillian Furey |
Aislynn Malilay |
Brianna Suslovic |
Lora Boll |
Alexandra Gates |
Xinyan Mao |
Hannah Synnott |
Gwen Boone |
Alli Gattari |
Annelise Matsuo |
Sarah Tomas Morgan |
Clark Bray |
Sarah Grace Crowley |
Rob Meeker |
Seth Torres |
Sunsahrae Brewer |
Aza Greenlee |
Marshall Mitchell |
Prisca Tuyishime |
Lindsay Bridgegum |
Shiri Gross |
Erin Moderow |
Sonja Vaintrub |
Madeleine Caceres |
Anna Gurolnick |
Elyse Morris |
Melina Vanni-Gonzalez |
Phoebe Caplin |
Autumn Hagstrom |
Eleanor Munk |
Myra Villas |
Erin Carreon |
Rose Hankes |
Bianca Murillo |
Junru Wang |
Elizabeth Cervantes |
Crystina Harris |
Tarik Musleh |
Sasha Weinert |
Jessie Chasan-Taber |
Meredith Henry |
Lina Neidhardt |
Jessica Weinstock |
Nina Chiuchiarelli |
Laila Hosseinzadeh |
Brogan O’Brien |
Kelsey Weissburg |
Grant Chustz |
Bianca Huerta |
Chiamaka Onuoha |
Julia Wellisch |
Alexa Cinque |
Constance Hull |
Kimberley Oria |
Carol Wilber |
Emily Claypool |
Jess Hutchinson |
Angela Orokoh |
Kayla Wingert |
Maddie Colbert |
Eros Imhoof |
Catalina Ospina |
Madeline Wolfe |
Camille Coleman |
Valerie Jaharis |
Angela Ou |
Yudi Xia |
Becca Covode |
Eashaa Jampala |
Madeleine Pattis |
Sandra Yamin |
Nell Crittenden |
Soomin Jeong |
Aleiya Penn |
Jahee Yi |
Hana Crnovrsanin |
Maya Jones |
Hillary Peregrina |
Shamiram Yousef |
Anna Crofts |
Madeline Jones |
Priscilla Ramos Rico |
Fengya Zhang |
Isabella DeMino |
Natalie Jones |
Mila Rao |
Jory Zhang |
Lizzie DePentu |
Ranya Kamel |
Naomi Rapp |
|
Nina Dinh |
Naomi Kaplan |
Margot Rice |
|
Katie DiPiero |
Samina Kassam |
Megan Ro |
|
Faith Doney |
Meghan Keane |
Nina Rodriguez |
|
Noah Doppelt |
Asiyah Khafiyya |
Yunuen Rodriguez Rodriguez |
|
Aarohi Drabu |
Lily Kohler |
Jaclyn Roman |
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Laila Drury |
Celia Kokoris |
Olivia Rowley |
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The following students have received certificates for completing their Program of Study.
Addressing Educational Inequalities
The Addressing Educational Inequalities Program of Study prepares social administration students to engage in work to understand educational inequality in the U.S. context. Students develop an understanding of the way social systems such as racism, poverty, sexism, ableism, and other forms of discrimination have historically shaped our educational institutions and inhibited such equity, and, indeed, in many cases have turned such institutions into entities that reinforce injustice rather than eroding it.
Kelsey Buckley
Karlyn Gehring
Anmin Hui
Naomi Johnson
Zareen Kamal
Ariana Kamberelis
Holly Nuthmann
Brittany Read
Rebecca Silverman
Addressing Social Inequality
The Addressing Social Inequality: Innovations in Policy Practice program prepares social administration students to confront social inequality as it takes shape at the front lines of key societal institutions – among them social service agencies, workplaces, courts, city halls, and community organizations. The program builds on a unique strength of Crown Family School faculty: applying a street-level approach that moves beyond public policy as written on paper to examine policy as implemented in practice.
Grace Dehorn
Soomin Jeong
Louisa Silverman
Mary Elizabeth Smith
Benjamin Wills
Advanced Alcohol or Other Drug (AOD) Counselor Training Program
The Crown Family School is an Illinois Certification Board (ICB) Accredited Advanced Alcohol or Other Drug (AOD) Counselor Training Program, where clinical social work students have the opportunity to complete specialized coursework and field education designed to prepare them to address the unique needs of people who use substances and their families, as well as address structural violence related to the criminalization of substance use that disproportionately impacts marginalized communities. Completion of this program meets ICB’s eligibility requirements for the certification of alcohol and drug counseling (CADC) exam.
Alex Bayer
Lina Malene Hille
Madeline Jones
Bethany Judson
Se Yun (Peter) Kim
Tess Nelligan
Tara Song
Olivia Spence
Ryan Watters
The Contextual Behavioral Practices Program of Study (CBPPS)
This Program of Study aims to educate students in the values, principles, and skills that organize the behavior of practitioners using contextual behavioral approaches (CBA).
Rachel Cash
Camille Coleman
Niki Colon
Anna Crofts
Laurel Dammann
Jessica Erickson
Sophia Etling
Meredith Henry
Imani LaGrone
Nicole Levonyak
Katherine Lobo
Maria Mankin
Sarah Mitchell
Sara Olkon
Anna-Louise Olson
Melanie Simon
Paulina Torres
Prisca Tuyishime
Eve VanderKaay
Jessica Weinstock
Yudi Xia
Marny Zimmer
Global Social Development Practice (GSDP)
Students in this Program of Study engage in a rigorous course of study focused on understanding social problems, social policy, and on-the-ground practice in a globalized world. The GSDP POS places particular emphasis on understanding and working with culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged populations, attention to the needs and circumstances of individuals in the context of their local environment and in light of the structures and influences that shape their conditions and opportunities, and an understanding of the social construction of social problems that hones students’ capacity to think critically and intervene flexibly across contexts.
Adelia Davis
Walaa Jumma
Alyssa Linvell
Michelle Mehmud
Carlin Smith
Mehreen Tariq
Isobel Thimont Jack
Miranda Thompson
Sarah Trugerman
Junee Yang
The Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy (GPHAP)
GPHAP provides students with the interdisciplinary training needed to face various economic, ethical, and social issues in today’s complex health care environment. GPHAP is intended for those considering careers in health services, management, policy, research, consulting, and finance.
Nadalyn Bangura
Ryann Billitteri
Jillian Furey
Sabrina Geraghty
Asiyah Nida Khafiyya
Marisol Menchaca-Escalante
Danny Michael
Jahee Yi
Rachel Zalaznik
School Social Work Program
The School Social Work Program offers a specialized curriculum leading to Professional Educator Licensure with School Social Work Endorsement issued through the Illinois State Board of Education.
Jennifer Boehm, Post-Master's School Social Work Certificate Program
Madeline Colbert
Demi Collins
Chantell Denney
Jessica Escutia-Calderon
Ana Fuentes
Ami Goetz
Anna Hoban
Rebekah Lamont
Kimberley Oria
Hannah Smith
Emma Sorkin
Hannan Sullivan
Rachel Tsen
Eve VanderKaay
Charity Williams
Barrett Winston
Winnie Yuen
Transforming Justice Policies and Practices
The Transforming Justice Policies and Practices Program of Study immerses clinical practice and social administration students in classes and field placements that offer a rich exploration and examination of the policies, practices, histories and philosophies of the United States criminal justice system, with an emphasis on developing more just approaches. It offers a historical and current overview of the overlaps of the fields of social work and criminal justice, preparing students to recognize and address inequities at these intersections.
Alexandra Bayer
Katherine DiPiero
Ginevra Francesconi
Lina Malene Hille
Max Hornung
Meghan Keane
Bethel Kifle
Molly Lubetkin
Eve Skosey-LaLonde
Molly Verghese
Trauma Responsive Social Work Program of Study
The central goal of this Program of Study is to become practiced with trauma-responsive work, meaning students feel more competent, confident, and responsive to trauma-based needs in clients, in whichever context they may encounter them. The Trauma POS aims to support students in the values, principles and skills that organize the behavior of practitioners using neurobiological, contextual, and interpersonal skills.
Alina Ahmed
Jarell Charleston
Alyssa Fatigato
Brooke Ferguson
Christine Goggins
Meredith Henry
Marty Kezon
Marisol Menchaca
Danie Nitardy
Guutaa Regassa
Henry Rosh
Liliana Rozo
Gregory Sutherland
Chavalle Taylor
Demeatreas Whatley
Congratulations to the following students who have received prestigious awards outside of the Crown Family School in the 2021-2022 school year.
Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, Health & Medicine Policy Research Group, 2021-2022
Ivy Hernandez Delgado
Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation (EAF) Scholarship, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, 2021
Martin Beck
Centre D’Aide Aux Familles Latino-Américaines Internship
Yunuen Rodriguez Rodriguez
Clinton Global Initiative University, Clinton Foundation
Jillian Furey
Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois Program (DFI), Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), 2021-2022
Charity Williams
Erikson Fellows, GPHAP, 2021
Asiyah Nida Khafiyya
Danny Michael
Fulbright Award, Austrian-American Fulbright Commission, 2021-2023
Sabina Lumesberger
Fulbright-Schuman Award, Fulbright Program, 2022–2023
Mara Heneghan
Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, U.S. Department of Education
Andrew Frangos
Founders’ Fellow, Live Oak Chicago, 2022
Sophia G Etling
France Chicago Center Internship Grant, UNESCO, France Chicago Center at The University of Chicago
Julia Sykes
France Travel Grant, France Chicago Center at The University of Chicago, 2022
Yunuen Rodriguez Rodriguez
Heumann-Armstrong Award, American Association of People with Disabilities, The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy, and Innovation, and Equal Opportunities for Students, 2021-2022
Nahime Aguirre Mtanous
IL LEND Fellowship, Association of University Centers on Disabilities/US HRSA, 2021-2022
Nahime Aguirre Mtanous
International House Graduate Fellowship Award, 2022-2023
Sabina Lumesberger
John Edwardson, ’72, Social New Venture Challenge (Semifinalist), The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, 2022
Martin Beck
Kay Jorgensen Scholarship Fund, Faithful Fools Street Level Community, 2020-2022
Bianca L. Huerta
Kreisman Initiative on Housing Law and Policy Graduate Fellow, The UChicago Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation, 2021
Martin Beck
Minority Fellowship Program, Council on Social Work Education, 2021-2022
Emma Rust
National Dissertation Award for Research on Poverty and Economic Mobility, Institution for Research on Poverty, 2022-2023
Melanie Nadon
National Institute of Aging Predoctoral Fellowship, The Center for Health and the Social Sciences
Melanie Nadon
Obama Foundation Scholars Program, Obama Foundation, 2021-2022
Mara Heneghan
Obama Foundation Scholars (Finalist), The Obama Foundation, 2022
Martin Beck Demeatreas Whatley
Presidential Management Fellowship, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 2022
Thomas Bates
The Proactive Therapy Postgraduate Fellowship, Proactive Therapy, 2022-2023
Sara Olkon
UChicago GRAD Diversity Advisory Board, Diversity Award for Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
Emma Rust
UChicago Grad Global Impact (GGI) Pitch, The University of Chicago, 2021
Martin Beck
UChicago GRAD Global Impact (GGI) Pitch Internship Program, UChicago GRAD, 2022
Sarah Tomas Morgan
UChicago Inclusive Economy Lab, 2022 Chicago Resilient Families Fellowship
Asiyah Nida Khafiyya
Institute of Politics, 2022 Summer Stipend Award
Sabina Lumesberger
Institute of Politics, 2021 Summer Stipend Award
Miranda Thompson
UChicago Pozen Family Center for Human Rights, 2022 Human Rights Internship
Faezeh Fathizadeh
Eleanor Munk
Myra Villas
UChicago University Community Service Center, President’s Volunteer Service Award
Ashlin Kamoe
Urban Leaders Fellowship, 2022
Olivia Daprile
Valuing Difference Graduate Student Award, The Wingspan Project, 2022
Adelia Davis
The William and Alice Hinckley Fund Scholarship, Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco, 2021-2022
Bianca L. Huerta