Meet Megan E. Gandy, Ph.D. candidate
Gandy’s work addresses the quality of mental health services for children and adolescents, specifically focusing on the unique needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning young persons in treatment. Her dissertation research, “Assessing LGBTQ Cultural Competency in Direct Care Youth Workers,” is a measurement design study which creates and tests a tool to assess LGBTQ-related cultural competency in paraprofessional workers. Gandy plans to continue this work with future projects to develop, deliver and evaluate LGBTQ-focused cultural competency trainings for professionals and paraprofessionals. Her dissertation has support from the Robin M. McKinney Dissertation Honor Fund, which aids research studies that address social justice issues.
Gandy’s research prioritizes community and stakeholder involvement which aligns well with her student-centered teaching approach. She has more than five years of clinical experience with persons across the age spectrum who deal with severe and/or chronic mental health issues, which gives her the diverse perspective that she now brings to her research and teaching. Her involvement in curriculum, course design and evaluation highlight her interest in social work education. Gandy has taught social justice, policy and practice courses at Virginia Commonwealth University, North Carolina A&T State University and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Currently, she serves as a field faculty liaison for UNCG, and plans to defend her dissertation in spring 2015.
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