Quarterly faculty research and service news: November 2025

November 10, 2025 by VCU School of Social Work Communications

The VCU School of Social Work is proud to recognize the following accomplishments from our faculty and staff through November 2025.

Honors

Kyeongmo Kim, Ph.D., associate professor, has been named a 2025 fellow by the Gerontological Society of America, in the Social Research, Policy and Practice Section.

Research awards

Yifan Lou, Ph.D., assistant professor, has received three grants:

Funding through National Institute on Aging’s Interdisciplinary Network on Rural Population Health and Aging (INRPHA) for the project Beyond Geography: Health and Social Contextual Determinants of Rural-Urban End-of-Life Care
Funding through Borchard Center Foundation of Law and Aging for the project Harmony in Decision-making: Balancing Individual Rights and Family Roles in Advance Care Planning among Chinese Americans
Funding through The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation for project Breaking the Silence on Pain: Chinese Caregivers’ Needs and Barriers in Home-Based Hospice Care

Funding for the Title-IV Child Welfare Stipend Program at VCU and the Consortium for Resource Adoptive and Foster Family Training initiatives has been renewed for FY26, including $290,000 earmarked for CWSP students. The team has also received approval from the sponsor and VCU IRB to move forward with program evaluation of these two initiatives statewide.

Publications

Daniel Baslock, Ph.D., assistant professor, has had a publication accepted: ”Blended payment models and care transitions: Analysis of a statewide payment reform’s impact on transitions in care and care termination from outpatient substance use treatment” in the journal Substance Use and Misuse.

Karen Chartier, Ph.D., professor, has published three articles:

“Drinking motives and alcohol consumption among Asian American college students: The moderating role of alcohol-related facial flushing” in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. In conjunction with the Spit for Science Working Group.
“Parent PTSD, social support, and differential associations with facets of anxiety sensitivity” in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology. In conjunction with the Spit for Science Working Group.
“Combining family history and alcohol screening measures to identify emerging adults at risk of not being in education, employment, or training (NEET)” in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.

Maurice Gattis, Ph.D., associate professor, has published ”Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviors and Service Utilization of Black College Students” in the Journal of Black Psychology.

McKenzie Green, Ph.D., assistant professor, has published “Examining racial identity invalidation and well-being among Biracial adolescents using the identity capital model” in the Journal of Research on Adolescence.

Christina Huerta, Ph.D., assistant professor, has published “Navigating Terminology in Latino Research: Evolution, Challenges, and Strategies for Discoverability” in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.

Traci Wike, Ph.D., associate professor, has published “Child maltreatment and the mediating effects of bullying victimization on school engagement among South Korean youth in orphanages and a national sample” in the journal Children. Other authors include former faculty member Hollee McGinnis, Ph.D., and doctoral alumni Sunghwan Cho (Ph.D.’23) and Sunny Kim (Ph.D.’24).

Presenter pointing to screen while four audience members watch

Presentations

Note: In some cases, presenters did not attend and were represented by their colleagues/co-authors.

Qasarah Bey Spencer, Ed.D., assistant professor in teaching, presented “Transforming Resistance into Strategy” at the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC) Inclusion Summit.

Cassie DeSena-Jacobs, D.S.W., assistant professor, will be presenting “Developing de-escalation guidelines for library public services: A VCU Libraries and Social Work partnership” at the 2025 Virtual Back in Circulation Conference on Nov. 14, 2025. Co-presenters are VCU library colleagues Loftan Hooker, M.L.S., and Laura Gariepy, Ph.D.

Maurice Gattis, Ph.D., associate professor, presented “Narratives From Staff at an LGBTQIA+ Shelter: Applying Ecological Systems Theory to Homelessness Intervention in Cape Town, South Africa,” at the Association of South African Social Work Education Institutions conference, University of Free State, Bloemfontein South Africa. Other authors included doctoral alum Aaron Kemmerer (Ph.D.’24).

Christina Huerta, Ph.D., assistant professor, and Rayelle Ross, M.S.W., doctoral student, presented “Discrimination and forgone healthcare among Latinx adolescents: Disparities by healthcare type and primary language” at the American Public Health Association annual meeting, Washington, D.C.

Naomi Reddish, M.S.W., assistant professor, collaborated on the presentation “Digital Bonds: Harnessing Technology for Normalcy, Relationship Resilience and Health Equity in Foster Youth,” at the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, Vilnius, Lithuania.

Service

Maurice Gattis, Ph.D., associate professor, served on the review panel for Fulbright U.S. Scholar applicants in social work.

The VCU Child Welfare Stipend Program team and Dannita Trice, M.Ed., alumni engagement officer, held a speed mentoring event that included more than 20 students and nine mentors. The event brought together seasoned, emerging and curious child welfare practitioners (alumni, community partners and students) to discuss topics important to child welfare practice and further explore interest and depth of understanding about this area of practice.

CWSP team members are Amanda Long, M.S.W., coordinator of community engaged child and family well-being initiatives; Naomi Reddish, M.S.W., administrator of community engaged child and family well-being initiatives; and Daniela Sanzetenea, M.S.W., CWSP coordinator.

Categories Community, Faculty and staff, Publications, Research