Meet some of our current Ph.D. Students

Virginia Bagby completed her Bachelor of Social Work degree from Arizona State University & graduated with a Masters in Social Work from Arizona State University at the West Campus in 2002. Virginia completed her second degree, Master of Administration from NAU, in July of 2008. Her primary practice has been with children and families in the Child Protective Services system in the capacity of a Program Manager with Southwest Human Development. Additionally, she has worked as a case manager, crisis counselor and as a behavioral health clinician. Virginia has also served as a faculty associate with the School of Social Work from 2004-2008, teaching undergraduate social work practice courses and as a field liaison. Virginia’s most proud accomplishment is her four children, to whom she gave birth to while completing her undergraduate and graduate degrees at ASU. Virginia is a proud member of the National Association of Social Workers and is licensed as a general practitioner in the State of Arizona. _______________________________________________________________________

Kathleen Bailey received her Bachelor’s degree in Science from Frostburg State University in May 1983 with a major in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Social Work from Arizona State University in August 2000.  Kathy has 25 years of social work practice experience that includes case management, elder care, crisis intervention, medical social work, and quality improvement and is a licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW).  Her primary research interest areas include gerontology, medical social work, nurse/social worker relationships, and adult care home settings. Kathy received a Hartford Pre-Dissertation Award, Cohort II.

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Elizabeth Coleman received her MSW in 2003, and became licensed as a social worker the next year.  She has worked with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, people with HIV/AIDS, batterers, transitional housing, poverty issues, and newly released ex-offenders.  In addition, she has worked as a Case Manager, Mental Health Provider, and Program Manager.  Her interests, like her experiences, are varied but tend to center around underserved populations.

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Melissa Del-Colle received her bachelor and master of social work degrees from Arizona State University. She is currently licensed as a master social worker in the state of Arizona. She has worked with children, seriously mentally ill adults and the elderly over the course of her career. Her research interests include hidden disabilities, health and wellness and criminal justice.
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Blythe FitzHarris graduated with her Bachelors in Psychology in 1993 from Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg Va. and a Master’s of Social Work from Arizona State University in 1999.  Blythe has worked providing direct and administrative services for approximately 15 years in the field of community mental health and is an Independent Licensed Social Worker (LCSW).   Prior to attending the PhD program she has taught several direct practice courses at ASU in the School of Social Work.  Her primary research interest areas include adult mental health, recovery outcomes, and community mental health service delivery.  Blythe has presented several poster sessions and is working with colleagues on several article manuscripts for publications and continues her work in the community as a consultant.

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Maria A. Gurrola has a Bachelor and Master in Social Work from Arizona State University. She also has a Master in Human Relations from Oklahoma State University. Maria has worked in the behavioral health field as a counselor and a behavioral technician. Her work is concentrated in working with the Hispanic population and youth. Her research interest is on transnational families and asset building in two countries with an emphasis on policy analysis and how immigration changes are affecting the family environment.  Her master thesis was on Hispanic children’s education and the mother’s involvement in school using mixed methods. Maria’s dissertation is investigating family assets building in the immigrant population from Mexico to the United States in a transnational context.  She is utilizing mixed methods and conducting a bi-national study with data from Mexico and the United States to examine how the family’s well-being affects coping mechanisms, assets building, education, and gender roles.

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Trina M. Hart is an enrolled member of Gila River Indian Community.  Trina has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a Master’s in Counseling.  She is active in her community and has dedicated a part of her life to working with the youth of her community.  She is an Auxiliary Board member for the Boys and Girls Clubs, Gila River Branches.  Trina has worked for Gila River Tribal Social Services for the past nine years in various positions and has developed and implemented youth related programs for the agency.  Trina’s primary research interest includes Native populations and child welfare.  Trina has taught diversity courses at Arizona State University and intro to social work courses at Mesa Community College for underrepresented populations within the boundaries of the reservation. Trina has presented for the Inter-tribal council of Arizona, Gila River Indian Community Youth Council, Education Department, and Tribal Social Services.  Trina has participated in obtaining funding from the Department of Education to build a Charter school in the community of Gila River. 
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Jay Hedgpeth has a BA (History), a BSW, and a MSW from Arizona State University. His major interest is in advocating for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Jay has worked for several local mental health organizations in the field of rehabilitation.  He is currently working with the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center (SIRC) and with the Gero- Ed infusion project.  He is an active member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the National Association in Mental Health (NAMI), the Society of Social Work Researchers (SSWR), the Quality of Life Special Interest Group (QoL-SIRG) and the International Society of Quality of Studies (ISQOLS).

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Kristine Hickle has a Bachelor's degree in Family and Human Development and a Masters Degree in Social Work from Arizona State University.  Kristine has experience working with delinquent and at-risk youth populations in residential treatment as a case manager. She also has clinical experience working with prostituted and recently incarcerated women as a co-leader of a trauma and abuse psycho-educational group intervention program offered in multiple settings.  Kristine is primarily interested in forensic social work issues, including the mental health needs and services for incarcerated juveniles and women, as well as re-entry programming for individuals exiting prison.  In addition, she has participated as lead author on a recently submitted manuscript and is co-author on two manuscripts in development.  Kristine has presented her research at an international criminology conference in the Fall of 2007 and has been accepted to present in the Fall of 2008 at an international prostitution and sex work conference.

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Steven Hoffman graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brigham Young University-Idaho with a Bachelor's degree in Social Work. He received his Masters degree in Social Work from Walla Walla University. In addition to his schooling, he was also a volunteer at both Hospice of Eastern Idaho and The Family Crisis Center. Steven's interest in social work stems largely from having spent two years living among the people of Chihuahua, Mexico. His current goals center around conducting international research that focuses on health disparities among Hispanics in both the United States and Mexico. He is presently a Forensic Social Work Consultant with The Law Offices of Douglas R. Hoffman, and a Research Graduate Assistant with the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center (SIRC) at Arizona State University

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Jacqueline Mahoney has a master’s degree in Social Work; a bachelor’s degree in business, with a minor in English; a paralegal certificate in General Law; and is a playwright, poet, essayist and activist. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at Arizona State University in Social Work. She has over 15 years experience working in addictions, 9 years experience in child/adolescent development and family dynamics. Jacqueline develops programs to enhance the personal, societal, and intellectual growth of young people combating challenges with addiction and/or substance abuse; poverty; domestic violence; teen pregnancy; and low self-esteem. One of the tools Jacqueline Mahoney uses is The Arts. She uses Creative Writing, Performance Art, Photography and Fine Art as a way of expression for her participants. Originally from New York City, Jacqueline, has been a resident of Phoenix for five years. Her passion includes working abroad with underdeveloped regions and is planning a trip to Uganda this summer to work with Kay Grasso and The School of Nawantale. She will also be working in Namibia and Ghana.

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Julie Nagoshi has a dual bachelor's in Psychology and Family and Human Development.  She completed her Master's in Social Work with a child welfare specialization.  She is currently obtaining a certificate in Women and Gender Studies.  Her research interest is in the fluidity of gender identity, gender roles, and sexual orientation.  She has completed three written entries in the book "Battleground: Women, Gender, and Sexuality" and has four publications.  Her dissertation will examine the effects of gender roles on substance use.

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Rose Rojas graduated from Arizona State University with a Masters in Social Work in 2005.  Her research areas of interest include Latina female delinquency and acculturation. 
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Zulma Raffo has a Bachelor of Criminal Justice from Florida International University & graduated with a Masters in Social Work from Arizona State University in 2008. Zulma has almost four years experience working with adults that suffer from serious mental illness. She has worked as a case manager, behavioral health technician, security in residential facility that house serious mentally-ill individuals and a counselor. Zulma has a year experience working with adults & children dealing with grief & loss, six months experience working as a counselor within a school setting for students grades kindergarten through eighth and working with children with developmental disabilities. In addition, Zulma has worked in law enforcement as a private investigator & border patrol agent. She is bilingual, experienced in presentations, and is a member of the National Association of Social Workers.

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Kathlyn Shahan obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1981 and a Masters Degree in Social Work in 1991 from the University of Hawaii.  Kat has worked as a medical social worker for 15 years before starting the PhD program. Kat’s focus is in the field of medical social work and gerontology.  Her goal in obtaining her PhD is to assist in teaching social workers to be good medical social workers and to perform research in her fields of interest.  She was accepted to the Preparing Future Faculty program at Arizona State University in 2007.   Her dissertation topic is healthcare disparities in Native Hawaiians diagnosed with diabetes.

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Tonia Stott has a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and graduated from Arizona State University with a Masters Degree in Social Work in 2000.  Tonia has worked in the child welfare arena as a Child Protective Services Case Manager and a Child Abuse Hotline worker in addition to multiple years of working with at-risk youth populations served through treatment facilities and the Juvenile Court system.  The populations she is most passionate about serving through research are: young adults who aged out of foster care and youth who are especially vulnerable in foster care such as pregnant and parenting youth, LGBTQ youth, and dually adjudicated youth.  Her goal is to use research to promote policy and practice changes in child welfare that will more adeptly address the needs of these populations such as those pertaining to permanency planning, placement stability, and child welfare workforce issues.  Tonia’s current research is supported by a NIDA dissertation grant.  She is interviewing young adults who aged out of foster care about their current well-being including substance use and sexual behaviors, and about their experiences while they were in foster care.  She was granted a Doctoral Fellows Award from the Society for Social Work and Research in 2007.