Dissertation 

Picturing Identity-based discrimination: Immigrant women of African descent’s experiences in social service agencies and mental health outcomes

Research interests

• Immigrants
• Immigrant Youth 
• Mental Health and Trauma 
• Community-Based Participatory Research 
• Intersectionality 
• Discrimination

Teaching interests

• Social Work Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups
• Foundations of Social Work Research

Statement

My current line of research  centers on the experiences of immigrant women of African descent within social/human service agencies. I hope to expand the field of social work’s understanding of how to support and serve immigrants with multiple intersecting marginalized identities, so that mental health disparities can be disrupted within a population that is exposed to significant levels of acculturative stress.

Highlighted publications

• Im, H., Swan, L. E., & George, N. (2023). Unraveling Trouble Socializing: The Impact on the Intersection of Trauma, Substance Use, and Mental Disorders in Somali Refugee Youth. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 1-16.
• Im, H., George, N., & Swan, L. E. (2023). Gendered Health Outcome Among Somali Refugee Youth in Displacement: A Role of Social Support and Religious Belief. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 1-10.
• Im, H., George, N., Swan, L. (2022). Born in displacement: Psychosocial and mental health impacts of country of birth among urban Somali refugee youth. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies.
• Im, H., & George, N. (2021) Impacts of COVID-19 on Refugee Service Provision and Community Support: A Rapid Assessment during the Pandemic. Social Work in Public Health.
• Im, H., & George, N. (2021) “It hurts so much to live for nothing”: Trauma and substance misuse among refugee youth in displacement. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.

Selected honors & awards

• Ph.D. graduate research assistantship, VCU School of Social Work, 2020- 2024
• M.S.W. research assistantship, VCU School of Social Work, 2019
• Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, VCU, 2019
• Phi Alpha Honor Society for Social Work, VCU, 2019
• David P. Beverly Memorial Scholarship recipient, VCU, 2019
• Child Welfare Stipend Scholarship recipient, VCU, 2018
• Mel C. Whipple Scholarship Recipient, VCU, 2018
• Johnathan Levin Prize in Education Recipient, Trinity College, 2018

→ Learn more about Nicole George: Full profile | CV | Contact: georgen4@vcu.edu

Dissertation 

Housing for transgender and gender expansive Southerners

Research interests

• Social work in the U.S. South 
• Homelessness and Housing Instability 
• LGBTQIA+ Populations 
• Economic, Gender and Racial Justice 
• Rural Communities 
• Organizational Development 
• Intracommunity Support Structures

Teaching interests

• Popular Education
• Feminist and Queer Theory 
• Critical Theory
• Critical Consciousness Raising

Statement

Aaron Kemmerer is a doctoral candidate at Virginia Commonwealth University. Since 2016, Aaron has served as a crisis response worker with survivors and unhoused community members at YWCA Richmond. In 2020, he completed training to earn a master’s degree in clinical social work from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Aaron’s doctoral research focuses on transgender people and housing instability in the U.S. South. Since 2010, Aaron has been involved with organizing and community-engaged research, focusing on issues of LGBTQIA+ rights, housing instability and gender-based violence in central Virginia. Aaron is passionate about addressing the practical needs of folks experiencing housing instability. He has used his voice and scholarship to increase visibility of social issues facing transgender people in the U.S. South and beyond.

Highlighted publications

• Wike, T., Bouchard, L., Kemmerer, A., & Yabar, M. (2021). Victimization and resilience:  Experiences of rural LGBTQ+ youth across multiple contexts. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 
• Cage, J., Kemmerer, A. Shockley Mccarthy, K., Pitts, B.E., Strolin-Goltzman, J. & Saleh, M. (2022). Measuring school engagement for youth involved with the child welfare system: a structured review of the literature. Journal of Public Child Welfare.
• Gattis, M.N., Wagaman, M.A. and Kemmerer, A. (2023). Developing Marsha and Marian’s Neighbors: A shared housing intervention to address homelessness among LGBTQ+ and pregnant/parenting youth. Youth 3(1), 335-350.

Selected honors & awards

• Grand Challenges for Social Work Doctoral Award - End Homelessness, 2023

→ Learn more about Aaron Kemmerer: Full profile | CV | Contact: kemmereram@vcu.edu

Dissertation 

Neighborhood, home- and community-based services, and older adults’ health in Virginia

• Paper 1: Home and community-based services and older adults' health outcomes
• Paper 2: Spatial correlation between neighborhood characteristics and HCBS availability in Virginia 
• Paper 3: The multilevel mediation effect of HCBS between neighborhood characteristics and older adults' self-rated health.

Research interests

• Home- and Community-Based Services
• Health Disparities Among Older Adults
• Neighborhood Effects on Older Adults' Health
• Age-Friendly Communities
• Aging in Place

Teaching interests

• Research Methods
• Social Policy

Statement

Seon is dedicated to enhancing the well-being and health outcomes of older adults through research in the development of effective home- and community-based services (HCBS). Her dissertation investigates community-level determinants of availability of HCBS and the impact on older adults’ health. Furthermore, she aims to contribute to improving the health and well-being of older adults through age-friendly communities that support them in aging in place. With a deep commitment to improving the lives of older adults, Seon’s work contributes to policy implications for improving neighborhood environment and HCBS.

Highlighted publications

• Kim, S., Kim, J. P., Kim, K., & Buckley, T. (2023). Age-friendly Environment and Aging in Place: Finding from Latent Profile Analysis. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development. 2023;0(0). 
• Kim, S., Cho, S., & Morgan, M. R. (2023, February). Neighborhood and Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults Living in Rural and Urban Regions in South Korea. In Healthcare (Vol. 11, No. 4, p. 476). MDPI. 
• Kim, K., Buckley, T., Burnette, D., Kim, S., & Cho, S. (2022). Measurement Indicators of Age-Friendly Communities: Findings From the AARP Age-Friendly Community Survey. The Gerontologist, 62(1), e17-e27.

Selected honors & awards

Hans S. Falck Scholarship (doctoral), VCU School of Social Work, 2023

→ Learn more about Seon Kim: Full profile | CV | Contact: kims@vcu.edu

Dissertation 

Family rejection and affirmation experiences among racially and ethnically minoritized youth who are transgender and/or gender diverse

Research interests 

• LGBTQ+ Youth and Young Adults
• Family Affirmation
• Family Rejection
• Mental Health
• Human-Animal Interaction

Teaching interests 

• Macro Social Work
• Social Welfare Policy
• Research Methods
• Human Development/Human Behavior and the Social Environment

Statement

Angela’s current research interests focus on promoting mental health equity among LGBTQ+ youth populations by exploring affirming and non-affirming relationships between LGBTQ+ youth and their family members. They are conducting a qualitative dissertation study, using life history narratives to retrospectively explore family relationships of transgender and gender expansive young adults of color. In their future career, Angela hopes to develop and test intervention models that promote affirmative behavior and attitudes among family members of LGBTQ+ youth and ultimately reduce their exposure to family rejection.

Highlighted publications

• Matijczak, A., Corley, N., Vergara, I., Johnson, J., & McDonald, S. E. (in press). 'A ray of light in the chaos': Relationships between companion animals and LGBTQ+ emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Human-Animal Interactions.
• Matijczak, A., Tomlinson, C. A., Pham, A., Corona, R., & McDonald, S. E. (2022) Relations Between Interpersonal Microaggressions, Depressive Symptoms, and Pet Attachment in an LGBTQ+ Emerging Adult Sample. Journal of LGBT Youth, 1-22.
• Matijczak, A., Applebaum, J. W., Kattari, S. K., & McDonald, S. E. (2021). Social Support and Attachment to Pets Moderate the Association Between Sexual and Gender Minority Status and the Likelihood of Delaying or Avoiding COVID-19 Testing. Social Sciences, 10(8), 301.
• McDonald, S. E., Matijczak, A., Nicotera, N., Applebaum, J. W., Kremer, L., Natoli, G., O’Ryan, R., Booth, L. J., Murphy, J. L., Tomlinson, C. A., & Kattari, S. K. (2021). “He was like, my ride or die”: Sexual and gender minority emerging adults’ perspectives on living with pets during the transition to adulthood. Emerging Adulthood. Advance online publication.

Selected honors & awards

• Robin M. McKinney Dissertation Honor Fund Endowment, 2023
• Hans S. Falck Scholarship, 2023

→ Learn more about Angela Matijczak: Full profile | CV | Contact: matijczaka@vcu.edu