Social Work
Samantha Gorta
Araceli Olivas
Araceli is a graduate student pursing a Master’s degree in Social Work at Arizona State University. She graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Health Sciences: Public Health from Northern Arizona University. Araceli is passionate about social justice and advocacy. As a LEND trainee, she hopes to gain leadership skills and collaborate with professionals in multiple disciplines to become an effective advocate for individuals with special needs and underserved populations.
Andrea Moreno
Andrea Moreno is a graduate student on her second year of the Master’s in Social Work program at Arizona State University. Her concentration area is Advanced Direct Practice with an emphasis in children and families.
Andrea grew up in Mexico until 2008, when she moved to Tucson. In 2013, she acquired her B.A. in Hispanic Literature at The University of Arizona. She’s passionate about social justice, her cultural heritage and helping others in the community, as she’s had the opportunity in the past while working at International Rescue Committee and as an AmeriCorps member.
Debby Urken
Debby Urken is a Master of Social Work student at Arizona State University/Tucson. She received her B.A. in psychology and brain and behavioral science from Cornell University. For the past six years, Debby has worked as a long-term care case manager serving low-income children and adults with disabilities who live at home. As a case manager, Debby works to ensure her clients have access to the medical care, behavioral health care and other services they need in order to maintain their health.
Victoria Tsze
I am currently pursuing my masters degree in social work. Much of my experience has been advocating on behalf of children that are in the Department of Child Safety custody. In being an advocate for children, important aspects of my role were to assess for imminent risk of harm, understanding dependency law, and working in interdisciplinary teams to meet the needs of the children and their families. Currently I work in an inpatient psychiatric facility that helps stabilize adults and adolescents with psychiatric diagnoses and/or co-occurring disorders while they're in crisis.
Christine Liao
I have experience working with people in the deaf and disability communities in an academic, mental health and health care context. I realized that I provided more effective and efficient services to clients if I addressed all three aspects simultaneously instead of one at a time. As a social worker, having a holistic understanding of a situation is integral to our profession. The AZLEND program gives me opportunities to expand my knowledge of neurodevelopmental disabilities from a variety of perspectives.
Laurel Alexander
The AZLEND Program has provided me with the opportunity to explore the integration of two of my passions: working with children, and the NDD population. One of my first jobs was as a one-on-one aide for children with autism. Now, in my studies to become a Child and Family Therapist, I feel I have returned to my roots. I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in this interprofessional setting while I work on my goals of improving leadership skills, contributing to research in Maternal and Child Health, and ultimately to include similar collaboration into my own practice.
Gemma Thomas, BS
It is an exciting privilege to be a part of the AZLEND program, as I believe it is an opportunity for both personal and professional growth. I am interested in enhancing my ability to collaborate in an interdisciplinary setting and have a positive impact on the lives of families and individuals with autism spectrum disorders and neurodevelopmental and related disabilities. In this program, I hope to cultivate leadership skills that will allow me to better serve our community and deepen my understanding of emerging issues in Maternal and Child Health.
Gabriel Rischall, BS
I am excited to participate in the AZLEND program for the next academic year. I have participated in other interdisciplinary programs, and I have found the experiences to be very helpful. My area of interest is working with families and individuals with developmental disabilities. As a social worker I understand how beneficial it is to the individuals and families when the whole team is working together. Along with learning from the other professionals I am very excited about the leadership component of AZLEND.
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