Editors in Chief 

Dget Downey

Dget Downey (they/them) is a Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Columbia Social Work Review for 2022-23. They are a second-year student at Columbia School of Social Work on the Advanced Generalist Practice and Programming track with a focus in Contemporary Social Issues. They are a social work researcher, animal lover, bee-keeper, and hockey fan! In the fall of 2023, they will begin their PhD in Social Work!

 

Demetri Kavadas

"Unconditional never meant perfect anyway" - Nikita Gill 

 

Executive Editors

Tanisha Singh

Tanisha Singh (she/her) is a second year student at CSSW on the clinical social work track and is currently interning at the Blanton Peale Institute. She has lived in ten cities across eight countries and four continents, and presently resides in New York City. In her free time she loves to read novels and self-help books, go for walks and/or hikes, indulge in some yoga, explore New York’s culinary offerings, and energize herself with some circuit training.

 

Brenna Mayer

Brenna Mayer (she/her) is pursuing her Master's Degree in Social Work at Columbia University. Her studies are specialized in policy practice with a concentration in contemporary social issues. Brenna is based in Brunswick, Maine, where she lives with her husband, Alex, and cat, Scarlett.

 

Mary Russo

Mary is a second-year MSW student in the Accelerated Policy Program and an intern at the Social Intervention Group here at CSSW. Before coming to Columbia, she worked in NYC municipal government for three years. She lives in Brooklyn but grew up in Manhattan.

 

Holiday Liu

Holiday Liu (she/her) is a second-year CSSW student on the Advanced Clinical Practice Track with a passion for older adults. She moved to Wisconsin in 2013 to pursue her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology at UW-Madison. After graduation,  she collaborated with Chinese researchers and counselors to provide mental health services to women in rural China for two years. She returned to school and intends to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology. She is placed in Calm Seas Psychotherapy to provide telehealth services primarily to veterans and military families affected by PTSD.

 

Mackenzie Christensen

Mackenzie Christensen is a second-year MSW student in the Extended Program at CSSW. She is pursuing the Policy Practice track with a minor in Law. Mackenzie's social work interests include housing equity, environmental justice, and prison abolition work. She is currently interning with Center for Supportive Schools in Jersey City. In her spare time, she is a gymnastics instructor and enjoys attending musicals, reading fantasy, and quilting or crocheting.

 

Victoria Conway

Victoria Conway (she/they) is a Bay Area native and second-year online MSW student on the clinical track. They are currently interning at Covenant House New Orleans as a behavioral health intern. Outside of social work, Victoria also works as a photographer, primarily specializing in live music photography.

 

Shayna  Delvecchio 

Shayna is a second year MSW candidate on the Advanced Clinical Practice track and the Health, Mental Health, and Disabilities field of practice. She is currently a mental health counselor at NYC Counseling, a private psychotherapy practice, and Keystone Treatment Center, an outpatient mental health clinic that specializes in eating disorder treatment. She is deeply passionate about working with and advocating for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Shayna also loves spending time with her pet pig and kitten.

 

Managing Editors

Kelsey Reeder

Kelsey G Reeder, LCSW-R (she/her) is a Clinical Social Worker and PhD Student in Advanced Practice at Columbia University School of Social Work. Kelsey has worked in therapeutic foster care, school social work, and community mental health. She received post-graduate training from the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy, maintains a therapy and supervision practice focused on relationship challenges, family conflict, and the expansiveness of queer and trans experience, and provides clinical supervision to current Lifeline Crisis Workers supporting LGBTQ+ youth experiencing crisis or suicidality. Kelsey’s research aims to subvert social work education and practice through lenses of queer irreverence and mess. She explores how social work is taught and carried out in ways that position social workers as sites of social control within their own communities, as well as how this impacts the personhoods of the clinician and client, interrupts collective liberation by enforcing unidirectional healing, and stems from settler colonialism and white supremacy.

 

Deidre Da Silva

Deidre Da Silva (she/her) is a first-year MSW student on the Policy Track.
She is placed at RAINN where she supports survivors of sexual violence with crisis counseling, resource allocation, and safety planning. Deidre's research interests include BIPOC women's health and mental health, generational trauma, and crisis management. She also enjoys international documentaries, painting, and being outdoors.

Maliha Fairooz

I’m a second-year student in the Reduced Residency Program class of 2024. I’m specializing in policy practice and minoring in Emerging Tech, Media, and Society. I work at the Department of Health in NYC as Equity Support Coordinator. If I find some me time, I’m usually chasing sunsets or making Tiktoks. You can reach me at m.fairooz@columbia.edu.

 

Lizette Alvarado-Michel

Lizette Alvarado-Michel (she/her) is a second year MSW student on the Policy Practice track. She is currently a Civil Rights Analyst Intern at the US Commission on Civil Rights. Her interests include learning more about immigration policy, reforming the prison industrial complex, and learning more about inequalities produced by capitalism. During her free time, she enjoys going on walks with her infant daughter, husband, and their two dogs.

 

Vineha Ramesh

Vineha is a second-year MSW student studying AGPP and Contemporary Social Issues. Her research interests include harm reduction, intergenerational trauma, acculturation/assimilation, and intimate partner violence. Vineha is extremely excited to join CSWR as a Managing Editor of The Amsterdam and cultivate a space for non-traditional research.

 

Associate Editors

Stephanie Smith

Stephanie Smith is a MSW candidate at the Columbia School of Social Work. After graduating from UC Berkeley with a BA in History, she worked for several years in the San Francisco Bay Area in IT, non-profit administration, and gerontology. She is a meditation and Nonviolent Communication (NVC) practitioner, and also received training as an end-of-life doula. She currently has a private coaching practice with bereaved clients. Her primary interests are end-of-life care and grief support for individuals and communities. Stephanie also works as a research assistant with the Social Intervention Group (SIG). In her free time, she loves to travel, play music, spend time in nature, and explore NYC with friends.

Christa Miesner

Christa is a first-year MSW candidate on the Advanced Clinical Practice track specializing in children, youth, and family. She is currently interning at the Solana Beach School District, focusing on mental health and working to bridge the gap between home and school with children and families. After completing her Masters, Christa plans to work with families impacted by interpersonal violence and those affected by the foster care system. In her free time, Christa enjoys being outdoors in San Diego Ca where she lives, hiking, and doing yoga.

 

David Hammer

David Hammer (he/him) is a first-year master's student on the Advanced Clinical Track. He is also in the dual degree program with Union Theological Seminary, where he studies the intersection of psychology and religion. David is especially interested in psychodynamic therapy, the work of C.G. Jung, and how such perspectives complement social work. He is excited to work with the Review as an associate editor.

 

Marissa Williams

Marissa is a current MSW candidate at Columbia School of Social Work, pursuing a Leadership and Management track with a focus in international social welfare to immigrants and refugees. In 2019, she graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a BA in Political Economy, concentrating in international development and environmental sustainability.
Working with indigenous populations across the globe solidified her passion to combine international relations with social work, as well as find alternative ways of healing, particularly in the form of storytelling. Marissa hopes to employ the power of language to advocate for marginalized voices in society. Additionally, she aims to become a psychedelic-assisted psychotherapist who utilizes her clinical and research skills to make psychedelic medicine more accessible for those struggling with trauma, depression, and anxiety.

Lizzie Mahoney

Lizzie is a second year student at Columbia's School of Social Work studying the clinical pathway. Lizzie is switching careers from the entertainment industry to clinical social work and is very excited to grow her writing and editing skills. In addition to CSWR, Lizzie is interning at the P.E.A.R.L. Institute of New York as a Fundraising and Research Volunteer, and works part-time as a Lighting Director at NBC Sports Group in Stamford. Lizzie lives in Harlem with her husband, Dan, and her one-year old Pitbull mix, Zarkos.

 

Kelly Boehms

Kelly Boehms is in her third and final year of the Reduced Residency
program at the Columbia School of Social Work. Her method area of concentration is Advanced Generalist Practice and Programming with a Contemporary Social Issues field of practice. Kelly has spent the past 15 years supporting grassroots organizations in growing their digital organizing power, and is completing her second-year field placement with the Greenpeace USA Democracy Campaign. When she’s not working or studying, you can find Kelly devouring fiction, riding her bike in the redwoods, or walking on the beach with her kiddo and dog.

 

Shylee Yachin

Shylee Yachin (She/Her) is a second year MSW student on the Advanced Clinical Practice track and Health, Mental Health, and Disabilities field of practice. This year, she is interning at New York Presbyterian in the Oncology department. Her interests include working with children and families through modalities including writing, narrative, and play therapy. Shylee can be found reading, spending time with family, and teaching bodypump.

 

Ariel Kaminsky

Ariel Kaminsky (she/her) was born and raised in New York City. In undergrad, she studied psychology and creative writing and now attends Columbia School of Social Work and interns at Advocates for Children of New York. In her free time, Ariel can usually be found playing sports in the park, or elbow deep in a new art project.

 

Alison Garibay

Hi! My name is Alison, I’m an advance standing policy student from California. I’m so excited to work as an associate editor this year for the Review and I’m extremely excited to see the work from my fellow colleagues. Social work has been my passion for the past 4 years now, and I hope to take social work to the government sector and run for Congress one day. Outside of school I love to go to music festivals and concerts, try new restaurants, and I love watching tv with my dog Snowflake.

 

Angelyn Wollen

Angelyn is a second-year CSSW student on the Advanced Clinical Practice track. Her desire to serve children and families is inspired by her amazing nine-year-old daughter, Adeline, with whom she lives in Washington D.C.

 

Nuri Mendoza

 

Ayla Gelsinger