Faculty

Dr. Jacqueline Guevara is a native of Washington DC, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in both Virginia and DC, and has been in the social work field for over 13 years. She has extensive experience working in various agencies within child welfare (including Child Protective Services, Preservation Services, and Foster Care), school social work, juvenile court, and community mental health. Her areas of research and interest include racial inequity, stigma in the LatinX community including the impact of machismo and marianismo, juvenile justice, trauma/PTSD, and cultural stress.

Jhumka Gupta, ScD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Global and Community Health within the College of Public Health. Her research program applies a social epidemiology framework toward advancing the science of gender-based violence against women and girls (e.g. intimate partner violence, sex trafficking).

Dr. Tanya Haas is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing. She brings over 20 years of nursing experience and teaches didactic and seminar courses in both the undergraduate and graduate programs.

Dr. Michelle D. Hand is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work. Her research focuses on empowerment building approaches to address sexual violence and trauma among at-risk non-dominant populations, including in later life. Thus, she studies causes and impacts of violence and trauma as well as arts- and horticulture-based interventions (e.g., community gardens, farms and murals) to support healing, informed by extensive interdisciplinary research and clinical experience.

Dr. Angelina Harman is an associate professor in the School Nursing. Harman’s research interests are Childhood Obesity, Nutrition and Wellness in the Youth.

Dr. Megan Harvey is an assistant professor and Research Scientist in the School of Nursing, Research faculty. Harvey’s research interests include vulnerable populations, community and population-based healthcare and substance use disorders.

Dr. Denise Hines, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work, College of Public Health at George Mason University.  Dr. Hines’ expertise includes the causes, consequences, and prevention of family violence and sexual assault, with a particular focus on under-recognized victims of violence.

Dr. Alicia Hong’s current research interests focus on how to effectively apply health information technology in disease prevention and health promotion, particularly on chronic disease management and caregiving. She employs community-engaged user-centered design to develop culturally tailored programs, integrating low-cost digital tools with clinical care to deliver personalized programs that are easy to adopt and sustain in underserved communities, ultimately reducing health disparities.

Building on over 40 years of nursing practice and research experience, Dr. Kathi Huddleston’s research interest has focused on improving health outcomes for children. She has conducted research in the intensive care areas and the community health arena. Her interests range from genomics to the microbiome, from neurodevelopment assessment to pediatric obesity.

Dr. Emily S. Ihara is a professor and chair of the Department of Social Work. Ihara’s research interests focus on interventions, policies, and system changes necessary to eliminate health inequities for vulnerable populations across the life course.