Survivor Link + Public Health AmeriCorps: Partnering with Agencies to Build Capacity to Respond to Domestic Violence : October 2024
Meredith Bagwell-Gray MSW, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas. She earned a PhD in Social Work from Arizona State University (ASU) in 2016, and in 2017 she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the ASU Office of Gender Based Violence. With an emphasis on health equity research, Dr. Bagwell-Gray studies the intersections of race, gender, and age with environmental factors, like living in rural areas, and contextual factors, like experiencing intimate partner violence, on women’s health and safety. Her current research involves designing and testing a trauma-informed approach to promote sexual health and prevent cervical cancer among survivors of intimate partner violence, a project currently supported by an American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant through the University of Kansas Medical Center. Her work includes understanding, preventing and intervening to address sexual violence in intimate relationships. Dr. Bagwell-Gray received a Master of Science in Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin in 2009, and her research is informed by direct practice social work experiences as an advocate and therapist with survivors of partner violence.
Sarah Gelderman was a Survivor Link student fellow, doing her practicum at Avenue of Life in Kansas City Kansas, during her MSW at the University of Kansas. Since earning her MSW, Sarah is supporting her family in their relocation and planning her next steps as a committed social worker and survivor advocate.
Shawn Dickinson was a Survivor Link student fellow during his practicum placement at the Elizabeth Layton Center, where he is now employed as an ACT Team clinician.
Rebecca Miles earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in 2000. With over 30 years of behavioral health experience, she has worked eight years in community mental health and 19 years in private practice. During her predoctoral work, Dr. Miles gained extensive experience at a women’s federal prison, the CAARE Center (focusing on PCIT to reduce child abuse recidivism), and through internships with SPMI populations, child sex offenders, and domestic violence offenders. After starting her career in the San Francisco Bay Area, Dr. Miles relocated to Kansas in 2003, joining the Miami County Mental Health Center (now Elizabeth Layton Center) as an Outpatient Clinician for three years. After 16 years in private practice, she returned to ELC, where she now serves as Clinical Director, assisting ELC through its CCBHC certification and developing a strong internship program with a 50% hire rate for interns.
Laurie Hart is Senior Associate Director of Practicum at the KU School of Social Welfare. Prior to joining the School, Laurie worked as Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Manager at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and as Director of Prevention Education at GaDuGi Safecenter.