PhD, MSW LAB DIRECTOR

PhD MSW MBA eazasu@buffalo.edu.

Psychiatric epidemiology and mental health, particularly understanding and addressing suicidality; developing and implementing evidence-based interventions to improve mental well-being and suicide prevention, reduce stigma and support at-risk populations

MSW, MA k.melodyrachel@wustl.edu

Melody received her MSW from the Brown School and is currently a PhD student there. Her research focuses on mental health and substance use among young people and gender-related issues. She is interested in Afrocentrisim and developing culturally competent interventions to address these issues.

MPH, CPH, NREMT b.c.leach@wustl.edu

Ben Leach is a recent graduate of the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, where he earned his Master of Public Health in Epidemiology & Biostatistics. Originally from Boston, Ben studied psychology and neuroscience at Davidson College, where he established his commitment to public health, harm reduction, and emergency medicine. In St. Louis, Ben worked as an EMT and a street outreach medical associate performing wound care for community members affected by trauma-related drug use. As a member of the AYDL lab, Ben investigated Afrocentrism’s role in Black youth development as well as factors contributing to and protecting against suicidal ideation in young Black men. Currently, Ben works as a Program Coordinator for Amend at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine as a prison harm reduction consultant.

MSc, MPH, CPH bboahen2@jh.edu

Baffour Boaten Boahen-Boaten (prefers ‘B4’) attained an MPH (Mental & Behavioral Health specialization) degree from the Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis. At the Brown School, he worked in a research capacity in the Afrocentric Youth Development Lab and remains affiliated with the lab. He is currently pursuing a PhD in mental health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University. His research interests encompass implementation science, global mental health, and HIV-mental health integration. Additionally, he is strongly interested and involved in Afrocentric mental health research premised on utilizing Africa’s philosophical and ethnocultural concepts and ideas to advance a culturally nuanced mental health research with applied significance for youth of African descent.

MSW, LCSW bendell@wustl.edu

Lindsay Bendell is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and PhD student at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research explores the intersection of social work and criminal defense, specifically examining how person-centered approaches can improve outcomes for justice-involved individuals. She is particularly interested in leveraging research to advance equitable practices within the criminal legal system. Her scholarship also engages with the Afrocentric Youth Development Lab, exploring the ways in which culturally-relevant interventions can support the well-being of young people.

Ms-GH j.mwobobia@wustl.edu

Judith Mwobobia is a passionate health journalist from Nairobi Kenya specializing in health communication. With a background in Microbiology and a Master’s degree in Global Health from Duke University, she is dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of marginalized populations. Judith’s work focuses on developing strategies that bridge the gap between communities and vital health information, promoting inclusivity and equity in healthcare.

LSW, CPH

Ellie Borgstrom is a 2023 graduate from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis with dual master's degrees in Public Health and Social Work, concentrating in violence and injury prevention. Her early career focused on community-led behavioral health support, a passion that took root during her undergraduate career co-directing a campus mental health hotline, and grew during her position doing outreach to youth and families with a suburban Chicagoland chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. During her graduate studies, she held positions in sexual and intimate partner violence advocacy, reentry services, and public defense, suicide crisis hotline program evaluation, and local government, in addition to her work as a graduate research assistant for the Afrocentric Youth Development Lab. She currently works as a Research Scientist for the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, where her work focuses on implementation of the SAFE-T Act, an Illinois reform package that abolished cash bail statewide, improved standards for data reporting by law enforcement, and modified sentencing credits, among other reforms. She supports the AYDL as Project Coordinator, providing project management and administrative assistance to the team. 

MSW eoa@unc.edu

Emmanuel Owusu Amoako is a Royster Fellow and a doctoral student at the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Emmanuel received a bachelor’s degree in social work and sociology from the University of Ghana in 2018. He worked as a teaching assistant with the social work department, teaching quantitative methods in social research. He earned his MSW from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, where he specialized in research and economic development. He currently works with the Health Lab at the University of Chicago as a Research manager and provides research support on the study aimed at reducing opioid mortality in the Illinois area. His research interests include poverty reduction interventions and policies, such as asset-building and wealth creation strategies that focus on dismantling systems that economically oppress women and their children as well as individuals in carceral settings.