Kathryn Hyer, PhD, presented issues that she believes will be "high-priority gerontology challenges related to health and well-being in the years ahead" at the University of Massachusetts Boston Gerontology Institute's 35th Anniversary Symposium. These issues include: "The ability to integrate older adults into the community, the adoption and understanding of technological advancement and efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change." Dr. Hyer is the director of the Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging and incoming president of the Gerontological Society of America. Read more...

Dr. Miriam Hurtado is an Associate Professor at the University of Miguel Hernández of Elche (UMH) in Alicante, Spain. Via collaboration with Dr. Iraida V. Carrion and Dr. Manisha Joshi, Associate Professors in the School of Social Work, a Memorandum of Understanding was established between USF and UMH. This continual international exchange facilitated the opportunity for Dr. Hurtado, a faculty in medicine and an affiliated faculty in the Department Pathology and Surgery in the area of Radiology and Physical Medicine, to garner an international mobility grant. As a result, she is engaging with hospitals and community agencies in the Tampa Bay area and presenting in undergraduate and graduate social work courses regarding the interdisciplinary roles between social work and occupational therapy.

Dr. Hurtado is a member of Research in Occupational Therapy (InTeO) at the UMH, contributing to the development, advancement, and solidification of research in occupational therapy. The research team adapts and validates instruments in the field of occupational therapy to address the scarcity of instruments validated in Spanish. In addition, InTeO builds on scientific evidence of occupational therapy mindfulness, occupational balance, and sensory processing during different stages in the life cycle. The collaborative goals with Dr. Carrion are to examine the intersection between cancer treatments and occupational therapy among Latinos in the USA and Spaniards.

In addition to teaching and research, Dr. Hurtado is a Senate Member and Deputy Vice Rector for Institutional Relations at UMH. Prior to joining UMH, Dr. Hurtado had an extensive career as a clinician in rehabilitation centers serving children and older adults, as well as in addiction recovery clinics.

William Haley, PhD, was recently annunced as the winner of the 2019 Rehabilitation Nursing Editor's Choice Award for his manuscript titled, "Stroke survivor and family caregiver reports of caregiver engagement in stroke care." Dr. Haley was acknowledged at the ARN Annual Conference, REACH 2019 in Columbus, OH during the Annual Members Meeting on Friday, November 8.

Hannah Gospodinsky is a Clinical Instructor and Audiologist in Communication Sciences & Disorders. Her new responsibilities include working in the USF hearing clinic and being a mentor to students and working with patients of all ages and needs but she has a particular interest in cochlear implants. Prior to her new position, Hannah was a student at USF. She initially chose USF because of a track and field scholarship, however she went on to complete both her undergraduate and graduate degrees here. For undergrad she pursued a degree in communication sciences and disorders. After that she completed her doctorate in audiology. While working here, she hopes to continue to provide excellent patient care and offer her students a unique perspective as she is mentoring for the program from which she just graduated

Chris Groeber is an Instructor in the School of Social Work. In his new role Chris will help develop a focus on child welfare. More specifically his responsibilities include teaching courses, advising students, working on research grants, and developing grant and contract opportunities in the child welfare arena. Before coming to USF Chris ran a human service consulting business. Prior to that he was CEO of Key Assets in the United States, a child welfare organization currently serving in 12 countries. Chris went to the University of Kentucky for both his undergraduate and master's degrees. At Kentucky he studied social work, family studies, and educational policy.

Gizem Hueluer is an Assistant Professor in the School of Aging Studies. In her new role, Gizem does research on cognition and subjective well-being in aging and teaches Psychology of Aging. Prior to working at USF, Gizem has been at different institutions in Europe. Her most recent position was an Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. Prior to that she was a fellow at the International Max Planck Research School on the LIFE Course and a post-doctoral researcher at the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. She received her education from Humboldt University, where she completed both her undergraduate degree and doctoral degrees in Psychology.

Mateus Renno Santos recently joined the Department of Criminology as an Assistant Professor. Some of his new responsibilities include making students into great professionals through mentoring and teaching. He will also be publishing research in some great outlets of his field. Mateus' goal while at USF is to advance the understanding of the causes of the crime trends of populations. In a recent study, he proposed that the aging of the population of countries worldwide is causing a global decline in homicides. Prior to coming to USF, Mateus was a graduate student at the University of Maryland's Criminology Department. He is also a consultant for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in Austria.

Nicoleta Zenn is an Instructor in Mental Health Law & Policy. In her new role, Nicoleta is responsible for teaching students about mental health, trauma, wellness, prevention, and intervention so that upon graduation they will become empathetic and compassionate behavioral health care providers. Nicoleta has an MA in clinical psychology and an EdS in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in school psychology. Before working at USF she was the Executive Director of the Multiagency Network for Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities (SEDNET) and Youth Mental Health Awareness and Training (YMHAT) Administration Projects, in the College of Education, Department of K-16 Initiatives. In her role as Executive Director of two Florida Department of Education Discretionary Projects, she provided technical support and assistance to 19 SEDNET local projects as well as professional development and training for school districts on behavioral and mental health issues, children's system of care, youth mental health first aid, and advocated for youth with emotional and behavioral disabilities and their families. Prior to working for USF Nicoleta was a school psychologist in Florida and Tennessee.

Charles Dion (MHLP)
Coalition LIFT
Sponsor: Carrfour Supportive Housing, Inc.
9/15/2016-9/14/2020
Amount: $160,864

This is the fourth year of a four year study. The intended goal for this study is to contribute to the literature and evidence-based initiatives regarding the cost-effectiveness of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation funded Coalition LIFT permanent supporting housing program in Miami. While cost benefit analysis represents the core research aim in this project, demographic and service usage data were also collected. Located in Miami's Liberty City neighborhood, Coalition Lift is comprised of 34 newly renovated units for extremely low-income residents at 33% Area Median Income (AMI). Coalition Lift is a comprehensive permanent supportive housing program utilizing evidenced-based best practices to serve 34 high needs/high costs chronically homeless individuals in supportive housing setting. The units are fully furnished and were "move-in ready" with household and food supplies for immediate housing for this vulnerable population.

Monica Landers (CFS)
Regional Partnership Grants to Increase the Well-Being of, and to Improve the Permanency Outcomes for, Children Affected by Substance Abuse
Sponsor: Family Support Services of North Florida
10/1/2018-9/30/2021
Amount: $302,027

Family Support Services of North Florida (FFSNF) developed a program-Preserving Families and Protecting Children (PFPC)-aimed at increasing parents' recovery from substance abuse disorders, improving outcomes for children, and enhancing family functioning and stability. PFPC intends to enhance system-wide coordination and collaboration across various agency partners to serve and support families affected by substance abuse. Further, health care coordination and a peer support services are offered to supplement the existing array of Family Assessment and Support Teams (FAST) services and supports to better serve children from birth to five years of age and their families. It is proposed that these augmented services will increase adult recovery from substance abuse disorders while enhancing safety, permanency, and well-being of children and increasing family functioning and stability. A comprehensive evaluation was designed to assess the performance of PFPC and determine the extent to which the intervention enhances child and family treatment outcomes.

Pamela Menendez (CFS)
Florida's Child Welfare Information and Training Gateway
Sponsor: Florida Dept of Children & Families
11/1/2013-10/31/2021
Amount: $6,939,303

The Center for Child Welfare (The Center) was founded in 2007 out of a need to communicate a consistent policy and practice message to all child welfare professionals throughout Florida. The Center engages and collaborates with all of Florida's child welfare system to provide current and relevant training, resources, and information for child welfare professionals. Florida's child welfare community relies on The Center for identifying, recording, and disseminating critically important advanced training to child welfare professionals in the field. The Center utilizes a knowledge management platform built and tested over the past 12 years with over 12,000 users who serve more than 34,000 children.

Roxann McNeish (CFS)
Children's Mental Health System of Care (CMHSOC) Expansion Project Evaluation and Dissemination
Sponsor: Florida Dept of Children & Families
3/1/2017-9/30/2020
Amount: $2,330,186

We are conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the Florida Children's Mental Health System of Care (CMHSOC) Expansion and Sustainability. The CMHSOC project has the following overall goals: 1) Consistent family and youth voice at all levels; 2) Increased collaboration /integration among community partners; 3) Linkages with early childhood to promote screening, prevention and early intervention; 4) Local adoption of SOC values and principles; 5) Recognition of substance abuse and mental health challenges as chronic illnesses to increase social inclusion; and 6) Expansion of culturally and linguistically relevant evidence based practices (EBP). The evaluation assesses the overall effectiveness of the project including: 1) the achievement of project objectives, 2) the effectiveness of process objectives including changes in collaboration levels, policies and financing strategies and structures at the state and local pilot levels, and 3) the impact of the project on child and family outcomes.

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