Our Panelists
We are so thrilled to have these esteemed panelists discuss important topics surrounding education and mental health on Wednesday, April 10th.
Dr. D’Weston Haywood: Ph.D., Northwestern University 2013
D’Weston Haywood is an historian of twentieth century American History with research and teaching interests in Black protest and protest thought, Black masculinity, Black Power, and intersections of Black culture, Black politics, and Black public spheres. His first book, Let Us Make Men: The Twentieth-Century Black Press and a Manly Vision for Racial Advancement (UNC 2018), reinterprets the Black press as a tool of Black men’s leadership, public vocalization, gender and identity formation, and space for the construction of ideas of ‘proper’ Black masculinity that shaped the 20th Century Black freedom struggle to wage a fight for racial justice and black manhood. Moving from the rise of the modern Black press at the dawn of the 20th Century to the emergence of Black Power, the book reveals the crucial but complicated role Black male newspaper publishers played in presenting certain pivotal moments in the Black freedom struggle as opportunities for Black men to stand up and be ‘men.’ Research for the project was supported by the 2014-2015 Postdoctoral Fellowship in Race and Gender History at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Haywood’s work also includes forays into an innovative scholarly and pedagogical praxis he calls “Sonic Scholarship.” This strategy works to generate new ways to analyze history, test Hip Hop as an analytical framework and scholarly methodology, and bridge academic and popular discourses. His first project in this regard, “The [Ferguson] Files: A Sonic Study of Racial Violence in America,” is a musical compilation of poetry, rap, and research that examines episodes of racial violence involving police killings of unarmed Black people that took place between 2014 and 2015.
Professor Haywood will be speaking on the history of Harlem, Brown v Board, redlining, and gentrification as well as the most effective way for students to deal with microaggressions. He will also discuss the importance of furthering one's education by applying to college, college educational expectations once accepted, and how to navigate college as a student of color.
Laura Rodriguez, LMHC Director and Psychotherapist
Laura Rodriguez, LMHC Director and Psychotherapist, NYS licensed Mental Health Counselor, who received her bachelor’s in psychology at Pace University and her Masters in Counseling at The City College of New York. She has experience working in non-profit agencies, in eating disorder clinics, in psychiatric emergency and other group practice settings. Her work in the community has helped her gain insight and knowledge about underserved populations as well as barriers to treatment. Laura has extensive training in trauma, more specifically with inner child healing and those who have been affected by family members with complex mental health disorders. She also specializes in anxiety, personality disorders and grief counseling. Her work in the community has helped her gain insight and knowledge about underserved populations as well as barriers to treatment. She also has expertise with anxiety, personality disorders and grief counseling.
Angie (Eunji) Lee, HOPE Center, New York State licensed clinical social worker
Angie (Eunji) Lee, is a clinical social worker dedicated to building narratives of social justice, health and mental health equity, and post-traumatic growth. She is experienced in working with both adults and children in various community health settings, and utilizes evidence-based interventions as well as writing/storytelling as tools for helping people construct their own narratives that embody their own power, values, and creativity. Angie has a clinical focus on grief and trauma from both individual and community approaches, and holds a Master’s degree in social work from NYU.
Jen Doman, New York State licensed clinical social worker
Jen Doman, is a New York State licensed clinical social worker who works with adults who have persistent trauma histories. Prior to joining Behavioral Associates Jen was a forensic social worker and a supervisor, for over 10 years, at a public criminal defense agency in New York City. She has experience working with individuals who have been exposed to complicated trauma, grief, anger, depression, PTSD and multiple mental health issues. No two clients are alike and Jen’s ultimate objective, utilizing various clinical modalities, is to help clients reach the goals that they establish and strive to reach.
Jen initially earned a Master's degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Before becoming a Social Worker Jen was a journalist and was employed at: Sports Illustrated, People, LIFE and Essence magazines among other publications. Jen also became a television segment producer at the Today Show and CNN’s American Morning. After her experiences covering stories related to criminal justice issues, Jen decided to pursue a Master’s degree in social work with a concentration on forensic issues. This is where she found her true passion. After graduating from the Silver School of Social Work at New York University Jen began her career as a forensic social worker.