The Heller School for Social Policy and Management
Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy

Behavioral Health Concentration

Marc Abelard

Marc Abelard

Marc Abelard is a doctoral candidate in the Behavioral Health concentration. His research interests include racial/ethnic disparities in the mental health field and developing innovation programs to diversify the behavioral health workforce. He is a combat veteran with a distinguished tenure in the Marine Corps with numerous medals and commendations for his service in the Persian Gulf. Abelard is an outstanding professional who brings high energy, vision and considerable skills and expertise to his leadership positions as the Director of Strategic Partnerships, Director of the Behavioral Health Service Corps (BHSC), and Co-Director of the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Initiative (CAMHI), at William James College's Center for Workforce Development. He holds a Master of Education in educational leadership from Northeastern University.
Karen Alfaro, PhD student

Karen Alfaro

Karen Azucnea Alfaro, MPH, is a doctoral student in the Behavioral Health concentration and NIAAA pre-doctoral trainee. She received her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Global Health degree from Loma Linda University and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health with a minor in Psychology from San Jose State University (SJSU). Karen worked as a Behavioral Health Navigator in the Emergency Department at Kaiser Permanente where she worked with patients who came in for substance use disorders. She has worked on a variety of qualitative and quantitative research projects through her universities and in Guatemala and Malawi, Africa. Karen is a McNair Scholar through SJSU where she conducted independent research on intimate toxic relationships. Her research interests include intimate partner violence, substance use disorders, global health (specifically global mental health), reproductive health and maternal mental health. 

Sophia Balkovski

Sophia Balkovski

Sophia Balkovski is a doctoral student in the Behavioral Health concentration and National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism predoctoral trainee. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Public Affairs from the University of California, Los Angeles where her research focused on substance abuse policy, health equity and barriers to healthcare, specifically for Medicaid patients receiving medications for Opioid Use Disorder. She also has research interests in sustainability, urban planning, and public transportation.

Ginny Chadwick

Ginny Chadwick

Ginny Chadwick is a doctoral candidate in the Behavioral Health concentration and NIAAA pre-doctoral trainee. Her focus is on tobacco-free campus policies, access to cessation services, and screening of tobacco use dependence in EMR systems. She coordinates an annual statewide conference in Missouri on tobacco prevention, cessation and policy for college campuses and health care systems. Since 2013, she has worked on sales restriction laws for tobacco products, written ordinances and statutes, and contributed to the national model language. Her research includes age of sale, penalty structures, decriminalization of purchase, use and possession, and preemption of local laws. Chadwick serves as Political Action Chair for the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs section of the American Public Health Association. She is a member of the National Cancer Institute Community Engagement Workgroup for tobacco policy research. She holds an MPH and MA in journalism from the University of Missouri.
Michelle Cheng

Michelle Cheng

Michelle Cheng is a PhD student in the Behavioral Health concentration/NIAAA training grant. Her research interests are in using socio-ecological models to explore structural and social determinants that impact behavioral health and contribute to disparities. Most recently, she was a research assistant and project coordinator for Dr. Margarita Alegría in the Disparities Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital where she worked on projects to improve mental health care services for minoritized populations and increase racial equity in the academic health sciences. Michelle received her B.S. from Brandeis University, majoring in Health: Science, Society, and Policy and in Neuroscience.
Alex Duarte

Alex Duarte

Alex is a doctoral candidate who graduated from Bentley University in 2019 and received a dual bachelors degree in public policy and business studies. During his time at Bentley, Alex’s research focused on policy indicators found within the substance abuse policy domain. More specifically, Alex has focused on how opioid overdose rates and lobbying efforts made by the pharmaceutical industry work to affect policymakers attention to the current opioid crisis. During his time at Bentley, Alex worked at the Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington DC and Project Weber, a Rhode Island-based harm reduction center for male and transgender sex workers.
Shawn Dunlap

Shawn Dunlap

Shawn Dunlap, MA, is a PhD student in the Behavioral Health concentration and a pre-doctoral NIAAA trainee. He holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Arlington and an MA in Anthropology from Brandeis University. For the last several years, Shawn has worked as a Health Science Specialist in the Center for Healthcare Optimization and Implementation Research (CHOIR) at the Bedford VA Healthcare System. His areas of interest include the intersections of homelessness, substance use, and mental health, primarily PTSD and spiritual distress. He is also interested in app-based data collection and healthcare user experience.
Christian Gochez

Christian Gochez

Christian Gochez is a doctoral student in the Behavioral Health concentration. He earned a dual bachelors of arts in Sociology and Psychology with minors in Pre-Law and History at D’Youville University. Christian is also a veteran of the United States Coast Guard where he served as a Health Services Technician. He has assisted with research projects regarding cultural blind spots and the intergenerational discourse on sexual and reproductive health education. His research interests include transgender issues, substance use disorders, and eroding barriers to effective health care.

Anika Kumar, PhD student

Anika Kumar

Anika Kumar is a doctoral candidate and NIAAA pre-doctoral fellow studying behavioral health policy. She received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Community Health from Tufts University. Anika has managed several research projects which examined the impact of policy on access, use, and quality of behavioral health services for racial/ethnic minoritized groups and people with mental illness and/or substance use disorders. Anika has worked closely with interdisciplinary teams of researchers, clinicians, and community stakeholders at major healthcare institutions in the greater Boston area. Her specific interests include assessing racial/ethnic disparities in behavioral health treatment, particularly among immigrant populations, using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies.
Kurt Lebeck

Kurt Lebeck

Kurt D. Lebeck holds an MA in social policy from Brandeis University, an MSW in clinical social work from Smith, a BFA in fine arts from SFAI, and a certificate in Substance Use Ventures from MIT’s NIH/NIDA-sponsored program. He is a recovery and harm reduction scientist who emphasizes behavioral health services, social work, and implementation science. As the CSO of RCADE Tools and DoR at R1 Learning, he develops and implements programs that promote equitable, strengths-based support for people recovering from substance use and co-occurring disorders. He currently leads two major projects in NM:

  • The Recovery Capital Self-Discovery and Planning Tool (RCDT) program in two CCBHCs uses implementation strategies and a structured MBC/CBM approach to help peer and community support workers provide EBPs and mobilize client strengths. The program serves over 1,000 people annually.
  • A program in Albuquerque, where he co-developed a model for individuals with co-occurring SMI and those recently released from the CJS, ensuring access to medication and psychosocial support.

Lebeck teaches EBP in social work at Salem State University and social policy at Smith College School for Social Work. He is president of NMSAM and is working to build its capacity. At Heller, his dissertation focuses on implementing the RCDT. Recent presentations include a Recovery Science ECHO, an NIH/NIDA-sponsored SUD Innovation Intensive at MIT, the Reach for Recovery Conference in Kentucky, and ASAM in Texas. Lebeck previously provided data analysis for the S/SWATTC and evaluation services for New Mexico’s behavioral health system. 

Emily Ledingham

Emily Ledingham

Emily Ledingham, MPH, is a PhD candidate and NIAAA pre-doctoral trainee studying behavioral health policy. She received a Master of Public Health degree from Westminster College and a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from the University of Utah. Emily has worked on a variety of qualitative and quantitative research projects with the Institute of Behavioral Health and the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy, on issues such as opioid use disorders, peer supports, behavioral health treatment gaps, and sexual violence against people with disabilities. Prior to coming to Heller, she worked as a research consultant for the Utah Division of Services for People with Disabilities and was an adjunct professor at Westminster College in the public health program. Emily's research interests are primarily in substance use, mental health, chronic pain, health disparities, civil rights of people with disabilities, sexual violence against people with disabilities, and access to health/social services. 
Miranda Jane Safir

Miranda Jane Safir

Miranda Jane Safir is a PhD student in the Behavioral Health concentration and a pre-doctoral NIAAA trainee. Miranda Jane came to Heller with a MSc in Evidence-based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation with a concentration in Intervention Research from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Miranda Jane was a member of Green Templeton College and graduated with Merit. Her interests include harm reduction interventions, relational coordination, and developing a theory of harm reduction. Currently, she is working with Dr. Jody Hoffer Gittel on developing a relational harm reduction theory. Miranda Jane is also interested in new substances of misuse. She worked as a Health Associate at Mathematica Policy Research before attending Oxford. At Mathematica, Miranda Jane enjoyed working on inpatient behavioral health for CMS and on a study tracking every state’s manual for child welfare departments. She worked on both quantitative and qualitative projects fueling her dedication to mixed methods. Her involvement in substance use research began through an internship at the Department of Children and Families for the State of New Jersey. This internship emphasized the importance of involvement in local government. Miranda Jane was elected to the Board of Behavioral Health for Middlesex County NJ in 2023. Miranda Jane was recently appointed to be a member of the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights New Jersey Advisory Board for a four-year term. It is a great honor for her to protect civil rights and serve her home state. 
Allie Silverman

Allie Silverman

Allie Silverman is a doctoral candidate in the Behavioral Health concentration and NIAAA pre-doctoral trainee. Silverman has worked for the Rural and Minority Health Research Center and the Student Health Services Sexual Health Office, South Carolina. She has also done research on Medicaid funding for substance use disorder.

Her research interests include sexual health, substance use disorders, health care delivery, and quality improvement. She received her Master of Public Health in Health Services, Policy and Management and Master of Social Work at the University of South Carolina. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in neuroscience and psychology from Boston University.

Deborah Strod, PhD student and NIAAA trainee concentrating in Behavioral Health

Deborah Strod

Deborah Strod is a PhD candidate and NIAAA pre-doctoral trainee concentrating in Behavioral Health. She received an MSW from Boston University and an AB from Harvard University. She focuses on addictions workforce development for specialist and non-specialist positions, examining how responses to existing worker shortages are being reshaped by healthcare integration, cross-system coordination, changes in demand, and advances in scientific understanding of addiction. She is exploring worker and job flow within local treatment ecosystems, and is particularly interested in working with data from existing administrative sources. Important considerations include: compensation, recruitment/retention, education/training, culturally-responsive care, quality improvement and expansion of peer supports.
Heidi Sulman, Doctoral student

Heidi Bruggink Sulman

Heidi Bruggink Sulman, MPH, MSW, LCSW is a PhD candidate studying behavioral health policy. She received an MPH in Health Law, Bioethics, and Human Rights from the Boston University School of Public Health; an MSW in Clinical Social Work and Behavioral Medicine from the Boston University School of Social Work; and an AB in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality from Harvard University. Ms. Sulman most recently served as a Program Manager at the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission. She is a National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Pre-Doctoral Fellow and a past recipient of the Harvard Kennedy School Rappaport Institute Public Policy Fellowship. Her research interests include the financing and organization of behavioral health services, with particular focus on care integration, health insurance design, and provision of evidence-based practices.
Adam Vose-O'Neal

Adam Vose-O'Neal

Adam Vose-O'Neal is a PhD candidate in the Behavioral Health concentration. For the last several years, licensed clinical social worker Adam Vose-O’Neal has worked in a clinical practice in Providence, R.I. where he specializes in treating clients with addictions. Now, Vose-O’Neal is enrolled in the Heller PhD program with a concentration in behavioral health, and is a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Fellow. He continues to treat clients in Providence, and hopes to maintain a clinical practice while pursuing a research career. For his dissertation research, he plans to pursue deeper questions of addiction, sobriety and social networks informed by his experience as a clinician.

“Something that’s come up in my practice is seeing how people get sober. One interesting thing is that they don’t always do it through conventional treatment. I’ve seen clients that disconnect or connect with people in their lives—change jobs, move, start a new relationship, get out of a relationship—and it’s had an impact on their path not just to sobriety, but sustained sobriety. That’s interesting to me. Not just how people get sober, but stay sober.”

Vi Thi Tuong Vu

Vi Thi Tuong Vu

Vi Thi Tuong Vu from Ho Chi Minh City (HCM), Vietnam, received a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, and a Master’s degree in Public Health.  She is a PhD student in the Behavioral Health concentratiom. She has worked for the HCMC HIV AIDS Committee and Vietnam HIV Addiction Technology Transfer Center at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, HCM. She has spent over 18 years providing HIV, addiction treatment and prevention interventions and capacity building for substance use disorders (SUD) related to HIV patients and for clinical staff in Vietnam. Her career mostly focuses on developing interventions, through pre-and in service, based on evidence-based practices, especially for the most vulnerable groups such as women who are injecting drug users. This will assist in bringing health and wellbeing to the SUD patients and their families and to their communities.

Micah Webster

Micah Webster is a PhD student in the Behavioral Health concentration and a NIAAA pre-doctoral trainee. He holds a BA in Political Science from Vassar College. Micah's dissertation research focuses on systemic approaches to building social connection as a social determinant of mental health and substance use. His background is in contract research for a variety of population health topics, including several projects studying community engagement for preventing and treating substance use. Micah is also a person with lived experience of mental illness. He co-leads the Statewide Young Adult Council, a subcommittee of the Massachusetts State Mental Health Planning Council, and contributes to the Massachusetts Coalition to Build Community and End Loneliness. His other research interests include qualitative methods, prevention, community engagement, and the intersections of spirituality and wellbeing.