Meet the DREAM Team

Blanca is the lab coordinator for the DREAM Lab and an alumna of Case Western Reserve University. Blanca's primary interested in the discriminate impact of mental illness within the Latino/a/x/e community and in the development of community-based interventions aimed at addressing negative mental health symptoms within this population. She is enthusiastic about exploring methods to implement strengths-based interventions to better serve ethnic and racial minority communities, with the goal of fostering a more inclusive field.

Fun fact: I won a padel tournament when I was a teenager!

Email: bvg5454@psu.edu

Emelyn is the coordinator for the RAÍCES project. Emelyn graduated with Honors from Hunter College CUNY, where she majored in Psychology and minored in Spanish. Her main research interests focus on multi-informant reporting, the parent-child relationship and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in racial/ethnic minority adolescents. She plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology in the future.

Fun fact: I have visited 6 different countries and have lived in 3 different states!

Srushti is a first-year Ph.D. student in Child Clinical Psychology at Penn State University. Her research focuses on creating brief, scalable, and culturally adapted (and visually engaging!) digital interventions to help youth and families recognize and combat identity-based stressors, particularly for Asian Americans. Additionally, she is interested in understanding the nuanced relationship between the experiences of marginalized youth with intersectional identities and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors within the minority-stress framework.

Fun fact: I’ve grown up in 7 states and 2 countries!

Email: ssu5041@psu.edu

Onyinye is a second-year Ph.D. student in Child Clinical Psychology at Penn State University. Her research focuses on understanding the environmental stressors—such as poverty, community violence, and racial trauma—that contribute to the vulnerability of Black youth to psychopathology. She is particularly interested in identifying culturally salient resilience factors, such as racial identity and supportive family structures, that buffer against these adverse effects. She aims to integrate developmental and clinical science to inform strength-based interventions that promote mental health and well-being in underserved communities. Through her research, she aims to address racial disparities in mental health and create environments where Black youth can thrive.

Fun fact: I skydived from 18,000 feet!

Email: oio5079@psu.edu

Sherille is a third-year doctoral student in Child Clinical Psychology at Pennsylvania State University. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology at Howard University and her master's degree in clinical psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy at Pepperdine University. She is interested in studying the intergenerational transmission of trauma and examining how early life adversities can contribute to youth psychopathology and maladjustment in diverse communities and foster care youth. Furthermore, Sherille is interested in influencing public policy through the dissemination of research and strategic stakeholder engagement.

Fun fact: I have a new dog named Edna Mode!

Email: skb6510@psu.edu

Zaharah is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology program.

Fun fact: I played violin for 15 years and now am learning guitar!