The Consuelo W. Gosnell Memorial Scholarships are awarded to master’s degree candidates in social work who have demonstrated a commitment to working with, or who have a special affinity with, American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic/Latino populations. The 2024 -2025 recipients are:
Leidy Barrientos, Loyola University Chicago
Leidy Barrientos graduated from Aurora University in 2022 with a BA, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice. After a gap year, she started her career at a correctional facility, where she realized her passion for advocacy aligned more with the field of social work.
This fall Leidy will begin her second year enrolled in the clinical track at LUC. She is a first-generation college student and immigrant who was born in Guanajuato, Mexico. The obstacles she faced influenced her career goals, which were to provide therapy to children.
She plans to work with immigrants or children of immigrants who have been sexually abused. Her hope is to be the bridge between educating parents about the signs of sexual abuse and facilitating the process of getting their children help.
Eventually, she plans to earn a doctoral degree in public policy and immerse herself in addressing the challenges and injustices that people of color face in the United States. Since her parents instilled in her the importance of education, she is driven to use her education to help individuals who have limited resources, guiding them as they lift themselves up and improve the quality of their lives.
Renee Booth, College of St. Scholastica
Renee Booth recently received her BSW from The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota. After finishing her degree, she completed her licensure. She is currently in the MSW clinical track at The College of St. Scholastica.
In addition to her studies, Renee is completing an internship with St. Louis County Children and Families Services. She plans to start a new internship in a setting that provides treatment for co-occurring disorders, like alcohol addiction and depression, anxiety disorder and drug addiction or learning disability and mental illness.
Lisette Garcia, University of Chicago
Lisette Garcia, a Chicago native with a deep-rooted connection to her Hispanic-majority Belmont Cragin community, is currently pursuing her MSW ?? at the University of Chicago's Crown Family School of Social Work Policy, and Practice. Lisette’s academic journey began with a full-tuition Posse Leadership scholarship to Carleton College, where she completed a BA with ?? double-major in Religion and Psychology.
After graduation, Lisette spent six years as an administrative assistant in a high-volume community health facility where she managed the equitable distribution of expedited referrals to providers. Lisette has also worked extensively in educational settings, teaching ESL classes to Spanish-speaking immigrants, working with high school students to improve their understanding of algebra, and providing support to children of all ages.
Most recently, she completed her first year of field placement at an addiction recovery facility, where she developed an understanding of how environmental and social stressors can influence the development and trajectory of addictions.
Informed by her understanding of how environmental and social stressors influence health, and inspired by her upbringing and experiences in Belmont Cragin, Lisette envisions a comprehensive and holistic approach to serving her community. She hopes to focus on providing equitable access to vital services for Chicago’s underserved Hispanic/Latino communities, ranging from healthcare to transportation. Demonstrating her dedication to holistic community empowerment, Lisette is an avid bike commuter and advocate for equitable bike infrastructure for Chicago’s predominantly Hispanic/Latino neighborhoods. She has experience engaging in community bike rides, teaching biking skills, and participating in outreach efforts.
Dulce Garcia Hernandez, Walden University
Dulce Garcia Hernandez was born in Mexico City, Mexico, and later emigrated with her parents to the United States when she was an infant. Dulce is a first-generation student and graduate.
She completed her BA at Colorado State University, majoring in Clinical and Counseling Psychology. Dulce’s passion for psychology and mental health originated from witnessing and experiencing the mental health disparities in Latinx communities. She became keenly aware of Latinx individuals neglecting their mental well-being, due to poor mental health services for Spanish-speaking clients – and nonexistent services for undocumented immigrants.
From the ages of 7 to 18, Dulce was involved in the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver where her passion for social work continued to grow. As a member, Dulce was further exposed to the disparities experienced by the youth who attended the Clubs, the majority of whom belonged to marginalized communities. After witnessing the struggles of Latinx and immigrant families, Dulce chose to focus on becoming a social worker to work with youth and their families to learn about mental health and connect them to services to improve their well-being.
Dulce is now a mental health professional with the Boys and Girls Clubs, where she runs social-emotional learning programs, does one-on-one counseling, and assists families. Dulce hopes to continue to work with the Clubs to expand their outreach. Dulce is dedicated to supporting and empowering Latinx communities.
Monica Martinez, University of Houston
Monica Martinez is from Houston where they were born and raised by Mexican & Colombian immigrant parents as the youngest of five siblings. Monica is a clinical MSW candidate at University of Houston, with anticipated graduation in May 2025. In 2020, Monica earned a BA in Sociology and a minor in Human Resource Development from UH as well. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Monica worked as a Certified Senior Pharmacy Technician in an HIV-certified pharmacy. Monica developed a love for coaching, mental health, and forming community connections to improve collective wellness while working in a community pharmacy.
Monica works at The Menninger Clinic as an academic coordinator and program coordinator for the Baylor College of Medicine Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship (BCM APF). Through the BCM APF, Monica works with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to manage an $800,000 grant, working with the program director to form community partnerships with underserved populations such as LGBTQ+, POC, and pregnant/parenting persons with SUDs.
Monica is a Senior Fellow with the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Galveston-Houston, using her expertise with the Sisters Building Sisters program. This after-school program for adolescent girls focuses on mental health, wellness, resilience, mentorship, age-appropriate reproductive health education, and harm reduction strategies.
Monica’s cultural heritage ignited an undying fire to learn about the healing power of psychedelic medicines. As an aspiring psychedelic therapist, Monica is eager to make psychedelic therapy, psychoeducation, and research more accessible to clients and communities who may benefit from these medicines.
Ana K. Olivera, Rutgers University
Ana K. Olivera (she/her/ella) is a two-time graduate from Rutgers University-Newark where she obtained a BA in public and nonprofit administration and a MA in public administration. She’s completing her trifecta at Rutgers University as an incoming student in the fall studying to earn a MSW.
As a program coordinator for The Washington Center, her daily interactions with students inspire her to push for change and motivate them to pursue professional goals at any stage of life. She is a first generation Latinx student who spotlights major barriers within her community and contributes to making a sustainable change. She hopes to bring her passion and dedication into the social work field and take part in communal change in mental health practices and norms.
Rolando Perez, Columbia University
Rolando Perez is a first-generation college student from Orange County, California. He graduated from Pitzer College in 2019, double majoring in Sociology and Spanish. Driven by his family's immigrant background, Rolando dedicated himself to various initiatives centered around immigrant rights throughout college including: ESL tutoring for local day laborers, participating in protests against ICE facilities, and volunteering for the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice.
Rolando also engaged in Native initiatives on campus, contributing to participatory action research and strengthening relationships between the college and local Native communities. His passion for Native rights converged with his academic pursuits during a study abroad experience in Ecuador, where he volunteered at an Andean-Indigenous school and conducted research on Intercultural Bilingual Education.
In 2021, Rolando began his social work career with Seneca Family of Agencies' Todo Por Mi Familia Program. He played a crucial role in locating and supporting families forcibly separated by the Zero Tolerance Policy at the US-Mexico border. He has provided case management services and trauma-informed psychoeducation to numerous families, primarily of Mayan-Indigenous descent.
Entering the second year of his MSW program at the Columbia School of Social Work, Rolando aims to leverage his academic and professional experience to advance civil and human rights for all. He strives to dismantle settler colonial values while uplifting diverse visions of self-sufficiency and well-being. In the long-term, Rolando aims for a career in nonprofit management.
Roxy Sprowl, University of Michigan
Roxy Sprowl (Bezhigonoodinkwe) is a proud citizen of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. She is a first-generation, recent graduate from Michigan State University and received her BSW in April 2024. She is currently a MSW student at the University of Michigan and is a 2024-2025 Child Welfare Program Scholar in the Advanced Standing Program.
Roxy has served several leadership roles at her alma mater, including leading an award-winning research lab on racial and ethnic representation in U.S. history textbooks, and leading the North American Indigenous Student Organization.
Outside of campus, Roxy serves as the youngest elected board member on the Michigan Indian Education Council; a national fellow for the Building Communities of Hope Fellowship with the Center for Native American Youth; a mentor for the Indigenous Youth Empowerment Program in Greater Lansing; and is a 2020 STARR Scholar and a 2023 National Udall Scholar.
Currently, Roxy is a student assistant in the Native American Affairs and Race Equity Office at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’s Children’s Services Administration. Within her first year, she created the first ever Native Employee Resource Group at MDHHS.
As a former foster youth, Roxy is a passionate advocate for Indian Child Welfare and education policy reform. Her advocacy focuses on spotlighting needs and cultural connections of Indigenous youth and communities. She sees herself playing a role in a future devoted to preserving Indigenous sovereignty, promoting Indigenous visibility, advancing Indigenous leadership, and advocating for Indigenous youth and communities.
Jordana Suriel, Columbia University
Jordana Suriel (she/her) is a Dominican-American and a first-generation college graduate and graduate student. She earned her BA in Sociology from Skidmore College and is pursuing her MSSW at Columbia School of Social Work, specializing in integrated practice and programming with a focus on contemporary social issues.
Raised in a low-income neighborhood, Jordana witnessed her community's resilience and resourcefulness. These experiences drove her commitment to advocating for economic justice and basic human rights for all, regardless of economic status. Her family motto, "somos pobres, pero somosricos" (we are poor, but we are rich with love, health, and support), inspires her to fight for a society where economic hardship does not deny basic needs and rights.
Jordana is passionate about youth advocacy, equity in education, and working with systems-impacted individuals and immigrants. Her dedication to equity is both local and international, with work experience in New York City, Uganda, Guatemala, Colombia, and Spain. After graduation, she aims to work with organizations that invest in communities of color and conduct research to understand and explain criminal legal and immigration systems.
Working with communities and doing research will help with her long-term goals of connecting communities of color to mental health and educational resources. Jordana’s combination of hands-on experience, leadership, international work, and dedication to research and advocacy defines the social worker she aspires to become. Her unwavering commitment to supporting and uplifting marginalized communities is the cornerstone of her professional mission.
Jennifer Ugarte, Portland State University
Jennifer Ugarte is a second-generation Mexican American and a first-generation college graduate and graduate student. She graduated from Amherst College with a BA in psychology. She is currently pursuing her MSW at Portland State University.
Jennifer has spent more than a decade working as a domestic violence counselor, child welfare licensing specialist, and case manager at a community action agency. Currently, Jennifer is working as a direct services program coordinator at a nonprofit that strives to empower and enhance resiliency in girl-identified youth ages 10-18. She facilitates psychoeducational groups in schools and leads after-school groups like Latinx Comunidad y Charla, which was specifically created to serve Spanish-speaking Latinx youth. Next year, she will be a clinical intern where she will provide individual therapy to bilingual students in schools while working with the therapy program to create a waitlist management tool that will prioritize underserved communities.
Jennifer believes that social injustice drives mental health inequities, and it is important to have mental health providers who can speak the same language and who have an empathetic cultural understanding. Jennifer believes that you can’t help someone heal without understanding the broader societal systems and structures that they have grown up in and how that has influenced them. She is excited to continue her work with the Latinx community and become a bilingual and bicultural licensed clinical social worker.