GCSW doctoral student and adjunct faculty Chelsea Sanchez, LCSW awarded the very prestigious and competitive CSWE Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) award!

CSWE’s Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) opportunities support the mission of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to reduce the effects of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities by increasing the number of individuals who are trained to work with underrepresented and underserved persons with or at risk for mental health and/or substance abuse disorders. 

The MFP doctoral fellowship is designed for individuals pursuing a doctoral degree in social work. Applicants must hold a social work master’s degree from a CSWE-accredited program. Their career goal should be to provide leadership in practice, research, teaching, and policy promulgation in government and private organizations serving underrepresented and underserved persons with or at risk for mental health and/or substance abuse disorders. These fellows are ready to create lasting change for individuals, groups, and communities through their practice, research, and teaching.

Learn more about Chelsea’s goals, dedication to serving underrepresented and underserved people at risk for mental health or substance abuse disorders, and the impact she aims to make.

Name: Chelsea Sanchez, LCSW

Congratulations on being awarded this opportunity! What is the significance of this award as it relates to your doctoral education and future career goals? I am deeply honored and humbled to be selected as a doctoral fellow. Some of my short-term goals include successfully defending my dissertation, becoming a board-approved clinical supervisor, and gaining employment as an assistant professor. Across these goals, my mission is to enhance human well-being and promote social justice by improving the mental health outcomes of historically marginalized populations. I am also committed to training, mentoring, and supporting social work students and practitioners as clinical social workers constitute the largest group of behavioral health practitioners in the nation. By providing fellows with financial assistance as well as mentoring, networking, and leadership development opportunities, the CSWE MFP will greatly support my career goals and enhance my knowledge, skills, and abilities to provide culturally responsive services. 

What initially inspired you to pursue a doctoral degree in social work? As an MSW student, I was enrolled in a research seminar, and my professor wrote a note on my final assignment encouraging me to pursue a doctoral degree. Although more than five years had passed between receiving the encouraging note and applying to the GCSW PhD program, that was the first moment I ever considered pursuing a doctoral degree in social work.

Who is someone you look up to regarding social work and social justice? I really admire Telawna Kirbie, who served as my supervisor while I was working toward my clinical social work license and continues to mentor me to this day. Telawna Kirbie is not only a relentless advocate for mental health equity, but she also aims to address the racial disparities in social work licensing rates as the cost of clinical supervision, the exam and study materials, and other associated costs and fees can be a huge financial barrier for many students and practitioners pursuing their clinical social work license.

The CSWE MFP is awarded to those doctoral students whose career goals will provide leadership in practice, research, teaching, and policy promulgation in government and private organizations. What specific area do you aspire to lead and why is this your focus? As an Afro-Latina woman and first-generation college graduate, I aspire to provide leadership in teaching because I recognize the importance of diversity and representation in higher education. I hope to serve as a role model for racially and ethnically diverse students who have been historically excluded from post-secondary education. I also aspire to provide leadership in research, particularly in relation to trauma and mental health equity, because I recognize the importance of community engagement. I am committed to partnering with communities to create and disseminate knowledge. Without meaningful community engagement, scientists are at risk of continuing to produce knowledge that fails to address the needs of communities or fails to reach its intended audience.

Tell us about your commitment to serving underrepresented and underserved persons with or at risk for mental health and/or substance abuse disorders. My commitment to serving underrepresented and underserved persons with or at risk for mental health and/or substance abuse disorders is informed by nearly a decade of clinical experience assisting individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma-related conditions. Throughout my practice experience, I have worked with refugees and asylum seekers, survivors of human trafficking, children and youth who have experienced abuse and neglect, and survivors of disasters. My scholarship focuses on trauma because trauma is unequally structured throughout society and disproportionately impacts historically marginalized communities. Many individuals who experience trauma often become further marginalized and less able to engage in services, specifically services that are trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and empirically supported. Thus, my scholarship is grounded in an axiological perspective upholding mental health and mental healthcare access as fundamental human rights.

How has the GCSW prepared you so far for a future career in providing mental health services to underrepresented/underserved communities? The GCSW has provided me with opportunities to enhance my competency in research. I have conducted a trauma-informed analysis of federal programs that provide assistance to survivors of human trafficking; facilitated qualitative interviews exploring the pre-, peri-, and post-migration experiences of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers in Mexico City; and investigated financial toxicity among caregivers for patients with cancer. These experiences have informed my understanding of how structural factors restrict access to mental healthcare and propel racially and ethnically diverse populations toward adverse mental health outcomes. The GCSW has also provided me with opportunities to enhance my competency in teaching. I have served as an adjunct faculty member teaching courses related to trauma and social policy and as a teaching assistant for doctoral-level statistics courses. Some students have shared with me that I am the first Latina teacher that they have had; and these experiences have highlighted the importance of representation in social work higher education.  

What would you say is the type of impact you would like/hope to make? When I consider the impact that I would like to make as a social worker, I hope my work contributes to the development of trauma-informed, culturally responsive services that foster healing and hope.