Emanuel Nuñez

/in , , , , , /by

Emanuel Nuñez is a first-year UCLA Luskin social welfare doctoral student and a registered associate clinical social worker from the California Central Valley. Emanuel’s research interests broadly include understanding the experiences of non-English speaking immigrants and their family/support systems navigating severe mental illness diagnoses including psychotic spectrum disorders and suicidality. Emanuel’s research interests are guided by a drive to advance access to psychiatric treatment for non-English-speaking immigrant communities. Emanuel completed his dual Bachelor of Arts in Chicanx Studies and Environmental Studies at UC Santa Barbara and his Master of Social Work degree at CSU Stanislaus.

Before starting doctoral studies at UCLA Luskin, Emanuel worked in outpatient mental health and emergency psychiatric response as an LPS-designated clinician. Emanuel has worked as a psychiatric social worker within the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health’s Psychiatric Mobile Response Team (PMRT) and as a mental health clinician within Stanislaus County Behavioral Health’s Crisis Care Mobile Unit, assisting individuals and their families seeking emergency psychiatric stabilization and treatment.

 

Latoya Small

/in , , , , , /by

Latoya Small’s scholarship is informed by her work in clinical social work practice and community-based research.

Her research focuses on health disparities, specifically, the intersection of mental health, treatment adherence, and HIV among women and children in the U.S. and Sub-Saharan Africa. Her global research addresses the urgent need for theory-driven, empirically-informed, and sustainable psychosocial HIV treatment approaches for youth living with perinatally acquired HIV in South Africa.

In the U.S., Dr. Small examines how poverty-related stress, parenting, and mental health interact and relatedly impact adherence in HIV medical services among Black and Latina women in urban communities. An extension of her work includes mental health and discrimination facing transgender women of color.

Dr. Small takes a collaborative approach in her scholarship, recognizing that traditional intra-disciplinary boundaries can impede the development of effective and sustainable research interventions. Her work aims to produce accessible, evidence-informed interventions that bolster youth development and women’s health.