2027 PhD Candidates

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Graduating University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work PhD candidates are preparing to put their doctoral training to work as researchers, educators, and practitioners who advance social work knowledge, promote social justice, and strengthen communities.

Get to know our upcoming PhD graduates:

Aprille Arena

Aprille Arena, MSW, LCSW

Doctoral candidate Aprille Arena is a licensed clinical social worker whose scholarship examines how organizational structures, healthcare financing, and social policies shape mental health service delivery and clinician well-being. Her professional background includes a decade of clinical practice, program leadership, and clinical supervision, along with eight years of teaching psychology, human services, and social work. She holds a BS in psychology from Endicott College and an MSW from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Aprille’s dissertation draws on institutional theory to examine associations between payment mechanisms, organizational characteristics, and clinician burnout, well-being, and professional fulfillment in outpatient mental health settings. Her broader scholarly interests include perinatal mental health, caregiver well-being, and policies supporting families of children with disabilities and complex needs, particularly among marginalized populations. Across these areas, Aprille seeks to advance research and policies that address structural barriers to care and promote more equitable systems for those providing and receiving mental health services.

  • Research Interests/Areas of Emphasis
    • Behavioral health policy and systems
    • Clinical social work/clinical social work education
    • Mental health workforce and clinician well-being
    • Perinatal mental health
    • Family and caregiver support
  • Dissertation
    • Developing Profiles of Payment-Related Work Conditions in Outpatient Mental Health Care: Associations with Clinician Burnout and Wellbeing Outcomes
  • Select Grants, Fellowships, & Awards

    • Robert L. Schneider Dissertation Award, Influencing Social Policy, 2026

    • University of Denver Grand Challenges Advancing Community-Engaged (ACE) Scholars Grant, 2024

  • Select presentations

    • Hasche, L., Arena, A., & Park, J. (2025, November 12–15). Exploring the role of social workers in age-friendly health systems: A scoping review [Conference presentation]. Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting, Boston, MA.

    • Thibodeau, P., Arena, A., Wolfson, H., Talamantes, M., & Albright, K. (2024). Working within broken systems: A qualitative inquiry of moral injury amongst healthcare social workers using street-level bureaucracy control study [Poster presentation]. Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Washington, DC.

  • Select Publications

    • Thibodeau, P., Arena, A., Wolfson, H., Talamantes, M., & Albright, K. (2024). Working within broken systems: Social workers bridge the fractures of U.S. healthcare: A qualitative inquiry on moral injury. Social Science & Medicine, 358, Article 117262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117262

Sierra Coye

Sierra M. Roach Coye, LCSW

Doctoral candidate Sierra M. Roach Coye is an intersectional environmental justice abolitionist whose scholarship illuminates how spatial oppression — including systemic barriers to nature access — shapes marginalized communities’ vulnerability to climate change. She uses a strengths-based approach to identify community assets to inform and build culturally responsive climate adaptation, advocacy, health equity, and subjective well-being interventions. Sierra centers Black voices throughout her dissertation research, using culturally grounded approaches such as Talk that Talk and Blues Epistemologies, Black American oral-tradition analytic methods that center storytelling, context, and the conspicuous silences that shape how Black narrators share their experiences. Sierra considers herself a scholar–clinician who weaves in alternative ways of knowing and embodiment within her clinical practice, pedagogy, and research.

Sierra is a multi-passioned social work higher education professional with expansive experience as an undergraduate academic advisor and curriculum evaluator. In the classroom, Sierra models alternative ways of knowing, weaving social work theory into clinical practice and current advocacy so students can link theory to practice and the macro-level implications. Sierra is passionate about universal design for learning and incorporating critical pedagogies into her teaching.

Clinically, Sierra is cross-licensed in the states of Colorado and Maryland. She has extensive experience in a variety of clinical settings working with individuals across the lifespan. However, her passion lies in aiding children, adolescents, and their families in life’s challenges and transitions. Sierra is passionate about training the next generation of social work professionals and researching culturally responsive, community-asset-based approaches to inform and build new interventions for individuals, groups, and communities.

  • Research interests/Areas of Emphasis
    • Spatialized oppression
    • Environmental justice
    • Psychological well-being
    • Health equity
    • Culturally responsive practice
    • Human–animal connection
    • Racial trauma
  • Dissertation
    • Black American Nature Connectedness & Subjective Well-Being: An Intergenerational Mixed-Methods Phenomenological Study Rooted in Black Liberation
  • Select Grants, Fellowships, & Awards
    • University of Denver Graduate Education Doctoral Fellowship for Inclusive Engagement
    • Scholar Strategy Network Policy Fellowship
    • University of Denver Graduate Studies Doctoral Fellowship
  • Select Presentations
    • Roach Coye, S., (2026, May). Honoring our intellectual foremothers: The importance of theory in academic research [Invited talk]. Bowie State University, Department of Counseling & Psychological Studies, Bowie, MD, United States.
    • Roach Coye, S., (2023, November). Culturally responsive practice: Is afrocentric practice just for Black folks? [Invited talk]. University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, Denver, CO, United States.
    • Roach Coye, S., Holloway, B., Hunte, O., & Bender, K. (2024, October). Pedagogy of care: Creating communities of care in the classroom [Panel]. 2024 Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Kansas City, MO, United States.
    • Greenfield, J., Roach Coye, S., & Holloway, B. (2025, January). ADHD, autism, and other neurodivergence in social work education: Recognizing and supporting neurodiversity in our classrooms and research teams [Panel]. Society for Social Work and Research 2025 Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, United States.
    • Roach Coye, S., (2025, November). Decolonizing environmental justice: Centering Black and Indigenous solutions to the climate crisis [Invited talk]. Austrian Science Fund, University of Vienna, Austria.
  • Select Publications
    • Roach Coye, S., To, M. N., & Walls, E. (In press). Measurement considerations for liberatory research. In M. Spencer, C. Daniel, E. Walls, & V. R. Winter (Eds.), Decolonizing quantitative methods: Anti-oppressive approaches to social work research. Cambridge University Press.
    • Green, D., Litam, S., Gorritz, F., Roach Coye, S., & Gummaluri, S. (2026). Colonial police violence, racial trauma, and moral injury: The role of critical consciousness [Manuscript submitted for publication, The Journal of Multicultural Counseling & Development].
    • Green, D. A., Stanzilis, K., Roach-Coye, S., & Sullivan, C. (2026). Social connectedness as a mediator of racial trauma resulting from exposure to online racism. The Professional Counselor, 16(1), 64–78. https://doi.org/10.15241/dag.16.1.64
    • BlackDeer, A., & Roach Coye, S. (2025). Decolonizing environmental justice: Centering Black and Indigenous solutions to the climate crisis. In T. Konrad (Ed.), Race and environmental justice in the era of climate change and COVID-19 (pp. 207–231). Michigan State University Press.
    • Mason, L. R., Coye, S. R., Rao, S., Krings, A., & Santucci, J. (2024). Environmental justice and social work: A study across practice settings in three U.S. states. Sustainability, 16(19), Article 8361. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16198361
Erin Flynn

Erin Flynn, MSW

Doctoral candidate Erin Flynn (she/her) is a youth development scholar working at the intersection of sociopolitical development, education, and environmental justice. She studies the relational and organizational conditions that enable young people — particularly those whose perspectives have been marginalized — to develop critical consciousness, exercise agency, and lead environmental change. Her current research examines regenerative education, youth–adult partnerships, educator professional development, and school-system climate change policies. Using qualitative, quantitative, participatory, and community-engaged methods, she collaborates with young people, educators, schools, and community organizations to understand how institutions can expand meaningful youth leadership and civic participation. Erin has more than 10 years of experience as a supervising mentor to graduate and undergraduate student researchers and uses principles of regenerative education in her work as an adjunct instructor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work.

  • Research Interests/Areas of Emphasis
    • Youth sociopolitical development, ecosocial activism, and organizing
    • Youth–adult partnerships
    • Environmental justice, ecosocial work, and policy
    • Community-engaged research
  • Dissertation
    • Regenerative Education—Equipping Schools and Youth to Lead Social–Ecological Renewal
  • Select Grants, Fellowships, & Awards
    • 2026 — University of Denver Office of Graduate Education, Doctoral Fellowship for Community Engagement ($9,000)
    • 2025 — University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, Outstanding Dissertation Proposal Award ($2,000)
    • 2023 — University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, Susan S. Manning Pre-Dissertation Assistantship ($22,921)
    • 2023 — University of Denver Graduate Education Doctoral Fellowship for Inclusive Engagement ($9,000)
    • 2023 — University of Denver Professional Research Opportunities for Faculty (PROF): “Co-creating a regenerative education professional development program for educators with Denver Public Schools” (PI, with Co-PI Sarah Bexell, $45,000)
    • 2022 — Human Animal Bond Research Institute: “Enhancing the health of unhoused youth: A multi-perspective approach for shifting the housing system to protect unhoused young people’s relationships with pets” (PI, with Faculty Sponsor Kimberly Bender, $49,123)
    • 2022 — University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, Summer Mentored Scholar Award ($3,604)
    • 2021 — University of Denver Office of Graduate Education, Doctoral Fellowship ($9,000)
  • Select Presentations
    • Flynn, E., Rosensweig, M., Moses, M., Fernández Rodríguez, A., Senecal, J., & Bexell, S. M. (2026). Designing the conditions for authentic youth climate leadership: Lessons from regenerative education [Oral presentation]. Metropolitan State University of Denver Social Change and Policy Conference, Denver, CO.
    • Flynn, E., Wilf, S., Krings, A., & de los Reyes, W. (2026). Building municipal partnerships for youth climate leadership: Preliminary lessons from a multi-city climate initiative [Oral presentation]. Metropolitan State University of Denver Social Change and Policy Conference, Denver, CO.
    • Flynn, E., Ray, A., Hawes, S. M., & Coddington, L. (2025). Enhancing access to health, housing, and thriving for Denver’s unhoused young people and their pets—A participatory research study [Roundtable]. American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C.
    • Flynn, E., Senecal, J. E., Bexell, S. M., Roberts, R. (2024). Placing transformative ecological justice in the hands of school-based professionals: Co-creating regenerative education training [Oral presentation]. Council on Social Work Education, Kansas City, MO.
    • Flynn, E., Motiff, M., Taeckens, A., Mueller, M. K., & Morris, K. N. (2024). Promoting youth social–emotional development through animal-assisted interventions: A qualitative analysis of youths’ perspectives [Oral presentation]. Society for Social Work and Research, Washington, D.C.
  • Select Publications
    • Han, T., Flynn, E., Peña, R., & Morris, K. N. (2026). Measuring the impact of prison-based dog training programs on recidivism: A propensity score-matched survival analysis. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1086/727360
    • Flynn, E., Valdovinos, M., Mueller, M. K., & Morris, K. N. (2025). A relational developmental theory for human–animal interaction: A meta-synthesis and grounded theory. Developmental Review, 75(101181), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2024.101181
    • Flynn, E., Motiff, M., Mueller, M. K., & Morris, K. N. (2023). Testing of the Facial Expression Coding System (FACES) for middle school-aged special education students and development of a training protocol. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 47(4), 366–373. https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254231167313
    • Flynn, E., Motiff, M., Taeckens, A., Mueller, M. K., McWilliams, S., Shenefield, S. J., & Morris, K. N. (2023). Promoting youth social–emotional development through animal-assisted interventions: A qualitative analysis of special education students’ perspectives. Applied Developmental Science, 28(4), 473–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2023.2235265
    • Flynn, E., Zoller, A. G., Gandenberger, J., & Morris, K. N. (2022). Improving engagement in mental health services through animal-assisted interventions: A scoping review. Psychiatric Services, 73(2), 188–195. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.202000585
    • Geldhof, J. G., Flynn, E., Olsen, S. G., Mueller, M. K., Gandenberger, J., Witzel, D. D., & Morris, K. N. (2021). Emotion regulation and specificity: The impact of animal-assisted interventions on classroom behavior. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 73, Article 101253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2021.101253
    • Flynn, E., Gandenberger, J., Mueller, M. K., & Morris, K. N. (2020). Animal-assisted interventions as an adjunct to therapy for youth: Clinician perspectives. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 37(2020), 631–642. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-020-00695-z
Jax Heil

Jax Heil, MSW

Doctoral candidate Jax Heil is a proud sport social worker with experience coaching, working in abuse prevention in sport, providing therapy to athletes, and engaging in scholarship around belonging in sport. His research centers on the experience of belonging for young adults and advancing the field of sport social work. Jax received his BSW from Calvin University and MSW from Michigan State University. He worked for nearly six years in professional research and evaluation. He also had stops as an NCAA coach, Colorado-based therapist, and adjunct professor. He currently works with the U.S. Center for SafeSport, engaging in abuse prevention work across the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movement. His dissertation — “Belonging in Flux: Collegiate Student-Athlete Experiences in a Transforming NCAA Landscape” — engages current NCAA Division I athletes in interviews around experiences of belonging through an interpretive phenomenological analysis framework.

  • Research Interests/Areas of Emphasis
    • Young adult belonging
    • Sport social work
    • Faith and social work
  • Dissertation
    • “Belonging in Flux: Collegiate Student-Athlete Experiences in a Transforming NCAA Landscape”
  • Select Grants, Fellowships, & Awards
    • Doctoral Fellowship for Inclusive Engagement, University of Denver
    • Listening Lab Fellow, Morgan State University Center for Religion and Cities
    • Qualitative Research Fellow, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Hospital
    • University of Denver Graduate Education Doctoral Fellowship
    • Michigan State University Advocacy Scholars Fellow
    • Michigan State University Research Scholars Fellow
  • Select Presentations
    • Heil, J., & Beasley, L. (2026). Sport as sites for social connection? Processes, practices, and possibilities [Presentation]. North American Society for the Sociology of Sport 2026 Annual Conference, Calgary, AB.
    • Heil, J. (2026). From theory to practice: A multi-level model of belonging for inclusive sport environments [Presentation]. Alliance of Social Workers in Sport 2026 Symposium, Las Vegas, NV.
    • Scott, M. L., Heil, J., & Coats, T. (2024). Collaborative creation care: Clergy and community-based approaches to climate and environmental justice work [Paper]. Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Pittsburgh, PA.
    • Heil, J., Beasley, L., Huslage, M., Gray, K., Newman, T., Sullivan, D., & Stauffer, A. (2024). The state of sport-specific field practicums in the United States [Presentation]. The Alliance of Social Workers in Sport 10th Annual Social Work in Sports Symposium, Union, NJ.
  • Select Publications
    • Heil, J., & Beasley, L. (2026). Experiences of belonging among LGBTQ collegiate athletes [manuscript under revision, Sport Social Work Journal]. University of Denver, Graduate School of Social Work.
    • Wynia, Z., Gasienica, J., Amondson, R., Heil, J., Nolan, C., Cox, L., Truesdell, V., Frank, J., & Ashar, Y. (2026). Group-format pain reprocessing therapy in veterans with chronic back/neck Pain: A pilot study with mixed methods evaluation. Journal of Pain, 45, Article 106322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2026.106322
    • Beasley, L., Heil, J., Huslage, M., Gray, K., Sullivan, D., & Newman, T. J. (2025). The state of sport-based practicum education for social work students. Sport Social Work Journal, 53(4), 367–384. http://dx.doi.org/10.33043/82ccbr7d
    • Scott, M.L., Heil, J., Coats, T. (2025). Creation care: Clergy engagement with environmental justice and climate change. Journal of Psychology and Theology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00916471251382155
C. Riley Hostetter

C. Riley Hostetter, MSW

Doctoral candidate C. Riley Hostetter (they/them) focuses on structural inequities in social service delivery and policy, centering the experiences of queer and transgender communities. Riley’s dissertation research investigates systemic inequities for queer and transgender youth across foster care and homeless youth services. In addition to analyzing the institutional disparities within child welfare, this work explores the impacts of gender and sexual identity on mental health outcomes and social networks of these youths. As a critically engaged scholar, Riley conducts mixed-methods research alongside conceptual and theoretical analysis. With eight years of practice experience across child welfare and community behavioral health organizations, their professional background serves as groundwork for their research and teaching philosophies. Riley has an MSW from Portland State University, focusing on community-based practice and administrative leadership, and a BS in Psychology and Spanish from Iowa State University.

  • Research Interests/Areas of Emphasis
    • Queer and trans community
    • Foster care and child welfare
    • Young adult homelessness
    • Critical approaches to systems
    • Social welfare policy
  • Dissertation
    • Exploring the Impact of Identity on Outcomes, Networks, and Systems for Unhoused LGBTQIA+ Former Foster Youth
  • Select Grants, Fellowships, & Awards
    • University of Denver Graduate Education Dissertation Fellowship
    • University of Denver Graduate Education Doctoral Fellowship for Inclusive Engagement
    • University of Denver Graduate Studies Doctoral Fellowship
  • Select Presentations
    • Hostetter, C. R., Pappas, G., Lenne, E., Spoth, A. P., Pitsker, J., & Anderson-Nathe, B. (2025, Jan. 15–19). Think of the children: The state’s weaponization of transgender and nonbinary youth [Roundtable]. Society for Social Work and Research 2025 Annual Conference, Seattle, WA.
    • Hostetter, C. R., Littman, D. M., Holloway, B. T., Dunbar, A. Z., Bender, K., & Sarantakos, S. (2023, Jan. 11–15). Conceptualizations of mutual aid during Covid-19: A critical analysis [Paper presentation]. Society for Social Work and Research 2023 Annual Conference, Phoenix, AZ.
    • Hostetter, C. R. (2021, Oct. 23–27). Experiences of gender identity acceptance and mental health among transgender and nonbinary persons [Paper presentation]. American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Denver, CO.
    • Christensen, C., Jeon, J. S., Hostetter, C. R., Doyle, M., & Kynn, J. (2025, July 1–4). Facilitators and barriers to sexual and gender minority development: Addressing accessibility and “isms,” building collaborations, and supporting mental health in community-based organizations [Paper presentation]. Sexuality and Social Work International Conference, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
  • Select Publications
    • Seelman, K., Hostetter, C. R., Mynatt, E., & MacIntyre, G. (2025). “Medicine for the Soul”: LGBTQ+ Southerners spending time in nature during the COVID-19 pandemic to promote well-being. Journal of Applied Social Science, 20(1), 19–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/19367244251361143
    • Sonsteng-Person, M., Spoth, A. P., Hostetter, C. R., Akapnitis, I., Barbera, R., Joseph, A., Mackey, C., Garcia-Perez, J., & Hyde, C. (2023). A new world cannot be built alone: An abolitionist framework for collective action in social work. Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.52713/apsw.v1i1.18
    • Holloway, B. T., Hostetter, C. R., Morris, K., Kynn, J., & Kilby, M. (2022). “We’re all we have”: The future of mutual aid from the perspectives of queer and trans individuals. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 50(1), 155–180. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol50/iss1/9
    • Hostetter, C. R., Gerke, D., Call, J., Holloway, B. T., Atteberry-Ash, B., Greenfield, J., & Walls., N. E. (2021). “We are doing the absolute most that we can, and no one is listening”: Barriers and facilitators to health literacy within transgender and nonbinary communities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), Article 1229. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031229
Keiko Yoneyama-Sims

Keiko Yoneyama-Sims, MS Counseling Psychology

Doctoral candidate Keiko Yoneyama-Sims studies maternal mental health implementation science and health equity. Keiko values the community engagement and implementation of effective intervention for birthing people and their family to improve access to treatment, their quality of life, and their bond with their child.

  • Research Interests/Areas of Emphasis
    • Maternal mental health care for minoritized women
    • Implementation equity of mental health care
    • Strengths-based mental health intervention
  • Dissertation
    • Asian American birthing people’s Postpartum Depression Screening and Healthcare Practitioners’ Interaction in Colorado: Secondary Data Study
  • Select Grants, Fellowships, & Awards
    • 2025 — Dean’s Distinguished Scholar Award, University of Denver
    • 2025 — Graduate Studies Doctoral Fellowship Award, University of Denver
    • 2024 — Advancing Community-Engaged Student Scholars Grant ($7,778) for “Community Engaged I-EMDR with LGBTQ+ Individuals: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study of Clinician and Client Experiences” (Co-PI), University of Denver Center for Community Engagement to Advance Scholarship and Learning
    • 2024 — Dean’s Distinguished Scholar Award, University of Denver
    • 2024 — Graduate Studies Doctoral Fellowship Award, University of Denver
    • 2023 — Dean’s Distinguished Scholar Award, University of Denver
    • 2023 — Graduate Studies Doctoral Fellowship Award, University of Denver
    • 2020 — London BRIEF Innovation Award, Solution Focused University
    • 2004 — Counseling Academic and Professional Honor Society International, California State University, Bakersfield
  • Select Presentations

    • Yoneyama-Sims, K. (2024, November 9–12). “What else do you want to know?” Perinatal mental health and solution focused brief therapy for birthing people [Conference presentation]. Solution Focused Brief Therapy Association, Fort Worth, Texas, USA.

    • Yoneyama-Sims, K. (2024, May 3). Solution focused brief therapy for birthing people from all over the world [Conference presentation]. SF 24 Annual Conference. https://www.sfio.org/event/2022-sf24/

    • Yoneyama-Sims, K. (2022, August 4–5). Parenthood and solution focused approach [Conference presentation]. SF 24 Annual Conference. https://www.sfio.org/event/2022-sf24/

    • Yoneyama-Sims, K. (2021, August 5–6). Working with women in postpartum [Conference presentation]. SF24/21 Annual Conference. https://www.solutionfocus24.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/SF24_21-Conference-Program-v4.pdf

    • Yoneyama-Sims, K. (2021, July 7–11). Intentional practice—How we decide what to say next in solution focused approach [Conference presentation]. Postpartum Support International Annual Conference. https://pmg.joynadmin.org/documents/1029/60e7a6eaef0d269a6922831f.pdf

    • Yoneyama-Sims, K. (2020, November 13–14). Scouting strengths within: Working with women in postpartum [Conference presentation]. Solution Focused Brief Therapy Annual Conference. www.SFBTA.org

  • Select Publications
    • Kim, J., Grube, W. A., & Yoneyama-Sims, K. (2025). Strengths perspective. In F. J. Turner, C. Franklin, & C. Jordan (Eds.), Social work treatment: Interlocking theoretical approaches (7thed.). Oxford University Press.
    • Matera, M. (2020). The Japanese guide: Solution focused agenda (K. Yoneyama-Sims, Trans.). The Solution Notebooks. (Original work published 2019)
    • Heller, M. A., Brackett, D. D., Wilson, Steffen, H., & Yoneyama, K. (2003). Superior haptic perceptual selectivity in late-blind and very-low-vision subjects. Perception, 32(4), 499–511. https://doi.org/10.1068/p3423