Emi Parente graduated from the Institute for Human-Animal Connection’s Canine-Assisted Intervention Specialist (CAIS) certificate program in early 2024. Emi is the founder and current CEO of Programa Alice Terapia Assistida Educacional in Brazil, where she often utilizes her knowledge gained from CAIS. Her organization focuses on expanding education and the understanding of health and wellness as it relates to the human-animal bond.
PhD graduate Pilar Ingle is working to address root causes of homelessness and health inequities and improve palliative and end-of-life care for people experiencing homelessness.
As a senior instructor of clinical practice and director of behavioral health programs for Sheridan Health Services, MSW alumna Alyssa Hetschel (MSW ’14) balances clinical practice with organizational leadership.
For 2023 PhD graduate Miguel Trujillo, a doctorate was a way to help his community by creating systemic change.
Andrea Sierra graduated from our Animals and Human Health (AHH) certificate program in 2022. She is now a clinical supervisor at The Crossroads Inc., in Phoenix, Arizona, one of the largest non-profit residential and outpatient substance abuse treatment programs in the United States. At Crossroads, she utilized the knowledge she gained in AHH to assist her in implementing a human-animal interaction program that incorporates psychoeducational topics, such as communication skills, trust building, trauma, and mindfulness.
Molly DePrekel graduated from IHAC’s Canine-Assisted Intervention Specialist (CAIS) certificate program in 2022. She has been an IHAC adjunct faculty member since 2017 and has taught many courses within IHACPro’s Animals and Human Health certificate program.
Recent PhD graduate Pari (Shah) Thibodeau has redefined moral injury among health care social workers and developed an updated scale to measure moral injury in this population.
Alumna Nikki Allen, MSW/MA’06, brings a dedication to social justice and experience as a behavioral health provider to her new role as a GSSW clinical assistant professor.
