Stories of NLU Community Psychology Graduates

Read about what amazing work NLU's Community Psychology doctoral program graduates are accomplishing for their communities in a variety of fields. Inspired? Learn more about the program and how you could do the same!

Venoncia M. Baté-Ambrus, PhD, MS, MA

Executive Director, Healthcare Foundation of Northern Lake County

https://www.linkedin.com/in/venoncia-m-bat%C3%A9-ambrus-phd-68ab1237/

After a 20-year career in non-profit health, human services, and academia, Dr. Venoncia M. Baté-Ambrus joined the Healthcare Foundation of Northern Lake County. She began working as a Community Health Worker (CHW) before becoming a community health psychologist and pastoral counselor specializing in diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ), spirituality, and integrated care. Promoting health equity and access to care whether in hospitals, clinics, hospice and palliative care, or behavioral healthcare settings is her life's work.

Dr. Baté-Ambrus was appointed and/or elected to multiple boards, advisories and committees, including sections of the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the American Psychological Association (APA). She is a Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) practitioner, in addition to being a public speaker and educator on cultural humility and social determinants of health. She joined the Healthcare Foundation of Northern Lake County in 2022.

Jasmine (James) Herrion, PhD

Community Workshop Facilitator, Black Researchers Collective

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmineherrionresearcher

Dr. Jasmine Herrion, Community Workshop Facilitator at the Black Researchers Collective, is a Community Psychologist born and raised in Chicago, IL.She obtained her Bachelor's Degree from Oberlin College and both her Masters and Doctoral Degree from National Louis University. With almost a decade of experience in the space of education, as a Chicago Public Schools teacher, leader, and instructional coach, she is passionate about using education as a tool for Black liberation. Outside of work, Jasmine loves to spend time with her son, dance and spend time outdoors.

Jasmine is an accomplished and energetic Community Psychologist focused on Asset-Based Development strategies in educational and professional settings. Motivated leader with strong organizational and prioritization abilities. Her areas of expertise include trauma informed strategies, program coordination and training, and data informed solutions. She is adept at motivating educators and stakeholders to find solutions to focus more on the learning and utilizing innovative teaching methods to help improve performance and experience for all learners. Heavily invested in trauma informed, people centered learning environments for all students especially Black and Brown students. Upon graduation, she left CPS, founded her own consulting business https://www.thetraumazone.org/team-3 and gave keynote speeches across the country. She also landed a leadership position with Youth Guidance upon graduation and now has moved on to the Chicago Black research collective.

Shenika Jackson, PhD

Founder/Executive Director, OFF TO COLLEGE INC.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/shenika-s-jackson-phd-she-her-7b50b315b/

From 2016 to 2024, Shenika served as Chief Operating Officer/Financial Officer for the nonprofit MY Foundation: Street Smarts to Great Starts Corp. Through her leadership, she partnered with NLU faculty to involve current and former students in community consultation projects. Fueled by her passion for supporting minority teens and advancing higher education, Shenika founded OFF TO COLLEGE INC.in 2024 to help teens successfully transition from high school to college.

She continues to lead key initiatives such as The My College Going Self Project (launched in 2016), The Volunteer Program, and The Trunk Essentials Giveaway. Her work has received support from organizations including Auburn Gresham Development Corp., Let's Choose Love, The Pollination Project, Starbucks Inc., and The Eastern Stars.

Shenika earned her Ph.D. in Community Psychology from NLU in 2018. Her dissertation, African American Males and Academic Achievement: Understanding the Challenges Transitioning From High School to Higher Education, reflects her deep commitment to equity in education. She has also contributed consultation and grant proposal services to the nonprofit MY BLOCK, MY HOOD, MY CITY, founded by Jahmal Cole.

In recognition of her work, Shenika received the Mohammad Megahed Scholarship and NLU's 2024 Reach Award for Alumni Service and volunteer engagement with the Community Psychology Program.

Rachel Jantke, PhD

Administrative Director, UChicago Center For Chronic Disease Research And Policy (Cdrp).

Since completing her Doctorate in Community Psychology from National Louis University Dr. Jantke served the Chicago Department of Public Health as the Director of HIV Surveillance and the Principal Investigator of multiple CDC-funded projects. She was responsible for federal grant reporting, submission of grant applications, surveillance operations and work flows, a large Chicago HIV database (eHARS), and fiscal management of these multi-million dollar projects.

She then joined the University of Chicago in 2018 as the Administrative Director of the Center for Chronic Disease Research and Policy. She assists with providing strategic leadership for the center to expand the role of the center. Dr. Jantke's primary responsibility is to develop, organize, and manage the University of Chicago Practice-Based Research Network (UC-PBRN)and its Advisory Committee.

Dr. Jantke brings many years of experience working in non-profit and research settings, including DePaul University and the Alzheimer's Association. Dr. Jantke has co-authored several papers and has presented at regional and national conferences.

Margaret Kulujian, PhD

Restorative Justice Community Court Coordinator at the Office of the Chief Judge Circuit Court of Cook County, Mediator

Margaret Kulujian is a community psychologist, mediator, and the Restorative Justice Community Court Coordinator in Cook County. She has been a key figure in promoting restorative justice in the court system. Margaret has been involved in all phases of the Restorative Justice Community Courts from proposal and policy development, community engagement, strategic planning, and budgeting. Her true passion is developing programs and working with communities around the country.

For years Margaret Kulujian was a host and a program producer at the Polish Radio and TV in Chicago. She covered local politics, community life, and important issues such as gentrification, poverty, social justice, immigration and education.

She started an annual Polish-American Women's Conference, which featured women of Polish heritage discussing their perspective on education, leadership, and business. The conference was recognized by the City Council of the City of Chicago and was given a resolution.

Margaret's influence extends beyond her professional role. She is a board member of the Chicago Sister Cities Committee, Board member of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, and a member of the Polish Parade Committee.

In 2022 she received the Chicago Bar Association's Liberty Bell Award, which is given each year to a non-lawyer who has made a contribution to the administration of justice.

Rafael Rivera, PhD, MBA, CADC

Director, Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Substance Use Prevention & Recovery.

Rafael Rivera, PhD has extensive experience in executive management with a focus on Behavioral Healthcare with experience in inpatient mental health, addiction treatment continuum of care, and prevention services. He understands how settings/context influence behavior, historical and generational influences, and the grounding of behavioral health prevention and treatment in culture. Rafael's professional goal is to help communities harness their power to resolve the issues that plague them while being aware of the overlaying context of economic and institutional control. His research agenda is influenced by Community Based Participatory Research, Community-based Organizations, social determinants and disparities within marginalized communities, and potential impact of social service organizations.

Since completing his PhD in community psychology at National Louis University Rafael has served the state as the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Substance
Use Prevention and Recovery (SUPR) in the role of SUPR Deputy Director of The Bureau of Prevention Services, Chief of Staff, and Interim Director. He oversaw a team that manages three areas within The Bureau: Substance Use Prevention Programs, Tobacco Prevention Programs, and Opioid Response and Prevention Services.

Dr. Rivera's specialty areas of interest include strategic planning, adult and youth substance abuse treatment (outpatient and residential), youth substance use prevention, program development, program implementation, grant reviews, budget analysis, workflow analysis, capacity building, evaluation, and project management.

Grisel Robles-Schrader PhD

Senior Director - Pyxis Partners

https://www.pyxispartners.co/our-team/grisel-marie-robles-schrader%2C-phd%2C-mpa

As the Senior Director, Engagement Grisel Marie manages the network of funded community and healthcare provider partners for the National Institute of Health's All of Us Research Program. She also works alongside Pyxis leadership to grow the company's client base and conduct client quality improvement efforts.

Prior to this role, Grisel Marie was the Director of Community Engagement and Partnerships in the Public Health program at the Institute for Public Health and Medicine at Northwestern University and was a lecturer in the Department of Preventive Medicine. Grisel Marie also worked with the Center for Community Health (CCH) within Northwestern University's Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS). Grisel Marie provided community engagement consultation support to research teams working on a diverse portfolio of health topics.

As the director of the Stakeholder- Academic Research Panel (ShARPs) Program, her team organized dialogues between research teams and community subject matter experts aimed at improving all phases of research and fostering new community-academic partnerships. As an evaluator for the CCH, she led the development of a comprehensive evaluation infrastructure for CCH's community engagement programs and services.

Grisel Marie holds a Master's in Public Administration from DePaul University. She is an affiliate faculty member of the Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA) of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Born and raised in Chicago and Puerto Rico, Grisel is bicultural and bilingual (English/Spanish).