Graduate Students
Jasmine Routon, M.A.
Jasmine Routon is a doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. Her undergraduate work focused on the experiences of LGBT moving out of rural Kentucky and into urban settings. Her Master's thesis entitled "Meet me at the bar? A comparison of Gay and Straight Men and their Utilization of the Bar Scene" compared partnered gay and straight men to reveal differences in social network composition, perceptions of social expectations, monogamy and commitment (Western Kentucky University, 2015).
Jasmine's current research focuses on the health and well-being of rural LGBTQ. She is interested in studying community climate, sense of belonging, and access to resources. In the future, she hopes to address the unique experiences of rural LGBTQ homelessness. Additionally, Jasmine is currently serving on the board of directors at The UP Center of Champaign County, which is a multi-service agency dedicated to furthering the development and well-being of LGBTQ in the community. Web page: https://hdfs.illinois.edu/directory/routon2 Email: [email protected] |
Jacob Goffnett, MSW
Jacob’s research focuses on the phenomenology of shame among sexual and gender minority youth. Specifically, he is interested in shame’s influence over identity development and well-being, as well as, ways to counteract the deleterious effects of shame, such as empathy, validation, connection and critical consciousness. In addition, he is currently helping develop a measurement of critical consciousness of health inequalities among minority populations. Jacob’s practice has been with juvenile justice and child welfare involved youth, and survivors of trauma.
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Alyssa Billington, M.A.
Alyssa Billington is a doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. She obtained her Master’s degree in psychological sciences from Northern Arizona University and her bachelor’s degree in psychology and biology from Truman State University. Her Master’s thesis entitled “Navigating a Sexual Minority Self-Identity: Investigating Plurisexual Persons’ Adoption of a Sexual Identifier” examined the experiences of plurisexual individuals, how they defined their sexual identity labels, and how they came to adopt those labels. Alyssa’s current research focuses on plurisexual identity development and well-being.
Web page: https://hdfs.illinois.edu/directory/alyssab3
Email: [email protected]
Web page: https://hdfs.illinois.edu/directory/alyssab3
Email: [email protected]
Faculty
Ramona Oswald, Ph.D.
Ramona Faith Oswald is Professor of Family Studies in the Department of Human and Community Development. She has served as Director of Graduate Programs for her department since 2004 and teaches courses on gender, sexuality, and research methods. Her research focuses on how sexual minorities navigate social, legal, and residential contexts and the effects that those contexts have upon their health and well-being. Dr. Oswald has mentored more than 30 graduate students at UIUC, and many more through her professional networks. She has received several national awards for her research and teaching.
Web page: https://hdfs.illinois.edu/directory/roswald
Email: [email protected]
Web page: https://hdfs.illinois.edu/directory/roswald
Email: [email protected]
Shawn Mendez, Ph.D.
Shawn N. Mendez is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina Asheville, where she also teaches in the Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program. She received her PhD in Human Development & Family Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research and teaching focus on the ways that race, sexuality, gender, class and other social locations are interrelated, negotiated, and context dependent. Her previous work has focused on the experiences of LGBTQ people of color as they navigate the racialized contexts of their neighborhoods, and the experiences of rural, low income mothers. Her current work investigates the ways that LGQ parents in Black and mixed race families teach their teenagers about race and queer culture.
Web page: https://socanth.unca.edu/faces/shawn-n-mendez-phd
Email: [email protected]
Web page: https://socanth.unca.edu/faces/shawn-n-mendez-phd
Email: [email protected]
Elizabeth Holman, Ph.D., L.S.W.
Elizabeth Holman is an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Elizabeth received her PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2016. She previously earned an MS in Human Development and Family Studies and a Master's in Social Work, both from UIUC. Elizabeth's previous work has focused on the experiences of LGBTQ parents in nonmetropolitan communities. She has also explored lesbian and bisexual mother's experiences in rural communities in the context of poverty. Elizabeth has grown interested in researching contextual climate factors, and the ways in which climate can impact LGBTQ individuals and their family relationships.
Elizabeth's current work focuses on workplace and organizational climate as a place of discrimination and minority stress for sexual minority employees in same-sex relationships. She is investigating the cross-contextual pathways of minority stress processes and the ways in which LGBTQ individuals navigate and negotiate the work/family border. In the future, she plans to continue studying social and legal climate, thinking about the ways that attitudes, laws and policies impact sexual minorities’ identities, relationships, families, and community involvement and attachment.
Web Page: https://www.bgsu.edu/education-and-human-development/family-and-consumer-sciences/faculty-staff/elizabeth-g-holman.html
Email: [email protected]
Elizabeth's current work focuses on workplace and organizational climate as a place of discrimination and minority stress for sexual minority employees in same-sex relationships. She is investigating the cross-contextual pathways of minority stress processes and the ways in which LGBTQ individuals navigate and negotiate the work/family border. In the future, she plans to continue studying social and legal climate, thinking about the ways that attitudes, laws and policies impact sexual minorities’ identities, relationships, families, and community involvement and attachment.
Web Page: https://www.bgsu.edu/education-and-human-development/family-and-consumer-sciences/faculty-staff/elizabeth-g-holman.html
Email: [email protected]
Megan Paceley, Ph.D., L.S.W.
Megan Paceley is an Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare. She previously completed her PhD at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Social Work. Her research addresses the need to better understand the impact of non-urban communities on the well-being of gender and sexual minority individuals. Her goal is that this research will contribute toward creating inclusive communities, decreasing marginalization, and reducing negative outcomes.
Megan's research examines associations between community-level factors such as community size, community climate, and gender and sexual minority organizations and the health and well-being of gender and sexual minority youth. Her long-term research goal is to strengthen the national network of community-based resources by creating and assessing the effectiveness of community-level interventions on the well-being of non-urban gender and sexual minority youth. Her teaching interests include diversity and social justice, social welfare policy, research methods, and macro/community practice.
Web Page: http://socwel.ku.edu/people/faculty/paceley-megan
Email: [email protected]
Megan's research examines associations between community-level factors such as community size, community climate, and gender and sexual minority organizations and the health and well-being of gender and sexual minority youth. Her long-term research goal is to strengthen the national network of community-based resources by creating and assessing the effectiveness of community-level interventions on the well-being of non-urban gender and sexual minority youth. Her teaching interests include diversity and social justice, social welfare policy, research methods, and macro/community practice.
Web Page: http://socwel.ku.edu/people/faculty/paceley-megan
Email: [email protected]