Emerging Scholars Fellowship

Folajinmi Bakare

Georgia Institute of Technology, Undergraduate Student

Folajinmi M. Bakare is a second-year undergraduate at Georgia Institute of Technology. He is majoring in Biology with an aspiration for pre-medicine. From his experiences as working as an editor for a mental health non-profit, and background as a Certified Medical Assistant, he has been driven towards health advocacy. His project stems from the terminology “Prosilience” which in essence is the proactive intervention of underlying health issues or challenges. His project’s ambition is to educate the general youth on tangible preventative/productive measures they can implement towards their wellbeing. This education is a means to rid stigmas, undo misconceptions, and to revitalize one’s outlook on life. The target audience is everyone; however, he places a special emphasis on reaching youth from marginalized environments, which is where most of the stigmas lie. The essential mission of project Prosilience is to enable minds to fulfill their dreams.

Project Title: “Prosilience: Revitalizing Dreams”

Juky Chen

The City College of New York, Undergraduate Student

Juky Chen is a junior at The City College of New York, majoring in Business Administration. As a first-generation undocumented immigrant and the president of the CCNY Dream Team, Juky is passionate about advocating for marginalized communities, particularly undocumented and BIPOC students. His lived experience has shaped his commitment to mental health equity and systemic change.

Project Title: “DreaMHealth: Elevating the Voices of Undocumented Students”

Makaila Davis

Peirce College, Graduate Student

Makaila Davis is a graduate student at Peirce College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania pursuing a Master of Science in Professional Studies with plans to continue with a PhD program and later attend medical school to become a psychiatrist for the military. She is the founder of Angels Protection Inc., a nonprofit supporting young mothers and women aged 13 to 20, and is dedicated to advancing health equity and addressing systemic disparities in underserved communities. With expertise in government contracting and resource management, she ensures impactful community health initiatives while influencing policies that promote social justice.

Project Title: “Breaking the Silence: Addressing Maternal Mental Health Disparities in BIPOC Communities”

Ryan Horio

University of California–Los Angeles, Undergraduate Student

Ryan Horio is a fourth-year at UCLA, dual majoring in Asian American Studies and Human Biology & Society. He is passionate about the intersections of racial health equity, health policy, and social justice activism. In the future, Ryan will become a physician-activist who provides individual care within communities and uses research to promote systemic change through policy. His research primarily focuses on the intersections of mental health, Asian American communities, housing insecurity, and structural racism.

Project Title: “The need for post-pandemic mental health support within Asian American college-aged youth: Addressing anti-Asian hate and sinophobia through institutional interventions”

Yolanda Li

Emory University, Undergraduate Student

Yolanda Li is a senior at Emory University studying Psychology and Quantitative Social Sciences with a concentration in Sociology. She is planning to continue her interest in mental health after graduation by earning a degree in Master of Social Work and ultimately becoming a therapist and mental health advocate for Asian communities. By inviting Asian students into conversations and empowering their voices on mental health, Yolanda’s project aims to reduce the stigma around mental health and promote mental health care for the Asian community on campus.

Project Title: “Under the Skin: Healing through Revealing for Young AAPI Communities”

Aliza Lopez

University of Rochester, Undergraduate Student

Aliza Lopez is a sophomore at the University of Rochester, majoring in Health, Behavior, & Society with a double minor in Legal Studies and Statistics. She is also pursuing the Certificate of Achievement in Community-Engaged Learning as a proponent of direct whole-community development efforts, especially in health systems. As a mental health advocate, Aliza works towards amplifying Generation Z voices, recognizing young folks’ openness as a key in creating people-centered changes.

Project Title: “Impact of the Colonization of Mental Health on Perceptions of Powerlessness and Identity”

Diego Maldonado Lopez

Metropolitan State University of Denver in Colorado, Undergraduate Student

Diego Maldonado Lopez is a senior undergraduate student at the Metropolitan State University of Denver in Colorado, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. His project focuses on the barriers undocumented college students experience, how they cope with those barriers, and the impact of these barriers on students’ mental health. To approach students and receive as many responses as possible, Diego sent out a survey with questions regarding college experience, support systems, college application process, barriers, the resources they have access to, students’ goals, and their mental health. Diego plans to share the knowledge about existing literature concerning these topics and issues affecting undocumented students in higher education and the experiences of students at MSU Denver. In addition, he plans to create discussions about fostering inclusion, find solutions to provide more opportunities for students from this demographic, and strategies to protect their mental well-being.

Project Title: “Undocumented Undergraduate Students: An Examination of College Persistence and Mental Health”

Ayanna Malik

Howard University, Undergraduate Student

Ayanna Malik is a senior at Howard University in Washington, D.C., pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with minors in Business Administration and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. After graduation, she plans to pursue a graduate program in Counseling Mental Health Psychology, with the goal of ultimately earning a Ph.D. in a Psychology-related discipline.

Her research will explore how representation—specifically, therapists who share identity-related backgrounds (e.g., gender, race, sexual orientation, and class)—influences therapeutic outcomes. Through this work, Ayanna aims to highlight the importance of shared experiences in fostering effective mental health care.

Project Title: “Empowered Voices: Exploring the Psychological Well-Being of Black Women Through the Lens of Black Feminism”

Dang “Kevin” Nguyen

Harvard University, Graduate Student

Kevin Nguyen is a graduate student at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he focuses on advancing mental health equity through research and innovation. His work as a researcher for The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific Commission reflects this commitment, contributing to a study led by Harvard Medical School that examines policies and resources allocated for child and adolescent mental health across 15 low- and middle-income countries. By addressing systemic barriers in these underserved communities, Kevin seeks to inform policies that enhance mental health funding and access globally. Building on this foundation, he is dedicated to tackling the mental health impacts of racial discrimination on young adults, aiming to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and foster resilience among marginalized populations.

Project Title: “Unseen Burdens: The Psychological Toll of Racial Discrimination on the Mental Health of Young Adults in the United States”

Brinly Richards

Ohlone College, Undergraduate Student

Brinly Richards is an undergraduate student at Ohlone College in the Bay Area, California. Her previous studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, as a cognitive science major, cemented her passion for cognitive science and psychological and behavioral sciences. She plans to transfer to a four-year university in Fall 2025 to major in cognitive science and minor in health innovation and entrepreneurship. Brinley’s research and volunteer experience in psychology and neuroscience have been instrumental in curating and consolidating educational resources on physical and mental health designed to further educate underserved communities.

Project Title: “Mental Health: A Holistic Approach Accessible for All”

Nathalie Robayo

Barnard College, Undergraduate Student

Nathalie Robayo is a second-year undergraduate student at Barnard College in New York City, majoring in Psychology with a minor in French. She aspires to be a clinical psychologist, therapist, and researcher, focusing specifically on child and adolescent mental health services. Her project is a mixed-methods study that looks into disparities in high school mental health classroom education through a close look at curricula implementation research, among other phenomena. She is researching how these disparities relate to adolescent mental health literacy and issues of social inequality across different kinds of schools. Her project combines both empirical and qualitative data, drawing from her own study design and interviews with mental health experts.

Project Title: “How Mental Health is Conceptualized in Adolescent Classroom Education: A Mixed Methods Study of Educators and Students”

Sophia Shieh

Duquesne University, Doctoral Student

Sophia is a doctoral student in clinical psychology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. She holds a BA in Applied Psychology and Human Development from Boston College and a Master’s in Education and Developmental Psychology from the University of Oxford. She has an extensive background working with children and families involved in child welfare and public mental health services from a trauma-informed perspective. Her passion for empowering lived experiences researchers and clinicians with a community-based participatory approach has been strengthened by her involvement with Active Minds over the past five years, including serving on the National Student Advisory Board and Alumni Board. Her ESF project focuses on addressing the intersection of social justice and equity in mental health services, particularly the social responsibility and role of higher education and community mental health clinics in addressing food insecurity to improve client outcomes.

Project Title: “Integrating Food Security into Mental Health Services to Promote Health Equity at a University Community-Based Mental Health Clinic”

Michelle Zheng

University of California–Irvine, Undergraduate Student

Michelle Zheng is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of California, Irvine, pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences. Her project will investigate the intersection of mental health and culture, specifically the influences of social and cultural factors on disordered eating. By highlighting culture-dependent factors that impact minority populations, she hopes to challenge dominant narratives in mental health that often overlook or misrepresent individualized experiences. She aims to encourage a holistic approach to health, promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being, and foster a sense of community and understanding to create a more inclusive and supportive mental health landscape.

Project Title: “Nourish and Nurture: Exploring the Intersection of Mental Health, Culture, and Eating Disorders”