Fellows

Madison is a doctoral student at Columbia University School of Social Work exploring the intersections of intimate partner violence (IPV), illicit drug use, and criminalization. Her research explores the multi-level impact of substance use coercion among women who use drugs, aiming to understand the survival and care strategies they engage in when traditional paths to safety are unavailable. 

Currently, Madison is a fellow in the NIH T-32 Predoctoral Training Program on HIV and Substance Use in the Criminal Justice System, under the mentorship of Dr. Victoria Frye. Her goal is to develop a syndemic-focused intervention to enhance safe drug use and reduce health-related risk factors associated with substance use coercion, such as overdose and intimate partner homicide. 

Prior to her doctoral studies, Madison worked as a counselor and legal advocate for criminalized survivors detained at Rikers Island. She also served as a case manager for incarcerated men in Detroit, MI. In her personal time, Madison runs a community mutual aid initiative providing survivors of IPV and sex trafficking with free tattoo cover-ups. Madison earned her BA from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, and her MSW from Columbia University School of Social Work

Kevonyah Edwards is a doctoral student at the Columbia University School of Social Work. Her research focuses on integrating culturally competent substance abuse treatment within correctional settings. Her interest broadly focuses on providing behavioral health services in both correctional and community correctional settings. Prior to coming to Columbia, Kevonyah was a clinical supervisor at Talbert House, a large non-profit organization in Cincinnati, Ohio,  She oversaw the daily clinical operations of a 146 jail-based substance abuse program in conjunction with the Hamilton County Justice Center. Kevonyah earned her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Cincinnati in 2019 where she was a PRI-Care Fellow where she worked to integrate behavioral health services into primary care. Keonyah graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2015 with a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice. Kevonyah is a Licensed Social Worker (LSW) and Licensed Independent Chemical Dependency Counselor (LICDC) in the state of Ohio.

Linkedin link linkedin.com/in/kevonyah-e-b1507595.

Katie is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the NIH T32 Training Program on HIV and Substance Use in the Criminal Justice System. Her research focuses on using community-engaged approaches to understand the syndemic intersections of substance use, violence, and health among urban women. During her doctoral training at the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health, Katie validated a traumatic life events index tailored for women who use drugs and examined how trauma shapes HIV risk. She also contributed to the evaluation of community-based drug treatment programs and trauma-informed mental health interventions aimed at reducing HIV risk among women who inject drugs. Prior to her doctoral training, Katie worked as a Program Coordinator at Johns Hopkins University, supporting peer-based interventions to increase access to infectious diseases testing and treatment for individuals living with HIV, Hepatitis C, and substance use disorders.

Katie has been recognized for excellence in mentorship at Drexel University and has co-authored multiple peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Clinical Infectious Diseases, Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, and International Journal of Drug Policy. She has presented her work at national and international conferences and was recently awarded a fellowship with the International Network on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users (INHSU), aimed at strengthening the capacity of professionals working with women who use drugs. Her work is grounded in a commitment to reducing stigma surrounding substance use and infectious diseases and advancing evidence-based harm reduction strategies that improve health equity for people who use drugs.

Daria is a doctoral student at Columbia University School of Social Work on the Advanced Practice track. Their research focuses on gentrification, social determinants of health, and the impacts of racism and discrimination on mental health, self-determination, and self-worth. As their research takes a community-focused approach to systems of oppression, Daria intends to improve policy that disproportionately criminalizes and incarcerates communities of color by leveraging data that amplifies the voices of the communities directly impacted by these policies with the goal of identifying actionable and equitable recommendations. As a Fellow in the NIH T32 Predoctoral Training Program on HIV and Substance Use in the Criminal Justice System, Daria hopes to focus their work on those incarcerated who have been impacted by substance use, housing insecurity, and other social determinants of health.

Prior to coming to Columbia, Daria was a therapist at the Valley Youth House Achieving Independence Center, where they empowered clients to achieve wellness goals through individual solution-focused brief therapy and group therapy. Daria earned their Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice in 2022, where they had rich clinical experiences at the Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia where they conducted trauma-focused therapy sessions, and at Delaware County Memorial Hospital where they facilitated substance use therapy sessions with individuals and groups. Daria graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Michigan in 2020, where they assisted with research on methods and sex differences, facilitated dialogues for high school students on power and privilege, and researched implicit gender stereotypes in parents and children using open source software.