Faculty and Staff
![Dr. Eva M. Moya Dr. Eva M. Moya](../_Files/images/Faculty and Staff/Eva-M.-Moya.jpg)
Dr. Eva M. Moya
Chair and Professor
Orville Edward Egbert, M.D. Endowed Professor in Health Sciences
Ph.D., The University of Texas at El Paso • MSSW, The University of Texas at Austin • BA, The University of Texas at El Paso • LMSW, State of Texas • Fellowship, Kellogg National Fellows Leadership Program • Practice Experience: Border health, community organization, bi-national social work and public policy • Research Interests: Homelessness, intimate partner violence, health disparities, community health, engaged scholarship, Photovoice method, HPV Food Equity• Bilingual: Spanish and English
emmoya@utep.edu
(915) 747-8493
Expertise Connector Profile
![Alma R. Armendáriz Alma R. Armendáriz](../../_Files/staff-faculty-image/alma-armendariz-v2.png)
Alma R. Armendáriz
Clinical Instructor and Field Coordinator
MSW, New Mexico State University • BSW, The University of Texas at El Paso • Practice Experience: Child welfare • Research Interests: Foster care system and youth aging out of foster care • Bilingual: English and Spanish
ararmendariz2@utep.edu
(915) 747-6595
Curriculum Vitae
![Erica R. Balderrama Erica R. Balderrama](../_Files/images/Faculty and Staff/Balderrama.jpg)
Erica R. Balderrama
Clinical Instructor and BSW Coordinator
MSW, The University of Texas at El Paso • BSW, The University of Texas at El Paso • Research Interests: LGBTQI population and life experiences, child welfare, foster care • Bilingual: English and Spanish
erbalderrama@utep.edu
(915) 747-8306
Expertise Connector Profile
![Jessica Bustillos Jessica Bustillos](../_Files/images/Faculty and Staff/Jessica_Bustillos.jpg)
Jessica Bustillos
Administrative Assistant I
jbustillos2@utep.edu
(915) 747-5095
![Dr. Bruce Friedman Dr. Bruce Friedman](../../_Files/staff-faculty-image/Friedman_Bruce.png)
Dr. Bruce Friedman
Professor
Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University
MSW, Washington University • BA in Religion and Sociology, Case Western Reserve University • Practice Experience: Management and program development, and individual, marriage and family counseling • Authorship: Academic texts in the areas of community-based participatory research, public health and health inequalities, teaching, and toolkits for research in the social sciences; cook book using food recipes to explain theoretical concepts to practicing social workers • Research Interests: Community-based participatory and action research, culture/ethnicity, health disparities, social systems, transdisciplinary practice, homelessness, substance abuse, management/administration, international issues, spirituality • Bilingual: English and Hebrew
bdfriedman@utep.edu
(915) 747-8078
Curriculum Vitae
![Dr. Hyejin Jung Dr. Hyejin Jung](../../ihs/_Files/images/SM Health Sciences-Jung-H.jpg)
Dr. Hyejin Jung
Associate Professor, MSW Program Coordinator
Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin • MSW, University of Alabama • BA, Pukyong National University • Practice Experience: Mental health care in hospital settings • Research Interests: Community-based practice, disparities in mental health care, mental health literacy and education, measurement and survey development, mental health in subsidized housing • Bilingual: English and Korean
hjung2@utep.edu
(915) 747-5453
Curriculum Vitae
![Dr. Jason Mallonee Dr. Jason Mallonee](../_Files/images/Faculty and Staff/Mallonee-FA23-Faculty-Picture-small.jpg)
Dr. Jason Mallonee
Assistant Professor
DSW, University of Pennsylvania • MSW, University of Southern California • MA in Education, Antioch University • BA in Visual Art, Oberlin College • Practice Experience: Trauma and mental health treatment across the lifespan; assertive community treatment, crisis intervention, program development and administration • Research Interests: Mental health treatment engagement, mental health disparities, help-seeking, community-engaged research, program development and implementation, the therapeutic relationship, food insecurity, cyberbullying, and factors impacting the provision and receipt of mental health services.
jrmallonee@utep.edu
(915) 747-8588
Curriculum Vitae
![Rosario Olivera Rosario Olivera](../_Files/images/Rosario-Olivera.jpg)
Rosario Olivera
Clinical Instructor
MSW, Boston University • BA, Psychology and BA Social Sciences, Westfield State College • Practice Experience: Integrated behavioral health care, policy and advocacy practice, mental health programs administration in child, adult, forensic and specialty care services • Bilingual: Spanish and English
reolivera@utep.edu
![Anthony Thornton Anthony Thornton](../_Files/images/Faculty and Staff/Thornton_SM.jpg)
Anthony Thornton
Director of the Title IV-E Child Welfare Training Collaborative
PhD student, Arizona State University • MSW, University of Texas San Antonio • BSP, University of Phoenix • LCSW, State of Arizona • Practice Experience: Inpatient and outpatient community mental health and private practice • Research interests: public child welfare, generalist social work practice and community mental health with minority children and families.
agthornton2@utep.edu
![Dr. Viridiana Ortiz Dr. Viridiana Ortiz](../_Files/images/Viridiana-Sigala.png)
Dr. Viridiana Ortiz
Clinical Assistant Professor
• Ph.D., Our Lady of the Lake University • MSW, The University of Texas at El Paso • BSW, The University of Texas at El Paso • LCSW-S, State of Texas • Board Approved Clinical Supervisor, State of Texas • Practice Experience: Medical social work, integrated medical and behavioral health model, mental health services with Native American and Hispanic children, adolescents and adults, crisis intervention, mental health program administration and development • Research interests: Mental health disparities in minority communities, cultural competence, community-based behavioral health practice, and immigration • Bilingual: English and Spanish
vortiz19@utep.edu
![Dr. Yok-Fong Paat Dr. Yok-Fong Paat](../_Files/images/paat.jpg)
Dr. Yok-Fong Paat
Associate Professor
College of Health Sciences Dean’s Faculty Fellow for Scholarship and Research, Provost's Faculty Fellow for Community-Engaged Scholarship
Ph.D., University of Oklahoma • MPS, Pennsylvania State University • MSW, University of Oklahoma • BSW, Western Michigan University • LCSW, State of Texas • Practice Experience: Child welfare, social services, and clinical counseling • Research Interests: Family health, health behavior, community health, mental health, child well-being, interpersonal violence, targeted violence, education, social integration, social justice, altruism, migration, immigration, and homeland security • Trilingual: English, Chinese and Malay
ypaat@utep.edu
(915) 747-5789
![Christina Saenz Christina Saenz](../_Files/images/Faculty and Staff/Christina Saenz.jpg)
Christina Saenz
Clinical Instructor and BSW Practicum Coordinator
MSW, The University of Texas at El Paso • BSW with Minor in Speech Language Pathology, The University of Texas at El Paso • LMSW, State of Texas • Practice Experience: Child welfare, foster care, military child welfare, and medical social work • Research Interests: Foster care, medical social work, and social work role in interprofessional healthcare • Bilingual: English and Spanish
crsaenz2@utep.edu
(915) 747-0272
![Dr. Jennifer J. Salinas Dr. Jennifer J. Salinas](../_Files/images/Jennifer-Salinas-130x195.jpg)
Dr. Jennifer J. Salinas
Associate Professor
Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin • MSW, The University of Pennsylvania • BA, The University of Massachusetts at Amherst • LMSW, State of Texas • Practice Experience: inpatient medical, outpatient/inpatient psychiatry, community engagement, disease prevention • Research Interests: Health disparities, social determinants of health, healthy eating and active living, cancer and chronic disease prevention• Bilingual: Spanish and English
jsalinas7@utep.edu
(915) 747-7292
Professor Emeritus
![Dr. Candyce Berger Dr. Candyce Berger](../_Files/images/Faculty and Staff/dr.-berger.jpg)
Dr. Candyce Berger
Professor Emeritus
cberger2@utep.edu
![Dr. Mark Lusk Dr. Mark Lusk](../_Files/images/Faculty and Staff/Lusk-Portrait-130x195-1445874237.jpg)
Dr. Mark Lusk
Professor Emeritus
Ed.D and MSW, University of Kentucky • BA, New Mexico State University • LMSW, State of Texas • Practice Experience: Mental health, international development • Research Interests: Migration, trauma, resilience • Fulbright Scholar (Peru and Brazil) • Tri-lingual: English, Spanish and Portuguese
mwlusk@utep.edu
915-929-4200
Adjunct Faculty
![Dr. Lauren Gibson Dr. Lauren Gibson](../_Files/images/Faculty and Staff/Dr. Gibson Small.jpg)
Dr. Lauren Gibson
Lecturer
DSW, Tulane University • MSW, Florida State University • LCSW, State of Texas • Practice Experience: Military, grief, trauma, primary care behavioral health, counseling with individual and families, oncology, trauma therapy, personality disorders • Research interests: Prolonged grief disorder and complicated grief in the military, primary care behavioral health interventions, compassion fatigue, and suicide prevention.
lpgibson2@utep.edu
![Roberto Vara Roberto Vara](../_Files/images/Faculty and Staff/Vara SW.jpg)
Roberto Vara
Adjunct Professor
MSW, New Mexico State University • BSW, The University of Texas at El Paso • Practice Experience: School Social Worker• Bilingual: English and Spanish
rvara@utep.edu
Curriculum Vitae
![Yahell Zuñiga Yahell Zuñiga](../../_Files/staff-faculty-image/yahell-zuniga.png)
Yahell Zuñiga
Lecturer
MSW, University of Denver • BSW, The University of Texas at El Paso • LCSW, State of Texas• Practice Experience: Children and adolescent mental health, early childhood intervention, children with disabilities, family court services, clinical counseling, clinical supervision • Research interests: family dynamics, early attachment, nurturing parenting • Bilingual: English and Spanish
yzuniga@utep.edu
Affiliate Faculty
![Arturo Acosta Arturo Acosta](../_Files/images/Faculty and Staff/Arturo-Acosta-130x195.jpg)
Arturo Acosta
Lecturer
MSW, New Mexico State University • BSW, The University of Texas at El Paso • Associate of Arts, El Paso Community College • LCSW, State of Texas • LCDC, State of Texas • Practice Experience: Substance abuse • Bilingual: Spanish and English
aacost96@epcc.edu
(915) 747-5095
![Dr. Silvia M. Chavez-Baray Dr. Silvia M. Chavez-Baray](../_Files/images/Faculty and Staff/Silvia-Chavez-Baray-130x195.jpg)
Dr. Silvia M. Chavez-Baray
Lecturer
Ph.D. in Psychology, Instituto Humanista de Sinaloa, Mexico • Master of Science in Child Psychology, Instituto Humanista de Sinaloa • Licenciada – Psychology, Centro de Estudios Universitarios, Monterrey • Practice Experience: Child welfare, clinical counseling, guardianship, foster care and adoption • Research Interests: Health, intimate partner violence and clinical assessment, migration • Bilingual: Spanish and English
smchavezbaray@utep.edu