Seunghye Hong (Principal Investigator)
Dr. Seunghye Hong is a Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health, Department of Social Work. She earned her Ph.D. in Social Welfare from the University of Washington, Seattle, WA, and an M.A. and a B.A. in Social Work from the Ewha Women’s University, Seoul, South Korea. Her research focuses on social, cultural, and developmental contexts and the associations with health and behavioral mental health outcomes including substance use disorders and co-occurring disorders and the healthcare and health services use among racial and ethnic minorities. She has extensive experience in quantitative research methods, evaluations, and data analytics. She has had the privilege of serving as Principal Investigator (PI) for two federally funded projects: she is currently serving as PI for the HRSA-funded Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) for Paraprofessionals (2021–2025, Hawaiʻi Behavioral Health Training Institute (HBHTI) project) and served as PI for the CDC-funded Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) Care Coordination and Capacity Building (C3) project (2019-2023) through the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health (DOH), Behavioral Health Administration (BHA).
Gwen Williams (Co-Principal Investigator)
Gwen Williams is a Professor in Human Services and the developer and Coordinator of the Certificate of Competence in Substance Use Disorders Counseling Program (COSUDS) at the University of Hawaiʻi’s Leeward Community College. Her education began at San Mateo Community College in California. Thereafter, she studied at the University of California at Santa Cruz and secured a BA in Psychology and a BA in Environmental Studies. Desiring to attend an MSW program that had a cross-cultural focus, she applied to the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa’s Masters in Social Work program and moved to Hawai’i and specialized in the field of mental/behavioral health. Gwen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and also holds a Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (DCSW). While her full-time work has been primarily in teaching and coordinating the COSUDS program, for decades she has also had a part-time psychotherapy practice. Although her work involved intervention with a multitude of mental and behavioral health conditions, a good amount of her focus has been on healing the trauma from intimate partner physical and sexual violence. She received her Ph.D. in Transformative Learning and Change from California Institute of Integral Studies. She is a student of consciousness and her life’s path has involved engaging in processes and practices that have helped her and others transform and move toward greater wholeness.
Constance “Connie” Emory-Khenmy (Program Coordinator)
Constance (“Connie”) Emory-Khenmy received her Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Connie has previous research experience on topics such as mental health and substance use. She possesses a Master’s in Public Health degree and the focus of her master’s capstone project was on serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders in Hawaiʻi. A closing recommendation for her capstone project was to increase the behavioral health workforce to address the predicted increase of individuals who would need behavioral health services during and after the pandemic.
Austin Ajimura (Program Specialist)
Austin Ajimura is a graduate of the Master of Public Health program at the Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, specializing in Social and Behavioral Health Sciences. He earned his BS in Biology and BA in Women’s Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) in 2019. Austin previously worked as a Graduate Research Assistant with the Hawaiʻi Coordinated Access Resource Entry System (CARES), a collaboration between UHM and the Hawaiʻi Department of Health to provide crisis, mental health, and substance use support to residents statewide. Austin previously served as the Patient Advocacy Lead for the Hawaiʻi Houseless Outreach and Medical Education (HOME) Project through the UHM John A. Burns School of Medicine.
Previous Team Members
Mathew Goldberg (Program Coordinator)
Mat is a Licensed Social Worker who earned his Master’s of Social Work from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health. Currently he serves as a Board Member for the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and for Ethnic Education Hawai’i (EEH). He is a former East West Center Graduate Degree Fellow and a former Fulbright grantee in South Korea.
Janette Lee (Research and Program Assistant)
Janette is currently an MSW student at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, who is specializing in Health and a Student Affiliate with the East West Center. She earned her bachelor’s at the University of California, San Diego in Sociocultural Anthropology with a minor in Human Rights in 2016 where she was a presenter at the Undergraduate Research Conference, board member of the Anthropology Club, and a member of the collegiate archery team. After receiving her undergraduate degree, she had been working in non-profit and most recently was a part of the COVID Response Team at a social services organization in Los Angeles.
Melvin Dizon (Research and Program Assistant)
Melvin Dizon is a medically retired, disabled combat veteran, Philanthropist and Entrepreneur. He is an undergraduate student triple majoring in Ethnic Studies, Psychology, and Social Work while minoring in Sociology with a concentration in Criminology, Deviance, and Social Control and earning a certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. His goal is to move on to the Master’s of Social Work program and become a Licensed Social Worker while pursuing his Ph.D. in Psychology. He is the current President and webmaster of Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in the Social Sciences Alpha Chapter. Vice President Mortar Board Senior National Honor Society Hui Po’okela Chapter and Psi Sigma, UH Mānoa’s Psychology Club. The Senator of the College of Arts and Sciences of Associated Students of the Ӱҵ, Board Member of the Student Activity and Program Fee Board, and lastly, Junior Class Representative of the Bachelor of Social Work Organization.
Justice Merriman (Student Assistant)
Justice is currently a student in the Master of Social Work program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, specializing in Behavioral Mental Health. She began studying at De Anza Community College and went on to earn her BA in Sociology. Upon graduating, Justice worked in street-based outreach and data collection. In her ongoing learning, her primary interest is serving those who are currently unhoused and advancing housing security.
Sunja Kim (Sustainability Analyst)