Women's History Month

A seat at the table: So to Speak journal celebrates its 30th anniversary

Sarah Holland — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 13:45:01 +0000

A seat at the table: So to Speak journal celebrates its 30th anniversary Sarah Holland Thu, 03/21/2024 - 09:45

Imagine: the early 1990s. Toni Morrison just won a Nobel Prize. The Soviet Union is dissolving. Amazon, an online bookstore, is about to launch on the brand-new worldwide web. And women are still, overwhelmingly, not being published.

Photo courtesy of So to Speak.

But in 1993, a group of students in the MFA in creative writing program at George Mason plans to change that with the launch of So to Speak, a feminist journal for art and literature.

“Journals, while theoretically open to everyone, were dominated by male authors,” said Colleen Kearney Rich, MFA ‘95. “There weren’t many places for women, specifically, to be published. We wanted a seat at the table.”

Rich was one of the original editors of the journal, recruited by the cohort of poetry and fiction students who spearheaded the idea.

Back in the early days, the journal had minimal funding. “Only a thousand dollars!” Rich remembered. “All the other established journals could pay their staff. It was volunteer work for us in the beginning.”

Working on the journal at night after classes, teaching each other how to use Adobe PageMaker, filing tons of paperwork: the first issue of the journal was a true labor of love that they weren’t sure was going to be well-received.

“We were trying to figure out how we could print this thing with only $1000,” she said, “And we were worried about the pushback we’d get.”

But there was clear and obvious interest from authors outside of Mason.

“I remember when our first submissions came in. One of them was poems from Lucinda Roy, the award-winning novelist and poet. And I thought ‘Oh my gosh, this is real. People are really coming to us.’”

Even in those early days of bringing finished copies to the printers on disc drives, So to Speak was, Rich thinks, a trailblazer.

“I feel like it set the tone for the shifts we’re seeing in publishing now,” Rich said. “In the past ten years, journals have become more cognizant of diversifying the authors they publish. But that’s what So to Speak has done since the beginning. We were always ahead of the curve.”

Thirty years, more funding, and the advent of USBs and Cloud drives, So to Speak’s core mission remains the same: give underrepresented voices a seat at the table.

“Literary journals, though improving, are still overwhelming homogenous in who they publish. And many of them are currently being defunded,” said current editor-in-chief Eli Vandegrift. Vandegrift, BA English ’20, returned to Mason for their MFA in creative writing. They’ve worked on So to Speak since their first semester in the MFA program, first as the assistant poetry editor and then moving up through the ranks.

“We’re trying to showcase a wider range of voices, and we want to support writers and artists whose experiences and perspectives are not published as frequently. We want to read from as many different identities as possible,” said Vandegrift. “Giving a platform for those who have been silenced, censored, or underrepresented is what So to Speak is all about. And it’s awesome that MFA faculty and Mason continue to be supportive and invested in our work.”

So to Speak embodies their mission of bringing more voices to the table in its staff as well as its contributors. Because So to Speak is an entirely student-run publication, graduate students across the MFA’s three concentrations get the chance to experience the other side of publishing and editing: parsing through submissions, organizing content, printing and distributing each issue, and managing administrative tasks.

“It gives you a new perspective, being on the other side of the submission portal,” Vandegrift explained. “You realize that a rejection, for example, might have nothing to do with quality of your work, but is just a matter of taste. Try again in two years, when the reviewers might be different, and you could get a completely different answer. But that’s good: to evolve and change in what we’re looking for allows for more people to be seen and heard across the industry.”

Since the beginning, putting it all together has been a team effort. For both Rich and Vandegrift, cooperation and collaboration between the various editors is key to So to Speak’s success.

“My team is incredible,” Vandegrift said. “And I think that, because we work as colleagues and not as a hierarchy, it really speaks to the vision of equity that forms the foundation of the journal itself.”

Another thing both editors agree on: as long as it continues to evolve, So to Speak has a bright future ahead.

“I hope it made a difference,” Rich said. “I hope prospective students saw what we were doing—what they’re still doing—and felt that they and their art would be welcomed at Mason.”

Editors of So to Speak with fellow editors from the Phoebe journal and Stillhouse Press at the 2019 Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference. Photo courtesy of the Creative Writing Program.

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Why is Women’s History Month important?

Colleen Rich — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 14:13:59 +0000

Why is Women’s History Month important? Colleen Rich Wed, 03/20/2024 - 10:13

��AV professor Christy Pichichero calls women's history, “history with a capital H.”

“Women's history is just telling history as it was,” said Pichichero, an associate professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “You cannot tell the history of this continent or of universal suffrage without talking about indigenous women like Sacajawea or Marie Baldwin.”

Pichichero teaches in Mason’s African and African American Studies Program, and in the Departments of History and Art History and Modern and Classical Languages. This semester she is teaching HIST 535 The Black Atlantic World, which focuses on the complex relationship between Europe, Africa, and the Americans from the 15th century until today.

As for her own role in history, Pichichero aspires to help others broaden their perspectives. “I hope to change history by helping people think differently—to realize how many histories, how many people have been brushed aside and neglected and forgotten.”

“New histories, new perspectives, new languages are keys to uncovering information about the past, the present, and the future of humanity and our universe,” she said. “They're also keys to a better world for all of us.”

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This royal alumna’s foundation works to prevent poaching

Sarah Holland — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 17:29:34 +0000

This royal alumna’s foundation works to prevent poaching Sarah Holland Thu, 03/14/2024 - 13:29

Listening to Aliyah Pandolfi, BS Management ‘04, talk about her journey from entrepreneur to anti-poaching advocate, it can be easy to forget another title she holds: princess.

Pandolfi pose with one of the drone prototypes. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Pandolfi is a descendant of one of the royal families of Kashmir—a Himalayan region occupied by foreign military forces. Her father fled to Pakistan as a child during territorial disputes and later became a Pakistani diplomat in Washington, D.C., after which he moved his family to Northern Virginia. After retirement, he earned his real estate license. Pandolfi recalls going to her father’s office, where her interest in business began.

By 18, she had started her own real estate company. Pandolfi needed her college education to fit around the full-time responsibilities of business ownership—and that’s where her journey intersected with Mason. After she earned an associate’s degree she took advantage of the university’s flexible course offerings and completed her bachelor’s while continuing her career.

Her management degree would eventually lead Pandolfi from independent business owner to an international foundation: the Kashmir World Foundation (KwF). KwF has three arms—Kashmir Academy, Kashmir Robotics, and Kashmir Rose—working toward conservation and endangered species protection through education, technological development, and art, respectively. The foundation specifically focuses on developing drones that support anti-poaching efforts. Previous projects include using drones in the African bush that could identify poachers and share their location with authorities, and drones with the real-time ability to identify sea turtle tracks and geolocate their nests.

Pandolfi is known for thinking of solutions far outside the box. But she views that space of evolution and innovation as precisely where the KwF needs to be. “I want to revolutionize not just what we create, but how we think about autonomous aerial, ground, and marine systems and what they’re capable of,” she says.

That strong belief in the importance of evolution and growth is something she sees reflected in Mason.

“Both Mason and I are so different from when I was a student, but that evolution is necessary,” she says. “Resilience is inherent to being able to grow and flourish, to allow different views to be accepted and applied. I see that resilience in Mason.”

Pandolfi’s daughter, Kashmir, attended the Mason Space Exploration Center Summer Camp at the Fairfax Campus this past summer, continuing the Mason legacy.

“I continue to carry the Mason spirit wherever I go. I want to be defined not by my title, but by my legacy. I want to lead by example and bring people together to solve problems that might seem impossible.”

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Pitch Perfect: Entrepreneur hopes to change lives and inspire others

Colleen Rich — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 14:15:51 +0000

Pitch Perfect: Entrepreneur hopes to change lives and inspire others Colleen Rich Wed, 03/13/2024 - 10:15

When Shrishti Singh came to ��AV for her doctoral studies, she had a goal in mind: developing a new technology that would allow the visualization of cancer in deep tissue and perhaps enable earlier diagnoses.

Using a combination of FDA-approved dyes for photoacoustic imaging, Singh created an injectable contrast agent that attaches to tumor cells and increases the visibility of those cells against the background tissue.

Singh completed her PhD in bioengineering in 2022, but her relationship with the university continues. During her time at Mason, Singh has used all the tools the university provides to bring her discovery to the marketplace.

In April 2023, Singh was on one of the 15 teams that competed for $40,000 in prizes at the Costello College of Business annual Patriot Pitch Competition. She took home first place and the Mason’s Choice Award in the competition’s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) track.

In November 2023, Singh was at Mason Square pitching her technology at Mason’s annual Accelerate Investor Conference, which attracts more than 400 entrepreneurs, investors, students, and members of the Washington, D.C., entrepreneurial ecosystem. She was awarded $2,000 for her efforts.

“I'm a researcher by training. I've been trained to present at scientific conferences so talking in front of an audience was not difficult for me,” said Singh. “The difficult part was assimilating all of the business information that I've learned so far into a presentation or a slide deck, and to be able to present that in a time-constrained environment.”

Singh, now a postdoctoral fellow at Mason, has cofounded a company, NIRView Biosciences, with her bioengineering faculty mentors Remi Veneziano and Parag Chitnis, and Singh and NIRView Biosciences have been designated a 2023 Virginia Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Success Story.

“As we develop the company, [Veneziano and Chitnis] are involved in creating strategy and vision of the company, along with helping me write grants and obtain funding,” she said. “They provide me with mentorship on the technology front to be able to take this company forward.”

Singh and her cofounders were a few of 30,000 entrepreneurs who participated in a Virginia SBDC workshop, seminar, or training in 2023. Through its 16 programs, the Virginia SBDC, which is part of Mason Enterprise, helped 10,000 businesses, provided 40,000 hours of one-on-one counseling, offered 1,600 training programs, and incubated more than 550 companies with an impact of $3.36 billion. Of the businesses served, 61% were woman-owned, 46% were minority-owned, and 15% were veteran-owned.

Mason researcher Remi Veneziano, Shrishti Singh, and Parag Chitnis cofounded NIRView Biosciences. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

“The SBDC has been one of our biggest supporters,” Singh said. “I work extensively with my SBDC mentor, Elizabeth Pyle, who is always ready to be to give us advice on how to take the business forward.”

Singh and Veneziano participated in SBDC’s Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP), a no-cost incubator that helps technology start-ups from ideation to initial funding and beyond. They worked with ICAP’s life science business mentors over the course of a year to position their technology for successful commercialization, and in 2023 they were accepted into the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program, which provides financial support and experiential education to help university researchers commercialize scientific discoveries.

“The support of SBDC has been tremendous,” said Singh, who also has a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut and an engineering degree from Ramaiah Institute of Technology in Bangalore, India. “My training has been on the scientific front, so SBDC helped me learn different aspects of the lean business model canvas, customer discovery, and product-market fit, which was a new learning curve for me.”

Singh said while she chose Mason originally for its diversity, it is the people and community here that have made a difference in her life. “I have made friends, and I have gained mentors that are still an active part of my professional life,” she said. “I have been able to take this education and put it toward a better professional vision that I've always wanted. I can say Mason is the reason I have been able to accomplish a lot of my dreams.”

Costello College's Patriot Pitch Competition supports idea and early-stage business ventures and is open to current Mason students and recent alumni from all majors/fields of study.

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Women’s empowerment in the workplace starts with smarter networking

Colleen Rich — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 17:13:51 +0000

Women’s empowerment in the workplace starts with smarter networking Colleen Rich Mon, 03/11/2024 - 13:13

Women’s History Month offers a chance to examine the gender leadership gap. According to a 2022 World Economic Forum report, just 31% of global leadership roles are held by women.

Sarah Wittman. Photo provided

Networking is one effective way to bridge the gap, but research shows that women are at an unfair disadvantage in this area. Sarah Wittman, an assistant professor of management at Costello College of Business at ��AV, unpacks this complex problem and proposes some potential research-based solutions.

Why is it important for women to network as much—and as strategically—as men?

To rise to the top, you have to be known and known of. You have to have social capital—and a social network that makes a difference. Of course, nobody likes to be thought of as “that person”: the person who uses other people for their own advancement. Yet research suggests that in professional networks women are less likely than men to network instrumentally, accumulate instrumental ties and, thus, less likely to have within their networks the powerful people who can help them advance and get things done. Over time, women’s network deficits accumulate: especially in an age of online social media including LinkedIn, if you didn’t connect with colleagues in your last job, you likely aren’t connecting this job. And those people are the ones who know you and could help you land your next job.

What, then, can women do to build useful career networks?

One piece of advice is, of course, to change your mentality—so that networking becomes relationship-building not just contact-accumulation. That fits better with what is expected of women and is less likely to receive backlash. Where networking is “just” relationship-building, it becomes less intimidating and, quite frankly, less grossly utilitarian. Especially when you’re not needing anything now, you can creatively focus on what you might give. Rather than thinking about the resources you might need, think about what resources you might represent for others. The universe repays, and having established contacts when you do need to leverage them is invaluable.

Second, make network-building easy on yourself. Just do it. LinkedIn particularly and other similar online social media are amazing tools because they are both personal and surprisingly impersonal. These days, people link with people they don’t even actually know—but perceive as working in the same industry, or in a relevant function. Linking with those possibly relevant others will not only be low risk (the “no,” if there is one, doesn’t come face-to-face), but where you engage with the platform, the professional content that you produce will allow you and your resources to become known, and known of, across your contacts’ feeds.

It’s easier to start with networks that you legitimately belong to alumni of – your high school, university, or sorority, and people who share some element of your professional past or present (ex- or present colleagues). You never know who is doing what, and how that might be related to your own career.

Unbeknownst to you, you may already have valuable social capital at your fingertips, in so-called “multiplex” ties—ones that can serve multiple ends. Do you know what your neighbors do for work? What about your children’s friends’ parents? Or your spouse’s co-workers’ spouses (or children)? But, again, the more of a decent human being you are in these relationships, the more likely they might be willing to provide professional value as well.

So the networking gap boils down to women being “too nice,” not aggressive enough to put themselves out there?

No! Scholars have written extensively on the so-called “double-bind” for women, especially those in leadership positions. Research shows that—regardless of what they do—they will be judged negatively based on warmth versus competence. Too nice? Not smart, and disrespected. Too strategic? Cold and conniving, and disliked. This goes for networking, too. Women who “reach for the top” in their networking are not seen as team players (violating feminine norms of communalism) and may suffer a status penalty versus women who have less instrumental networks. But women who don’t have those instrumental ties aren’t able to advance.

“Fixing women” is not the answer. In the C-suite, empowering words for women must be matched by action. Senior leaders must be ready to appoint capable and deserving women to positions of organizational relevance.

Closer to home, men who love women and have seen women’s challenges firsthand tend to be some of our biggest allies. CEOs with daughters, for example, are more likely to have women join their boards. Men: Understand that the women whose advancement you empower today will—en masse—be the role models that pave the way for the advancement of your own daughters, nieces, and granddaughters.

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2024 Sojourner Truth lecturer Rokhaya Diallo explores her life and the experiences of women

Shayla Brown — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 20:21:56 +0000

2024 Sojourner Truth lecturer Rokhaya Diallo explores her life and the experiences of women Shayla Brown Fri, 03/08/2024 - 15:21

Award-winning journalist, broadcast host, and filmmaker Rokhaya Diallo is ��AV’s 2024 Sojourner Truth Lecture speaker and award recipient. Born in France to Senegalese and Indian parents, Diallo said she started to notice that fewer people looked like her as she advanced in her studies and career. This led her to explore her own identity and depict the experiences of other women of color in her work.

Sojourner Truth lecture speaker Rokhaya Diallo. Photo by Brigitte Sombie.

Race wasn’t something Diallo was really aware of while she was growing up, she said. “The U.S. narrative is prevalent all over the world, so whenever we speak about Black [public] figures [in France], we only refer to American figures,” said Diallo. For example, she said, there are landmarks named after figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., but not many named after historic Black figures from France.

Diallo’s lecture discussed Republican Universalism in France, and she shared clips from her documentaries demonstrating the challenges Black women in France faced expressing their multiple identities in a society that prides itself on being “colorblind.”

“It was important to question how France displayed itself on film and TV,” she said in describing her 2020 documentary Acting While Black: Blackness on French Screens.  “[The country] tried to tackle racist sentiments in the public space but also reshape the idea that we had about the French identity,” said Diallo.

“This was my favorite part of the lecture,” said LaNitra Berger, associate professor of history and art history and director of African and African American Studies Program. “It really highlighted the inconsistencies in French policy and culture that make it difficult for people of color to feel accepted in French society.”

Diallo’s February 26 lecture was virtual to an in-person audience.

“We wanted to be cost effective and honor Rokhaya's busy schedule, but we also wanted the feeling of a community gathering in person to discuss an important topic,” said Berger.  

The Sojourner Truth award is given annually to a Black woman whose work embodies the principles of Sojourner Truth through art, scholarship, activism, and contributions to public life. Sojourner Truth was an outspoken advocate for abolition, civil and women's rights in the nineteenth century. Previous speakers have included Marilyn Mobley, Jennifer C. Nash, Kakenya Ntaiya, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, and Aja Clark.

Also in attendance at the lecture was Stephanie Rambo, an assistant professor with Mason’s English Department. Rambo was presented with the Sojourner Truth Faculty Award by Berger for her research on literary Black girlhood across the diaspora.

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Empowering girls in STEAM at the Potomac Science Center

Lauren Reuscher — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 17:31:16 +0000

Empowering girls in STEAM at the Potomac Science Center Lauren Reuscher Wed, 03/06/2024 - 12:31

��AV’s Potomac Science Center hosted the Girls in STEAM Empowerment Conference on Thursday, February 29. This annual event welcomed 60 middle school students for a day of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM). The event promotes STEAM careers for young women through engaging discussions and hands-on activities.

The Girls in STEAM Empowerment Conference was cosponsored by Mason, Schneider Electric, Prince William County Public Schools, The NEED Project, Dominion Energy, Iron Mountain Data Centers, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners, and ACI Solutions. Pictured: Abigail Weigel, Schneider Electric. Photo by PEREC

Students learned about energy science and engineered energy efficient structures. All the student attendees came from five Title I schools in Prince William County.

The National Energy Education Development Project (The NEED Project) led two energy workshops. Participants built and tested the efficiency of a mocked-up “thermally insulated house” and generated and measured electricity conducted through various objects.

Middle school students engaged in hands-on STEAM activities along the waterfront of the Potomac Science Center. Photo by PEREC

A panel of women in STEAM shared stories about how they came into their careers and responded to student questions. The panel included Cindy Smith, professor of environmental science and policy and director K-12 partnerships for the Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center (PEREC).

Mason Professor Cindy Smith (second from left) with Prince William County Schools staff Melinda Landry, Jeanne Jabara BS Biology ‘80, MS Environmental Biology ‘83, and Jess Doiron. Photo by PEREC

The Girls in STEAM Empowerment Conference is cosponsored by Mason, Schneider Electric, Prince William County Public Schools, The NEED Project, Dominion Energy, Iron Mountain Data Centers, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners, and ACI Solutions.

Conference space at the Potomac Science Center. Photo by PEREC

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Mason alumna named Business Person of the Year by Virginia Business

Colleen Rich — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 16:10:44 +0000

Mason alumna named Business Person of the Year by Virginia Business Colleen Rich Mon, 02/26/2024 - 11:10

Kristen Cavallo already had an undergraduate degree in business under her belt, but she knew she needed additional knowledge and skills to truly get ahead in the field. “I wanted to make sure I focused on a different concentration so my additional schooling wouldn’t feel redundant but would feel cumulative or additive,” she said. “So I focused more on the math side.”

Kristen Cavallo. Photo provided

As it happened, the Master of Business Administration Program at ��AV’s Costello College of Business featured a math-intensive concentration in decisions sciences and statistics, ideal for her needs. She earned her MBA in 1992.

Flash forward to three decades later: In 2023, Cavallo was CEO of two major advertising and marketing firms and was named the Virginia Business Magazine Business Person of 2023, a distinction that recognizes her achievements in growing companies while emphasizing diversity in leadership.

For the past six years, Cavallo has been CEO of the Richmond, Virginia-based Martin Agency which represents name brands including Geico, DoorDash, CarMax, Papa Johns, and any number of instantly recognizable products and services. In November 2022, Cavallo became CEO of London-based MullenLowe Global, an international marketing and communications network that is owned by a parent holding company with Martin, Interpublic Group of Cos.

That had Cavallo leading some 5,000 employees in 13 countries, with 400 of them in Richmond.

While the award took her by surprise, it’s not the first time her work has been recognized by industry leaders. The Martin Agency—did you see their OREO cookie “twist on it” spot during the Super Bowl?—has been named Agency of the Year three times by Adweek magazine; in 2019 Cavallo was Ad Age’s Executive of the Year.

Cavallo was CEO of the Martin Agency, which represents name brands including Geico, DoorDash, CarMax, Papa Johns, and any number of instantly recognizable products and services. Photo provided

“Growth is our shield,” Cavallo said of her business strategy. “I spend a lot of time talking about growth and determining what businesses we go after and what we don’t.”

Something must be working: Martin’s topline revenue increased by 50% under Cavallo’s leadership.

As she grew the profit line, she also diversified the corporate leadership, bringing in Danny Robinson as the agency’s first Black chief creative officer to a leadership team that is “35-40% people of color,” she said, and assuring “a pretty even split of male and female leaders.” Robinson was named CEO of Martin in January 2024.

The diversity, she said, “has been part of my strategy. I believe diverse leadership teams produce higher morale, higher revenue, higher margins, higher employee participation. And it’s proven to be true.”

As it happens, Cavallo is just one in a family with deep Mason ties. “It’s the one school all three of us have in common,” she said of her siblings. “It kind of ties us all together.”

One of her brothers, Mike Pflugrath, has a MEd in education leadership from Mason and, since 2019, has been principal of Osborn High School in Manassas; the former Virginia assistant principal of the year has worked with Mason to become partners in the Direct Admissions Program.

Cavallo said the program is “really is a statement about George Mason and their collaboration to really get the best out of students today from all walks of life, and I know my brother appreciates it enormously.”

Brother Pete Pflugrath earned his MS in software systems engineering and is now executive vice president of federal contractor ARServices. His wife, Clara Hauth, is a Mason PhD grad in Educational Leadership/Special Education, His daughter, Lauren Pflugrath, earned her law degree from Mason, and Lauren's husband, Bill Boyle, has a Mason master’s degree in accounting.

“We come from a family of educators,” Cavallo said. “Education has always been a priority in our family, and George Mason is the common link with most of us.”

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Meet the Mason Nation: Rachel Wernicke, associate dean and chief mental health officer

Lauren Reuscher — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 14:53:28 +0000

Meet the Mason Nation: Rachel Wernicke, associate dean and chief mental health officer Lauren Reuscher Wed, 02/21/2024 - 09:53

Rachel Wernicke

Job: Associate Dean and Chief Mental Health Officer, University Life

Rachel Wernicke has worked as an Army officer, psychologist, therapist, and coach. In 2019, she moved into her current role: associate dean and chief mental health officer at ��AV.

Rachel Wernicke, associate dean and chief mental health officer at Mason. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

At that time, University Life at Mason created the role of chief mental health officer to address student mental health from a more strategic, public health approach. This decision happened at a critical moment, just before the world entered the greatest mental health challenge of a generation: a global pandemic.

A group effort: “We continue to see significant need for mental health support in students, faculty, and staff,” Wernicke said. “Supporting mental health takes a whole campus effort, with the engagement of our entire Mason community and a commitment to creating a culture and providing the programs and services that sustain mental health and well-being.”

According to Wernicke, nearly every role on campus is connected to this work, “even if on the surface it may not seem so,” she said.

Supporting the troops: Wernicke’s time as an Army captain influenced her decision to become a psychologist. “A core Army leadership practice focuses on caring for people,” Wernicke said. “Learning how to do this when I served as an Army officer led me to study psychology and become a therapist.” The leadership lessons she learned in the Army continue to shape her leadership style today.

Passion for education: As a therapist in training, Wernicke had the opportunity to work in college mental health, and she loved working with students. “Although I’ve practiced in hospitals and other settings, I kept returning to higher education over the years,” Wernicke said.

Wernicke serves as cochair of Mason’s Mental Health and Well-Being Task Force. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Mental health as the second pandemic: The COVID-19 pandemic brought increased attention to the need for expanded mental health care. As a result, Mason has adapted and expanded its mental health services for students.

“Both Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and Student Health Services (SHS) had to shift their services to meet the needs of students during the pandemic,” Wernicke said. “The most critical shift was to offer telemental health services for students.”

Answering the call: The number of students seeking mental health services is rising, both at Mason and nationally, continuing a trend that was underway before the pandemic. From 2010 to 2020, the total number of students served by Mason’s CAPS increased by 55%. The growing demand for services hasn’t stopped.

“As of January 2024, just over halfway through our fiscal year, CAPS has supported more than 1,100 students,” Wernicke said. “This compares to 1,254 students served during the entirety of the previous fiscal year.”

Multiple avenues for care: SHS also provides mental health care to students. “SHS provides universal screening for depression and substance use concerns to all students being seen by a health care provider,” Wernicke said. “Any student who screens positive for these concerns is offered treatment.”

In the 2023 fiscal year, SHS had 725 behavioral health interactions with students, a 266% increase from the prior year.

Mason launched a partnership with a telemental health vendor, TimelyCare, in fall 2022. This care option reaches students wherever they are located, at whatever time is convenient for them. Through TimelyCare, students may access free mental health services 24/7, 365 days a year. As of January 2024, TimelyCare has provided mental health services to 1,518 Mason students since its launch.

Planning for the future: Mason continues to evolve its approach to supporting mental health. Wernicke serves as cochair of Mason’s Mental Health and Well-Being Task Force with Nance Lucas, executive director of Mason’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being.

“We are working to raise awareness of the resources available to our community and to make recommendations for programs, policies, practices, and services that will support a culture of mental health and well-being at Mason,” Wernicke said.

The task force includes students, faculty, and staff from across the university. “The charge is both aspirational and practical, focusing on creating a systems approach to mental health and well-being at Mason,” Wernicke said.

Putting ideas into action: This year, their goals are to identify a Mason model of mental health and well-being, recommend ways that well-being and mental health services can be expanded, enhance the inclusiveness of these programs and services, and increase community awareness of what is already available. The Patriots Thriving Together hub has been created as a starting point for Mason students and employees to find resources.

Finding joy: Practicing what she preaches, Wernicke finds ways to support her own well-being. “I have three kids—they’re in college, high school, and middle school—so keeping up with their activities and staying connected with them is a priority,” Wernicke said. “Music is a major source of well-being for me and something I enjoy with my family.” She also finds joy and relaxation by exercising, running, spending time with friends, and cooking.

Support from all around: Wernicke says she thrives at Mason because of the people around her. “I’m lucky to be able to work with some of the most talented and committed clinicians, educators, and advocates in CAPS, SHS, and Disability Services,” Wernicke said. “I appreciate being able to work with people from across the university who are committed to student health and well-being.”

Mental health and well-being resources at Mason:

Patriots Thriving Together
Counseling and Psychological Services: 703-993-2380
Student Support and Advocacy Center (SSAC): SSAC Support Request
Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 to reach a crisis counselor
TimelyCare
Mason's Center for Community Mental Health

Watch Wernicke’s Tedx Talk, “Mental Health in the New Normal: Shaping Our COVID Stories,” for more insights about the pandemic’s impact on mental health and well-being.

Watch Wernicke's Tedx Talk

Mental Health and Well-Being Resources at Mason

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Meet the Mason Nation: Rachel Wernicke, associate dean and chief mental health officer
February 23, 2024
Meet the Mason Nation: Doug McKenna, University Registrar
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Meet the Mason Nation: Will Gautney, assistant master electrician and Staff Senate chair
October 20, 2023

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Faculty and Staff News

Well-Being

Mental Health

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)

Student Health Services

Women's History Month

Schar School ’06 MPP Alumna Lewis is 2023 ‘Washingtonian of the Year’

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 18:50:33 +0000

Schar School ’06 MPP Alumna Lewis is 2023 ‘Washingtonian of the Year’ Andrew J Schappert Tue, 02/20/2024 - 13:50

Studies show that one in five undergraduate college students is a parent, a situation that makes them 10 times less likely to complete a degree program than nonparents. Meanwhile, fewer than 2 percent of teen mothers who have a baby before age 18 earn a college degree before they turn 30.

Nicole Lynn Lewis: ‘My two years in the [Schar School] program really opened me up to looking at the issues that I was most passionate about through a policy lens…’

Nicole Lynn Lewis has spent the last 14 years trying to change those odds—because it wasn’t so long ago, she was among those unwed, pregnant teens trying to finish her senior year of high school and then attend college.

Fourteen years later, Lewis has helped some 450 young families in the Washington, D.C., metro region reach their education goals with financial assistance and mentoring through Generation Hope, the nonprofit she founded in 2010 after earning a 2006 Master of Public Policy degree at ��AV’s Schar School of Policy and Government.

In January, Lewis was named Washingtonian of the Year for 2023, one of 10 awards presented by the magazine to community leaders in various fields. It’s not the first major honor the author of Pregnant Girl: A Story of Teen Motherhood, College, and Creating a Better Future for Young Families has won: In 2020, Lewis was one of 31 inaugural awardees of the Black Voices for Black Justice Fund, an initiative of actress Kerry Washington and philanthropist Wes Moore, now the governor of Maryland.

My two years in the [Schar School] program really opened me up to looking at the issues that I was most passionate about through a policy lens, and understanding the role that legislation plays in shaping the lives of all of us—but especially of marginalized people who are under-resourced in our in communities,” she said of her experience at Mason.

While helping individuals in need was the driving force, lessons learned at the Schar School taught her about the implications of larger-scale policy.

“It really helped open my eyes to the systemic impact of what young families are navigating every day,” she said. “I also remember looking at policy holistically and understanding that policies don't always do what they're intended to do. It's important to really be intentional and thoughtful about not only crafting policies, but the way that they're rolled out.

“And I think that was really helpful in looking critically at policy and understanding that the intention of a policy is one thing, but what’s really important is how it plays out in the lives of the people it’s purporting to serve.”

The Schar School’s Master of Public Policy program prepares students to become leaders in influential positions in the policy world. The program addresses a vast range of public concerns and “big problems,” including terrorism, human trafficking, gender studies, environment, and others. More information can be found at the Master of Public Policy website.

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