Our Team

Dr. Jennifer Mootz is a licensed psychologist and Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Growing up in the Midwest and later with her clinical work with the Indian Health Service, she observed differences in economic and health burdens between American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) and White populations. In her work in the US and international low-income settings, she has likewise observed differences in access to mental health care among and within nations. These experiences stimulated her interest in systems of mental health care in low-resourced settings that consider the intersection of mental illness and social determinants, such as exposure to violence.

Her NIMH-funded research has focused on improving access to care in low-income and humanitarian settings internationally and in the US through digitized innovations and consideration of social determinants. She has partnered with community and government agencies to conduct research on the implementation of comprehensive mental health care service scale-up. One of her favorite places is a small town on the Western side of Sicily. Sitting by the clear, turquoise water, watching the young kids play, wrestle, and perform creative acrobatics to ride the waves brings her soul great joy.

Gene Edgerton grew up in the Deep South and eventually embarked on a life journey to discover the world. After earning degrees in North Dakota, North Carolina, and Tennessee in the fields of advertising, pedagogy and storytelling, he’s spent most of his adult life as an academic and corporate instructor. And as a traveling storyteller. He’s lived in the USA, Norway, Germany, Ukraine, South Korea, Thailand, Afghanistan, and the Sultanate of Oman. A dual citizen of the USA and Norway, he resides in Oslo.

He’s interested in the Healing Stories Collection because he recognizes that healing begins when we share our traumas and our emotions with each other. By doing so, we put the you in me, and the me in you, and through this shared experience, we can shine a light on our wounds. He knows this to be true in his own life, and from this understanding, he wants to help others do the same.

His soul spot is any serene seafront shoreline where he can sprawl out on the sand and take in oceanic sonatas. It’s here that he recognizes that the wave and the ocean are the same—that we are all one. He took this photo one early morning in Porto Santo, a remote island out in the Atlantic Ocean.

Andrea Chavez is a Senior Psychology major with a minor in Educational Psychology. She is interested in gaining experience and learning more about how mental health treatments can be delivered across countries, especially how they can be made more accessible to Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). She is a first-generation Mexican American and speaks both Spanish and English.

Her hobbies include reading, creative writing, listening to music, and creating digital art. Her favorite place is the rooftop of Time Out Market New York in New York City. Visiting New York is the highlight of her year, and going to the market fills her with joy. It provides her with a sense of familiarity in an unfamiliar city and reminds her of many fond and happy memories.

Daniela is a Senior Psychology major with a minor in Educational Psychology and a certificate in Forensic Science. Daniela is interested in Global Mental Health because she is passionate about reducing disparities in access to mental health resources and services. She is especially interested in how cultural awareness can shape mental health interventions and believes that culturally informed approaches can improve both accessibility and quality of care.

She is of Costa Rican descent and is fluent in both Spanish and English. Her hobbies include reading, going to concerts, and traveling. Her favorite place is Coco Beach in Costa Rica. Her grandmother has a beach house there, and Daniela has fond memories of playing in the sand with her cousin, eating sandy sandwiches by the beach, and laughing with her family until the sun went down.

Rafaela is a Sophomore Psychology major with a minor in Educational Psychology and a Certificate in Spanish for Mental Health and Medical Professions. She is interested in global mental health because Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) often face significant gaps in mental health resources compared to High-Income Countries, and global mental health efforts seek to expand access to care within these communities. As someone who comes from an LMIC, Rafaela hopes to contribute to bridging the mental health gap in underserved populations.

Rafaela was born in Brazil and moved to the United States at six years old. She is fluent in Portuguese and has intermediate proficiency in Spanish. In her free time, she enjoys watching TV shows and exploring new places with friends. Her favorite place is in Brazil, where she recently took a boat tour along the coast of her hometown, Salvador. Seeing the city from a tourist’s perspective allowed her to appreciate the beauty of her country in a new way, making it a meaningful core memory. She took this picture to capture that moment.