Alumni Society Awards
Each spring, the CEHD Alumni Society recognizes the outstanding achievements of our alumni at the Exceptional Alumni Awards Celebration. During the awards celebration, the Alumni Awards of Excellence, Rising Alumni Awards and the Distinguished International Alumni Award are recognized.
2024 Rising Alumni Award Recipients
Lekie Dwanyen
BS '14, PhD '20, Family Social Science
Lekie Dwanyen (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University. Her research involves the study of traumatic stress and relational health in families affected by war and political violence. She is interested in culturally and contextually relevant strategies to reduce mental health disparities in marginalized communities. Dr. Dwayen is invested in advancing systemic family therapy and global mental health research and practice with immigrant and refugee families, as well as families in post-conflict settings. Along these lines, she has engaged Liberian refugees in the U.S. and stakeholders in the national mental health system in Uganda to examine culturally relevant strategies to address family- and community-level mental health concerns.
Sreytom Tim
BS '20, Family Social Science
Sreytom Tim graduated from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities with a degree in Family Social Science and a minor in Management. Upon graduation, she landed an internship at Worldview Studio in the Bay Area. Afterwards, Sreytom was hired as a Business Analyst for Emerging Markets Consulting (EMC) in Cambodia and was then promoted to Senior Business Analyst. She is now Monitoring and Evaluation Manager at Skills Development Fund Cambodia. She is also a Cambodian Leadership Advisor for LEAPS for PEACE. Ultimately, she wants to empower girls and women in Cambodia through economic development, education, gender equality, and human rights advancement.
2024 Alumni Award of Excellence Recipients
Amanda Harrington
MSW '06
Amanda Harrington is the Director of Community Safety Design & Implementation with the City of Minneapolis. In her role, she’s responsible for the direction and strategic coordination of the city’s community safety system, as well as the innovation, implementation and evaluation of new programs.
Juleen Rodakowski
BS ’05, Kinesiology
Juleen Rodakowski (she/her) is an occupational therapist with expertise in community living for vulnerable adults and their caregivers. Her federally funded research seeks to slow the progression of disability attributed to early changes in cognition and caregiving. Rodakowski's studies influence when, how and why rehabilitation services are being provided to individuals living in the community. Her work generates the evidence required to support new, effective models of community-focused care, that are responsive to public health needs and evolving federal policies. Rodakowski is arming the geriatric and rehabilitation disciplines with evidence, methods and applications that place best practices in rehabilitation at the forefront of health care. Rodakowski is associate professor and chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy
2024 Distinguished International Alumni Award Recipient
Millicent Adjei
MA '12, Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, PhD '19, Comparative and International Development Education
Millicent Adjei (she/her) is devoted to the field of higher education and has served in various leadership roles over the past twenty years. She joined Ashesi University in 2012 as the founding associate director and now director of the Office of Diversity and International Programs. In her role at Ashesi, Millicent provides strategic leadership to the university’s internationalization and international students management, diversity, equity and inclusion programing, sexual misconduct prevention policy compliance and advocacy and training, and is currently leading the development of the university’s accessibility and disability policies and support programs. She also doubles as adjunct faculty with the Humanities and Social Sciences department where she teaches a course in Leadership.
Alumni award recipients were interviewed in advance of the Exceptional Alumni Awards Celebration on April 30.