2024 Graduation Speakers
BS Student Speaker
Raeli Chesser
While earning her BS in Social Work, Raeli Chesser (she/her) minored in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. She has served as Co-President of Silver’s Undergraduate Student Government Association for two years and sat on the Health and Wellness Committee and All-University Events Committee for NYU Student Government Association. Raeli received the Community Catalyst Distinction Award at the 2024 Silver Student Awards. After graduation, Raeli is moving back home to Arkansas and will be continuing her education by starting her Master’s in Social Work this fall. She is passionate about working with children and adolescents and would like to do clinical work in a hospital or school setting. Raeli has a special interest in art therapy and is excited to incorporate those practices into her future work.
MSW Student Speaker
John M. Pino
John M. Pino (he/him) is a proud Greek Orthodox of Puerto Rican, Greek and Cuban descent. Passionate about advocacy and mental health awareness, John has used his college experience to work with people of all ages in breaking down barriers caused by the stigmas of mental health diagnoses, and address common mental health crises amongst BIPOC. Some key positions John has held in his career include Mental Health Advocate with Hartwick College’s Office of Residential Life, Crisis and Mediation Specialist with the Police Athletic League, and HUD/VASH Social Worker Intern with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition to his practicum work, John has served two years with NYU Silver’s Graduate Student Association, where he first served as co-First Year Advocate, and currently holds the position of Vice President. John aspires to continue working in the community and providing Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) with essential mental health resources, hopefully bridging the gap for underrepresented populations.
DSW Student Speaker
Carmen Villavicencio-Hein
Carmen Villavicencio-Hein (she/her) is a licensed clinical social worker who has served youth and families from ethnic and racial minoritized backgrounds in educational and foster care settings for over 15 years. She received a Master’s in Social Work and a Master’s in Educational Leadership and Administration. Carmen works as a Supervisor of School Social Workers at the New York City Public Schools, where she co-founded a central-based social work initiative delivering multi-tiered crisis and preventive support. She uses her platform to highlight the importance of school social work through advocacy and activism at the local and state governmental levels. An immigrant from Colombia and an English Language Learner, she has committed her work and scholarship to improving the delivery of accessible, equitable, and culturally responsive services to marginalized communities. Her dedication to social work and continuing to elevate the practice brought her to pursue a doctorate at NYU, where she now teaches as an adjunct, offering students an experiential learning experience.
PhD Student Speaker
Sabrina Renee Cluesman, MSW, LCSW
Sabrina Cluesman (she/they) is a PhD Candidate at NYU’s Silver School of Social Work whose research agenda aims to advance the science of HIV prevention. Their dissertation research, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), focuses on the experiences of gender minority youth and emerging adults 13-24 years of age who identify as transgender and gender-expansive (e.g., gender non-binary, non-conforming, genderqueer), including those who identify as Black and Latinx, and explores questions related to the connections between gender minority stress and heavy substance use behaviors and how these may impact preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) outcomes, and importantly on understanding how gender affirmation in multiple settings might moderate these relationships. Before joining NYU, Sabrina spent almost 20 years in direct clinical practice, including 14+ years working for JASMYN, an LGBTQIA youth non-profit, in Jacksonville, FL, where she co-created extensive case clinical services for the agency, including their status neutral Sexual Health Clinic.