Graduate Students

Heba Aljumaily (she/her)

I received my B.S. in Psychology and M.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Louisville. I am currently a doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program under the mentorship of Dr. Amanda Mitchell (Department of Counseling and Human Development at UofL) and actively pursuing a graduate certificate in Health Care Ethics (HCE). My interests include social disparities in health, social determinants of health and well-being, and culturally responsive and client-centered care. I hope to use my HCE training to better serve marginalized and minoritized populations at the individual, relational, and systematic levels and to understand how to apply healthcare-related ethical considerations in conjunction with my professional code of ethics. 

Zahara Alzubaidi (she/her)

I am pursuing the accelerated BA/MA in Philosophy and Health Care Ethics. I have an interest in languages, and hope to be proficient in Arabic, Spanish, and Mandarin. My ethical interest is in medical translation and how cultural differences can affect a patient's medical needs. After graduating, I hope to go to medical school and eventually work to make healthcare more accessible to immigrant and refugee communities.  

Meredith Barrientez (she/her)

Dr. Meredith Barrientez is a neonatology fellow in Louisville, Kentucky. She received her medical degree from Indiana University and completed her pediatric residency at Saint Louis University. She is pursuing a master’s degree in health care ethics to better serve her patients and their families. 

Cishella Durling (she/her) 

Cishella Durling is President of the Student-Parent Association and a graduate student at the University of Louisville. She specializes in Applied Philosophy with a focus on Health Care Ethics and is a dedicated Disability Advocate based in Louisville, Kentucky. A proud UofL alumni and graduate of the Kentucky Partners in Policy program through the Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities, she also serves as an Ambassador for the Louisville Metro Office for Women. As a disabled single mother, Cishella is passionately committed to dismantling barriers to access and creating more inclusive communities. 

Cishella takes an enthusiastic approach to helping others and is dedicated to supporting students by advocating for equitable policies on campus and raising awareness of the unique barriers faced by marginalized groups. Her commitment to connecting students with campus and community resources is evident through her previous role as the Student Affairs Podcast Coordinator and host of the Student Affairs Podcast series, as well as her current role as the Graduate Student Assistant in the Applied Philosophy program.

Shannon K. Evans

Dr. Shannon K. Evans is a neonatologist in Louisville, Kentucky and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Norton Children's Hospital and Clark Memorial Hospital. She received her medical degree from University of Utah School of Medicine and has been in practice between 6-10 years.

Marianne Hinojosa (she/her) 

I am a Registered Nurse at Baptist Health Louisville, pursuing my MA in Health Care Ethics. I am the Palliative Care Program Coordinator at Baptist and active on the Ethics Committee as well. Besides my background as a nurse, I also have a BA in Social Thought and Political Economy from the University of Massachusetts. My goal is to deepen my understanding of ethical issues in the health care setting especially as they intersect with the palliative care patient population and end of life care. 

Wade Kelly (he/him)

I am studying for a master's degree in applied philosophy specializing in Health Care Ethics. My interests in biomedical ethics are varied, including medical research, ethical considerations of artificial intelligence in medicine, and health care equity for marginalized communities. After finishing the Health Care Ethics MA program, I intend to pursue a Ph.D. in philosophy.

Sandra Lerner (she/her)

I hold a Bachelor of Science in Family Studies from the University of Maryland and earned my Master’s degree in Social Work from New York University. I have many years of experience working in the field of social work in different capacities, including as a licensed clinical social worker, supervisor, and in utilization management. I am currently working at U of L as an academic counselor in the University Honors Program. I am pursuing a graduate certificate in Health Care Ethics. My areas of interest include healthcare equity, social determinants of health, health and social justice, and social policy. 

Ben Lyvers (he/him)

I received my BA in Biology from Transylvania University and then received an MD from the University of Louisville. I stayed at UofL to complete a residency in Pediatrics and am now specializing in Pediatric Emergency Medicine. I am currently enrolled in the University of Louisville's three-year Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship at Norton Children's Hospital, that I will be completing alongside the M.A. in Health Care Ethics. I have multiple areas of interest including ethics and disability, and ethics as part of emergency preparedness.  

Steve Muir (he/him)

I am an incoming PhD student studying Medical Humanities, a dual degree program that combines the Healthcare Ethics MA and the Culture, Criticism, and Contemporary Thought PhD programs offered by the University of Louisville. I hold a BFA in Photography & Media from California Institute of the Arts, and an MA in Ethics & Applied Philosophy plus a Graduate Certificate in Women & Gender Studies from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I am dedicated to working from an anti-capitalist and abolitionist perspective, focusing on trans competency within the clinic as well as bioethics external/adjacent to the clinic - the ethics of street medicine, DIY HRT, etc. I am a co-author on one paper, entitled “Learning from our patients: Utilizing the expertise of transgender and/or gender diverse educators to build an inclusive learning cycle” and published in Summer of 2023. Outside of academia I can be found in the kitchen, outdoors whenever possible, at a punk show, or in the company of my two partners and their pets.

Tyler Price (he/him)

I have a BA in Economics from the University of Louisville and am pursuing an MA in Applied Philosophy. I work full-time at the university as an instructor in developmental mathematics. I hope to use my training in philosophy to better serve the diverse student population at the developmental level and to understand how to apply ethical considerations in large-scale bureaucracies, such as those in education and healthcare. 

Stephanie Schemke (she/her)

I have a BA in Biology from University of Louisville and am pursuing an MA in Health Care Ethics. My current position is with the Human Subject Protection Program as an Institutional Review Board Analyst at the University of Louisville. My bioethics interests include ethics committee work in human clinical research trials and animal research. My career plans are to remain in the institutional compliance field.

Lane (Delaney) Scott (she/her)

I graduated from Randolph College in 2023 with a B.A. in Comparative Philosophy and am currently pursuing an MA in Health Care Ethics. My interests in bioethics are in end-of-life care and Physician-Patient communication. After completing the Health Care Ethics program, I plan to pursue a PhD in Bioethics and eventually a careen in Clinical Ethics.  

Sierra Sheard (she/her)

I received my BA in Philosophy from the University of Louisville and am pursuing an MA in Applied Philosophy. My research interests are Black existentialism, violence as a weapon of settler-colonialism, the racial dimensions of certain affective states, and the social determinants of health and their implications for Black people (particularly Black women). Recently, my interests brought me to the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research, where I am a Graduate Research Assistant. Upon graduation, I plan to pursue a PhD in philosophy. Outside of the classroom, I love hiking, tending to my plants, watching films, and visiting art galleries.

Ivory Shelton (she/her)

I am a native of Erwin, TN and a first-generation college student and physician. I attended Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC and then stayed on at Wake Forest School of Medicine for my medical degree, graduating in 2020. I completed a pediatric residency at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN in 2023. I am now a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellow with the University of Louisville and Norton Children's Hospital. My academic interests include social-needs targeted interventions in the pediatric ER and patient-centered care for LGBTQIA+ patients. I enjoy attending concerts, exploring Louisville with my fiancé, Joseph, and attending group exercise classes.  

Marissa Smith (she/her)

I am currently a senior undergraduate student pursuing the 5-yeat accelerated BA/MA in Philosophy and Health Care Ethics. I am also pursuing an art history minor. My interests include distributive justice, racial and queer healthcare equity, autonomy, and the intersection of medicine and art therapy.  

Helen TrueNorth

I completed dual degrees, Bachelor of Art and Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Louisville. I am currently pursuing MA in Health Care Ethics as it speaks to my background working in healthcare and my interest in social work, bioethics, racialized medicine, disability theories, and reproductive justice. I believe it is important to study clinical ethics to be a voice for people of the global majority who have been severely marginalized and ignored within the healthcare system. I plan to obtain a Ph.D. after graduating. 

Alexandria Underwood 

I received a BA in Integrative Studies from Northern Kentucky University with a minor in Healthcare Ethics and two focuses in Sociology and Philosophy. I am pursuing joint MA/MSSW degree in Applied Philosophy/Health Care Ethics and Social Work with specialties in Gerontology and Pediatric Medical Social Work. I advocate for black mothers in maternal care, and am interested in issues of sex & gender, and other countries' health care plans. I want to explore an intersectional approach within healthcare while focusing on trauma informed care as a whole.