Current DSW Students
Keena Friday-Gilbert
Email: kdglbert@memphis.edu
Keena Friday-Gilbert, MBA,MSW,IECMH-E serves as Director of Belonging for the Association of Infant Mental in Tennessee
(AIMHiTN).
She has nearly 20 years of experience in working with children, families, and their
communities through program development and non-profit management
and seeks to help cultivate systems of inclusion and equity for families in Tennessee.
She obtained her BSW from Oral Roberts University,
her MBA from the University of Phoenix, and her MSW in Organizational Leadership from
the University of Tennessee. She is currently
a DSW candidate at the University of Memphis. Keena desires to focus her research
on inequities in early care for children of color.
"It is my desire for all children to experience a sense of belonging".
Saja Mboge
Email: sbmboge@memphis.edu

Saja B. Mboge is a Licensed Master Social Worker, a licensed School Social Worker, and a certified
Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor. He is
a second-year doctoral student in the School of Social Work DSW program. He completed
his undergraduate degree in social work at
Rust College Holly Springs, MS, and his Master of Social Work from Barry University
Ellen Whiteside McDonnell School of Social Work. As a GA,
he taught and worked with a faculty member on research projects. Currently, he works
as a licensed social worker for Memphis Shelby County
Schools and a graduate assistant for the School of Social Work at the University of
Memphis. He has taught introduction to social work online and
in person since the Fall of 2021. Before working with MSCS as a school social worker,
he worked as a Child and Adolescent Therapist with Compass
Intervention Center from 2011-2018, a PRN Crisis Specialist with Alliance Healthcare
Services from 2015, and a PRN therapist with Vertava Health
from July 2020 to August 2021. Mr. Mboge has fifteen years of social work experience
in various settings such as residential, hospice, PHP, IOP, crisis,
acute psychiatric hospitals, schools and addiction and recovery. Mr. Mboge has years
of experience with TF-CBT, CBT, and Seven challenges.
He has experience working with individuals, groups, and families.
Mr. Mboge has worked with children and adolescents with a history of emotional dysregulation
coupled with psychosocial stressors, anger, conduct issues, truancy,
trauma, grief, academic problems, and poor impulse control. He has provided therapeutic
interventions, such as social skills training, behavior management counseling,
and coping skills to students to help them overcome psychosocial stressors and underlying
mental health challenges. He has provided consultations about classroom
management and co-teaches a youth mental health first aid course to MCSC staff and
other mental health professionals in Memphis to help them recognize signs
of mental health challenges/distress among students and the public. He has also co-presented
suicide prevention to high schoolers within Memphis Shelby County Schools (MSCS).
He has worked with young adults and adults with a history of trauma, grief, co-occurring
disorders, substance use disorder, and behavioral health challenges. Mr. Mboge
has been an acrtive member of the National Association of Social Workers Association
(NASW) since 2007.
His research interests include how unresolved trauma manifests in other behavioral
issues for clients and the normalization of generational trauma. Other research
interests include the impact of Covid-19 on educational attainment among African American
K-12 students in Memphis TN, barriers and access to Mental
Health Care among Veterans, and correlations between trauma and substance use and
the use of technology in social work practice.
Teaching Philosophy
My teaching is focused on interacting with students to reflect the core values of
social work education. The foundation of my teaching philosophy originates from
fostering an environment where learning becomes the center through interaction and
creativity. In my classroom, the focus is on collective learning and constantly
striving to meet the desired goals.
Kelli Garrett
Email: kbgrrett@memphis.edu
Kelli Garrett is a DSW student in the College of Social Work, based in Nashville, TN. She earned
her MSW from the University of Tennessee
and BSW from Lipscomb University. She currently serves as the Directror of Assessment
and Engagement for Lipscomb University's Online
program. In that role, she oversees Lipscomb Online's CORE Assessment Center, which
provides student professionals the opporunity
to demonstrate their leadership competencies, identify their strengths, and earn significant
credit toward graduation. Kelli also
teaches/develops leadership courses and supports online faculty.
Kelli is highly involved with Lipscomb University's LIFE program, which provides college
degrees for incarcerated individuals in two state prisons.
She conducts leadership assessments, teaches leadership courses and workshops, and
advises students interested in social work/counseling.
Kelli is pursuing a DSW and Higher Education Learning certificate with the hopes of
leading Higher Education in Prison (HEP) programs
full-time. Her research/dissertation will be related to issues surrounding HEP.
Kelli is an experienced social services program developer and manager, having led
at organizations such as Second Harvest Food Bank and
St. Luke's Community House in Nashville, TN. Kelli has served as an adjunct instructor
for Lipscomb University BSW Adult Degree Program
and has supervised undergraduate and graduate social work students from multiple Nashville
universities.
Kelli enjoys the great outdoors (hiking, swimming, yard work, etc.), comedy, her two
cats, and spending time with her young niece and nephew.