Sherie Luevano, a US national, is pursuing an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Trinity Washington University. Sherie, 44, was born and raised in New Mexico and has three children, two now adults. She moved to the DC area to join her family and become a licensed counselor. She plans to provide mental health counseling in the area and eventually open a therapeutic daycare center.

Sherie obtained a BA in psychology at New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas. She worked for the Santa Fe County Corrections Department, becoming Acting Director for the Adolescent Residential Treatment Center. As a Lead Life Skills Worker in Corrections, she managed over 20 employees. While raising her third child, she opened a child daycare program where he and other families’ children could enjoy quality, affordable care. She worked with the State of New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) division of Child Protective Services, as a Program Manager in the Domestic Violence Unit, advocating for victims of domestic violence. At CYFD, Sherie also helped implement statewide Family Peer Support Services. She was recognized by her peers as a compassionate and positive professional focused on the safety of women and children.

In addition, Sherie was a foster mother. She offered life-skills training to children graduating from foster care, supported foster care and adoption events, and helped raise funds for children and youth.

Experienced in male-dominated fields, Sherie views her struggles in life as positive experiences from which she learns ways to overcome and help other women.

Evelyn Sands, 39, was born and raised in Washington, DC. She is pursuing a BA in Psychology to enhance her already impressive career addressing the needs of people suffering from mental, trauma-related and addiction disorders. Evelyn is a full-time student while also working full-time as a Peer and Day Services Specialist with Community Connections, DC’s largest non-profit mental health agency, and mothering her two children. She was selected by her peers to advocate as a volunteer on the DC Behavioral Health Council for quality services to groups in underserved neighborhoods with mental illness, trauma, and substance abuse.

Evelyn believes it is her moral duty to ensure that women and families receive the proper treatment to help heal from past and current traumas. Her career goal is to help women become self-sufficient, so they need not remain in abusive relationships or depend on broken systems to obtain care. She hopes to become a life coach to motivate families to their full potential and to start a wellness center—Destined 2 Spark—to provide counseling to those who need it in her community.

Evelyn is recognized as having uncanny abilities to connect with people who have mental health challenges. Her own life struggles—a painful childhood and raising children with special needs—have helped her gain exceptional skills in handling her high stress profession while exercising self-care. She has gained a reputation for leadership and commitment to her community. She also finds ways to support wellness programs for mental health professionals in services like hers.