Alumni

Brian Nguyen, MS’20

Combining his master’s knowledge in applied cognition and neuroscience from BBS and his master’s in business analytics, Nguyen is now working as a forecasting data analyst at System Analysis Program Development (SAP). He oversees data and analytics for SAP’s Cloud Success Services division in North America. He credits the graduate program for helping him find his true passion for finding insights and telling stories from a data analysis point of view. His long-term goal is to manage his own data analytics consulting firm in the future and help BBS’s analytically inclined students on career paths in data.

Aarron Phensy, PhD’20

Aarron Phensy, PhD’20, is a postdoctoral psychiatry fellow at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine (UCSF). His PhD dissertation focused on the connections between oxidative stress, the mitochondria, and schizophrenia. At UCSF, he is working to understand the cellular and circuit components responsible for the generation of neural oscillations during cognitive processing and how this may be disrupted in mental illness.

Raina Saksena BS’20

Raina Saksena BS’20 is a healthcare recruiter at Maxim Healthcare. After completing a double major in Psychology and Child Learning & Development at BBS, she worked with children with developmental disabilities and early childhood disorders to provide one-on-one therapy and implement behavioral modification programs. Her passion in the healthcare industry led her to her current position as a healthcare recruiter, helping to hire qualified caregivers in Central Texas for patients in need of quality home care once discharged from the hospital. Outside of work, Saksena continues her passion for dance and enjoys hanging out on the lake.

Olivia Smith PhD’20

Olivia Smith PhD’20 is the owner and founder of Smith Learning Services, LLC. Combining research knowledge from a doctoral degree in developmental psychology from the School of BBS, along with internship experiences in the program, she helps students to achieve educational and career goals. Smith specifically assists students who might struggle with learning disabilities or need additional assistance with developing executive functioning skills like organization and planning. In her current role, she supervises a team of tutors and coaches them to make sure they tailor academic practices to the learning style of the student. Smith believes there can be success for all students through any of life’s endeavors. For more information and all available virtual options, visit smithlearningservices.com or follow on Instagram @smithlearningservices_.

Naushaba Abedin BS’19

Naushaba Abedin, BS’19, is a senior clinical programs coordinator at Premier Management Company. Combining her knowledge from her bachelor’s degree in Speech Language Pathology and Child Development from BBS, along with her master’s coursework in Healthcare Management, she is working on a clinical wellness program at Premier to improve healthcare literacy and disease management to increase overall patient education and improve patient outcomes. In her current role, she recently became a part of a new initiative that provides affordable healthcare access to underserved communities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Abedin believes that healthcare equity is essential to improve the quality of life for all segments of our community and the population at large.

Julie M. Schneider MS’13, PhD’18

Julie M. Schneider MS’13, PhD’18 is an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow studying the impact poverty has on brain and language development at the University of Delaware. She also recently was selected as a ReproNim/INCF Fellow, promoting reproducibility and transparency in neuroscience. While at UT Dallas, she conducted research in Dr. Mandy Maguire’s lab.

Aaron D. Dotson BS’15

Dr. Aaron D. Dotson BS’15, has successfully completed medical school at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, and will embark on a four year residency in ophthalmology at the University of Iowa. Dotson additionally plans to continue his passion of mentoring other aspiring physicians. He said he owes much of his success to the strong curriculum and caring faculty and staff at UT Dallas.

Ashley Borthick MS’13

As interim CEO and director of strategy for First3Years, Ashley Borthick MS’13 is charged with growing the impact of First3Years’ objective to build a specialized workforce for the infant-toddler field, as well as leading efforts for effective operations for First3Years. With over a decade of experience in direct service to infants, toddlers, and their families, Borthick has played an integral role in developing and executing new programming for First3Years and has played a key role in expanding First3Years at an organizational level. Her passion for working in the early childhood field stems from her belief that all children are gifted and act as “little scientists” in their world. She believes that all children should have access to quality education and the opportunities to connect with loving and supporting caregivers.

Sarah Yu, PhD’13

Sarah Yu, PhD’13 completed her doctorate degree in the School of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, where her research focus was aimed at better understanding how human memory works through brain imaging techniques. Yu is now the director of neuroscience & client service for the consumer neuroscience business at Nielsen, a leading multi-national market research firm. In her role, she utilizes brain imaging techniques to help her clients gain a better understand of their consumers’ behavior at a deep, non-conscious level and improving their marketing and advertising strategies.

Courtney Willis BS’06, MS’12

Willis graduated with a BS in speech language pathology and audiology and a master’s in communication disorders through the UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. In 2015, she founded her Dallas clinic, Speech Wings Therapy, adopting the name from Helen Keller who described her inability to communicate early in life as having speech wings that were weak and broken.
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Elica Rahdar BA’03, PhD’10

Elica Rahdar BA’03, PhD’10 is a senior policy analyst for the office of Santa Clara (California) County Supervisor Otto Lee. She oversees policy related to health and hospital systems in the County of Santa Clara as well as policies impacting children, families and women. She was recently appointed to serve on the board of the Santa Clara Commission on the Status of Women, which aims to eliminate discrimination and prejudice against women. Prior to her work as a policy analyst, she was chief operating officer of 3TEN8, an artificial intelligence startup she co-founded in 2014 with fellow UT Dallas alumnus Miro Salem BS’05. 3TEN8 was voted no. 1 AI startup by Mobile Operators and Investors. Additionally, she is a member of the Emerge California class of 2019, a former board member of the ACLU of Northern California, and a fellow and fellows manager of Organizing for Action, a nonprofit organization and community organizing project that advocated for the agenda of former U.S. President Barack Obama. Following her graduation from UT Dallas, Rahdar was a postdoctoral scholar at the Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of California, Los Angeles, where the focus of her research was on characterizing the neural mechanisms underlying adolescent behavior with the intent of informing policy.

Amber Stewart BS’07, MS’10

Amber Stewart BS’07, MS’10 is the founder of iPursue, LLC and has been a leader in the talent acquisition industry for 13 years. She supports clients in talent acquisition, talent management, and organizational planning while helping candidates follow their passions and advance their careers through trajectory coaching and employee branding. She attributes her success to a well-rounded curriculum in psychology which helps her understand the complexities of human behavior and identify opportunities for successful collaboration in the workforce.

Leo Estevez MS’09

Neuroscience alumnus Leo Estevez, MS’09, has spent the majority of his career at Texas Instruments working on technology, innovation, and engineering initiatives at Texas Instruments. The recent retiree has started a new entrepreneurial adventure, VineCrafters, applying his education in both neuroscience and engineering to wine making and farm innovation. His wine is currently available for purchase at FRESH by Brookshires store in Fate, Texas. VineCrafters Winery in Rockwall, TX is open Fridays and Saturdays with live music and wood fired pizzas!

Stephanie Williams AuD’08

October is National Audiology Awareness Month, which is a special time for outreach for Stephanie Williams AuD’08, a member of the clinical staff at the Callier Center for Communication Disorders at The University of Texas at Dallas. The UT Dallas alumna has brought a love for working with children and their families to the Callier Center’s growing pediatric audiology group. She leads the center’s efforts to help children and their families manage hearing disabilities. “Following the diagnosis of hearing loss, we want to be a resource not only for our patients, but also for their families who want to know what they can do to help their child live their best life,” Williams said.

Nazia Hossain, BS’07, EdD

Nazia Hossain BS’07 trained in psychology in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. After graduation, she moved to Washington, D.C. where she helped launch the volunteer management office of Islamic Relief USA, a nonprofit humanitarian agency. She led volunteer-driven projects like “Bite the Bug” an anti-malaria campaign focused on Mali. Thousands of volunteers were mobilized to create hope for those in need across the globe.

Hossain returned to Dallas to pursue a master’s in counseling (marriage and family therapy) from Southern Methodist University. While at SMU, she worked as a career counselor at the Hegi Family Career Development Center, where she worked with students at all stages of their career development process, from choosing a major to evaluating job offers. She worked alongside Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Maria Dixon Hall on Cultural Intelligence Initiative at SMU, which inspired her to complete her doctorate in higher education policy and leadership. Hossain’s dissertation was focused on parent impact on college access for first-generation students. Her research with parents of early-college high school students connected theory to practice in ways that benefit students, parents and pre-collegiate programs.

Today, she is a marriage and family therapist associate at Stanford Couples Counseling in Dallas. In her role, Hossain provides compassionate, solution-oriented therapy for individuals, couples and families. Hossain provides therapy in multiple languages to diverse populations via in-clinic sessions and teletherapy. Hossain is excited to use her skills to give back to the community during this pandemic.

Paras Askari Longanecker BS’05

Paras Askari Longanecker BS’05, is a pediatrician in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She and her husband, John, and their two boys have enjoyed exploring the mountains and trails since moving to Colorado in 2019. These days, she spends her spare time learning to ski, practicing yoga and writing for a local parenting blog.

Amy Spawn MS’92

Amy Spawn MS’92 completed her master’s degree in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, where she trained in speech-language pathology at the Callier Center for Communication Disorders. Spawn spent over 20 years practicing speech and language pathology in the Dallas area. Today, she is the chief executive officer of The Warren Center, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Richardson, Texas, helping children with developmental delays and disabilities reach their full potential. In her role, she oversees an organization of over 80 full-time staff members, providing therapy services for more than 1000 children every week. She is grateful to be able to give back to the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences by training aspiring speech pathologist in the speech- language pathology program at The Warren Center.