Celebrating End-of-Year Achievements

As the academic year comes to a close, we are celebrating several outstanding accomplishments from our faculty and students.

We are proud to recognize core faculty member Dr. Natalie Ricciutti, recipient of the UNC Charlotte Cato College of Education Early Career Faculty Award. Dr. Ricciutti’s work focuses on community readiness, substance use, and adverse childhood experiences, and her leadership continues to make a meaningful impact across research, teaching, and community engagement.

We also celebrate Alicia Dahl, Ph.D., M.S., recipient of the UNC Charlotte Bonnie E. Cone Early Career Professorship Award. Dr. Dahl was recognized for her excellence in teaching innovation, program leadership, and mentorship.

We are also celebrating Dr. Annelise Mennicke, recipient of the 2026 Social Policy Researcher Award from the Society for Social Work and Research. Dr. Mennicke was recognized for her impactful work in violence prevention policy for LGBTQ+ youth and youth of color. This year, she also received the Service, Advocacy, & Community Outreach Award and was promoted to Professor.

Congratulations as well to Dr. Braveheart Gillani, recipient of the Research & Scholarship Award and co-lead on the Gambrell Faculty Fellows initiative exploring belonging, loneliness, and retention among men in caring professions.

We are also excited to celebrate undergraduate student Zihui Qiu, who was selected to participate in the Society for Prevention Research’s Undergraduate Training Program. Her selection reflects her strong promise in prevention science and her dedication to meaningful, community-centered research.

Congratulations to Zihui and to her mentor and sponsor, Kennicia Fortson, PhD, MPH, LMSW.

We are proud of the students, faculty, mentors, and researchers whose work continues to advance scholarship, advocacy, teaching, and community impact.