The Pennsylvania Team
Carolina Villamil Grest
PhD, MSW
Principal Investigator
Carolina Villamil Grest is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work with a decade of practice experience as a clinical social worker across diverse settings, including criminal justice with youth, domestic violence shelters, and legal services organizations supporting immigrant women and children. Her research focuses on reducing social and structural health inequities and understanding the conditions that contribute to wellbeing among underserved U.S. communities, particularly Latino/a/x/Hispanic populations. Guided by an interdisciplinary approach, she employs quantitative, qualitative, and community-engaged methods to develop, implement, and evaluate prevention and intervention strategies.
Jennifer Lee, JD
Community Partner
Jennifer Lee is an Associate Professor of Law at Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she directs the Social Justice Lawyering Clinic at the Sheller Center for Social Justice. She works with law students to represent individual and organizations on critical issues affecting low-income individuals in the region, with a particular focus on low-wage workers and immigrants. The clinic docket consist of employment cases at all stages of proceedings before the state and federal courts and the representation of grassroots organizations, legal nonprofits, and other entities involved in policy and legislative reform efforts, media advocacy, and community education. Her scholarship focuses on low-wage workers, immigrants, and social movements. Prior to joining the Temple faculty, she was a farm worker attorney in Colorado and North Carolina, where she represented farm workers in wage and hour, civil rights, human trafficking, and immigration cases.
Rosleyry Rosario, BA
Research Assistant
Rosleyry Rosario is a recent graduate of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a concentration in Health, Science, and Society and a minor in Marketing. A first-generation college graduate and child of Dominicans immigrants, she was actively engaged in fostering community and equity on campus, including co-founding a student organization dedicated to supporting first-generation students through increased access to academic resources, mentorship, and professional development opportunities.
During her undergraduate studies, she also served as a research assistant on a faculty-led project examining the health needs of individuals experiencing homelessness. Rosleyry plans to pursue a Master of Public Health, with a focus on health policy and the social determinants of health, and is committed to advancing equitable access to healthcare and essential resources for underserved communities. Her interest in this area of research is deeply informed by her passion for immigrant equity, shaped by her experiences and her awareness of the systemic barriers—particularly in higher education—that disproportionately affect immigrant communities.
Executive Director of Immigration Legal services.
Research-Community Partner
Senior Vice President Community Engagement, Research and Health Equity.
Research-Community Partner
The Pennsylvania Team
Carolina Villamil Grest PhD, MSW
Principal Investigator
Carolina Villamil Grest is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work with a decade of practice experience as a clinical social worker across diverse settings, including criminal justice with youth, domestic violence shelters, and legal services organizations supporting immigrant women and children. Her research focuses on reducing social and structural health inequities and understanding the conditions that contribute to wellbeing among underserved U.S. communities, particularly Latino/a/x/Hispanic populations. Guided by an interdisciplinary approach, she employs quantitative, qualitative, and community-engaged methods to develop, implement, and evaluate prevention and intervention strategies.
Jennifer Lee JD
Community Partner
Jennifer Lee is an Associate Professor of Law at Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she directs the Social Justice Lawyering Clinic at the Sheller Center for Social Justice. She works with law students to represent individual and organizations on critical issues affecting low-income individuals in the region, with a particular focus on low-wage workers and immigrants. The clinic docket consist of employment cases at all stages of proceedings before the state and federal courts and the representation of grassroots organizations, legal nonprofits, and other entities involved in policy and legislative reform efforts, media advocacy, and community education. Her scholarship focuses on low-wage workers, immigrants, and social movements. Prior to joining the Temple faculty, she was a farm worker attorney in Colorado and North Carolina, where she represented farm workers in wage and hour, civil rights, human trafficking, and immigration cases.
Allison Hopper, BSW
Research Assistant
Allison Hopper is a Research Assistant and Master of Social Work (MSW) candidate at Temple University, with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from West Chester University. Her work focuses on qualitative research, survey development, stakeholder engagement, and participant recruitment strategies.
With a strong commitment to social justice, Allison has supported health interventions for migrant populations in Sub-Saharan Africa and facilitated educational initiatives for high school girls in the U.S. She is passionate about designing community-based solutions that address social disparities and promote well-being.
