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Washington State University

DBHR Prevention Fellowship Program

About the Fellowship Meet the Current Fellows Fellowship Alumni Fellowship FAQ Fellowship Position Description

Washington State Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR) has been working towards increasing targeted substance use prevention and mental health promotion funding to the highest risk communities in Washington through the Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative (CPWI) since 2011.

In 2019, WA DBHR and IMPACT Lab PIs, Dr. Laura Hill and Dr. Brittany Cooper,  partnered to create and supervise the DBHR Fellowship program.  The fellowship program aims to expand the field of substance use disorder prevention and actively build capacity in communities that do not currently benefit from CPWI.

 

 

Future Cohorts of Prevention Fellows

We are beginning to recruit for Cohort 10, which is scheduled to begin in October 2022. Applications for Cohort 10 are now open and can be found here: 1) Internal (WSU Employee) Application, 2) External (non-WSU Employee) Application. The application deadline will be 11:59pm PST on August 8th, 2022. Please note that this fellowship opportunity is pending approval of the SOR grant.

We will also be holding two informational sessions with DBHR staff that interested individuals can register for if they are curious and want to learn more. They are being held in the following times:

 

If you have additional questions or are interested in joining future Prevention Fellow cohorts, please reach out to  Kelley Pascoe, who can provide updated information or tentative future plans.

News & Noteworthy

Prevention Fellow Krista Timm

2020 Prevention Fellow Krista Timm accepts new role as a Behavioral Health Prevention Specialist

Krista accepted a position at the Walla Walla County Health Department as a Behavioral Health Prevention Specialist. In this role, Krista will be implementing and evaluating behavioral health programs such as Youth Marijuana Education and Prevention and Tobacco Prevention Programs across nine counties. She will also be working with the Washington State Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative in Walla Walla and College Place. Congratulations, Krista!
DBHR Prevention Fellow Sophia Hilsen

2020 Prevention Fellow Sophia Hilsen accepts new role as a Family Advocate

Sophia accepted a position with Child and Family Services in Hawaii, Kauai as a Family Advocate. Sophia will continue to work with the fellowship program through the end of September and will be working to phase out of her current community in Port Angeles. In her new role, Sophia will be supporting the Head Start program and providing comprehensive services to youth and their families enrolled in Head Start in Kauai. Congratulations, Sophia! We're proud of you.

2020 Community Shoutout to Prevention Fellows Emma and Sabrina

Emma (Cohort 3) and Sabrina (Cohort 4) have spent a portion of their fellowship experience in the Marysville community. Recently, the Marysville Coalition Coordinator shared gratitude for the fellows: Thanks again for steering Emma and Sabrina my way this January-June. They have been tremendous assets and invaluable team members. Both provided unique skill sets and incredible passion. Our coalition and myself are stronger and better for their contributions and leadership. I feel for both of them with COVID-19 impacting their community networking opportunities yet they responded with flexibility and adaptability. They have been inspiring for me and I am confident they have a promising and rich future.
Photo of DBHR Prevention Fellow Endalkachew Abebaw

2020 Endalkachew highlights the Starts with One campaign on KZOK 102.5

HCA behavioral health prevention fellow, Endalkachew (Chewy) Abebaw, shared a public service announcement on KZOK 102.5 highlighting the Starts with One opioid prevention campaign. On-air, Chewy shared a brief overview of the campaign and the importance of disposing and storing opioids in order to prevent opioid misuse in our communities. Click here to listen to a recording of Chewy on-air.
Visit 2020 Endalkachew highlights the Starts with One campaign on KZOK 102.5

2019 Washington State Prevention Summit

In November 2019, all of the current DBHR Fellows attended the Washington State Prevention Summit in Yakima. Collectively, all nine fellows hosted a workshop on prevention workforce development and the fellowship program. Through the workshop, the fellows conveyed how coalition leaders and prevention professionals at the local and state level can impact workforce development strategies.
Photo of Chewy while presenting on radio station KKNW

DBHR Prevention Fellow spotlight on radio station KKNW

DBHR Prevention Fellow Chewy Abebaw presented on radio station KKNW to highlight the 3rd annual Washington African Community and Organization Leaders' Summit to discuss prevention science. On air Chewy discussed Prevention Science broadly, touching on risk and protective factors, social determinants of health and the dangers of vaping.
DBHR Prevention Fellow Chewy at the Washington African Community and Organization Leaders' Summit

2019 Washington African Community and Organization Leaders' Summit

In September 2019, DBHR Prevention Fellow Endalkachew Abebaw, attended the 3rd annual Washington State African Community and Organization Leaders' Summit in Seattle. The summit convened to provide actionable steps to grow community leadership skills as well as to outline strategies needed to help eradicate the root causes of poverty in the African immigrant communities in Washington State. At the summit, Chewy was able to share his own experiences in prevention science and community building as well as learn from other summit attendees and prevention professionals.
Photo of the CPWI Fellows, Alicia Hughes (WA HCA), Dr. Brittany Cooper and Dr. Laura Hill

2019 National Prevention Network Conference in Chigaco

Five fellows, representing DBHR Prevention Fellows Cohort 1 and Cohort 2, joined Alicia Hughes (WA HCA) and Drs. Laura Hill and Brittany Cooper at the National Prevention Network Conference (NPN) in Chicago. At NPN the Fellows were able to share their own prevention experiences and expertise from the field as well as meet other prevention professionals from across the country.