Denise "Dee" Yookong Williams is a research assistant and social work PhD Candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They are also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in North Carolina, and a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE). Denise graduated with a Master’s degree from the University of Maryland School of Social Work in 2015, and a Bachelor’s degree in Family & Human Services from Towson University in 2012. Denise’s clinical experience in treatment foster care, private practice, community-based outpatient mental health clinics, and in the Baltimore City and Baltimore County public school systems fostered their passion for culturally relevant, accessible mental health treatment with a focus on trauma, crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and resiliency, from a social-justice framework. While Denise has worked extensively with individuals and families across the lifespan, their areas of research interest include mental health (e.g., depression and suicidality) and intersectionality, with a focus on BIPOC and LGBTQAI+ adolescent youth and young adults, to better understand experiences and disparities to create more evidence-based interventions within the community and school systems. Denise is especially interested in art, school and community-based interventions, and infusing various modalities to treat individuals and families holistically.