Our Team
Jaclynn Hawkins, Ph.D., Lab Director
Dr. Jaclynn Hawkins is currently an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Michigan. She is also an Associate Director of the Gender and Health Research Lab. Jaclynn's recent research agenda is broadly focused on the social determinants of health behavior in African Americans and Latinos with diabetes. She is particularly interested in factors that contribute to access to and utilization of care, diabetes self-management, and community-based interventions targeting low-income African American and Latino men. Jaclynn received an NIH/NIDDK Diversity Supplement to conduct research with African American and Latino men with diabetes.
Katherine Kloss, Diabetes Educator, Community Outreach Coordinator
Katherine is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist currently working as a diabetes educator in research at the University of Michigan’s Medical School. In her role at Michigan Medicine, she trains peer leaders in the empowerment approach and oversees peer leader led diabetes support groups. Katherine also facilitates diabetes self-management education classes and embraces the empowerment philosophy to support research participants in making and sustaining healthful behavior changes.
Claudia Schwenzer, LLMSW, Project manager
Claudia Schwenzer is an MSW graduate (‘19) from the University of Michigan’s School of Social Work. In her part-time work with the Diabetes Research lab, she is a Project Manager for the Program ACTIVE research study. As a Type 1 diabetic, the center of her personal and professional research interest is diabetes, particularly insulin affordability and pricing issues, having started the #insulin4all Michigan chapter. She is also employed full time as the Education Program Coordinator for the Metro Detroit-area of the Michigan Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Fonda Smith, MSW., Project manager
Fonda is a project manager at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. She has previously worked in behavioral health, grief and loss, and healthcare. She currently provides study coordination and management for several projects within the Treatment Innovation and Dissemination Lab (TIDL). Fonda holds an MSW from Eastern Michigan University. Her research interests include suicide prevention, trauma survivors, increasing mental health access, and delivering community-based interventions to underrepresented and at-risk populations.
