Lena Samuels

Building/Location

San Diego, CA

Bio

Lena is in her second year of the three-year Master's in Social Work program at San Diego State University with a concentration in Direct Practice. In the MSW program, Lena serves as the Co-President of the Graduate Social Work Association (GSWA) as well as the Co-Social Chair for OUTreach LGBTQIA+ Graduate Social Work Association.

Currently she is interning at the San Diego Public Defender's Office Juvenile Division and is to create mitigation and treatment plans for youth facing incarceration. Previously, she has worked at the San Diego LGBT Center conducting weekly street outreach to target transition-age youth (TAY) experiencing homelessness.

There, Lena began to understand on a deeper level the systemic factors that pushed these youth into being unhoused while becoming more familiar with the community-based resources available in San Diego County for vulnerable youth populations. Additionally, Lena has experience as a case manager at San Diego Youth Services for TAY experiencing homelessness where she worked in both Transitional and Rapid Rehousing to assist youth in reaching their short- and long-term goals.

After graduation Lena is planning on getting licensed in Clinical Social Work and would like to continue working with vulnerable youth populations that are entrenched in systems that continuously oppress them. Outside of school and work, Lena enjoys watching and playing women's soccer, going for runs, and spending time with her two cats.