Executive Director: Tracy Levine, MSW, LCSW
Tracy Levine (she/her) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who joined NRCI in June, 2021 with over 30 years of experience in behavioral health and direct services. Tracy earned both a bachelor’s degree and her Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan. She also has a certificate in Non-Profit Executive Leadership.
Her passion for service and dedication to improving the lives of others is proven through years of leading programs focused on building resilience, strengthening family relationships, and supporting children, families, and emerging adults. Her experience includes serving in senior leadership roles at Chicago agencies providing child and family services, clinical services, and substance use disorders treatment. Additionally, Tracy served as an adjunct faculty in The Chicago School’s Master of Counseling Psychology Program and is a certified instructor for Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA), teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) and Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) suicide prevention gatekeeper trainings.
Tracy is a skilled educator, trainer and presenter and an adept advocate for the coordination and implementation of trauma-informed community-based programming, fostering inclusivity, and meeting the needs of the under resourced. Tracy is the past Board President of Mental Health America of the Northern Suburbs (MHANS) and a current board member of Mental Health America of Illinois (MHAI).
Doctoral Fellows:
Amber Greviskes
Amber (she/her) is a fourth-year student in the Clinical Psychology department where she is working toward her PsyD. Previously, she earned degrees in news-editorial journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Having spent years working with those affected by sexual assault and domestic violence, her research interests include trauma, especially as it relates to crime victims’ experiences, and vicarious trauma in first responders. She is also interested in policies that support the decriminalization of mental illness. This passion led her to NRCI, where she supports Mental Health First Aid programs in addition to researching, developing and presenting other mental health education programs.
Karishma Sunkara
Karishma (she/her) is a third year PsyD student in the Clinical Psychology program at The Chicago School. She earned a BA in Psychology, Public Administration and Political Science from the St. Francis College for Women, Osmania University, India, and her MS in Clinical Psychology from School of Allied Healthcare and Sciences – Jain University, India. She worked as a counselor and psychologist in various mental health settings before moving to the United States to further her education. She is interested in mental health advocacy and holistic development.
Graduate Assistants:
Alyssa Unger
Alyssa (she/her) is a first year student in the Clinical Psychology PsyD program at The Chicago School. She recently earned her B.A. in Criminology and Psychology at DePaul University, where she was very passionate about social, restorative, and criminal justice, and is proud to have been a Community Peacemaker, where she brought restorative justice curriculum to Chicago high school students. She is excited to continue her passions for social and criminal justice by joining the forensics concentration during her journey at The Chicago School, where she hopes to continue to find opportunities that destigmatize mental health in spaces that are criminalized. Alyssa hopes to work with people that are incarcerated, at risk of incarceration, or released from incarceration in order to provide the assistance needed for this community.
Devanshee Parekh
Devanshee (she/her) is a first-year PsyD student in the Clinical Psychology program at The Chicago School. She earned her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. During her undergraduate training, she served as a Counseling Center Paraprofessional on both the Trauma Team and the International Student Team, and worked as a research assistant in the Language Acquisition Lab. She has also held a role as an outreach officer, advocating for neurodiversity awareness and education.
Devanshee’s clinical interests include working with survivors of trauma and providing services within college counseling settings.
Sophia Vargas
Sophia (she/her) is a first-year student in the Forensic Psychology Master’s program at The Chicago School. She earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Law and Society from Purdue University. During her undergraduate studies, she developed a strong commitment to supporting historically underserved and underrepresented communities.
Sophia aspires to work with court-involved populations, with the goal of advancing equitable and effective mental health care at the intersection of the criminal justice and behavioral health systems.
Tanisha Sharma
Tanisha (she/her) is a first-year PsyD student in the Clinical Psychology program at The Chicago School. She earned her B.S. in Psychology (Honours) from CHRIST University and her M.S. in Clinical Psychology from Manipal Academy of Higher Education in India before relocating to the United States to pursue her doctoral degree.
Tanisha is deeply interested in understanding how community and systemic factors shape mental health outcomes. Throughout her academic journey, she has been actively engaged in mental health advocacy and is especially committed to advancing mental health literacy through her work with NRCI.
