Pathways to the Profession Fellowship
Applications will open in the summer for 2026-27.2025-26 Pathways to the Profession Fellows
Claire Luebke graduated with a master’s in social work from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh. She has experience working with justice-involved individuals in the community as well as in institutions. She currently works as an outpatient psychotherapist in Wisconsin at the Pauquette Center for Psychological Services, providing clinical mental health treatment for adolescents who are justice-involved for problematic sexual behavior and assessment and treatment for adult offenders. She has a passion for helping justice involved individuals make meaningful changes in their lives.
Claire’s interest is in exploring the utility of DBT for adolescents with PSB and examining opportunities for people to practice self-regulation skills, especially in the limited-resource environments that many justice-involved youth are in.
Alex M. Ray is a Ph.D. student in Counseling Psychology at the University at Albany, State University of New York, with goals of becoming a licensed psychologist, professor, and researcher focusing on the assessment and treatment of PSB in youth involved in the juvenile justice and child protection systems. He is originally from Norton, MA and recently graduated summa cum laude from Bridgewater State University.
Alex is especially interested in the intersection of research and policy, and translating insights from one for implementation by the other.
Swathi Sunil is a fourth-year Clinical Psychology doctoral student at William James College. Her clinical internship experience has included both inpatient settings and K-12 schools in Massachusetts.
Swathi has an interest in systems and policy work, especially responsive and restorative tools for K-12 and college settings. She is passionate about providing culturally responsive, trauma-informed care for adolescents and transition-age youth and exploring intergenerational trauma within Asian American and immigrant communities.
About the MASOC Pathways to the Profession Fellowship
Why a Pathways to the Profession Fellowship?
MASOC believes that every child and adolescent deserves to live in a world that allows and encourages them to lead safe, healthy, and meaningful lives. However, we know from the research that: sexual violence is less likely to be investigated if the victim is a young person of color; young people with disabilities are both much more likely to be victimized as well as to have problem sexual behaviors; Black, Latinx, and indigenous children are more likely to face arrest, prosecution in juvenile and adult courts, and to be placed on the sex offender registry.
As professionals working in prevention and intervention, we also recognize the critical importance of building a field of highly trained, experienced professionals whose own identities reflect the diverse communities that make up Massachusetts. Too often, professionals who have identities that have made graduate school and highly influential professional networks very accessible have consciously and unconsciously created stratified professional networks, advancement opportunities, and mentorship, which leads to professional escalators for other professionals with those same identities while closing off opportunities for professionals with marginalized identities.
MASOC seeks to create an advancement opportunity that especially welcomes new professionals with underrepresented identities to the field and creates learning and growth in this specialized area of practice that goes beyond practicum placement or classroom learning to provide mentorship and open professional networks.
Who should apply?
MASOC is primarily an association of clinicians, so professionals in a range of clinical fields—psychology, mental health counseling, social work—with an interest in appropriate treatment of children, youth, and young adults with problem sexual behaviors should apply.
However, MASOC also encourages applications from allied fields whose work intersects with and informs our own, so long as the applicant has a specific interest in this practice area: pediatrics and family medicine, law and public policy, public health, sociology, criminology, early childhood, elementary and secondary education, etc.
MASOC is also a Massachusetts-based organization, so particularly welcomes applicants who do or are planning to live or practice in Massachusetts. However, if your research or practice area particularly involves Mass., you are also welcome to apply.
Description of Role
The MASOC Fellow will work with the MASOC Board of Directors for 9 months (September 2025 – June 2026) on projects involving children and adolescents with problematic sexual behaviors (PSB).
The Fellow will have the opportunity to work on a range of projects of their choice. Topics can include, but are not limited to:
- policy and legislative advocacy,
- social media and communications,
- fundraising and grant writing,
- curriculum design and implementation.
In the application, the Fellow will provide a statement about their interest in this fellowship, the potential topic area(s) they want to explore and a description of how the fellowship relates to their career goals.
Once the Fellow is chosen, they will be matched with a mentor from the MASOC Board of Directors based upon their interest. The mentor will provide individualized guidance, support, and career mentorship over the course of the fellowship.
The time commitment is approximately 2–4 hours a week (in part based on the existing academic and training demands of the Fellow). The Fellow will attend monthly board meetings and participate in the operations of our organization through the board meetings and mentorship with the Executive Director.
A stipend of $1,300 is provided to the Fellow as well as free registration at any MASOC conference (virtual joint conference, campus conference, and annual in-person conference), webinar or lunch and learn, all of which carry CE credits.
Applications are due by June 18, 2025. If you have any questions or would like to discuss a possible project, please contact Meg Bossong, Executive Director, at info@masoc.net.
Past Fellow Experiences
“My educational journey has provided me with deep insights into human behavior, the barriers and gaps within criminal justice systems, and the global context in which these dynamics unfold. I have degrees in psychology, criminology, and international studies, and I’m currently pursuing my masters in legal studies.”
“I am eager to address and understand various sexual behaviors in different contexts, and to proactively fill educational gaps with effective tools and resources that foster success.
I look forward to exploring and absorbing the knowledge presented in this field, sharing it with the communities around me, and hopefully making a significant difference in someone’s life.”
“Being a MASOC fellow was such a rewarding experience. Being able to share space with an amazing group of people who are not only open to having difficult conversations but are also open to learning from one another and sharing their own experiences has contributed to my own professional and personal growth. I enjoyed learning more about how board functions and gaining a better understanding about the importance of policy work. I also loved having the opportunity to be involved in several different projects I was interested in. My experience was so positive that I decided to become a board member following the end of my fellowship.”
“The fellowship experience I had with MASOC was invaluable, both for my personal development and also for my professional training as a pediatrician. I have been able to have rewarding discussions with advocates, lawmakers, clinicians, and most humbling, the families impacted by PSB. All the board members were welcoming and provided some mentorship in some way. I would highly recommend this experience to anyone interested. I hope I use the knowledge that I acquired this year and spread awareness of PSB throughout the medical community to aid in understanding and assist in healing of families.”
“MASOC allowed me to further develop my presenting and public speaking skills and increased my professional development.”