Faculty Bios
At the University of Maryland School of Social Work, our faculty members are consistently ranked among the most active and productive social work scholars and researchers in the nation.
Not only are our faculty engaged in teaching, research, and practice, but they are also accessible and dedicated to meeting students' needs outside of the classroom.
Faculty Specialty Areas
Haksoon Ahn, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Child Welfare and Family Welfare; Quality Assurance (QA) and Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) in Child Welfare; Family-Centered Practice (FCP), Foster Parents; Welfare Policy, Poverty, Inequality, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Child Care; Economic Analysis, Administrative data; US Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) Panel Data
Email: hahn@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-4704 | Room: 3W09
Richard P. Barth, Professor and Chair, Executive Committee of the Grand Challenges for Social Work
Research Interests: He has directed more than 70 studies related to child welfare services, children’s behavioral health, pregnancy prevention, and child abuse prevention. He is the Chair of the Grand Challenges for Social Work’s Executive Committee and has been honored by SSWR, NASW, the American Psychological Association (Div 37), and many other groups for his scholarly contributions.
Email: rbarth@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3371 | Room: 534 SSW/LAW
John R. Belcher, Professor
Research Interests: Children, Youth, and Families; Community, Poverty, and Social Justice; Crime/Criminal Justice/Delinquency; Health; Homelessness; Housing; Management; Mental Health; Policy; Religion; Substance Abuse; Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs; Violence
Email: jbelcher@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3613 | Room: 3E11
Melissa Bellin, Associate Professor and Chair of Health Specialization
Research Interests: Child and Family Adaptation to Chronic Illness and Disability; Developmental Disabilities; Family Centered Care; Interdisciplinary Collaboration; Social Work Practice in Health Care
Email: mbellin@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-4409 | Room: 3E43
Sean Aaron Betsinger, Research Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Juvenile Justice; Racial Disparities in the Juvenile Justice System; Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices; Federal Criminal Sentencing
Email: abetsinger@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-4174 | Room: 3rd Floor
Lisa Berlin, Professor
Research Interests: Infant-Parent Attachment; Early Parenting; Prevention of Child Maltreatment; Home Visiting; Program Evaluation
Email: lberlin@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-6392 | Room: 3E29-D
Tony Bonadio, Research Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Improving effectiveness and efficiency of mental health treatment for children, adolescents, and families in community, school, and primary care settings through the applied use of empirical data; comparative effectiveness research; program evaluation; community psychology; assessment and psychometrics; multivariate statistics and mixture modeling techniques.
Email: fbonadio@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: 410-706-4882
John Cagle, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Hospice and Palliative Care; Psychosocial Aspects of Pain and Pain Management; Caregiving at the End of Life; The Intersection of Aging, Health and Palliative Care; End-of-Life Care in Long Term Care Settings; The Economic Impact of End-of-Life Care on Families
Email: jcagle@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-6106 | Room: 3W13
Christine Callahan, Research Associate Professor
Research Interests: Financial Social Work
Email: ccallahan@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7051 | Room: 3W23
David Camacho, Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Racial and sexual minority older adults’ physical and mental health in the US and Latin America, particularly: 1) chronic pain, 2) loneliness, 3) cognitive functioning and 4) implementation science.
Email: david.camacho@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-5108 | Office: 5E41
Neijma Celestine-Donnor, Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Research Interests: Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Strategic Planning, Ethnic and Racial Identity, Immigration, Anti-Racist Social Work Practice and Pedagogy, Restorative Practices and Restorative Pedagogy, Trauma Informed Equity Practices
Email: ncelestine-donnor@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-4210
Franklin Chappell, Clinical Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Field Education
Research Interests: Social Work Field Education, Health Issues, Loss and Grief
Email: fchappell@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3600 | Room: 5E30
Christabel Cheung, Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Psychosocial oncology; adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology; financial hardship; social determinants of health; health disparities; health equity; patient engagement in research; and embodied research.
Email: christabel.cheung@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: 410-706-7011 | Room: 3W04
Denise Chop, Clinical Instructor and Coordinator for Field Education
Research Interests: Field Education, Children and Families and Child Welfare
Email: dchop@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-4552 | Room: 5E31
Kathryn S. Collins, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Violence Exposure and Trauma Symptomatology; Mental Health and Disability Policies; Cognitive/Narrative Evidence Based Interventions in Social Work Education, Research and Practice; Feminist Pedagogy
Email: kcollins@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-0814 | Room: 3E29G
Caron Cox-Branch, Clinical Instructor and Coordinator for Field Instruction
Research Interests: Field Education, Childhood Social-Emotional Development
Email: ccox-branch@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-0867 | Room: 5E42
Sarah Dababnah, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Services and Support for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; Child and Adolescent Mental Health; Sceening of Autism Spectrum Disorders; Early Intervention Services for Young; Children with or At Risk for Developmental Disabilities; Health-Related Issues of Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and their Caregivers; Evidence-based Practices; Disability and Mental Health Policy; Cross-Cultural Comparisons; Global Disability Issues; Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods
Email: sdababnah@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-8076 | Room: 5E39
Joan Davitt, Associate Professor and Chair of Aging Specialization
Research Interests: Aging; Home Care; Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Home Health Care
Email: jdavitt@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-5116 | Room: 3W11
Bruce R. DeForge, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Medical Sociology – Social Psychological Aspects of Health, Health Attitudes/Beliefs, Health Status, Quality of Life, Social/Psychological Well-Being, Health Disparities; Health Literacy; Sociology of Mental Health (stigma); Social Psychology (attitudes and public opinion, self-concept); Homelessness; Mental Health Policy
Email: bdeforge@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-5612 | Room: 3E13
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Frederick A. DiBlasio, Professor
Research Interests: Clinical Use of Forgiveness; Clinical Practice Issues
Email: fdiblasio@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7799 | Room: 5E43
Nancy S. Dickinson, Clinical Professor
Research Interests: Leadership in Child Welfare; Child Welfare Research; Child Welfare Education and Training
Email:ndickinson@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone:(410) 706-3740 | Room:546 LAW/SSW
Jill Farrell, Research Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Juvenile Justice; Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices; Racial Disparities in the Juvenile Justice System; Program Evaluation; Using Data to Inform Policy; Workforce Development
Email: jfarrell@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-6693 | Room: 306 W.Redwood
Gisele Ferretto, Clinical Instructor
Research Interests: Professional ethics, policy and leadership development, field education, child welfare practice, child abuse and neglect prevention, confidentiality, and curriculum development
Email: gferretto@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-6934 | Room: 2E21
Nadine Finigan-Carr, Research Associate Professor and Director of the Prevention of Adolescent Risks Initiative
Research Interests: Public Health Social Work; Adolescent Risk Behaviors– sexual reproductive health, aggression and violence, substance use; ChildWelfare; Child Sex Trafficking; Parent Engagement
Email:nfinigan-carr@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone:(410) 706-7157 | Room:SSW/LAW 517
Jodi Jacobson Frey, Associate Dean for Research and Professor
Research Interests: Adult and Workplace Behavioral Health; Suicide Prevention and Crisis Intervention; Employee Assistance and Worker Health and Well-being; Working Families; Financial Capability and Asset Building
Email: jfrey@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3607 | Room: 3W08
Samantha Fuld, Clinical Assistant Professor
Research Interests: The impact of trauma and stigma on mental health in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; Incorporating critical disability studies into social work education and practice; Critical social work education and practice; Social & institutional models of understanding and undoing oppression; Neurodiversity; Reflective supervision
Email: Samantha.Fuld@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7021 | Room: 3W23
Deborah Gioia, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Schizophrenia and Vocational Identity; Evidence-Based Practice Adoption by Mental Health Practitioners; Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood; Veteran’s Mental Health; First Episode Psychosis
Email: dgioia@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7765 | Room: 3W16
Laurie Graham, Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Sexual violence prevention, Intimate partner violence and homicide prevention, Human trafficking prevention, Intersectional research and practice, Intervention research
Phone: (410) 706-7012 | Email: laurie.graham@ssw.umaryland.edu | Room: 3W06
Elizabeth Greeno, Research Associate Professor
Research Interests: Child Welfare; Trauma; Child Abuse & Neglect; Child Welfare; WorkforceMental Health
Email: egreeno@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-4259 | Room: 306 W.Redwood
Geoffrey L. Greif, Professor
Research Interests: Family Therapy; Group Work; Child Abduction; Single Parents; Friendships
Email: ggreif@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3567 | Room: 3W01
Deborah S. Harburger, Clinical Instructor; Director, Division of Policy, Finance & Systems Design; Director, Ruth Young Center for Maryland, The Institute for Innovation & Implementation
Research Interests: Public child- and family-serving systems and related reform and design; child welfare; older youth involved with child welfare; interagency initiatives; sustainable financing for home- and community based services
Email: dharburger@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: 410-706-1868 | Room: 306 W. Redwood Street, 2nd Floor
Madge Henderson, Clinical Instructor and Field Coordinator
Research Interests: Healthcare, HIV/AIDS, Renal Care, and Hospice
Email: madge.henderson@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3894 | Room: 5E31
Angela K. Henneberger, Research Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Positive Youth Development; Peer Relationships; At-Risk Youth; Academic Development; Social Development; Causal Inference; Advanced Statistical Methods
Email: ahenneberger@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-6341 | Room: LAW/SSW COO6-B
Tamara Hicks, Clinical Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Social Determinants Of Health, Health and Access Disparities, Gentrification and Neighborhood Change, Chronic Stress among Special Needs Parents
Email:Tamara.Hicks@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410)706-7010 | Room: 3W03
Mary Hodorowicz, Clinical Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Social Work Teaching and Training Methods, Child Maltreatment Prevention, Substance Use, Mental and Behavioral Health Treatment, Motivational Interviewing, and Child Welfare, Adoption, and At-Risk Youth Populations.
Email: THODOROWICZ@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: 410-706-3616 | Room: 3W24
Karen Hopkins, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Organizational Learning, Capacity-building, and Development; Management Practices that Enhance Worker Well-Being and Performance; Workforce Development, Performance Management; Program Evaluation
Email: khopkins@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-1496 | Room: 3E29-C
Angela Jachelski, Clinical Instructor and Coordinator for Macro Field Education
Research Interests: Social Work Field Education, Evidenced Based Mental Health services for youth engaged in the Child Welfare system
Email:ajachelski@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3363 | Room: 5E34
Brenda Jones Harden, Alison Richman Professor for Children and Families
Research Interests: Developmental and mental health needs of young children at environmental risk, including effects of trauma and poverty; child maltreatment; child welfare intervention; home visitation; early childhood intervention; parenting programs; prevention programs
Email: brenda.jones-harden@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3829 | Room: 3W02
Brook Kearley, Research Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Evaluation of Substance Use and Delinquency Prevention and Intervention Programs; Implementation of Evidence Based Programs; Experimental Methods; Longitudinal Research
Email: Brook.Kearley@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410)706-2382 | Room: 306 W. Redwood Street
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Jennifer L. Kelman, Clinical Assistant Professor, Unit and Program Director
Research Interests: Child Welfare, Adoption and Kinship Care, Child Welfare Workforce Development, Trauma Responsive Care
Email:jkelman@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone:410-706-1442
Amanda Lehning, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor
Research Interests: Aging in place, Neighborhoods and Health, Health Inequities in Later Life, Long-Term Services and Supports, Health Policy, Housing and Transportation
Email: alehning@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3831 | Room: 3W04
Ericka Lewis, Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Child Neglect, Parent Training, Mental Health Services, Prevention Research, Implementation of Evidence-Based Interventions
Email: Ericka.Lewis@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-0341 | Room: 3W05
Bethany R. Lee, Professor & Director of the PhD and Post-Doctoral Program
Research Interests: Child Welfare;Children's Mental Health;Quality of Care;Out-of-home Care;Residential Treatment;Treatment Foster Care; Quantitative Methodology
Email: blee@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3809 | Room: 508 SSW/LAW
Kyla Liggett-Creel, Clinical Associate Professor
Research Interests: Early Childhood; Trauma; Cultural Competence; Place-based Initiatives; Program Evaluation; Families in Urban Environments
Email: kliggett-creel@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: 410-706-1099 | Room: 2W04
Samuel B. Little, Associate Dean for Field Education, Clinical Asociate Professor
Research Interests: Child Neglect, Parent Training, Mental Health Services, Prevention Research, Implementation of Evidence-Based Interventions
Email: sblittle@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-4545 | Room: 5E38
Laura Loessner, Assistant Director for Field Education
Research Interests: Clinical Supervision, Cultural Humility, Community-based Non-Profits, K-12 Special Education, Medicaid
Email: lloessner@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-6352 | Room: 5E36
Marlene Matarese, Clinical Associate Professor and Deputy Director
Research Interests: Wraparound, SOC, workforce development, implementation science, LGBTQI-2S topics, youth involvement and positive youth development.
Email: mmatarese@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: 410-706-4732
Nicole Mattocks, Research Assistant Professor
Research Interests: The relationship between the natural environment and mental health; behavioral health services research; crisis response and stabilization service systems; telemedicine interventions for vulnerable populations; eco social work and environmental justice; wilderness therapy.
Phone: (410) 706-1107 Email: nmattocks@ssw.umaryland.edu Room: 5E24
Megan Meyer, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Community Organizing and Advocacy; Community-University PartnershipsHuman Service Organizations; Qualitative Research; Social Capital Development; Social Movements
Email: mmeyer@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-5635 | Room: 5E06
Nalini Negi, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Migration; Substance Abuse; Mental Health of Latino Immigrants; Ethnic/Racial Identity; Culturally Competent Social Work Practice
Email: nnegi@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3024 | Room: 5E08
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Edward Pecukonis, Professor
Research Interests: Teaching Pedagogy, Interprofessional Education and Training, Motivational Interviewing, Family Therapy, Cognitive, Behavioral Therapy, Applied Behavioral Analysis, Equine-assisted Psychotherapy
Email: epecukonis@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7533 | Room: 5E41
Joan Pittman, Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the MSW Program at Shady Grove
Research Interests: Mental Health; Clinical Practice with Individuals, Couples, and Families; Group Work; Social Work Education; Supervision
Email: jpittman@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (301) 738-6013 | Room: USG III-3145, Camille Kendall Academic Center (Building II)
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Judy L. Postmus, Dean and Professor
Research Intersts: The physical, sexual, and economic victimization of women.
Email: postmus@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: 410-706-7794
Patricia Quinn-Stabile, Clinical Instructor
Research Interests: Substance Use Disorders in adults and adolescents, non- profit program administration, workforce development, field education, clinical supervision, ethics, legislative processes and policy, parenting medically fragile children, transition of medically fragile children to adult health care systems, tele-behavioral health.
Email: pquinn-stabile@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: 410-706-4538 | Room: COO5 SSW/LAW
Roderick Rose, Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Youth in foster care, with an emphasis on behavioral health; Program evaluation; Advanced methods for social work research
Email: rrose@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7023 | Room: 511 SSW/LAW
Theda Rose, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Adolescent Mental Health Promotion; Measurement of Adolescent Mental Wellbeing; School and Community-based Adolescent Mental Health Promotion Interventions; Positive Youth Development; Program Evaluation; Public Health Social Work
Email: trose@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-4127 | Room: 3W07
Paul Sacco, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Alcohol and Drug Use; Pathological and Problem Gambling; Aging and Life Course Development; Latent Variable Methodology
Email: psacco@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-8099 | Room: 5E21
Adam Schneider, Clinical Instructor
Research Interests: Homelessness, Public Policy, Public Health
Email: aschneider@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-6391 | Room: 3W25
Wendy Shaia, Clinical Associate Professor and Executive Director of SWCOS
Research Interests: Race and equity; Poverty and social justice; Black and African-American children with autism; Single parenting children of color; Organizational development.
Email: wshaia@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: 410-706-5130 | Room: SWCOS
Terry V. Shaw, Associate Professor and Director, Research Division, Institute for Innovation and Implementation
Research Interests: Child Welfare; Advanced Statistical Methods with Administrative Data; Environmental Issues Into Social Work Policy & Practice; Child Welfare Outcomes and Accountability; Adoption and Other Avenues to Permanency; Using Data to Inform Policy
Email: tshaw@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3811 | Room: SSW/LAW 559
Corey Shdaimah, Daniel Thursz Distinguished Professor of Social Justice, Academic Coordinator for the MSW/JD & MSW/MPP Dual Degree Programs
Research Interests: Street-based Sex Work; Court-Affiliated Prostitution Diversion Programs; Child Care Policy; Theory and practice knowledge
Email: cshdaimah@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7544 | Room: 3W17
Everett Smith, Director of Tele-Behavioral Health Education
Research Interests: Anti-oppressive social work, family therapy, field education, mental health issues and trauma, youth development and family needs.
Email: everrett-smith@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: 410-706-1880 | Office: 5E37
Melissa Edmondson Smith, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Community-based mental heath services; Black populations diagnosed with serious mental illnesses; Youth and young adults at clinical high risk for psychosis; The intersection of race, ethnicity, sociocultural factors and serious mental illness across the life span; Qualitative and mixed methods research
Email: medmondson@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-5107 | Room: 3W15
Peter Smith, Clinical Instructor
Research Interests: Theory Development, Emotional Systems Theory, Object Relations Theory, Clinical Practice, Human Behavior Theories, and the Interface of Religion and Mental Health.
Email: psmith@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-5120 | Room: 2E15
Michelle Tuten, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Behavioral Health, Substance Abuse
Email: mtuten@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7519 | Room: 5E28
Jay Unick, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Social and Psychiatric Epidemiology; Psychiatric Diagnosis; Health Consequences of Heroin Use; Organization and Financing of Mental Health Services; Mental Health Outcome Measurement
Email: junick@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3735 | Room: 5E22
Fernando Wagner, Professor
Research Interests: Development of methods, knowledge, and community-based participatory interventions promoting wellness and public mental health.
Email: fernando.wagner@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-5696 | Room: 5E10
Lee Westgate, Clinical Instructor
Research Interests: Trauma-informed Care, Vicarious Trauma, Healthcare Bio-Ethics, Chronic and Life-Threatening Illness, Behavioral Health, Palliative and End of Life Care, Health Disparities & Health Equity, Social Determinants of Health, Healthcare Applications of Big Data, Critical Incident Management Working with LGBTQIA+ individuals and communities , Training and Continuing Education
Email: lwestgate@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-1390 | Room: 3W26
Darren L Whitfield, Associate Professor
Research Interests: HIV prevention, LGBTQ Health Disparities, Intersectionality, Racial/ethnic Disparities
Email: Darren.whitfield@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-6340 | Office: 5E43
Alexandra Wimberly, Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Complementary health approaches for stress coping and substance use problems, including yoga and mindfulness meditation; Stress and substance use; Substance use and HIV interventions for people with criminal justice involvement; Continuing care for substance use
Email: awimberly@ssw.umaryland.edu | Room: 5E26
Michael Woolley, Professor
Research Interests: Social Environment Influences on Educational Outcomes of Vulnerable Student Populations, Social Work Practice with Children, Youth and Families
Email: mwoolley@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7839 | Room: 3W14