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
Dr. 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: SSW/Law 510
Dr. Richard P. Barth, Dean of the School of Social Work and Professor
Research Interests: He has directed more than 50 studies and perhaps, most significantly, served as Principal Investigator of Berkeley’s Child Welfare Research Center from 1990 to 1996 and as Co-Principal Investigator of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, the first national study of child welfare services in the US.
Email: rbarth@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7794 | Room: 5E14
Dr. 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
Dr. Melissa Bellin, Associate Professor
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: 3W24
Dr. 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
Dr. Lisa Berlin, Associate 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
Dr. Charlotte Bright, Associate Professor & Director of the Doctoral Program
Research Interests: Gender and Juvenile Justice; Child Maltreatment; Interpersonal Trauma; Adolescent and Young Adult Development; Service Implementation; Quantitative and Qualitative Methodology
Email: cbright@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3605 | Room: 3W05
Dr. Caroline Long Burry, Associate Professor & Chair of the Families and Children Specialization
Research Interests: Adoption; Foster Care; Evidence-informed Practices in Child Welfare; Parental Incarceration; Prenatal Substance Exposure
Email: cburry@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3509 | Room: 5E39
Dr. John Cagle, Assistant 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
Dr. Christine Callahan, Research Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Financial Social Work
Email: ccallahan@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7051 | Room: 3W23
Franklin Chappell, MSW, 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
Denise Chop, MSW, LCSW-C, Clinical Instructor and Coordinator for Field Education
Email: dchop@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7187 | Room: 5E31
Dr. Amy Cohen-Callow, Clinical Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Volunteerism; Social Work/Non-profit Administration; Program Planning and Evaluation; Training; Aging
Email: acohen@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-1086 | Room: 3E29A
Dr. 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: 3E43
Dr. Sarah Dababnah, Assistant 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
Dr. 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: 5E39
Dr. 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
Dr. Frederick A. DiBlasio, Professor
Research Interests: Clinical Use of Forgiveness; Clinical Practice Issues
Email: fdiblasio@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7799 | Room: 5E43
Dr. 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:SSW/LAW 46
Dr. Melissa Edmondson Smith, Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Severe Mental Illness; African Americans with Schizophrenia; Ethnic Minorities with Schizophrenia; Mental Health Treatment Outcomes; Mental Health Services Research
Email: medmondson@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-5107 | Room: 5E41
Dr. 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: 5E41
Gisele Ferretto, MSW, LCSW-C, Clinical Instructor
Email: gferretto@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-1271 | Room: 2E21
Dr. Nadine Finigan-Carr, Research Assistant Professor
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) 706-7151 | Room:SSW/LAW 515
Dr. Pamela Clarkson Freeman, Research Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Program Evaluation and Quantitative Methods; Applied Statistics; Intervention Research with At-risk Youth and Families; Social Work Practice with Children; Trauma Focused CBT, Child Parent Psychotherapy, and Warp-Around Services for Children Who Have Experienced Trauma
Email:pfreeman@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone:(410)-706-6349 706-6349 | Room:SSW/Law 509
Dr. Jodi Jacobson Frey, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs); Health and Productivity Management; Financial Capability and Economic Well-Being; Suicide Prevention and Crisis Intervention
Email: jfrey@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3607 | Room: 3W09
Dr. 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: 3W11
Dr. Geetha Gopalan, Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Child Welfare; Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services; Adolescent Risk Behavior; Implementation of Evidence-based Practices
Email: ggopalan@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3616 | Room: 3W24
Dr. 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:SSW/LAW 510
Dr. 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
Dr. Samantha Hack, Volunteer Research Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Person-centered Mental Health Care; Mental Health Care Consumer Activation and Treatment Participation; Identity-related Disparities in Service Access and Outcomes for Mental Health Disorders; Development and Testing of Interventions for Serious Mental Illness and Stress-related Disorders; Participatory Action Research; Qualitative and Arts Based Research
Email: Samantha.Hack@va.gov | Phone: (410) 637-1857 |
Dr. Angela K. Henneberger, Research Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Dr. Henneberger’s research focuses on the ways in which peer relationships can be leveraged in prevention and intervention programs that aim to prevent problem behavior and promote positive adjustment in childhood and adolescence. Specifically, her research focuses on two interrelated themes: (1) applying advanced statistical methodologies to examine the complex impact of positive and negative aspects of peer selection and influence on the development of prosocial and aggressive behavior; and (2) incorporating findings on peer processes to strengthen the development, refinement, and evaluation of prevention and intervention programs.
Email: ahenneberger@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-6341 | Room: SSW/LAW 513
Dr. Karen Hopkins, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Organizational Learning and Development; Supervisory and Management Practices that Enhance Worker Well-Being and Performance; Workforce DevelopmentProgram Evaluation
Email: khopkins@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-1496 | Room: 3E29-C
Dr. Bethany R. Lee, Associate Dean for Research & Associate Professor
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: 5E20
Dr. Amanda Lehning, 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
Dr. 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
Dr. Samuel B. Little, Associate Dean for Field Education
Research Interests: Child Neglect, Parent Training, Mental Health Services, Prevention Research, Implementation of Evidence-Based Interventions
Email: sblittle@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7187 | Room: 5E38
Laura Loessner, MSW, LICSW, LCSW-C, Assistant Director for Field Education
Research Interests: Community-based Non-Profit, Trauma, Clinical Supervision, K-12 Special Education, Charter Schools, Medicaid
Email: lloessner@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-6352 | Room: 5E40
Dr. Megan Meyer, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs & 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: 4E13
Dr. Carlton E. Munson, Professor
Research Interests: Dr. Munson's practice and research focuses on trauma and loss in children including international child abduction. Dr. Munson has a special research interest in the effects of trauma on child development including a focus on receptive and language impairments. Dr. Munson has performed research and has publications in several areas of clinical social work practice and supervision.
Email: cmunson@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3602 | Room: 5E15
Dr. 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: 3W03
Dr. Howard Palley, Professor and distinguished fellow, institute for human services policy
Research Interests: Comparative Health and Long-Term Care Policy; Health Care Policy; Social Development; Social Policies and the Elderly; Social Policy Analysis; Social Welfare Policy
Email: hpalley@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3604 | Room: 5th Floor Emeriti Office
Research Interests: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy; Indentifying the Long-Term Sequela of Child Abuse and Family Violence on Adults; Health Status and Psychological Well-Being; Psycho-analytically Oriented Individual Psychotherapy
Email: epecukonis@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7533 | Room: 3W03
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: 4129, Camille Kendall Academic Center (Building II)
Dr. Michael Reisch, Daniel Thursz Distinguished Professor of Social Justice
Research Interests: Social Justice; Poverty and Inequality; Social Welfare Policy; Policy Advocacy; International Social Welfare
Email: mreisch@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-5088 | Room: 3W02
Dr. Shoshana Ringel, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Trauma; Attachment theory and practice; Psychodynamic treatment; Mindfulness based treatment
Email: sringel@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7890 | Room: 3W18
Dr. Theda Rose, Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Adolescent Mental Health (measurement, promotion); School and Community-based Adolescent Mental Health Interventions; Positive Youth Development; Program Evaluation; Public Health Social Work
Email: trose@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-4127 | Room: SSW/LAW 509
Dr. 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, MSW, Clinical Instructor
Research Interests: Homelessness, Public Policy, Public Health
Email: jbelcher@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-6391 | Room: 2E13
Dr. Tanya L. Sharpe, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Research on African American Families of Homicide Victims; Mass Violence and Disaster Research; Suicide Prevention, Education and Research; Qualitative Research Methods; Community Organizing and Program Development
Email: tsharpe@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3829 | Room: 3W06
Dr. Terry V. Shaw, Associate Professor
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 548
Dr. Corey Shdaimah, Associate Professor & Academic coordinator for the MSW/JD Dual Degree Program
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: 3W07
Peter Smith, Clinical Instructor
Research Interests: Clinical Practice; Human Behavior Theories
Email: psmith@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-5120 | Room: 5E24
Pamela Smith-Thornton, Clinical Instructor.
Research Interests: Social Determinants of Physical and Mental Health; Public Health Policy; Maternal and Child Health; Infant Mortality; Religiosity/Spirituality; Social Support and Coping
Email: pthornton@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-3616| Room:2E11
Sheila Y. Snowden, Clinical Instructor and Coordinator for Field Education
Research Interests: Field Education; Correctional Mental Health and Substance Abuse Programs; Mental Health; Substance Abuse
Email: ssnowden@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7187 | Room: 5E37
Dr. Frederick Strieder, Clinical Associate Professor and Direcctor, Family Connections
Research Interests: Clinic- and Community-Based Program Development for Vulnerable Families; Intervention Strategies for Victims of Abuse and Neglect; Social Work Practice With Individuals, Groups, and Families
Email: fstriede@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-5479 | Room: 550 W. Baltimore, 1st Floor
Victoria D. Stubbs, MSW, Clinical Instructor
Research Interests: Domestic Violence; Trauma; Clinical Supervision
Email: vstubbs@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-8303 | Room: 3E21
Dr. Jennifer Swanberg, Professor
Research Interests: Work, Family, and Health of Vulnerable Working Populations
Email: jswanberg@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7516 | Room: 3E29-E
Dr. Michelle Tuten, Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Behavioral Health, Substance Abuse
Email: mtuten@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7519 | Room: 5E28
Dr. 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
Dr. 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:
Susan Westgate, MSW, Clinical Instructor
Email: swestgate@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-1390 | Room: 3W26
Dr. 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
Dr. Michael Woolley, Associate Professor
Research Interests: Investigating in order to intervene in the social environment factors that influence success in school for students from kindergarten through high school with an emphasis on vulnerable groups of students and students exposed to known risk factors for poor educational outcomes. Such investigations include the influence of adults across the microsystems youth inhabit—home, school, and community—with a focus on interventions targeting the social climate in schools.The practice of social work in school settings, including the assessment of children, youth, families, and the social context of schools, interventions across clients systems in schools, and policy and program planning as it relates to the provision of social work in schools. Direct practice in social work including the foundations of practice and advanced practice with children, youth, and families.
Email: mwoolley@ssw.umaryland.edu | Phone: (410) 706-7839 | Room: 5E08