Sarah Clem, MSW, PhD Candidate, is a gerontological social work researcher focused on equitable access to positive end-of-life and bereavement care. She is expected to defend her dissertation in the spring of 2027.
Previous Education
MSW, Columbia University
BSW, Colorado State University
Significant Accomplishments
Sarah is an accomplished scholar advancing research on dying, death, and bereavement topics. During her doctoral studies, Sarah has published five manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, including Death Studies; Illness, Crisis & Loss; and Journal of Applied Gerontology. Prior to her studies, Sarah co-authored a book chapter addressing online synchronous teaching.
During her doctoral studies, Sarah has given over 15 presentations at national and international conferences, such as the Gerontological Society of America’s (GSA) Annual Scientific Meeting, the Association of Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) Conference, and the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care (SWHPN) General Assembly. Her work has received recognition at multiple conferences, including the Dr. Hannelore Wass Cross-Cultural Student Paper Award at the 2025 ADEC Conference and the Outstanding Research Poster Award at the 2022 SWHPN General Assembly.
In 2021, Sarah was one of 10 scholars across the U.S. to be named a Pre-Dissertation Fellow for the Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work. The competitive fellowship recognizes doctoral scholars committed to building careers as gerontological social work faculty members.
Outside of her scholarship, Sarah has demonstrated a commitment to service with her many leadership roles. Within her PhD program, Sarah serves as the chair for the Qualitative Research Interest Group and facilitates monthly peer-debrief and autoethnography groups for students and faculty across and beyond UMB. In 2022, Sarah was awarded the Outstanding Student Representative Award for her work within the Graduate Student Association at UMB. Her service with the Graduate Student Association extended to the role of Secretary and Graduate Research Conference Chair. Beyond UMB, her service to the profession includes serving as a reviewer for multiple journals, including Death Studies and the Journal of Gerontological Social Work. Additionally, Sarah continues to carry out the responsibilities of Senior Volunteer Coordinator for the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Annual Conference, as well as serving on ADEC's Student and New Professional Committee. Sarah’s service has extended to her community through hosting and facilitating a free, community-focused Death Cafe, providing a space for healthy discussion of death and bereavement.
Research Experience
Applying a life-course perspective, Sarah’s scholarship explores perceptions and experiences of dying, death, and bereavement, with a focus on equity of access to services. Her research examines how death and loss-related topics are conceptualized, discussed, and addressed across diverse social demographics, vulnerabilities, and global contexts. Sarah's research experience demonstrates a wide range of advanced qualitative and quantitative methodological applications, including qualitative interviews, focus groups, thematic analysis, interpretive phenomenological analysis, psychometric evaluation, measurement invariance analysis, varied regression modeling, scoping review, and thematic synthesis.
Sarah’s dissertation research explores barriers to death rituals and the ways in which individuals are impacted by facing such barriers. Relying on phenomenological research methods, her dissertation centers the lived experience of individuals who have faced barriers to planning, attending, and performing death rituals for loved ones, while relying on key stakeholder informants to triangulate study findings. Sarah’s dissertation research is driven by the underlying belief that denied access to culturally responsive and emotionally supportive death rituals is a social injustice.
Teaching Interests and Experience
Sarah has independently taught over 10 graduate-level courses. Prior to her doctoral studies, Sarah taught Introduction to Statistics within the MSW program at Columbia University. Since joining her PhD Program, she has expanded her MSW instructional experience, teaching foundation courses, such as Social Work Research and Families and Groups Practice, at the University of Maryland and Boise State University. Sarah has taught in-person, online-synchronous, and asynchronous classes with class sizes ranging from 17 to 74 students.
Sarah’s instructional contributions have been recognized through multiple awards, including the Spring 2025 Dean’s Teaching Award and the Office of Academic Affairs Spring & Summer 2025 Teaching Award. Beyond formal instruction, Sarah has been invited as a Guest Lecturer at the University of Maryland, the University of Alabama, and the American Baptist College.
Practice Experience
Prior to her doctoral studies, Sarah’s extensive practice experience focused on serving immigrants and refugees in various capacities across New York City. Her professional experience serving this population began in a U.S. Congressional office where she worked alongside constituents to resolve visa issues. Later, working within a community-based organization and a local high school, Sarah served as an after-school program director and counselor for youth who had recently transitioned to the U.S. In a related role, Sarah led a team of child welfare care planners supporting immigrant families in her capacity as Preventive Program Supervisor. Sarah has also worked in organizational leadership as a Strategic Initiatives Specialist. In this role, she oversaw the transition from a 10-year grant cycle, enabling the expansion of a third office location, the implementation of more intensive therapeutic programming, and the doubling of program staff.
Selected Publications
Clem, S. E., Becker, T. D., Sacco, P., & Cagle, J. G. (2025). Assessing prioritization of a good death across Brazil, Italy, Japan, and the United States: A psychometric evaluation. Death Studies, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2025.2551368
Clem, S. E., Zhang, P., & Cagle, J. G. (2024). Exploring congruency of death location preferences versus expectations: Findings from the general public in Brazil, Italy, Japan, and the U.S. Illness, Crisis & Loss, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/10541373241262378