SSW Laurels

Fernando Wagner, PhD, has been selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar for the 2024-2025 program in Mexico.

Jodi Frey, PhD, LCSW-C, has been appointed as the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Research Advisor.

Jen Canapp, PhD, Academic Services Specialists, has been named the recipient of the prestigious 2024 Cecil S. Kelly Memorial Employee of the Year Award.

Corey Shdaimah, PhD, LLM, the Daniel Thursz Distinguished Professor of Social Justice is named Donna Harrington Exemplary Faculty Mentor 2024.

Nadine Finigan-Carr, PhD, Executive Director of the University of Maryland, Baltimore Center for Violence Prevention and Research Professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, was recognized as the Public Health Social Worker of the Year by the American Public Health Association (APHA).

Alex Boldin, MSW Student, BHWISE Fellow, and Ericka Shook, UMB Staff Member, MPH Student, were part of a UMB-IPE team that won the Grand Prize at the Annual National Academy of Medicine’s Public Health Challenge.

Lee Westgate, MSW, MBA, LCSW-C, Adjunct Professor, will be inducted into the National Academies of Practice (NAP) Class of 2025 as a Distinguished Fellow of the Social Work Academy. This prestigious honor recognizes nominated social workers for their outstanding achievements and leadership in both their profession and interprofessional care.

Jamel Freeman, MSW Student has been appointed as a Lived Experience Member of the Prison Education Delivery Reform Commission by Governor Wes Moore's office.

Amy Greensfelder, LCSW, Executive Director of the Institute for Innovation and Implementation is a distinguished honoree in the Baltimore Business Journal's 2024 40 Under 40 list.

Michele Beaulieu, LCSW-C, Clinical Assistant Professor, Director, Behavioral Health Education Programs Receives the 2024 NASW-MD Community Service Award.

Stacey Wilson, LMSW, Clinical and Faculty Field Instructor, recognized with an award for Outstanding Achievement in Academic Community Engagement by a Faculty Member by the Interprofessional Program on Academic Community Engagement (IPACE), which is housed within the Department of Family and Community Health at the University of Maryland School of Nursing.

Nancy Kusmaul, PhD, MSW, Associate Professor, will receive the Elaine M. Brody Thought Leader Award, which acknowledges outstanding contributions in social research, policy, and practice, at the Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting in Seattle, WA.

Iris Cardenas, PhD, Assistant Professor, was selected to receive a Health Disparities Research Loan Repayment Program award from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD).

Nancy Kusmaul, PhD, MSW, Associate Professor awarded the Elaine Brody Thought Leader Award at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America.

Lee Westgate, Adjunct Professor, partnered with the Baltimore County Department of Health (BCDH) to design and deliver a training on “Recognizing and Eliminating Disparities in Access to Treatment for LGBTQIA+ Populations.”

Nadine Finigan-Carr, PhD, Executive Director of the UMB Center for Violence Prevention and Laurie Graham, PhD, MSW, Assistant Professor conducted a systematic review examining the types and prevalence, as well as risk and protective factors related to African American early adolescent girls’ aggressive and violent behaviors.

Karen Hopkins, PhD, Associate Professor, and Megan Meyer, PhD, associate professor led a workshop on "Human-Centered Leadership in Everyday Practice" with SSW Field Practicum Instructors and Faculty Field Liaisons on November 8.

Sarah Dababnah, PhD, MPH, MSW, Associate Professor, coordinated a symposium at the Society for Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

Alexis Guethler, Instructional Designer, IDEAS, was invited to present her fully integrated approach to mixed methods research as the Graduate Student Research Methodology Showcase winner at the 100th annual Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) conference and the Online Learning Consortium Accelerate Conference.

Danielle R. Phillips, LSW, PhD Candidate, presented a webinar on LGQTQIA2S+ Ethical Considerations and Advocacy Efforts to the Hawai'i State Rural Health Association via Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes).

Dawn Shafer, PhD, LCSW-C, Patty Alvarez, PhD, MS, Dr. Kate Noonan, PhD, MSEd, and Rosemary Ferreira, MEd, presented at NASPA about collaborative model of student affairs at UMB.

Erin Leech, PIEC Team Training Specialist, The Institute for Innovation and Implementation, presented at the MCAP (Maryland Community Action Partnership) Annual Human Services Conference in Ocean City, Maryland.

Lee Westgate, MSW, MBA, LCSW-C, Adjunct Professor, was the opening keynote speaker for NASW Maine's annual conference attended by 450 social workers from Maine and the surrounding region.

Karen Hopkins, PhD, Associate Professor, and Megan Meyer, PhD, associate professor delivered the keynote address (virtual) on "Impact of Leadership Development on Women’s Individual and Organizational Behaviors" at the Beijing, China annual interdisciplinary and international Modern Management Conference.

Corey Shdaimah, PhD, LLM, the Daniel Thursz Distinguished Professor of Social Justice and Linda-Jeanne (LJ) Mack, Doctoral Student, facilitated a conversation at the Maryland Judiciary's 24th Annual CANDO Conference for judges, magistrates, and permanency planning liasons (PPL).

Fernando Wagner, PhD, lead a lecture at Universidad Autonoma De Queretaro on Mental health in the university environment.

Sarah Dababnah, PhD, MPH, MSW, Associate Professor, presented "Developing Community-Engaged Methods to Address Service Disparities for Autistic Children" at a November meeting of a Build and Broaden program meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sarah Dababnah, PhD, MPH, MSW, was a panelist on an advocacy forum for autism research in Washington, D.C., the forum included autistic advocates, family members, policymakers, researchers, clinicians, and other stakeholders.

Anita Bryant, Media & Public Relations Manager, moderated a panel discussion on the impact of social media on children's mental health, hosted by Upcounty Prevention Network and WUMCO Help Inc. (Western Upper Montgomery County), organized by Janet Hosford-Lamb, CEO of Focused-Solutions.

Karen Hopkins, PhD, Associate Professor, and Megan Meyer, PhD, associate professor presented Elements and Impacts of a Foundation-supported Learning Collaborative to Build the Capacities of Community-based Nonprofits at the Network for Social Work Management Forward Thinking Summit.

Jodi Frey, PhD, LCSW-C, featured latest issue of Success Magazine, sharing her expertise in workplace mental health and her invaluable insights as an advisory council member for MHFA.

Geoffrey Greif, PhD, MSW, Distinguished University Professor and Michael Woolley, PhD, MSW, DCSW, professor, at the School of Social Work was quoted in an NPR article on navigating difficult sibling relationships, “All grown up, but still fighting? Why more siblings are turning to therapy, together."

Geoffrey Greif, PhD, MSW, Distinguished University Professor was quoted in an article in The Atlantic, “Couples Therapy, but for Siblings.”

Jay Unick, PhD, MSW, Assistant Professor, featured in Overdose Article by Scientific American, "Overdose Deaths Are Finally Starting to Decline. Here's Why."

Jodi Frey, PhD, LCSW-C, CEAP, Professor and Associate Dean for Research was quoted in Baltimore Style magazine about her work with men and depression.

Ashley Fehringer, MPH, Senior Training Specialist featured on Care.com, providing engaging activities to teach toddlers and preschoolers the essential skill of sharing.

Neil Mallon, LCSW-C, Senior Research Specialist, Prevention of Adolescent Risks Initiative (PARI) lead a new study urging state agencies to revise their approach to addressing child labor trafficking.

Richard Barth, PhD, MSW, was listed in a new compendium of scientists' citation counts as ranking 17,915 among 100,000 scientists identified as having high citation counts (by c-score).

Alexis Guethler, IDEA Team, graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Towson University's newly redesignated Instructional Technology (PhD) program.

Morgan Pardue-Kim, PhD Candidate, received the Center for Global Engagement Scholars funding, supporting the community-based methods of her dissertation titled "Former Unaccompanied Refugee Minors' Experiences as Parents: A Constructivist Grounded Theory and Participatory Approach."

Nikita Aggarwal, PhD Candidate, for receiving the Center for Global Engagement Scholars funding, supporting the community fieldwork and data analysis of her dissertation, "Exploring the Role of Work and Immigration-Related Risk Factors on the Behavioral Health of Immigrant Restaurant Workers: A Mixed-Methods Study."

David Crumpton, PhD, Professor, received a grant from the Canadian government's International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The IDRC grant will fund a July 30-31, 2024 "Idea Exchange" at Chiang Mai University's (Thailand) School of Public Policy for Myanmar local governance policy actors and practitioners.

Lynn Murphy Michalopoulos, AM, PhD, Director of Global Initiatives, Associate Professor, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with University of Maryland School of Social Work and the University of Zambia in Lusaka, Zambia.

Lynn Murphy Michalopoulos, PhD, Director of Global Initiatives, Associate Professor, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with University of Maryland School of Social Work and the University of Zambia in Lusaka, Zambia. (link)

Michael Schlossman, PhD, was appointed to a Research Assistant Professor position within the Institute for Innovation and Implementation (The Institute).

Jodi Frey, PhD, LCSW-C, CEAP, Professor, published a new article in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine that examine trends of employer/employee assistance program referred admissions to outpatient substance use disorder (SUD) treatment in the United States.

Jihyeong Jeong, MSW, PhD Student, published a new article that explores associations between drinking motives and alcohol use and the moderating effects of gender in college students.

Christabel Cheung, PhD, MSW, published a new paper in BMC Cancer, which presents the protocol for the development of a core outcome set (COS) for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer.

Geoffrey Grief, PhD, MSW, Distinguished University Professor, published a new article in the Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy on the Intermarriage of Whites and Asian Americans.

Iris Cardenas, PhD, Assistant Professor; Laurie Graham, PhD, MSW, Assistant Professor; and Laura Ting, PhD, LCSW-C, Associate Professor, BWISE Faculty, published a new article on individuals who experience intimate partner violence and their engagement with the legal system.

Sarah Dababnah, PhD, MPH, MSW, Associate Professor, and Wendy Shaia, MSW, EdD, Clinical Associate Professor and Executive Director of the Center for Restorative Change, published a new article in Pediatrics that detailed the efforts between community members, developmental-behavioral pediatricians, and social workers to adapt, pilot, and evaluate a culturally relevant program for parents of Black children at increased likelihood for autism

Darren Whitfield, PhD, MSW, associate professor, published a new scoping review on barriers and facilitators of engagement in HIV prevention and care and identify interventions relevant to the HIV prevention and care continuum for Black men who have sex with men (MSM) in Canada.

Yao Wang, MSW, Doctoral Candidate, and Sarah Dababnah, PhD, MPH, MSW, Associate Professor, and colleagues published article in International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, title "Lessons learned from a statewide needs assessment of Asian American families of children with developmental disabilities.”

Vashti Adams, PhD Student, published in Health and Social Work examining the psychometric properties of the Modified Weight Bias Internalization Scale among first-generation Asian immigrants and explores associations between demographic characteristics and internalized weight bias.

Kerri Evans, PhD, LCSW, Associate Professor, published an article in Equity in Education and Society exploring the literacy rates in Guatemala range from 40% to 90% but widespread poverty and malnutrition hinder school attendance and educational attainment.

Lynn Murphy Michalopoulos, AM, PhD, Director of Global Initiatives, Associate Professor, published an article entitled "Different forms of intimate partner violence and its association with post-traumatic stress among women who use drugs and alcohol in Kyrgyzstan" in the Journal of Traumatic Stress.

Tural Mammadli, LMSW, PhD Student and Darren L. Whitfield, PhD, MSW, associate professor published a new article on gender identity conversion efforts in the Sexuality Research and Social Policy Journal, “Gender Identity Conversion Efforts as a Source of Minority Stress Among Transgender and Nonbinary Persons Living in the U.S.: Correlation with Wellbeing and Proximal Stressors.”

Nikita Aggarwal, PhD Candidate and Ph.D. student Everett Smith Jr. recently published an article in the Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social entitled, "Acculturative stress and psychological distress during COVID-19 among racial-ethnic minority immigrants in the US."

Kerri Evans, PhD, LCSW, published an article in Journal of Teaching in Social Work titled "An Assessment of MSW Social Work Curricula: Semester-Long Courses Specifically Related to Immigrants and Immigration" that discussed a comprehensive review of publicly available data on MSW school websites and the availability of coursework related to immigrants.

Tural Mammadli, LMSW, PhD Student and Darren L. Whitfield, PhD, MSW, associate professor published a new article in the International Journal of Transgender Health entitled, “Understanding harms associated with gender identity conversion efforts among transgender and nonbinary individuals: The role of preexisting mental well-being.”

Iris Cardenas, PhD, Assistant Professor, published an article titled “Systematic Review of Intimate Partner Violence Interventions (IPV) for Latinas in the U.S.”

Iris Cardenas, PhD, Assistant Professor, published an article titled "Profiles of Service-Engaged Intimate Partner Violence Survivors: Considerations for Service Delivery and Continuation."

Tural Mammadli, PhD Student, published a new research article in the Journal of Affective Disorders, “Changes in alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and other substance use and its association with mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic among sexual minority men in Eastern European and Central Asian countries.”

Geoffrey Greif, PhD, MSW, Distinguished University Professor and Ann Gantt UMB PhD graduate, published a new article in Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping journal titled “Reflections on the Loss of My Grandson: How Life Events Change Social Work Practice.”

Laurie Graham, PhD, MSW, Assistant Professor, Marcela Sarmiento Mellinger, PHD, MSW, Associate Professor, Rick Barth, PHD, Professor, MSW alumna Ms. Chantel Bennett; and PhD student Ms. April Cavaletto published an article in Families in Society titled "The Power of Language to Transform Efforts to Address Intimate Partner Violence: Tensions in the Field and Pathways Forward."

Yali Deng, PhD Student, Jodi Frey, PhD, LCSW-C, CEAP, Professor, Amanda Mosby, Project Manager, Alicia Bazell, MPH, MSW, Health Insurance Specialist; PhD Alum Rachel Imboden and Orrin Ware published a new article in Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, “Engaging Law Enforcement Employees in Mental Health Help-Seeking: Examining the Utilization of Interactive Screening Program and Motivational Interviewing Techniques.”

John G. Cagle, Phd, MSW, Professor, published a new article on advanced care planning (ACP) for primary care patients with cognitive impairment in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, “Assessing Advance Care Planning Fidelity within the Context of Cognitive Impairment: The SHARE Trial.”

Roderick Rose, PhD, MSW, Associate Professor, published a new article in in North Carolina Medical Journal highlighting the overrepresentation of children in foster care placed in psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs) and the increasing trend of out-of-state PRTF placements, “Psychiatric residential treatment facilities for Child Behavioral Health Services in North Carolina medicaid: Published in North Carolina Medical Journal.”

Nancy Kusmaul, PhD, MSW, Associate Professor, published a new article in the Journal of Long-Term Care, “Nursing Home Characteristics and Resident Quality of Care Outcomes: A Scoping Review” identified key concepts, summarize existing findings, and identify research gaps linking nursing home characteristics and resident quality of care outcomes.

Angela Henneberger, PhD, Research Associate Professor, published a new article in the Children and Schools Journal featuring research on students who do not graduate from high school has traditionally focused on students who drop out before their expected graduation date, “The Promise of Persistence: Expanding the Framework for High School Completion.”

Laurie Graham, PhD, MSW, Assistant Professor, published an article in the Journal of Adolescent Health titled "Co-occurrence of Intimate Partner Violence and Suicide Mortality Among Adolescents and Young Adults in the United States."

Theda Rose, PhD, published a new article, Mediators that matter: Psychological distress, developmental assets, and educational outcomes among Black youth in the Journal of Educational Psychology.

Tural Mammadli, PhD candidate, published an article in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, “Intersecting epidemics: Examining the impact of internalized homophobia and depression symptoms on HIV testing through a suicide syndemic among young Black men who have sex with men.”

Tural Mammadli, PhD candidate, Darren Whitfield, PhD, MSW, Associate Professor published a new article in the International Journal of Transgender Health, “Adaptive transition decisions and identity exploration among transgender and nonbinary persons exposed to gender identity conversion efforts.”

Theda Rose, PhD, and Yali Deng, PhD Candidate, published in the Journal of Community Psychology, "Examining dimensions of help-seeking intentions and associations with personal mental illness stigma among racial and ethnic minority immigrants."

Sarah Dababnah, PhD, MPH, MSW, Associate Professor, published a new article in the International Journal of Developmental Disabilities entitled, "Adaptation of the Caregiver Skills Training program for Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrant families of autistic children in the US."

Allison Deitz, LCSW-C, PhD candidate, published an article in the Journal of Human Trafficking entitled "Power and Control Dynamics in Domestic Sex Trafficking: A Systematic Review."

Laurie Graham, PhD, MSW, Assistant Professor and Gail Betz, MSLIS, Research and Education Librarian published a new article in Journal of Family Violence, “Characteristics of Child Fatalities that Occur in the Context of Current or Past Intimate Partner Violence: A Scoping Review.”

Wendy Shaia, EdD, MS, Clinical Associate Professor and Executive Director of the Center for Restorative Change, published a new article, "What This Election is Teaching Us About Racism."

Vashti Adams, PhD candidate, published a new article in the Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work titled, "Relationships between acculturative stress, internalized weight stigma, and psychological distress among Asian, Black, and Latinx Adults."

Corey Shdaimah, PhD, LLM, the Daniel Thursz Distinguished Professor of Social Justice co-authored a book featured at the Annual Law and Society meeting, "The Compassionate Court? Support, Surveillance, and Survival in Prostitution Diversion Program."

Sarah Dababnah, PhD, MPH, MSW, Associate Professor, published a study entitled "Sex Trafficking Prevention for Youth with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Service Provider Perspectives" in the Journal of Human Trafficking.

Theda Rose, PhD, Associate Professor and MSW grad Ariya Hayes-Lawson published a study entitled, “Everybody’s Mind is Different. Like, It’s Not Gonna Work the Same”: An Exploratory Study of Youth Perspectives on Mental Health in Youth & Society.

Haksoon Ahn, PhD, Associate Professor and Yoonzie Chung, PhD Student published a study entitled “Understanding the Mediation Effect of Social Cohesion on the Relationship Between Material Hardship and Child Maltreatment by Poverty Spells” in the journal Child Maltreatment.

Samantha Fuld, DSW, MSW, LCSW-C, and SSW Alum Merrick McKelvie published an article in Counselling and Psychotherapy Research titled, “A Perspective on Neurodivergent-Affirming Relational Practice: Exploration of Identity and the Healing Process.”

Michael Schlossman, PhD, Research Assistant Professor (The Institute for Innovation and Implementation) recently published an article in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography titled “From Laggard to Innovator: Barbara Fruchter and the 1970s-Era Movement to Deinstitutionalize Juvenile Justice.”

Jihyeong Jeong, PhD Student and Paul Sacco, PhD, Associate Professor published a psychometric study entitled "Dimensionality and validity of the gambling motives questionnaire—Financial among lottery loyalty program participants" in the journal Addictive Behavior Reports.

Todd Becker, PhD alumni, Joan Davitt, PhD, MSS, MLSP, Associate Professor, John G. Cagle, Phd, MSW, Professor, Nancy Kusmaul, PhD, MSW, Professor, and Paul Sacco, PhD, Associate Professor published in Palliative Care and Social Practice, sheds light on hospice clinicians' perspectives regarding presence during medical aid in dying (MAID).

Geoffrey Greif, PhD, MSW, Distinguished University Professor published article in Psychology Today Psychology Today entitled "Interracial and Intercultural Marriages During the Holidays."