Families & children
School of Social Work researchers are seeking to improve the lives of families and children by obtaining a better understanding of factors that contribute to the health and well-being of families within their home, communities, and the broader environment.
Priscilla Gibson Priscilla Gibson
- Professor; Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker
- 612-624-3678
- pgibson@umn.edu
Cultural Competence, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Qualitative Research Methods, Social Justice

Wendy Haight Wendy Haight
- Professor and Gamble-Skogmo Chair in Child Welfare and Youth Policy
- 612-624-4721
- whaight@umn.edu
Child Welfare, Developmental Psychology, Mental Health, Social Services, Substance Abuse

Katie Johnston-Goodstar Katie Johnston-Goodstar
- Associate Professor
- she, her, they, them
- 612-624-4227
- john1906@umn.edu
Social and political contexts of urban and Indigenous youth development, Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), Youth and Media, Critical and Indigenous Pedagogies, History of youth work and social work in urban and Indigenous communities.

Lynette Renner Lynette Renner
- Professor; Director of the PhD Program; Director of Graduate Studies
- she, her, hers
- 612-624-8795
- renn0042@umn.edu
Family Violence, Domestic Violence, Child Welfare, Family Based Interventions, Mental and Behavioral Health, Youth Development

Patricia Shannon Patricia Shannon
- Associate Professor
- 612-624-3490
- pshannon@umn.edu
Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), Evaluation, Immigration, Intervention Science, Loss and Trauma, Mental Health

Ross VeLure Roholt Ross VeLure Roholt
- Associate Professor and Director, Youth Development Leadership Program
- he, him, his
- 612-624-8785
- rossvr@umn.edu
Community Engagement, Counseling, Mental Health, Adolescents/Youth, Community Engagement, Evaluation

Jeffrey Edleson Jeffrey Edleson
- Professor Emeritus
- jedleson@umn.edu
Child Welfare, Positive Youth Development, Prevention Science, Intervention and Services Research

Oliver Williams Oliver Williams
- Professor
- 612-624-9217
- owilliam@umn.edu
Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), Cultural Competence, Family Violence, Social Services, Specific Cultures (African American)

Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare researchers
Traci LaLiberte Traci LaLiberte
- Executive Director, Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
- 612-624-2279
- lali0017@umn.edu
Child Welfare, Disability, Evaluation, Policy, Systems Change

Kristine Piescher Kristine Piescher
- Assistant Executive Director, Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
- 612-624-9783
- kpiesche@umn.edu
Child Welfare, Evaluation, Policy

Youth Work Learning Lab researcher
Deborah Moore Deborah Moore
- Interim Director of Undergraduate Studies
- 612-625-7813
- ddm2@umn.edu
Adolescents/Youth, Youth Development, Program Development

Affiliated researchers
Stacy Remke Stacy Remke
- Senior Teaching Specialist
- she, her, hers
- 612-625-0259
- remke005@umn.edu
Clinical Social Work, Healing Strategies, Child Welfare, Pediatric Palliative Care
