Ph.D. Students

Elin Amundson

Research interests:
History of social work, Ethics in social work education and practice, Community-based interventions, Rural communities

Teaching interests:
Theory, history, and philosophy in social work, Group work, Practice with adolescents and families

Anita Arenson

Pronouns: she/her
arens137@umn.edu

Research interests:
Gender binaries and non-conformity, Family systems, Child development

Teaching interests:
Gender and sexuality, School social work, Feminist practice

Labibah Buraik

Pronouns: she/her
burai004@umn.edu

Research interests:
BIPOC student mental health, Culturally relevant interventions, Colonialism in academic institutions, Impacts of microaggressions

Teaching interests:
Social work history, Supervision, Direct practice, Mental health interventions

Will Carlson

Pronouns: he/him
carl2871@umn.edu

Research interests:
Implementation, Humanitarian immigration, Mental health, Cultural adaptation, Resilience

Teaching interests:
Clinical social work, Trauma treatment, Evaluation

Jessica Coleman

Research interests:
Child welfare, Discrimination, Disparities reduction, Socialization

Teaching interests:
Child welfare, Mental health, Social welfare history, Comparative racial and ethnic analysis

Amy Dorman

Pronouns: she/her/ella
dorm0039@umn.edu

Research interests:
Cross-sector collaboration, Social policy, Violence prevention

Teaching interests:
Research methods (qualitative, mixed, applied), Policy, Gender studies

Stephanie Hanson

Pronouns: she/her
hans7144@umn.edu

Research interests:
Perinatal mental health disorders, Empowerment, Maternal and child health

Teaching interests:
Research methodology, Social epidemiology, Maternal and child health, Public mental health, Program evaluation

Bonnie Horgos

Pronouns: she/her
horgo001@umn.edu

Research interests:
Multidimensional continuum models of alcohol and substance use, Alcohol and cultural hegemony, Critical feminist research methods and methodologies, Hungarian assimilation in the United States

Teaching interests:
Substance use and social work, Research methods (quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods)

Wonjoon Hwang

Pronouns: he/him
hwang330@umn.edu

Research interests:
Family conflict resolution, Family communication strategies, Family resilience, Children and families well-being, Child development, Emotional abuse, Trauma

Teaching interests:
Children and families, Trauma, Research methods (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods)

Dongwook Kim

Pronouns: he/him
kim01444@umn.edu

Research interests:
Stigma; Health equity, HIV, Mixed methods

Teaching interests:
International social work, Program evaluation, Quantitative methods in social work, Ethnographic field work

Channel Lowery

Pronouns: she/her
lower079@umn.edu

Research interests:
Black social workers, Self-care, Organizational culture

Teaching interests:
Research, Self-care education, Culturally responsive practice

Quinn Oteman

Pronouns: he/him
otema001@umn.edu

Research interests:
Aging, Community-Based Participatory Research, LGBTQ+, Neurodevelopmental disabilities

Teaching interests:
Disability policy & advocacy, Research methods, Sexual health & wellness

Jacob Otis

Pronouns: he/him
otisx055@umn.edu

Research interests:
Restorative justice, Intimate partner violence, Police misconduct

Teaching interests:
Quantitative research methods, Families & groups, Theory

Sook-young Park

Pronouns: she/her
park2363@umn.edu

Research interests:
Ethnic-racial socialization, Racial discrimination against minority youth and families, Acculturation, Youth aging out of foster and institutional care, Child protection workforce stability perceptions, Adolescent mental health, Advance care directives, Out-of-home placement care for children

Teaching interests:
Research methods (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods), Ethnic-racial socialization, Asian American studies, Child welfare

Kayla Richards

Pronouns: she/her; they/them
rich2016@umn.edu

Research interests:
Intergroup dominance, Social work pedagogy as intervention, Juvenile legal system, Indigenous methodologies

Teaching interests:
Social policy, Group work, Field

Chittaphone Santavasy

Pronouns: she/her
sant0175@umn.edu

Research interests:
Youth work education and training, Youth work, Youth civic engagement

Teaching interests:
Qualitative research, Youth studies, Youth work

Laura Soltani

Pronouns: she/her
garlo017@umn.edu

Research interests:
Refugee resettlement, Welfare policy, Guaranteed income, Labor rights and exploitation, Immigration policy

Teaching interests:
Program evaluation, Policy, Trauma, Research methods, Migration

Johara Suleiman

Pronouns: she/her
sulei024@umn.edu

Research interests:
Child welfare policy, Race and racialization, Immigrant communities, Systems of acculturation, Parenting

Teaching interests:
Child welfare history and policy, Family and group practice, Trauma, Race and immigration

Kenny Turck

Houa Vang

Pronouns: she/her
vang1078@umn.edu

Research interests:
Hmong mental health and holistic healing practices, acculturation and socialization of Asian immigrant/refugees

Teaching interests:
Clinical social work, Assessment and engagement, Qualitative research

Siyu Gao (Louise)

Pronouns: she/her
gao00517@umn.edu

Research interests:
Older adults with dementia and ADRD and their caregivers, Immigration, Micro-aggression, Cultural adaptation, Health disparities, Community-based intervention, Effects of fatphobia

Teaching interests:
Program evaluation, Supervision, Older adults, Asian studies, International social work

Shelby Flanagan

Pronouns: she/her or they/them
flana064@umn.edu

Research interests:
Health equity and health care policy

Teaching interests:
Quantitative research methods, Research methods in social sciences, LGBTQ health