PhD Students
Kazi Abusaleh
Pronouns: he/him
abusa029@umn.edu
Research Interests: Child protection, Culturally informed interventions, Immigrant and refugee family well-being, Immigration policies, Religious and spiritual approaches to mental health
Teaching interests: Child welfare, Emancipatory social work, International social work, Research Methods in Social Work (Qualitative, Mixed methods), Social policy analysis
Elin Amundson
Pronouns: she/her
amund182@umn.edu
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
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
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
Siyu Gao (Louise)
Pronouns: she/her
gao00517@umn.edu
Research interests:
Aging, caregivers for older adults, sandwich generation caregivers, cultural adaptation, and health disparities
Teaching interests:
Gerontological social work, research methods, and community-based participatory research
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
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)
Melissa Latcham
Pronouns: she/her latch026@umn.edu
Research Interests: Moral injury/burnout/compassion fatigue, Social policy and advocacy, Criminal justice reform for defendants deemed incompetent to proceed
Teaching Interests: Clinical social work, Supervision, Social policy, Culturally responsive practice, Mental health, Social justice, Trauma
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
Kait Macheledt
Pronouns: she/her
kmac@umn.edu
Research interests:
Caregiving, Healthcare Workforce, End-of-life, Aging, Disability, Gender, Grief, Embodiment, Depersonalization, Mind-Body, Whole Health, Rural, Healthism, Curative Violence
Teaching interests:
Anti-Oppressive Pedagogy, Women's Health Research, Social Epidemiology, Public Health, Research (Methodology and Theory), Program Evaluation (Methodology and Theory), Grant Writing, Leadership, Career-Development
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
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, African immigrant communities, Mothering
Teaching interests:
Social welfare history and policy, Family and individual practice, Trauma, Race and immigration
Kenny Turck
Tysen Tyson
Pronouns: they/them
tyson081@umn.edu
Research interests:
Sexual Health and Education; Co-occurring Disorders; Online Education; Intervention Development and Testing; Community-Engaged Research; Psychometric Measure Development
Teaching interests:
Social Policy; Sexuality Education; Clinical Social Work; Community-Based Social Work Practice; Social Justice & Anti-Racism; Research Methods
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