PhD Students

Kazi Abusaleh

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

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

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:
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

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)

Melissa Latchman

Pronouns: she/her

latch026@umn.edu

Research Interests:

Moral injury/burnout/compassion fatigue, Social Policy & 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
otema001@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, Immigrant communities, Systems of acculturation, Parenting

Teaching interests:
Child welfare history and policy, Family and group 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