Combining professional experience, scholarship, and research, our nationally and internationally renowned faculty develop innovative programs and approaches, provide critical insight into the profession, and develop teaching materials that are used widely in social work education.
UConn School of Social Work faculty frequently serve as presenters at regional, national and international conferences. They are widely published and engage in the development and dissemination of innovative research. They serve on editorial boards and as committee members on regional and national peer review committees for granting agencies, journal publishers, and University, national and international meetings. Involved in a wide range of service activities in professional social work organizations and in the community at local and national levels, our faculty hold leadership positions as officers and board members of professional organizations.
In addition to our full-time faculty, Adjunct instructors are hired to teach on a limited basis. They are selected for their expertise, teaching experience, and ability to use practice experience to inform their teaching.
The UConn School of Social Work staff is dedicated to supporting you and the work of the School. Learn more about our faculty and staff by clicking on their bios below.
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Faculty
Faculty
asylum seekers and immigrants|Cambodian refugees|Faculty|health disparities|human rights|international social work|mental health|refugees|torture
Associate Professor
megan.berthold@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3656
Room 318 HSSW
Faculty
care pathway analyses|data-informed decision making|implementation science|measurement development|tiered care coordination
Assistant Research Professor
Innovations Institute
tony.bonadio@uconn.edu
Faculty
child maltreatment and neglect|child welfare|poverty|translational speech|welfare programs and policies
ASSISTANT RESEARCH PROFESSOR
patricia.carlson@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3637
Room 216 HSSW
Faculty
chronic disease|disability|employment|Faculty|physical disability|social determinants of health
Assistant Professor
kelsi.carolan@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3680
Room 224 HSSW
Faculty
armed conflict|Faculty|internal displacement|qualitative research|school social work|social disruption in post-conflict settings
Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
joanne.corbin@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3649
Room 301 HSSW
Faculty
Faculty|immigrants|international social work|refugees
Associate Professor
diane.drachman@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3640
Room 227 HSSW
Faculty
adolescent development|adolescent wellbeing|Faculty|technology and interpersonal violence|victimization|violence
Associate Professor
caitlin.elsaesser@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3671
Room 221 HSSW
Faculty
implementation science|mobile response and stabilization|tiered care coordination
Director for Systems Design and Implementation Strategies and Assistant Extension Professor
Innovations Institute
kimberly.estep@uconn.edu
Faculty
child maltreatment|child welfare|child welfare-involved children|child wellbeing and mental health|Faculty
Assistant Professor
megan.feely@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3625
Room 214 HSSW
Faculty
community organizing|Faculty|social movements|social theory|social welfare history|urban policy
Professor
robert.fisher@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3623
Room 212 HSSW
Faculty
anti-oppressive social work practice|anti-racism|Faculty|oppression|power|privilege|social work education
Associate Professor
annmarie.garran@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3651
Room 326 HSSW
Faculty
community organizing|Faculty|forced migration|militarism|peace activism|refugee resettlement|war
Professor
alex.gitterman@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3655
Room 312 HSSW
Faculty
child welfare|children's behavioral health services|homelessness|interagency structures and service array|medicaid financing
Director of Policy and Financing and Assistant Extension Professor
Innovations Institute
deborah.harburger@uconn.edu
Faculty
community organization|Faculty|forced migration|militarism|peace activism|refugee resettlement|war
Associate Professor and Co-Director, PhD Program
scott.harding@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3628
Room 301 HSSW
Faculty
clinical interventions|clinical social work|Faculty|psychosocial aspects of mental illness|social work pedagogy|social work practice and theory|suicide|suicide prevention
Dean, Zachs Chair in Social Work and Co-Director, PhD Program
nina.heller@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3649
Room 303 HSSW
Faculty
community based participatory research|diversity and inclusion in social work education|Faculty|intervention research|lgbtq+ youth mental health|mindfulness and contemplative practice approaches|youth resilience
Assistant Professor
gio.iacono@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3624
Room 213 HSSW
Faculty
behavioral and mental health|disparities in mental health care utilization|Faculty|maternal child health|public health|social work education|social work evaluation
Associate Professor and MSW Program Director
brenda.kurz@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3635
Room 307 HSSW
Faculty
African American families in the foster care system|child and adolescent substance abuse|emotional resilience in children and adolescents|Faculty|role of religion in building emotional resilience in women|teens and suicide|trauma-informed practice with children and adolescents
Assistant Professor in Residence
regina.lester-harriat@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3677
Room 323 HSSW
Faculty
asylum seekers|Faculty|food justice mobilization|human rights and social work|international social work|migrant workers|refugees|women and children's rights movements
Associate Professor and Director, UConn Human Rights Institute
kathryn.libal@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3633
Room 313 HSSW
Faculty
criminal justice involved population|culture differences in preventive health behaviors|Faculty|health psychology|mental health and addiction|multilevel modeling/hierarchical linear models|research method and statistics modeling|structural equal modeling
Associate Research Professor
hsiu-ju.lin@uconn.edu
(860) 418-6662
Faculty
Faculty|family drug treatment courts|intersectional social determinants of health|social work and public policy|substance use disorders and child welfare
Assistant Professor
margaret.lloydsieger@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3653
Room 310 HSSW
Faculty
Customization of Youth Crisis Systems|Impacts of Policy and Financing in Public Systems|Impacts of Residential Interventions|suicide prevention|Youth Behavioral Health Systems Design
Senior Advisor for Health and Behavioral Health Policy and Assistant Extension Professor
Innovations Institute
elizabeth.manley@uconn.edu
Faculty
behavioral health systems and services|implementation research|services and intervention research|substance use and mental disorders
Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Research
jennifer.manuel@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3612
Faculty
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN RESIDENCE AND BSW PROGRAM DIRECTOR
paula.nieman@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3659
Room 308 HSSW
Faculty
behavioral health interventions|child welfare policy and practices|Faculty|outcomes and services for foster care youth and alumni|promoting secondary and postsecondary educational attainment|quantitative methods and survey analysis|social support
Assistant Professor
nathanael.okpych@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3622
Room 211 HSSW
Faculty
elder orphans and aging alone|Faculty|late-life immigration and mental health|social isolation and older adults|social work and public policy|the built environment and transportation disadvantage
Assistant Professor
rupal.parekh@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3627
Room 317 HSSW
Faculty
child welfare workforce development|Faculty|improving child and family well-being in the child welfare system|Inter-professional collaboration|interagency collaboration and service integration
Assistant Professor
jon.phillips@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3630
Room 218 HSSW
Faculty
cross-racial dialogue|Effects of racism and discrimination on health/mental health|Faculty|implicit bias; inequities in child welfare|intersectionality and cultural responsiveness
Associate Professor
lisa.werkmeister_rozas@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3654
Room 311 HSSW
Faculty
and outreach in community agencies.|education|Electoral participation|Faculty|social workers in elected office|voter registration
Instructor in Residence and Director, Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work
tanya.smith@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3631
Room 219 HSSW
Faculty
Faculty|feminist theory|HIV/AIDS|integration of theory and practice.|mental health and psychosocial issues related to women’s health|postpartum mental health|trauma
Associate Professor in Residence
ellen.smith@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3634
Room 222 HSSW
Faculty
988 Design & Implementation|Care Pathways Implementation Science|Mobile Response & Stabilization Services|Systems Reform
Director of the TA Network and Assistant Extension Professor
Innovations Institute
Denise.sulzbach@uconn.edu
Faculty
community capacity building|Faculty|international social work|microcredit/microfinance|program evaluation/employment and training programs|Program evaluation/impact of welfare|reform
Professor and Director, Center for International Social Work Studies
rlthomas@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3681
Room 327 HSSW
Faculty
assessment of readiness to change|behavioral health and addictions treatment|correctional population|evaluation of mental health and addictions programs|facilitation of sustainable organizational change|Faculty|Implementation of evidence-based practices
Associate Research Professor
wendy.ulaszek@uconn.edu
(860) 418-6762
Faculty
and adults with disabilities|children|Faculty|family mechanisms and factors that play a role in at-risk behaviors|fathers in the Latino community|intervention and prevention programs for substance use|Latino families and parenting in at-risk environments|substance use for Latino youth and adults|teen pregnancy prevention|youth
Professor
cristina.wilson@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3674
Room 320 HSSW
Faculty
Executive Director of the Innovations Institute and Associate Extension Professor
Innovations Institute
michelle.zabel@uconn.edu
Staff
Staff
Program Assistant
Office of Student and Academic Services
kathy.birnie@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3603
Room 106 HSSW
Staff
Director of Student Academic Services
Office of Student and Academic Services
Henry.Cantu@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3672
Staff
Administrative Program Support
Office of Research and Scholarship
kelley.citroni@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3645
Room 206 HSSW
Staff
Administrative Services Assistant 4
Office of the Dean
tessa.cugno@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3648
Room 305 HSSW
Staff
Publicity/Marketing Administrator
Publicity/Marketing
ziba.kashef@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3629
Room 220 HSSW
Staff
Associate Director
Office of Continuing Education and Professional Development
beth.sharkey@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3620
Room 208 HSSW
Staff
Administrative Services Specialist III
Office of Finance and Administration
iris.strong@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3619
Room 207 HSSW
Staff
Administrative Services Specialist II
Field Education Department
nancy.urcinas@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3610
Room 112 HSSW
Staff
Grants & Contracts Specialist
Office of Research & Scholarship and Finance Office
lindsay.wessell@uconn.edu
(959) 200-3621
Room 215 HSSW
