Faculty

Maureen Okasinski, MSW'96, focuses on individual, group and family practice with youth and families, in addition to community organizing, evaluation and administration. Okasinski is currently consulting in program evaluation, program development, grant writing and leading a small nonprofit.  ...

Nichole Paradis, MSW '94, LMSW, IMH-E®, (she/her/hers), has expertise in practicing and promoting infant and early childhood mental health. She has led a global nonprofit and successfully influences systems to strengthen support of the infant and early childhood workforce. Paradis has a depth of ...

Mari Pitcher, MSW 2000, specializes in grief work, trauma work and patient and family centered care for individuals, and their families, with life limiting illnesses. Currently a member of the Univ of Mich Med Center Palliative Care Consult Team, she has over 16 years of hospice, palliative care ...

Susan Radzilowski, MSW '82, has practiced in community mental health settings, K – 12 Public Schools, and Head Start Early and Head Start environments for more than 30 years. Radzilowski is an Endorsed Infant Family Specialist. Radzilowski is currently the Lead Social Worker for the Detroit ...

Osvaldo “Ozzie” Rivera MSW ‘87 (U of M) has worked in a number of community based non-profit and arts/cultural entities. He also has held key positions in state government and in college and university settings. His primary focus has been in organizing low-income and communities of color around ...

Fatima Salman is an MSW from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor with a concentration in Community Organizing and a minor in Management of Human Services. She holds a Bachelor of Science from The University of Michigan- Ann Arbor with double majors in Biology and Arabic. She is the host of ...

With a master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan, Laura Sanders has been an adjunct instructor in U of M's graduate program since 1996. She provides contractual and private therapy, consultation, training, supervision, and expert witness testimony in the areas of sexual ...

Diana Seales is a seasoned advocate for environmental justice with a wealth of experience in project management and community organizing. Her work centers around building alliances between environmental organizations, communities and advocacy groups to address environmental health and justice ...

Andrea Smith has primarily focused on working with adolescents, law enforcement and the justice-involved population. In addition, Smith provides program evaluation and program development services and training on various subjects. She has over 15 years of increasing expertise within the field of ...

Meghan Thiel, MSW’13, has nearly a decade of experience working in health care, with a focus on end-of-life and palliative care. She has a passion for developing the social work role to the top of its scope and has worked to build educational opportunities and expand the social work role during ...

Relando Thompkins-Jones, MSW '11, is a social worker, educator, and aspiring humanitarian interested in conflict resolution, improving intergroup relations and building more inclusive communities.    He works with students, faculty and staff in institutions of higher education on college ...

Dr. Jennifer Towns (MSW ’05) has over 15 years working in the social work field, providing clinical treatment in a variety of settings including hospitals, community mental health departments and private practice. Her clinical work is founded upon a holistic approach and person-centered ...

Carmen E. Wargel, MSW ’04, is a social justice community organizer and strategist committed to shifting power to build equitable systems. For the past 17 years, she has improved coordinated community responses to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking through ...

Steve is a licensed Master's Social Worker (LMSW), Internationally Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ICADC), and Certified Clinical Supervisor (CCS), currently serving as the Director of the University of Michigan's online Addictions Certificate Program, in addition to other teaching, ...

Jewel Woods (MA, MSW, LISW-S) serves as the founder and clinical director of Male Behavioral Health & the Center For Men & Boys. A licensed independent social worker with training supervision designation, Woods boasts over two decades of advocacy experience, working with and on behalf of ...

Dr. Laura Yakas completed her PhD in anthropology and social work here at the University of Michigan in 2018. Her passion is disability justice (especially the Mad Pride and neurodiversity movements) and its connection to other forms of anti-oppression like intersectional feminism, antiracism ...

Lacea Zavala, MSW ‘07, is the Lead Learning Experience Designer and an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, and a child abuse prevention community organizer. Lacea worked for over 20 years in a variety of positions across the child welfare system, most recently ...

Dr. Oscar Barbarin, Chair and Professor of the African American Studies Department (with joint faculty appointment in the Department of Psychology) at the University of Maryland. Dr. Barbarin is the former Lila L. and Douglas J. Hertz Endowed Chair, Dept. of Psychology, Tulane University. He ...