MA in Social Impact Faculty

Daphne C. Watkins is a University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor and the Letha A. Chadiha Collegiate Professor of Social Work at the University of Michigan. She specializes in three interconnected areas of expertise: (1) behavioral interventions for historically underrepresented groups; (2) mixed methods approaches to research in context; and (3) social impact leadership and organizational management.

Katie Richards-Schuster, AM, PhD, is an associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. She received her PhD in Social Work and Sociology from U-M, her AM from the University of Chicago, and her BA in Political Science from U-M.

Barb Hiltz is a clinical associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. Hiltz is a licensed social worker (LMSW) and also holds a EdM in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership with a focus on diversity and equity in education. Hiltz’s work focuses on the sustainability of community-based organizations, including the role of innovation, social enterprise and social entrepreneurship in shaping social service delivery.

Sue Ann Savas is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. She received her MSW and BA in economics from the University of Michigan. For the past 20 years, Sue Ann practiced as a program evaluator. She specializes in the areas of program design, logic modeling, evaluation planning, implementation evaluations, outcome measurement, and reporting for continuous quality improvement.

Vance K. Jackson, Jr., MSW ’06, is the founder and CEO of NEXX Consulting Group, LLC, a multifaceted advisory firm delivering fund development, executive advisory and organizational strategy solutions across corporate, community, municipal and philanthropic sectors.

Ethan Park is an organizational scholar with an overarching research question, "how can health and social service organizations provide more responsive and effective services?" He is deeply interested in (1) how to ensure user's meaningful representation opportunities in service and policy decision-making processes, and (2) how intra/inter-organizational collaborations and macro-level measures influence organizational behaviors and shape the experience of vulnerable service users.

Andrew (Andy) Grogan-Kaylor's research focuses on scientific knowledge development and intervention research with children and families, with the aim of reducing violence against children and improving family and child well-being. Grogan-Kaylor's current research projects examine parenting behaviors such as physical punishment and parental expressions of emotional warmth and support, and their effects on children's aggression, antisocial behavior, anxiety and depression.

Justin Hodge is a Clinical Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Michigan. He is the co-lead for the Policy & Political Social Work Pathway and the director of the Online Certificate in Political Social Work. Hodge is committed to increasing the presence of social workers in policy and political spaces. He teaches courses that provide students with the tools to engage in politics and approach policy work from a social justice perspective.

Sean de Four currently serves as the President and CEO of Southwest Solutions, one of Detroit’s most innovative and impactful nonprofit organizations, which provides a range of services in the areas of behavioral health, economic self-sufficiency, workforce development, affordable housing, veteran, and homeless services.

Nari Yoo, PhD, LSW, is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Michigan and a scholar in the NIH-funded Michigan Program for Advancing Cultural Transformation (M-PACT).