Faculty

Dr. Yatesha (Yanni) Robinson has been a dedicated faculty member at the School of Social Work since 2015, bringing her expertise to the Office of Field Education in 2018. She currently serves as the Assistant Director of Field Education for the Online Program and as an adjunct clinical assistant professor. With over 25 years of experience in non-profit organizations, she has a rich background in providing direct services to women, children, youth and families.

Dr. Cilene Susan Adam-Rita, PhD, currently extends her expertise in psychology and counseling to include the development of faith formation programs tailored for children and families. Drawing on her background in interpersonal practice and therapy, she integrates psychological insights with spiritual and developmental principles to create meaningful and effective programs.

Feyisetan (Feyi) Adunbi MSW, LMSW, C-ASWCM, CCBTS is a Clinical Social Worker. Adunbi joined the Office of Field Education in July 2024 as a lecturer and Field Faculty. She has held varied clinical and macro roles in health care, where she has worked for the past eleven years. Nine of those years were at Michigan Medicine where she was program director for the Graduate Social Work Education Program from 2023-2024.

Paula Allen-Meares served as dean of the University of Michigan School of Social Work from February 1993 to August 2008 and became dean emerita in January 2009, when she was appointed chancellor of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Danny Alvarez (they/them), MSW ‘12, is a passionate facilitator, educator and organizer who has applied social work practices to their work for the last decade. With practices strongly rooted in popular education and intergroup dialogue pedagogy, they have taught, developed and managed programs at both U-M and Stanford University over the last 5 years. Operating from the belief that social transformation is both necessary and possible, Alvarez is dedicated to helping individuals and organizations develop equitable systems, build power and move towards collective liberation.

Gina Ambrogio, MSW '15, is a licensed clinical social worker who completed her undergraduate and graduate education at the University of Michigan. She focuses on interpersonal practice with children and adults, including individual, family and group therapy. In her professional career, she is driven by her commitment to serving children and adults diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disabilities.

Dr. Beth Angell is dean and professor of social work at the U-M School of Social Work. She began her appointment on July 1, 2022.

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 earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Rutgers University in 1975. He has served on the faculties of the Universities of Maryland, Michigan and North Carolina. His research has focused on the social and familial determinants of ethnic and gender achievement gaps beginning in early childhood.

Rick Barinbaum, LMSW, is a clinical social worker, educator,and practitioner. He teaches at the U-M School of Social Work, co-teaches in the Child Advocacy Law Clinic (CALC) and Human Trafficking Lab at the U-M Law School, and consults across several clinics at the law school. Rick provides both local and national consulting on interdisciplinary approaches for families involved with the child welfare system, team building and resilience. His experience spans residential treatment, preventive services, interdisciplinary legal advocacy, integrated health and overnight summer camps.

Anthany Beasley, MSW ’15, focuses on individual, group and family practice with LGBTQIA+ youth, adolescents, young adults and families with a specific focus on working with transgender and non-binary individuals. Beasley currently provides trauma-informed therapeutic services from his private practice in downtown Ypsilanti, Michigan. He has been honored to serve the Queer/Trans/Non-binary LGBTQIA+ community in southeast Michigan for over five years.