Faculty

Karen Staller, PhD, JD, received her educational training at Cornell Law School and Columbia University School of Social Work, where her dissertation on runaway and homeless youth was awarded with distinction. Staller practiced public interest law with low-income senior citizens and at-risk adolescents in New York City. Her scholarship focuses primarily on runaway and homeless youth (and other at-risk adolescents). She is interested in the complicated interplay between social problem construction, social service delivery, and social policy.

Dr. Sung's primary research interests focus on the role of biopsychosocial factors and community-based interventions in improving school-to-work transition outcomes, career development and psychosocial adjustment for individuals with disabilities. She has authored over 100 publications in the areas of disability justice and rehabilitation, and has received multiple research awards.

Robert Joseph Taylor is the Harold R. Johnson Endowed Professor of Social Work and the Sheila Feld Collegiate Professor of Social Work. He is also the Director of the Program for Research on Black Americans at the Institute for Social Research. Professor Taylor has published extensively on the informal social support networks (i.e., family, friends, and church members) of adult and elderly Black Americans. An article by Thyer in Journal of Social Service Research finds that Robert Joseph Taylor is the #15 most influential social work faculty (out of 2204 faculty) based on H-index.

Richard M. Tolman, LMSW, PhD, is a professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. He received his doctorate in social welfare from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his MSW from the University of Michigan. Professor Tolman's work focuses on the effectiveness of interventions designed to change violent and abusive behavior, and the impact of violence on the physical, psychological and economic well-being of victims He began his work in this area as a practitioner working with men who batter in 1980.

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.

My research aims to increase access to mental health services for underserved, economically disadvantaged individuals and families living in rural communities. As an intervention and services researcher, I seek to develop and test innovative approaches for adapting, translating, and disseminating evidence-based treatment to increase the accessibility, acceptability, and sustainability of mental health care in rural communities.

Lisa Wexler is a professor of social work and a research professor in the Research Center for Group Dynamics at the Institute of Social Research at the University of Michigan. She received her doctoral education from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and did her critical ethnographic dissertation while working full time as a tribal community organizer for suicide prevention. There, she developed insights and practical ideas in partnership with Indigenous Elders, community members (including young people) and service providers.

Dr. Xiang’s research is dedicated to enhancing the health and well-being of older adults, aiming for a state of complete physical, mental and social wellness. Her work spans two primary areas: fundamental social science research and applied intervention research.

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).

Professor Yoshihama's research interests are violence against women, immigrants, mental health, and community organizing. Combining research and social action at local, state, national, and international levels over the last 25 years, Dr. Yoshihama focuses on the prevention of gender-based violence and promotion of the safety and wellbeing of marginalized populations and communities. Dr. Yoshihama’s research in both the U.S.