Faculty

Aimee Vantine joined the Office of Field Education as field faculty and a LEO lecturer in spring 2021. Prior to this, she spent 23 years at Michigan Medicine working in a variety of clinical and macro positions with a primary focus on pediatrics and obstetrics. She was the Children’s and Women’s Bereavement Program Manager at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital at Michigan Medicine for five years and, prior to this, was the Pediatrics and Obstetrics Social Work Supervisor.

Diane Kaplan Vinokur’s research focuses on the application of social psychological and organizational theories to human service organizations and their personnel. She studies the implications of such findings for non-profit management and social work practice.

Her most recent study, “The Under One Roof Project,” investigates the benefits and challenges of nonprofit centers to their co-located nonprofit tenant organizations and their communities.

Betsy Voshel served as the Director of Field Education and Associate Clinical Professor from September 2004 – April 2017 and upon her retirement became Associate Clinical Professor Emerita. She is a licensed master social worker (LMSW) with membership in the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW) since 1980 and she earned a post-master's teaching certificate from the University of Pennsylvania in 2003.

Carmen E. Wargel, LMSW, MSW '04, is a social change strategy nerd. She brings humanity to our social systems to make them more equitable. As the Deputy Director of Systemic Advocacy at a legal aid organization, she leads interdisciplinary legal services to bridge the justice gap in our civil legal system. Wargel is a systems thinker and interdisciplinarian at heart. She constantly makes connections between people, ideas and strategies to increase social justice for us all.

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.

Helen Weingarten joined the faculty in 1981 as assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 1987. In 2000 she was named associate professor emerita of social work.

She is interested in the factors and processes that promote positive change in adulthood. While much of her early work focused on change initiated by such crises as divorce or remarriage, her attention has been more recently directed at articulating how deep-rooted values and needs give impetus and direction to personal improvement, growth, and development.

Lawrielle West, MSW ’18, is a dynamic nonprofit leader, social work educator, and entrepreneur with deep expertise in macro practice, organizational leadership and community-centered innovation. A proud graduate of the U-M School of Social Work, West has spent over a decade advancing equity and impact through roles in nonprofit management, program design and strategic consulting. She is the founder of LWest & Co., a consulting firm supporting mission-driven organizations, and KwanzaaMe, a national platform that blends cultural celebration with social enterprise.