Faculty

Born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Rogério M. Pinto uses art-based methods to conduct community-engaged research in the United States and Brazil. Funded by the National Institutes of Health and other sources, Pinto investigates strategies for improving delivery of services (HIV and drug-use ...

Joe Ryan's research and teaching build upon his direct practice experiences with child welfare and juvenile justice populations. Dr. Ryan is the Co-Director of the Child and Adolescent Data Lab an applied research center focused on using data to drive policy and practice decisions in the field.  ...

Matthew J. Smith, PhD, MSW, MPE, LCSW, received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed post-doctoral fellowships in psychiatric epidemiology and biostatistics at Washington University in St. Louis and in translational neuroscience at Northwestern University. Smith also ...

Dr. Herrenkohl’s primary research interests focus on the areas of child and family well-being, child maltreatment and the psychosocial and developmental underpinnings of health-risk behaviors in youth and adults; substance use, mental and physical health outcomes of adversity; and resilience.  ...

Associate Professor Kristin Seefeldt’s primary research interests lie in exploring how low-income individuals understand their situations, particularly around issues related to work and economic well being. Currently, she is conducting research on families’ financial coping strategies and is a ...

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 ...

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 ...

Joseph A. Galura is an advisor/lecturer for the undergraduate minor in Community Action and Social Change. He also is a lecturer in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and has developed, implemented and taught service-learning courses in Sociology (Project Community), Education ...

Erin Martinez has worked in the social work field for more than 20 years. She has worked in residential treatment, shelter services, community-based services and outpatient mental health services over the course of her career. She has worked with populations that are survivors of sexual and ...

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 ...

Candace Ziglor has a Master of Social Work with a concentration in individual, group and family practice with children and families from the University of Toronto. Ziglor is an Assistant Professor at the University of Detroit Mercy Dental School, where she helps dental students to become person ...

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 ...

John Tropman is the director of Leadership in Community Benefit Organizations, a program initiated in the School of Social Work January 1, 2015 to organize and focus management content for management majors and Community Organization and Policy & Evaluation majors. His research focuses on the ...

Professor Ruth Dunkle's research, teaching, and clinical practice focus on gerontology. Recent research projects include "Mothers of Adult Daughters with a Serious Mental Illness: The Experience of African Americans and Whites" and "An Historical Perspective of Social Service Delivery in Detroit ...

Professor David Tucker's scholarly areas of interest include the formation, growth, and death of organizations; the structural analysis of inter-organizational service delivery systems; and the application of macro organizational theory to the analysis of selected social policy issues. His ...

Professor Mary Ruffolo’s research has focused on integrated behavioral health and primary care, organizational factors that influence sustaining evidence-based interventions/programs in community behavioral health settings, adapting efficacious interventions for children and youth experiencing ...

Professor Berit Ingersoll-Dayton is interested in social support and clinical research with respect to families in later life. Within the area of social support, she focuses on positive and negative aspects of support, gender differences, issues of equity and reciprocity, and cross-cultural ...