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Edith A. Lewis

Professor Emerita of Social Work and Women's Studies

Edith A. Lewis

Associate Professor Edith Lewis's primary research interests include methods used by women of color to offset personal, familial, community, and professional role strain. To date, this has included involvement in studies identifying strengths within African-American women's communities; the intersections of gender and ethnicity in the lives of women of color; outcomes of an intervention project for pregnant, substance-dependent women; multiple role strains for faculty women of color; multicultural organizational development, isolating the successful methods used by Ghanaian women in community development projects; and the development of the Network Utilization Project intervention to systematically address individual, family, and community concerns.

Lewis has taught in the areas of ethno-conscious social work methods, global social work practice, group process, family theory, behavioral theory and interventions, community and social system methods, and feminist practice. She is currently continuing an evaluation of a global exchange effort between the University of Michigan and a university in West Africa. Other areas of research/scholarly interest: teaching innovations, particularly those that help prepare social work students for practice within diverse national and global communities.

Research Interests/Focus

Culturally competent practice, empowerment, women and families of color, international practice.

Education

Year Degree   School
1985 PhD Social Welfare University of Wisconsin, Madison
1975 MSW Social Work University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
1973 BA Social Work/Afro-American Studies University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Social Work/Afro-American Studie
Year Description
2007 Lewis, E. (2007, November). Traumatic brain injury and families of color. Presented at the National Council on Family Relations, Pittsburgh, PA.
2006 Lewis, E. (2006, November). Families of color in the fourth wave: What we still need to know. Presented at the National Council on Family Relations, Minneapolis, MN.
2005 Lewis, E. (2005, November). Taking stock of diversity in NCFR: Race, economic, gender and culture. Presented at the National Council on Family Relations, Phoenix, AZ.
2005 Lewis, E. (2005, August). Preparing instructional objectives and course syllabi. Presented for the faculty of the Department of Social Work Administration, University of Ghana, Legon-Accra, Ghana.
2004 Lewis, E. (2004, November). "Follow the drinking gourd": A fourth wave view of intersectionality. Presented at the National Council on Family Relations, Orlando, FL.
2003 Lewis, E. (2003, November). Another case of "Where you stand determines what you see." Presented at the Theory and Methodology Pre Conference, National Council on Family Relations, Vancouver, Canada.
2002 Lewis, E. (2002, June). Blending spirituality, religiosity and social justice for families in the new millennium: New parameters of social change. Presented at the Groves Conference on Marriage and Families, Chautauqua, NY.
2001 Lewis, E. (2001, November). Balancing on the edge of the dual lens: Reflections in the intersection of professional and personal roles. Presented at the National Council on Family Relations Meeting, Rochester, NJ.
2000 Lewis, E., Swanson, J. C., & Hodges, V. (2000, June). Managing multiple dimensions of family diversity in the new millennium. The increasing impact of "hidden" (dis)abilities on family theory, practice and research. Presented at the Workshop for Groves Conference on Families, Asheville, NC.
2000 Lewis, E., Crosbie-Burnett, M., & Skyles, A. (2000, November). Public policy and families of color in the new millennium - "Makin' a Way Out of No Way." Paper presented at the National Council on Family Relations Program Meeting, Minneapolis, MN.
1999 Lewis, E. (1999, November). Ghanaian renaming ceremony. Paper presented at the National Council on Family Relations Annual Program Meeting, Irving, CA.
1997 Lewis, E. (1997, August). Global social welfare issues: Lessons from contemporary social work in Ghana. Paper presented at the 1997 Social Workers' Congress and Annual General Meeting, Ghana Association of Social Workers, Accra, Ghana, West Africa.
1996 Lewis, E. (1996, March). No longer waiting to exhale: Future visions for Women of Color in the Academy. Paper presented at the Women of Color in the Academy Project, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
1996 Lewis, E., & Gutierrez, L. (1996, October). Strengthening communities through group work: A multicultural perspective. Paper presented at the Association for the Advancement of Social Group Work Conference, Ann Arbor, MI.
1995 Lewis, E., Gutierrez, L., & Nagda, B. A. (1995, June). Creative multicultural work within organizations. Presented at the one-day workshop for the Bertha Capen Reynolds Society Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
1994 Lewis, E., Skyles, A., & Crosbie-Burnett, M. (1994, November). Justice for children of divorce and remarriage: Some lessons from African-American families. Paper presented at the National Council on Family Relations APM, Minneapolis, MN.
1993 Lewis, E., & Crosbie-Burnett, M. (1993, March). The multicultural classroom: Incorporating the process of praxis in teaching about families. Presented at the Groves Conference on Marriage and the Family, Perdido Beach, AL.
1993 Lewis, E., Rivera, F., & Gutierrez, L. (1993, March). Community organizing with people of color. Presented at the Faculty Development Institute, Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, New York.
1993 Lewis, E. (1993, November). Impassioned teaching. Paper presented at National Council on Family Relations APM, Baltimore, MD.
1992 Lewis, E. (1992, March). Public policy, conflict, and families of color. Presented at the Groves Conference on Marriage and the Family, Washington, DC.
1992 Lewis, E. (1992, May). Self-help/mutual aid in multicultural communities: A retrieval conference. Co-sponsored by the Multicultural Forum, University of Michigan School of Social Work, and Southwest Detroit Community Mental Health, Inc.
1992 Lewis, E. (1992, July-September). Culturally competent mental health practice series. Presented at the State-wide training series sponsored by the Michigan Department of Mental Health for community mental health workers.
1991 Lewis, E., & Gutierrez, L. (1991, March). Feminist organizing with women of color. Paper presented at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, New Orleans, LA.
1991 Lewis, E. (1991, June). Working with African-Americans. Presented at the Workshop for Community Mental Health Workers at Hawthorne Center, Detroit, MI.
1991 Lewis, E., Suarez, Z. (1991, June). Multicultural intervention with people of color. Presented at the Spring/Summer Symposium, School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
1990 Lewis, E. (1990, February). Women of color in higher education. Presented at St. Mary's College, South Bend, IN.
1990 Lewis, E. (1990, June). Injustice, conflict, social change and the prospects for peace for families of color. Workshop presented at the Groves Conference on Marriage and The Family, Big Sky, MT.
1990 Lewis, E. (1990, August). The domino effect: Impact of African-American women's empowerment on systems. Paper presented at the 98th Annual Program Meeting of the American Psychological Association, Boston, MA.
1990 Lewis, E., & Crosbie-Burnett, M. (1990, November). What postdivorce European-American families can learn from African-American families. Paper presented at the National Council on Family Relations Annual Program Meeting, Seattle, WA.
1989 Lewis, E. (1989, March). Conflict in the welfare state: Impact of maternal and child mortality on family well-being. Presented at the Groves Conference on the Family, Savannah, GA.
1989 Lewis, E. (1989, August). Black children: Issues of survival. Presented at the International Foster Care Organization Conference, Ypsilanti, MI.
1988 Lewis, E. (1988, March). Support networks and women of color. Presented at the Women of Color Conference, Ann Arbor, MI.
1987 Lewis, E. (1987, April). Social support among low-income housing project residents. Paper presented at National Association of Black Social Workers Annual Meeting, Boston, MA.
1987 Lewis, E. (1987, June). Incorporating traditional strengths of African-American families in group intervention and research. Paper presented at the Symposium for the Study of Empirical Foundations of Group Work and Group Research, Chicago, IL.
1987 Lewis, E. (1987, November). Social support strategies among low-income mothers. Paper presented at National Council on Family Relations Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA.
1987 Lewis, E., & Hodges, V. (1987, March). The training of mental retardation practitioners: A challenge for schools of social work. Paper presented at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Meeting, St. Louis, MO.
1985 Lewis, E. (1985, June). Empirical contributions to issues of color in group work and group therapy. Paper presented at the Symposium for The Study of Empirical Foundations of Group Work, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.
1985 Lewis, E. (1985, November). Role strain in black women: Effects of support network utilization. Paper presented at the National Council on Family Relations Annual Meeting, Dallas, TX.
1984 Lewis, E. (1984, October). The study of intergenerational relationships In black and white families: An examination of differential strategies. Paper presented at the National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA.
1983 Lewis, E. (1983, October). Parental burden in divorced women: A preliminary study. Paper presented at the National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, St. Paul, MN.
1982 Lewis, E. (1982, November). Dual socialization and students of color in higher education. Paper presented at National Association of Minority Student Educators, Midwest Regional Conference, Chicago, IL.

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