Faculty

Fatima Salman, LLMSW, is a macro social worker and community organizer. As part of the School’s ENGAGE team, she works with communities and organizations in Wayne and Washtenaw counties to increase their capacity and resources in order to meet their goals. Through the work of ENGAGE, she runs ...

With a master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan, Laura Sanders has been an adjunct instructor in U of M's graduate program since 1996. She provides contractual and private therapy, consultation, training, supervision, and expert witness testimony in the areas of sexual ...

Diana Seales is a seasoned advocate for environmental justice with a wealth of experience in project management and community organizing. Her work centers around building alliances between environmental organizations, communities and advocacy groups to address environmental health and justice ...

Andrea Smith has primarily focused on working with adolescents, law enforcement and the justice-involved population. In addition, Smith provides program evaluation and program development services and training on various subjects. She has over 15 years of increasing expertise within the field of ...

Relando Thompkins-Jones, MSW '11, is a social worker, educator, and aspiring humanitarian interested in conflict resolution, improving intergroup relations and building more inclusive communities.    He works with students, faculty and staff in institutions of higher education on college ...

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 ...

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 ...

Steve is a licensed Master's Social Worker (LMSW), Internationally Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ICADC), and Certified Clinical Supervisor (CCS), currently serving as the Director of the University of Michigan's online Addictions Certificate Program, in addition to other teaching, ...

Jewel Woods (MA, MSW, LISW-S) serves as the founder and clinical director of Male Behavioral Health & the Center For Men & Boys. A licensed independent social worker with training supervision designation, Woods boasts over two decades of advocacy experience, working with and on behalf of ...

Dr. Laura Yakas completed her PhD in anthropology and social work here at the University of Michigan in 2018. Her passion is disability justice (especially the Mad Pride and neurodiversity movements) and its connection to other forms of anti-oppression like intersectional feminism, antiracism ...

Lacea Zavala, MSW ‘07, is the Lead Learning Experience Designer and an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, and a child abuse prevention community organizer. Lacea worked for over 20 years in a variety of positions across the child welfare system, most recently ...

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 ...

William Birdsall joined the School of Social Work as an associate professor of social work in 1973 and was named associate professor emeritus in 2001. His major interests were in policy analysis and program evaluation. He has done extensive work around policies regarding prevention and treatment ...

Professor; Co-director, Community Liaison Core in the Michigan Center on Urban African American Aging Research Letha Chadiha specializes in caregiving by African American women to older African Americans. Also specializing in research on recruitment and retention of ethnically diverse elders in ...