Meet the Social Work Team

Carolyn McAllister, Ph.D., M.S.W.
Michigan State University
Title: Director of School of Social Work | Professor
Interests: Social work practice with individuals with disabilities and their support systems, integrating disability content into social work education, transition issues for adolescents with disabilities and their families, and teaching with technology, alternate forms of instruction.
Tenure-Line Faculty
Thomas D. Davis,
Ph.D.
University of Washington

Title: Professor
Interests: Substance abuse treatment, macro social work practice, research methods, and healthcare among Native Americans.
Yawen Li,
Ph.D., M.S.W.
University of Southern California

Title: Professor
Interests: Social determinants of health and health behaviors, Self-management of chronic illness, home and community based long-term care services, minority older adults
Anissa Rogers,
Ph.D, M.A., M.S.W., LCSW
University of California, Los Angeles

Title: Professor
Interests: Gender, sexuality, older adults, mental health, LGBTQ+ issues, loss and grief, end-of-life issues, micro practice, and qualitative, quantitative, and community-based research methods.
Laurie A. Smith,
Ph.D.
University of California, Los Angeles

Title: Professor
Interests: AIDS prevention and services, foster youth, technology in teaching, service learning.
Armando Barragán,
Ph.D., M.S.W.
University of Southern California

Title: Associate Professor
Interests: Latino mental health, serious mental illnesses, treatment utilization and help-seeking, ethnic minority mental health disparities, and psychiatric epidemiology
Nicole L. Arkadie,
Ed.D, LCSW., PPSC
Grand Canyon University

Title: Assistant Professor
Interests: Mental Health, positive and negative emotional responses in clinical practitioners with focus on preventative interventions. Factors that impact the mental wellness of working mothers
Rigaud Joseph,
Ph.D
Florida International University

Title: Assistant Professor
Interests: Poverty and social welfare policies, economic self-sufficiency among low-income families, evaluation of program effectiveness, children and youth well-being, theory and scale development, empowerment practice, and social advocacy.
Deirdre Lanesskog,
Ph.D., M.P.A.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Title: Assistant Professor
Interests: Interests: Human service organizations & administration, human services work with immigrant clients, macro social work practice, immigration & social welfare policy, qualitative human services research
Caroline Lim,
Ph.D., M.S.W
University of Southern California

Title: Assistant Professor
Interests: Clinical outcomes of schizophrenia; ethnic and racial disparities in mental health service use and outcomes; early intervention and prevention of schizophrenia and other psychoses; psychosis risk in vulnerable populations; quantitative research
Erik Schott,
Ed.D., M.S.W.
University of Southern California

Title: Assistant Professor
Interests: LGBTQI2S+ health equity (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, two spirit, plus); instructional design, educational psychology & the science of learning; transgender wellness & access to care; Sexual & Gender Minority (SGM) Affirmative Therapy (AT); healing trauma with Eye-Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR); virtual education
Herbert Shon,
PH.D., LCSW
University of California, Los Angeles

Title: Assistant Professor
Interests: Developing strategies that reduce barriers to accessing services among hard-to-reach populations, integrating technology into social work courses, caregiving and Alzheimer's disease.
Full-time Faculty
Rachel Allinson,
M.S.W., LCSW
The Ohio State University

Title: Director of Field Education | Full-time Lecturer
Interests: Social work education, supervision of pre-licensed social workers and students, forensic issues, severe and persistent mental illness, discharge planning and community integration, and micro practice.
Shyra Harris,
M.S.W., LCSW
California State University, San Bernardino

Title: Pathway Distance Education M.S.W. Field Coordinator | Full-time Lecturer
Interests: High risk child welfare and juvenile probation, forensic issues, severe and persistent mental illness, discharge planning and community integration, medical social work, and micro practice.
Jeannine Meza,
M.S.W.
University of Southern California

Title: Advanced Standing Program Field Coordinator | Part-time Lecturer
Interests: Social Work education, field education, supervision and leadership, child welfare, child and adolescent mental health, school social work, DEIPAR (diversity, equity, inclusion, power analysis, antiracism).
Nick Watson,
M.S.W.
San Diego State University

Title: BASW Program Director | Full-time Lecturer
Interests: Child welfare, high risk youth, health policy and substance abuse.
Melinda Corral,
M.S.W.
California State University, San Bernardino

Title: Child Welfare Outreach and Admissions Specialist
Interests: Program development, Non-Profit Management, Child Abuse prevention, Mental Health & Well-being, At-Risk Child Welfare, Community Engagement, and Grant Writing
Susan Culbertson,
M.S.W.
San Diego State University

Title: Title IV-E Project Coordinator
Interests: Child abuse and neglect, domestic and intimate partner violence, public child welfare policy and procedure, safety and risk assessment in CWS, case management.
Stephanie Schneider,
M.S.W.
California State University, San Bernardino

Title: Child Welfare Specialist and Title IV-E Field Support
Interests: Child welfare, child abuse and neglect, technological innovation in social work practice, increasing technological self-efficacy in child protection work, organizational culture and policy.
Glenda 'G.G.' Crawley,
M.S.W.
Louisiana State University

Title: Title IV-E Field Faculty
Interests: Child Welfare and family services, aging issues, mental health issues, social work supervision and leadership.
Michael Edwards,
M.S.W.
California State University, San Bernardino

Title: Title IV-E Field Faculty
Interests: Child Welfare, Juvenile Probation, Transition Age Youth (TAY), Micro practice.
Adjunct Faculty
- Anderson, Kevin
- Alvarez, Shay
- Bell, Christi
- Bowman, Denise
- Brown, Christine
- Cunningham, Maryclaire
- Deermer, Coleen
- De Jesus, Shauna
- Elliott, Teri
- Eshanzada, Riba
- Estrada, Rachel
- Evans, R. Marlene
- Fierro, Gus
- Gonzalez, Jose
- Harris, Robert
- Hecker, Lisa
- Jones, Paul
- Macon-Richard, Ariel
- Manio, Kurt
- Marshall, Alesha
- Melancon, Sandy
- Revoner, Linda
- Reyes, Alex
- Richter, Sally
- Skenderian, Ann
- Smith, Amanda
- Sylvester, Heather
- Turnbull, Kathy
Administrative Staff
Main School Office,
Master's Program
Angela Garcia
Administrative Support Coordinator - II

Manuel Moreno
Administrative Support Assistant

Peter Nguyen
Information Technology Consultant

Title IV-E Grant
Bachelor's Program Office (UEC)
Angela Becktel
Administrative Assistant

Jordyn Ybarra
Administrative Assistant

Maria Roa
Administrative Assistant
