Grand Challenges for Social Work

Ensure Healthy Development for All Youth

Kimberly Bender, PhD
Professor, Philip D. and Eleanor G. Winn Endowed Professor for Children and Youth
University of Denver, Graduate School of Social Work
kimberly.bender@du.edu

Melissa Lippold, PhD
Associate Professor
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Social Work
mlippold@unc.edu

Valerie Shapiro, PhD
Associate Professor, Director of the Center for Prevention Research in Social Welfare
University of California, Berkeley, School of Social Welfare
vshapiro@berkeley.edu

Close the Health Gap

Michael S. Spencer, PhD
Presidential Term Professor; Director, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander & Oceanic Affairs
University of Washington, School of Social Work
mspenc@uw.edu

Karina L. Walters, PhD
Professor, Katherine Hall Chambers Scholar; Co-director of Indigenous Wellness Research Institute
University of Washington, School of Social Work
kw5@uw.edu

Build Healthy Relationships to End Violence

Samuel R. Aymer, PhD
Associate Professor
Chair, Clinical Practice Method
Hunter College, Silberman School of Social Work
saymer@hunter.cuny.edu

Richard P. Barth, PhD
Past Dean and Professor
University of Maryland, School of Social Work
rbarth@ssw.umaryland.edu

Todd I. Herrenkohl, PhD
Marion Elizabeth Blue Professor of Children and Families
Editor, Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
University of Michigan, School of Social Work
tih@umich.edu

Megan R. Holmes, PhD
Associate Professor
Co-Director, Center on Trauma and Adversity
Case Western Reserve University, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel, School of Applied Social Sciences
mxh540@case.edu

Patricia Kohl, PhD
Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Social Work
Washington University in St. Louis, Brown School
pkohl@wustl.edu

Shanti J. Kulkarni, PhD
Associate Professor of Social Work
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, College of Health & Human Services
skulkar4@uncc.edu

Jill T. Messing, PhD
Professor
Arizona State University, School of Social Work
Jill.Messing@asu.edu

Advance Long and Productive Lives

Guillermo Ernest Gonzales, PhD
James Weldon Johnson Professor, Director of MSW Program, Director of The Center for Health and Aging Innovation
New York University, Silver School of Social Work
geg2000@nyu.edu

Jacqueline James, PhD
Founding Director, Sloan Research Network on Aging & Work, Research Professor in Lynch School of Education
Boston College, School of Social Work
jacquelyn.james@bc.edu

Christina Matz-Costa, PhD
Professor
Boston College, School of Social Work
matzch@bc.edu

Nancy Morrow-Howell, PhD
Bettie Bofinger Brown Distinguished Professor of Social Policy and Director, Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging
Washington University in St. Louis, Brown School
morrow-howell@wustl.edu

Michelle Putnam, PhD
Professor and Associate Dean for Research
Simmons College, School of Social Work
michelle.putnam@simmons.edu

Eradicate Social Isolation

Suzanne Brown, PhD
Associate Professor
Wayne State University, School of Social Work
fb7139@wayne.edu

Robert Cosby, PhD
Assistant Dean for Administration
Howard University, School of Social Work
robert.cosby@howard.edu

Sandra E. Crewe, PhD
Professor and Dean
Howard University, School of Social Work
secrewe@howard.edu

Erika Sabbath, ScD
Assistant Professor
Boston College, School of Social Work
erika.sabbath@bc.edu

Michelle R. Munson, LMSW, PhD
Professor and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs
New York University, Silver School of Social Work
michelle.munson@nyu.edu

End Homelessness

Benjamin F. Henwood, PhD
Professor
University of Southern California, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
bhenwood@usc.edu

Deborah K. Padgett, PhD
Professor and McSilver Faculty Fellow
New York University, Silver School of Social Work
Professor of Psychiatry
NYU School of Medicine
deborah.padgett@nyu.edu

Create Social Responses to a Changing Environment

Amy Krings, PhD
Associate Professor
Loyola University Chicago, School of Social Work
akrings@luc.edu

Praveen Kumar, PhD
Assistant Professor
Boston College, School of Social Work
praveen.kumar@bc.edu

John Mathias, PhD
Assistant Professor
Florida State University, College of Social Work
jmathias@fsu.edu

Harness Technology for Social Good

Jonathan Singer, PhD
Associate Professor
Loyola University Chicago, School of Social Work
jsinger1@luc.edu

Eliminate Racism

Michael S. Spencer, PhD
Presidential Term Professor; Director, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander & Oceanic Affairs
University of Washington, School of Social Work
mspenc@uw.edu

Martell Teasley, PhD
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
The University of Utah, College of Social Work
martell.teasley@utah.edu

Promote Smart Decarceration

Pajarita Charles, PhD
Assistant Professor
University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Social Work
paja.charles@wisc.edu

Matthew W. Epperson, PhD
Associate Professor
University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration
mepperson@uchicago.edu

Ashley Jackson, MSW
PhD Student
Washington University in St. Louis, Brown School
ashley.jackson@wustl.edu

Charles Lea, PhD
Assistant Professor
Columbia University, School of Social Work
chl2159@columbia.edu

Carrie Pettus-Davis, PhD
Principal
Justice Systems Partners
carrie@justicesystempartners.org

Durrell Washington, MSW
PhD Student
University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration
dwashington5@uchicago.edu

Reduce Extreme Economic Inequality

Laura Lein, PhD
Katherine Reebel Collegiate Professor of Social Work
University of Michigan, School of Social Work
Professor of Anthropology
University of Michigan, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
leinl@umich.edu

Jennifer L. Romich, PhD
Professor and Director of West Coast Poverty Center
University of Washington, School of Social Work
romich@uw.edu

Trina R. Shanks, PhD
Professor, Director of Community Engagement,
Director of the Center for Equitable Family and Community Well-Being
University of Michigan, School of Social Work
trwilli@umich.edu

Build Financial Capability for All

Julie Birkenmaier, PhD
Professor
Saint Louis University, College for Public Health & Social Justice
birkenjm@slu.edu

Jin Huang, PhD
Associate Professor of Social Work
Saint Louis University, College for Public Health & Social Justice
jhuang5@slu.edu

Margaret S. Sherraden, PhD
Professor Emerita
University of Missouri–St. Louis, School of Social Work
sherraden@umsl.edu
Research Professor
Washington University in St. Louis, Brown School
msherraden@wustl.edu

Achieve Equal Opportunity and Justice

Rocío Calvo, PhD
Associate Professor, Director of Latinx Leadership Initiative
Boston College, School of Social Work
Rocio.calvo@bc.edu

Jorge Delva, PhD
Dean
Boston University School of Social Work
Director and Paul Farmer Professor, Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health (CISWH)
jdelva@bu.edu