List of Contributors
Wasif Ali, PhD, is a sessional instructor in the Faculty of Social Work and the Department of Sociology at the University of Calgary. He is a researcher for a SSHRC-funded project that examines diversity, inclusion, and social justice issues facing minority communities in Canada. In 2020–2021, he was a postdoctoral associate in the Transforming the Field Education Landscape (TFEL) project. His research interests include environmental justice, gender justice, green social work, and sustainable development. He established a Center for Sustainable Development in Pakistan and leads a Sustainability and Policy Network since 2017. He has previously worked for the United Nations in various capacities.
Helen Asrate, MA, BA, is a social psychology lecturer at Wollo University and a PhD student in social work at the University of Gondar in Ethiopia. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Gondar and a Master of Arts in Social Psychology from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. She previously worked in Women affairs and served as a Child Safeguarding officer.
Kelemua Zenebe Ayele is a PhD candidate in Social Work at the University of Gondar in Ethiopia. She completed her Master of Arts in Gender Studies from Addis Ababa University. She has served as lecturer at Haramaya University for 4 consecutive years. She is involved in developing business, as well as evaluating research and practical projects through the intersections of gender and disability for an inclusive research incubation consultancy. Her research interests include gender and disability, gender-based violence, gender and migration, and social justice for marginalized groups.
Nicole Balbuena is a MSW candidate and Title IV-E scholar at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB). In 2019, she earned her bachelor’s degrees in Sociology, Chicanx/Latinx Studies, and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). She is an active leader and a driven researcher with research interests in immigration, social services, and intimate partner violence. She is currently the chair of the PCW Resource Zone and Media Committees for the California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC) Title IV-E Summit; president of the NASW CA 23 Strong Council; and communication manager of the Latinx Social Work Caucus at UCB. In 2019, Nicole’s honours thesis paper entitled, “The Service Provider’s Dilemma: Confronting the Challenges of Service Delivery for Undocumented Victims of Intimate Partner Violence” earned multiple writing awards, including the campus-wide 2019 Upper-Division Writing Awards in Social Sciences and Social Ecology.
Morgan Banister is a 37-year-old autistic adult and is part of the Ottawa Adult Autism Initiative group, as well as two autistic adult social support groups in Ottawa. She is also an active volunteer for music festivals, Ottawa Humane Society, and has also been involved with Autism Ontario’s Ottawa Chapter. Morgan has a wide range of interests in artwork, glass paper weights, pottery, tea pots, mugs, yarn, books, jigsaw puzzles, and blankets.
Shelia Bell, MHSc, is a Speech-Language Pathologist (University of Toronto, 1983) who has been working with individuals on the autism spectrum (preschool to adult) for more than 30 years. In her private practice, she has had the opportunity to work long term with many ASD individuals. Observing how diverse autism profiles develop over time has given her a unique perspective on the autism spectrum and has led her to develop many innovative therapeutic and educational intervention strategies. She is one of the founding members of the Ottawa Adult Autism Initiative, a project that is seeking to improve the supports/services and quality of life for adults on the autism spectrum.
Alise de Bie, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Paul R. MacPherson Institute for Leadership, Innovation, and Excellence in Teaching at McMaster University. Working across disciplines, Alise’s teaching and research have primarily contributed to Mad(ness) Studies, Critical Disability Studies, social work, and ethics. They have been a social work field instructor to five students in mad/disability-related community organizing and research placements.
Emma De Vynck is a MSW thesis student and research assistant at the University of Calgary, pursuing research on the lived experiences of spiritual distress for women of evangelical Christian backgrounds. She hopes to add to the conversation on spirituality in social work and allied professions. Her work experience is in mental health, and she plans to continue applying spiritually informed learning to her professional endeavours.
Marion Bogo was a professor in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. She was recognized for her many contributions to the field of social work and field education.
Heather M. Boynton, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary. She is also the vice-president of the Canadian Society for Spirituality and Social Work. Her research and teaching interests include spirituality and trauma, grief and loss, posttraumatic growth, children and family mental health, holistic body-mind-spirit approaches to health and wellness, and interprofessional education. She has over 30 years of experience as a child and youth worker, social worker and child and family therapist, and manager in mental health. She also is an adjunct professor in Kinesiology at Lakehead University and a faculty member at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.
Janice Chaplin, MSW, is an associate professor (teaching) and field education coordinator in the School of Social Work at McMaster University. She teaches micro social work practice and draws on her experience as a social worker in the health sector to ground her teaching. Her current work is centred on the experiences of equity-seeking students in field placements and field instructor perspectives on supervising students and supports they need in their field placement.
Grant Charles, PhD, is an associate professor in the School of Social Work and an affiliated faculty with the Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. He holds an adjunct appointment with the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria.
Emmanuel Chilanga, PhD, RSW, MSc, B.Ed, is a registered social worker and a project coordinator for the Transforming the Field Education Landscape project in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary’s Central and Northern Alberta Region in Edmonton. His research and teaching interests focus on social work education, child and family health, food and nutrition, and participatory action research both in Canada and in Africa. Emmanuel holds a PhD in Social Work and a master’s degree in social work, a Master of Science degree in Geography and a bachelor’s degree in Education.
Jill Ciesielski is a Master of Social Work thesis candidate at the University of Calgary. Based on her experiences working with children, youth, and families as a front-line social worker, she is interested in incorporating spirituality into the profession and in developing a holistic approach to direct practice. The use of spirituality in social work practice is the topic of her thesis research.
Julie L. Drolet, PhD, RSW, is a professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary and the director of the Transforming the Field Education Landscape (TFEL) project funded by a SSHRC partnership grant. She leads an international social work research program to advance knowledge in the fields of social work and social development. She is an internationally recognized expert in international social work, and her research focuses on field education, disaster social work, social development and sustainable development, social protection, and immigrant settlement and integration. She is the author of nine scholarly books and edited collections. She has been recognized through numerous awards by the University of Calgary, the Killam Foundation, the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. She is a registered social worker with the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW).
Afework Eyasu, MA, BA, is a lecturer in social psychology and education at Wollo University. Afework graduated with his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degree from Addis Ababa University in psychology and social psychology respectively. Currently, Afework is a PhD candidate at the University of Gondar’s Department of Social Work. His research focuses on family issues such as contributing factors and consequences of divorce, youth unemployment in Ethiopia, and education.
Cyerra Gage, BSW, pronouns they/them/theirs, graduated from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Social Work. They presented research on gender identity and expression at the Southwestern Psychological Association (SWPA) conference in 2017 and gave an oral presentation at the 2020 Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression on alternatives to policing in schools and the relationships between school and prison. C. has been involved in community organizing work around the Austin area and is passionate about building systems of community care that undermine current systems of oppression.
Anita R. Gooding, PhD, LCSW, MSW, BA, is a licensed clinical social worker who received a Bachelor of Arts in Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies from Trinity College, a Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania, and a PhD in Social Work and Social Research from Portland State University. Her experience spans micro and macro levels of practice and includes community outreach and organizing, development and marketing, treatment education for persons living with HIV/AIDS, outpatient therapy for LGBTQIA-identified persons and service as a BSW field director. Her research centres on the subjugated knowledges of historically marginalized groups; race and social work practice, including use of self; and equity and inclusion within social work education.
Zipporah Greenslade is a Master of Social Work student at the University of Calgary. Her research interests include anti-racist and anti-colonial education as sites of transformative justice, critical pedagogies, practice with immigrants and refugees, and spirituality. Her professional practice involves Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Decolonization (EDID) research and implementation, teaching, settlement services, and policy. She is active in student advocacy and has been a student member of the Faculty of Social Work’s Anti-Black Racism Task Force (University of Calgary). She also served as a Student Advisory Committee member and Field Research Scholar with the Transforming the Field Education Landscape (TFEL) project.
Annelise Hutchison is a student at St. Edward’s University’s School of Behavioral and Social Sciences in Austin, Texas, studying psychology and sociology. She will be graduating from the university in May 2022 and pursuing a Master of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin while working full time for St. Edward’s University Student Financial Services. Her research interests include working with adolescent boys in juvenile corrections, at risk adolescents in foster care, and supporting youth with incarcerated parents. She also hopes to get her PhD in social work and continue educating others on racial and social disparities in education and childcare systems.
Christine Jenkins has been an advocate for many years and most recently around issues related to late female diagnosis, gender bias, and autistic aging. Currently a community research associate at Carleton University, she is a co-author of the anthology Spectrum Women: Walking to the Beat of Autism (2018) and has presented in Canada and internationally. Jenkins has been a peer reviewer for the journal Autism in Adulthood and edits other books and articles. As she states, “Our aim is to help include autistic voices at every stage in true co-production of research.” Jenkins recently started a business, the Christine Jenkins AUsome Consulting, at www.cjAUsome.ca.
Vibha Kaushik, PhD, RSW, is a registered social worker in Alberta and a postdoctoral associate in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary currently working on two partnership projects: (1) Transforming the Field Education Landscape and (2) Aging in the Right Place. In addition, she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary. Her current research interests include social work with newcomers, newcomer settlement and integration, homelessness and housing insecurity among older immigrants, and mixed-methods research. She has several peer-reviewed publications as first author and has presented her work at multiple national and international peer-reviewed conferences to academic and community-based audiences.
Edward King is an adult who is autistic. He was diagnosed at the age of 3 and had trouble speaking. At that time, doctors said that Edward had a 50% chance of never speaking, but he overcame that challenge. After graduating from Algonquin College, he has had two jobs: working for the City of Ottawa as a custodian and weight room attendee, and at a fitness gym as a custodian. At times, he assists adults who have special needs and physical disabilities at summer camps and social nights through the City of Ottawa. Since 2011, Edward has gone to schools — from grade two to high school — and attended adult audiences at workshops to talk about overcoming challenges, bullying, and autism. Today, Edward volunteers with OAAI and is willing to help out individuals to have better futures. He enjoys biking, running, walking, listening to music, and hanging out with friends.
Kaltrina Kusari is a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary. Her current research focuses on the experiences of return migrant women to Kosova, where she is from. She has also been involved with research projects which focus on refugee resettlement in Canada and has co-developed a training program for service providers who serve immigrants with disabilities. Her research informs her practice, her role as a field supervisor for practicum students, and her teaching at both University of Calgary and Athabasca University.
Alexandra K. Mack, MSW, is a recent graduate of Howard University’s School of Social Work, in Washington DC. As an MSW student, Alexandra Mack was selected as an American Evaluation Association GEDI Scholar, Howard University’s School of Social Work’s 2020–2021 Founders Fellow, Health Resources and Services Administration Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Scholar, and a 2020–2021 Transforming the Field Education Landscape (TFEL) Scholar. Alexandra’s research interests include culturally responsive child welfare practice, the utilization of spoken word as a medium to optimize the portrayal of phenomena and enhance audience connectivity, and performance accountability and quality improvement of social and mental health services.
Sheri M. McConnell, PhD, MSW, BSW, an assistant professor and former field education coordinator at the Memorial University School of Social Work, in Newfoundland and Labrador, is a queer white settler who currently resides on the traditional lands of the Beothuk. As part of her commitment to decolonization, reconciliation, and Indigenization, she chairs the team offering a BSW program in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, through a partnership between Nunavut Arctic College and Memorial University. Dr. McConnell is a commissioner on the CASWE-ACFTS Commission on Accreditation and led the development and implementation of the CASWE-ACFTS Online Field Instructor’s Course. She is a co-investigator with Transforming the Field Education Landscape (TFEL).
Margaret Janse van Rensburg, MSW, RSW, BA, is a Social Work PhD student at Carleton University who has recently completed her MSW. She is a non-autistic ally and steering committee member of the Ottawa Adult Autism Initiative. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in archaeology and medieval studies and a graduate certificate in autism and behaviour sciences. Margaret’s research interests surround promoting autistic self-determination, disability, women’s safety, and eating disorders under an anti-oppressive lens. Margaret enjoys lifting weights, swimming, and playing with her gecko in her free time.
Ricardo Diego Suárez Rojas, MSW, MA, holds a Master of Arts in Bioethics from The University of Chicago, specializing in the evolution of capitalism and the social determinants of health. Currently, he is an MSW/PhD student at Boston College School of Social Work, and a research assistant at the Center for Work, Health, and Wellbeing at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His research interests include stress and trauma across the life course, the neurobiology of perception and imagination and its implication for education and clinical practice, and intervention design and implementation science for fostering creativity and health in the workplace. In addition, he is the director of Laboratorio en Movimiento, an initiative that seeks to challenge historical trauma in the South of Mexico through the fusion of science and art.
Endalkachew Taye Shiferaw, MA, is an Assistant Professor in social psychology at Gambella University. Endalkachew graduated with his Master of Arts degree in Social Psychology from Addis Ababa University. He has lectured at Gambella ATVET College, Mettu University, and Gambella University. His research interests focus on the well-being of internally displaced persons and refugees.
Courtney Weaver, MA, is a self-advocate who is very much engaged in the field of autism and accessibility. After obtaining a Masters in Critical Disability Studies at York University in 2017, she has consistently done a variety of work roles in the aforementioned field. Her current ones include program support officer for the Accessibility, Accommodation & Adaptive Computer Technology (AAACT) Program, office assistant to MP Mike Lake, Housing Through an Autism Lens (HAL) Solutions Lab self-advocate advisor and project coordinator for the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorder Alliance’s (CASDA’s) Work from Home project.
Karen Lok Yi Wong, MA, MSW, RSW, was trained in social policy for a Master of Arts at University of York, in the UK, and in social work for Master of Social Work at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. She has conducted research, including analyzing policies, on older adults and healthcare with a focus on palliative care, long-term care, and family caregiving. She has also published and presented widely to academic and professional audiences. She has been an invited reviewer for academic and professional journal articles, conference presentation abstracts, and project proposals. She is currently the research scholar of Simon Fraser University Science and Technology for Aging Research (STAR) Institute. Karen is a registered social worker in British Columbia and has been practicing in diverse settings related to older adults such as community senior services centre and long-term care. She is currently practicing social work at Mount St Joseph Hospital of Providence Healthcare, Vancouver. She serves as the clinical advisor at 411 Seniors Centre Society, Vancouver. She also serves in the BC Association of Social Workers Multicultural and Anti-racist Committee, Seniors Community of Practice, and Richmond, Delta, and Burnaby Branch. She is a long-term volunteer for Alzheimer’s Society BC.