Meet Our M.S.W. Adjunct Faculty

Our M.S.W. program is taught by an expert and diverse group of resident and adjunct faculty who come to campus from across the country and around the world to contribute their expertise. The unique structure of the School's academic calendar makes it possible for many clinicians who work in the social work profession or other universities during the traditional academic year to join the Smith community from June through August

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Katya Cerar, M.S.W., Ph.D. '13, LICSW

Senior Director of Practicum Learning
Katya Cerar is the senior director of Practicum Education at Smith College School for Social Work and has taught and supervised students from various New…
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Janae Peters, M.S.W. '15, LMSW

Director of Community Engagement and Student Support | Practicum Seminar Instructor
An alum of the Smith School for Social Work, Janae Peters graduated from the M.S.W. program in 2015. Her professional and personal focus has been on…
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Rose Marie Äikäs, M.S.W., M.A., Ph.D.

Adjunct Professor
Rose Marie Äikäs is a professor at CUNY-Queensborough Community College, where she teaches courses in criminal justice and social work. Her current research…
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Ryan Ambuter, '04, M.Ed., Ph.D.

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Ryan Ambuter is currently an assistant professor of education at Elms College. His expertise is in secondary and social justice education, and his research…
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Catherine Balletto, M.S.W., Ph.D. '21

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Catherine Balletto, M.S.W., Ph.D., earned her B.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Starting off as an art therapist, she established a…
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Amanda Baranski, M.S.W., D.S.W, LCSW, LMNIT

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Amanda Marsh Baranski, LCSW is a social work educator, clinician, and leader who teaches in the BSW and M.S.W. programs at MSU Denver. Her teaching focuses on…
Chelsey Branham

Hon. Chelsey Branham, M.A.

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Hon. Chelsey Branham (they/she) (Chickasaw/Cherokee/Choctaw) is an Indigenous futurist, community architect, creative, policy-wonk and executive consultant…
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Maria del Pilar Bratko, MFT, Ph.D.

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Maria Pilar Bratko has been in practice for 18 years serving a wide range of clients. She has held a number of administrative roles at Bay Area training clinics…
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Natasha Campbell, BSW, M.S.W., LICSW

Adjunct Professor
Natasha D. Campbell is the founder, CEO, and clinical director of Multicultural Clinical Services, a multi-state psychotherapy and wellness practice serving…
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Davis Chandler, M.S.W. '11, LICSW

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Davis Chandler (they/them) was clinically trained at Smith SSW and graduated in 2011. They have worked in a community mental health setting with children…
Alberto Cifuentes Jr

Alberto Cifuentes, Jr., M.S.W., Ph.D., LMSW

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Alberto Cifuentes Jr., Ph.D., LMSW, has been a community practitioner for over 20 years and has worked with various non-profit organizations, including GLSEN…
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Mamta Dadlani, M.S., Ph.D.

Adjunct Professor
Mamta Dadlani, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist who engages in clinical practice, consultation, training and scholarship through a lens of critical…
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Maya Sol Dansie, M.S.W., LCSW, AA-T

Adjunct Assistant Professor
As a Xicana, danzante, licensed clinical social worker, and changemaker dedicated to raising awareness and political consciousness and empowering our community…
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Cecily Davis, M.S.W., Ph.D. Candidate

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Cecily D. Davis, M.S.W. (she/her/hers) is focused on eliminating anti-Black racism through her scholarship, teaching, and practice. Her research agenda includes…
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Miriam Desgazon, M.S.W. '20, LICSW

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Miriam Desgazon is a psychotherapist and clinical supervisor who graduated from the Smith College School for Social Work in 2020 with a M.S.W. To further her…
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Sarai Engel, M.S.W. '06, LCSW, ATR

Adjunct Professor
With over 25 years of experience working with children and adolescents in schools, residential treatment centers, and community mental health settings, Sarai…
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Judy Florio, M.S.W., Ph.D. ‘25, LICSW

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Judy Florio is a licensed independent clinical social worker that practices with children and adults in settings that center access to care. She is a 2025…
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JD Fuller, M.S.W. ’99, LCSW

Adjunct Assistant Professor
J. Denise “JD” Fuller, LCSW, M.S.W. Class of 1999, is the 2025 recipient of the Day-Garrett Award for Lifetime Achievement. With more than 25 years as a…
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Andrew P. Hoang, M.S.W., Ph.D.

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Andrew Hoang is senior lecturer and programme director of the Bachelor of Arts and Sciences Programme at the University of Hong Kong. He is also senior tutor…
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Andres Hoyos, M.S., M.S.W., LCSW

Adjunct Assistant Professor | Practicum Faculty Adviser | Practicum Seminar Instructor
Andrés Hoyos brings over two decades of clinical and administrative experience in the fields of mental health and social services working in private, public and…
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Debra Hull, M.A., Ph.D.

Adjunct Professor
Debra Hull began teaching research methods at Smith College SSW in the summer of 2013, and has been doing so ever since. During the school year she is professor…
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Elise Jacobson, M.S.W., LICSW

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Elise Jacobson is a child and family social worker of 33 years and has a thriving private practice. She is a graduate of Brandeis and Yeshiva’s Wurzweiler…
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Leah Jikurashvili, B.S.W., M.S.W.

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Leah Jikurashvili is a forensic social worker in the criminal defense practice in New York. Prior to becoming a forensic social worker, she worked in the field…
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Alex Kim, M.S.W. '12

Adjunct Associate Professor
Alex Kim (he/him) is a clinical social worker currently in private practice in Northampton, Massachusetts. Previously he has worked in public schools, college…
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Luke “tt” King, M.S.W., LICSW

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Luke "tt" King (he/they) is a private practice individual and group somatic psychotherapist with experience in outpatient, community health, and university…
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Kurt Lebeck, M.S.W. '20

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Kurt D. Lebeck, M.S.W., is a behavioral health and recovery science researcher emphasizing program development for substance use and co-occurring disorders. His…
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Renee Lindquist

Adjunct Associate Professor | Practicum Faculty Adviser | Practicum Prep Instructor | Practicum Seminar Instructor
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Sara Luby, BSSW, M.P.H.

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Sara Luby has worked in community, academic, clinical, and governmental settings in the field of public health, specifically communicable diseases for over 15…
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Sharron Madden, LCSW-R

Adjunct Associate Professor
Sharron Madden has dedicated her career to serving children and families who are victims of family separation, intimate partner violence and hospitalizations…
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Elise Manning, M.S.W. '12, LICSW

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Elise Manning's clinical interests include working with psychosis and schizophrenia spectrum symptomatology, attending to the nervous system, mind/body…
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Jackson Montañez Matos, M.A.T. '03, Ed.D.

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Jackson Matos holds a master of arts in teaching from Smith College, MA State Licensure as a 5-12 ELA teacher, and a doctorate in education from the University…
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Tamarah Moss, M.S.W., M.P.H., Ph.D.

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Tamarah Moss is an associate professor at the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research at Bryn Mawr College. Her community-centered scholarship…
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J.J. Mull, M.S.W. ’21, LICSW

Adjunct Assistant Professor
J.J. Mull is a poet, writer, and clinical social worker based in Brooklyn, NY. He is a graduate of Smith College School for Social Work, as well as the Program…
Maxine Notice

Maxine Notice, M.A., Ph.D., LMFT, LMHC, NCC

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Maxine Notice Ph.D., LMFT, LMHC, NCC is a core faculty in the Marriage and Family Therapy Online Program at Abilene Christian University-Dallas. She is an AAMFT…
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Este Orantes Migoya, M.A., Ph.D. Candidate

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Este Orantes Migoya (they/them) comes from a lineage of strong and resilient women and is the youngest of three siblings. Born in Ixim Ulew (Guatemala), they…
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Karen Peters, M.P.A., M.S.W., LICSW

Adjunct Assistant Professor
With more than 25 years of experience in clinical social work, Karen Peters is a seasoned clinician and program leader specializing in school-based mental…
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Nnamdi Pole, Ph.D.

Adjunct Professor
Nnamdi Pole is a chaired professor of psychology at Smith College and a licensed clinical psychologist. He is also chair of the Smith College Institutional…
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Malcolm Pradia, M.S.W. '13, LICSW

Adjunct Associate Professor
Malcolm Pradia is a clinical social worker at the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health at his alma mater, the University of Massachusetts Amherst…
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Beth Prullage, M.S.W. '01, LICSW

Adjunct Professor | Practicum Faculty Adviser | Practicum Seminar Instructor
Beth Prullage works at the University of Massachusetts Amherst at the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health as a psychiatric social worker and co…
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Alexandra Klein Rafaeli, M.A., M.S., Psy.D.

Adjunct Associate Professor
Alexandra Klein Rafaeli has been teaching at SSW since 2019. She developed the course Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT): Theoretical, Cultural, and Experiential…
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Clarice Robinson, M.S.W., Ph.D. Candidate

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Clarice J. Robinson (she/her) is a Ph.D. student at the University of Chicago School of Social Work. She studies the body-mind impacts of incarceration and yoga…
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Monifa Robinson, M.S.W. ’97, M.P.A., LCSW

Adjunct Professor
Monifa Robinson is an adjunct instructor at Smith College School for Social Work and a licensed clinical social worker with experience across diverse clinical…
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Shannon L. Sennott, M.S.W. '08, LICSW, CST

Adjunct Associate Professor
Shannon Sennott, a sex educator, gender justice activist, and LGBTQAI+ family therapist, earned her M.S.W. at the Smith College School for Social Work in 2008…
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Shalini Sharma '96, M.S.W. '00, LCSW

Adjunct Associate Professor
Shalini Sharma has been working in Brooklyn, NY serving families and children in communities that have been under-resourced and overlooked for support. Her…
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Emily Sherwood, B.A., M.P.A.

Adjunct Associate Professor
Emily Sherwood dedicated her career to working for social change, from early days as a community organizer to many years working on health and mental health…
LaTasha Smith smiles at the camera wearing a red and white patterned shirt.

LaTasha Smith, Ph.D., LCSW, CGP

Adjunct Associate Professor
LaTasha Smith is a professor in the M.S.W. program at Fairfield University where she teaches social justice, assessment and fieldwork. She has also taught…
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Rhoda Smith, M.S.W., Ph.D.

Adjunct Associate Professor
Rhoda Smith is a child welfare expert, given the years of service in child welfare in Riverside, CA and a previously held position as the director of the Public…
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Ruth E. Spencer, J.D., M.S.S.A., LISW

Adjunct Professor
Ruth Spencer is an adjunct professor with a long history with SSW. She teaches courses that address the intersection of law and social work practice. She…
Dana Spett standing cheek to cheek with a flea-bitten grey horse wearing a green halter. Behind is a wooden fence and greenery

Dana Spett, M.S.W., D.S.W.

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Dana Spett, D.S.W., is the founder and executive director of Pony Power Therapies, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting individuals with…
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Brianna Suslovic, M.S.W. '18, LSW (Illinois)

Adjunct Professor
Brianna Suslovic is a Ph.D. candidate in social work at the University of Chicago's Crown Family School. She is a 2018 graduate of Smith's M.S.W. program and…
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Resha Swanson-Varner, M.S.S.W.

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Resha Swanson-Varner’s research focuses on labor policies, Black and Latinx workers, and community organizing. She is proud to merge her experiences as an…
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Loan Vo, Ph.D. '24

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Phuongloan (Loan) Vo is a clinical social worker whose work include short term and in-depth long term psychosocial therapy for individuals who struggle with…
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Astrid Watkins, M.S.W.

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Astrid Watkins is a Ph.D. student and lecturer in Social Work and Social Welfare at the University of Chicago. She draws on archival, place-based, participatory…
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Chris Watkins, M.S.W.

Adjunct Assistant Professor | Practicum Faculty Adviser | Practicum Seminar Instructor
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Lindsey Yamaguchi, M.S.W., M.Ed., LICSW

Adjunct Assistant Professor
Lindsey Yamaguchi (she/her) is a senior district and school support specialist for the BRYT National Team and works with schools across MA and OH in planning…