Andrew Ingrassia is a doctoral student at the Florida State University College of Social Work. His primary research interests are mental health and substance use recovery, with an emphasis on community-based peer support. Specifically, his research explores community-based peer support use among various populations, including military veterans and aging adults.
Dr. Gashaye Melaku Tefera is an assistant professor focusing on underserved populations, including women, immigrants, refugees, indigenous people and older adults. His research primarily focuses on healthcare access and disparities in disadvantaged communities and emphasizes decolonization, indigenization and culturally relevant practice. His international social work experiences and perspectives expand across three continents, Africa, Europe and North America.
Zhe Yang is a doctoral student at Florida State University College of Social Work. Her research interests include pediatric healthcare, medical social work, and program evaluation. She particularly focuses on the influence of social determinants of health (SDoH) on children with severe diseases, mental health challenges among pediatric patients, and healthcare utilization in pediatric settings.
Elizabeth Curley is a doctoral candidate at Florida State University College of Social Work. Their research interest includes strategies to improve and maintain human relationships during and after incarceration, especially concerning prison visitation. Their interest in criminal justice issues blossomed while working with individuals who were court-mandated to complete substance use treatment.
Rebekah Nelson is a PhD Candidate in the College of Social Work. She has worked in the mental health field, first with transitional-age youth with mental illnesses, and, more recently, with children and youth with autism. She is currently working on her dissertation, which focuses on the behaviors of children with autism when a family member deploys with the military. She hopes to continue working with children and youth with autism, focusing on increasing adaptive social skills and the treatment of anxiety.
Victoria (Vicky) Verano is a teaching professor and a licensed clinical social worker in Florida. She serves as a field placement advisor for both undergraduate students and graduate students. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses related to family violence, loss and bereavement and medical social work.
Craig Stanley is a teaching professor at the College of Social Work and is the director of strategic initiatives and special projects in the FSU Office of Faculty Development and Advancement. He served as interim dean from January 2022 until October 2023. He also served as associate dean for academic affairs for the college since 2015, served as director of the MSW program from 2009-2015 and has filled other administrative and teaching positions since 2004.
Keithen Mathis is the first Assistant Dean for Culture and Community Engagement at the College of Social Work and is a teaching professor. He served for many years as a field education faculty member. His teaching and social work practice interests include cultural diversity and competency, social work and field education and criminal justice, social justice, and human rights.
Lacasse, J.R. (2014). After DSM-5: A critical research agenda for the 21st century. Research on Social Work Practice. http://tinyurl.com/diginoles-JRL1
Tomi Gomory is an associate professor, social work clinician and co-author of “Mad Science: Psychiatric Coercion, Diagnosis, and Drugs,” (2013) a book that closely reviews psychiatry and critiques its efforts to address mental health using a medical model. His research examines the conventionally accepted use of coercion in social services, the impact of the use of force on users of social services and the ethical impacts on helping professions.
