VON E. NEBBITT, PHD, is an associate professor at the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He holds his BA in sociology from St. Louis University, and an MSW and PhD from the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Nebbitt has more than 10 years of experience as a researcher, educator, and social work practitioner. Dr. Nebbitt’s research training has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, and the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities. Dr. Nebbitt’s research has been funded by both federal and foundation grants. His publications and community practice focus on health-risk behaviors, delinquency and violence, and mental health among African American youth living in urban public housing. His scholarship has been published in several health and social science journals.
CRYSTAL L. BARKSDALE, PHD, is a health disparities researcher and licensed clinical psychologist. Her research interests and current work are primarily focused on understanding disparities in health and mental health, and the role of cultural and linguistic competence in eliminating disparities. She has worked on projects that have explored racial disparities and disproportionality in child-serving systems, such as the juvenile justice and public mental health systems, and that have identified culturally appropriate mental health interventions for at-risk youth and their families. She is currently working on developing innovative programs and policies that emphasize cultural and linguistic competence to reduce health disparities and improve the quality of health care.
CAROL S. COLLARD, PHD, is Assistant Professor of Social Work in the Department of Social Work and Human Services at Kennesaw State University (KSU). She earned a BA in communications from Loyola University of New Orleans and her MSW and PhD from the University of Georgia School of Social Work. Dr. Collard’s professional background includes resident services program development for special needs housing, community organizing and leadership development, child welfare, social work administration, and nonprofit management. Her research interests include addiction recovery, affordable and supportive housing, chronic poverty, and welfare reform. At KSU, she teaches courses in the substance sbuse track of the Master of Social Work program.
ODIS JOHNSON, PHD, is Chair and Associate Professor of the African American Studies Department at the University of Maryland. He conducts research on urban inequality, low-income neighborhoods, and their impact on the learning experiences of African American youth, specifically males. He is a faculty associate at the Maryland Population Research Center and also regularly advises research firms and government agencies in policy analysis and evaluation. Additionally, Dr. Johnson is a recipient of the National Academies Ford Foundation Fellowship, among others. His work has been published in numerous scholarly journals, including the Review of Educational Research and the Journal of Public Management and Social Policy.
SHARON LAMBERT, PHD, is a clinical community psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology at the George Washington University. Her research focuses on the development and course of internalizing problems for urban and African American youth, the role of neighborhood and race-related stressors in youth and family functioning, and school-based prevention. Dr. Lambert’s research has received support from the National Institutes of Health. Her research has been published in several prominent psychiatric, community psychology, and social science journals.
MICHAEL A. LINDSEY, PHD, MSW, MPH, is an associate professor in the School of Social Work and holds a faculty appointment in the Center for School Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Dr. Lindsey holds a PhD in social work and MPH from the University of Pittsburgh, a MSW from Howard University, and a BA in sociology from Morehouse College. Dr. Lindsey is a child and adolescent mental health services researcher and has received research support from the National Institute of Mental Health to examine the social network influences on perceptual and actual barriers to mental health care among African American adolescent males with depression. His peer-reviewed research has appeared in adolescent, psychiatry, psychology, and social work journals.
MARGARET LOMBE, PHD, is an associate professor at the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work. She is also a faculty associate at the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis. Her area of expertise is international social development, with an emphasis on social inclusion/exclusion and capacity building. Dr. Lombe has provided consultation to the United Nations and has participated in a number of Experts Group Meetings on inclusion/exclusion. She has also published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, as well as book chapters. Her recent work has appeared in refereed journals, such as the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, Social Work Research, Addictive Behaviors, Children and Youth Services Review, and the Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare.
CHERYL LOVELL is Executive Director of the St. Louis Housing Authority. Ms. Lovell has been involved in public housing for approximately 20 years. She has served in her current position for approximately 15 years. She previously served as the executive director of the East St. Louis Housing Authority. Prior to her career in public housing, Ms. Lovell practiced construction law and worked as a construction engineer. Ms. Lovell has a BEng in civil engineering from Vanderbilt University and a JD from St. Louis University.
DAVID B. MILLER, PHD, is an associate professor of social work at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Miller has conducted and published research into the effects of chronic stressors on adolescents and young adults living in urban environments. Dr. Miller developed the Urban Hassles Index, which is being used by researchers in various settings around the United States in the study of the effects and influence of chronic stress on a variety of population groups, including children born to drug-addicted mothers. His current research focuses on the influences of health behaviors and practices on African American health disparities. Additionally, Dr. Miller is a city council president in South Euclid, Ohio.
LISA R. RAWLINGS, PHD, MSW, MPA, currently serves as a special assistant to the director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (CSOSA). CSOSA is a federal agency that provides community supervision for the men and women of the District of Columbia on probation, parole, or supervised release. Dr. Rawlings has worked and/or conducted research in the area of displacement with immigrants and refugees, disaster survivors, children and youth in child welfare settings, and men and women in criminal justice settings. Dr. Rawlings serves as an adjunct professor at CUNY Baruch's School of Public Affairs.
AJITA M. ROBINSON, MA(R), is a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development Counseling Department at George Washington University. She holds a Masters of Arts Research from St. Louis University. Ms. Robinson’s research primarily focuses on the chronic stressors, trauma, and the process of well-being among African American urban youth. Prior to her doctoral studies, Ms. Robinson worked as a clinical mental health therapist with children and families affected by parental incarceration, divorce, and violence. She also conducted research focusing on the reintegration process of nonviolent female offenders, and the reunification process between these women and their children.
THEDA ROSE, PHD, MSW is a research assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work in Baltimore. Dr. Rose has more than 15 years of practice experience with adolescents in child welfare, community, and educational program settings. Her primary research interests include mental health promotion and mental disorder prevention among minority adolescents, and the effectiveness of mental health interventions for children and adolescents in school and community settings. Dr. Rose holds a PhD from Catholic University, an MSW from Stony Brook University, and a BA in psychology from Johns Hopkins University.
KATHY SANDERS-PHILIPS, PHD, is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health at the Howard University and the George Washington School of Medicine. At Howard, she is a Distinguished Research Scientist, Director of the Research Program in Epidemiology and Prevention of Drug Abuse, and Executive Director of the DC–Baltimore Research Center on Child Health Disparities. Trained as a developmental psychologist at Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Sanders-Phillips’s research has focused primarily on relationships between exposure to violence, risky behaviors, and health outcomes in communities of color. Over the course of her career, she has developed a reputation for crosscutting and intersecting research that addresses health in communities of color.
TAQI TIRMAZI, PHD, MSW is an assistant professor at the Morgan State University School of Social Work. Dr. Tirmazi’s research focuses on the psychological functioning and behavioral health of urban and immigrant youth using a risk and resiliency perspective. Community-based participatory research is his primary research method, which he uses to explore the impact of acculturation on the psychological functioning and behavioral health of immigrant Muslim youth in the United States. His research also examines health disparities in urban African American youth and emerging adults. Dr. Tirmazi earned his MSW and PhD from Howard University. Dr. Tirmazi also completed the two-year W. K. Kellogg Health Scholar postdoctoral program. His work experience includes early childhood education, social work practice, positive adolescent development, sports, and recreation.
STEPHEN TRIPODI, PHD, is an assistant professor in the Florida State University College of Social Work. His primary research interests include corrections, victimization and incarceration, juvenile justice, adolescent substance abuse, and school social work. Recently, Dr. Tripodi has been working with the Advanced Center for Behavioral Health Services and Criminal Justice Research to study the influence of childhood victimization on subsequent mental health/substance use problems, and ultimately recidivism for women prisoners in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was a recipient of the 2009–10 Professor of the Year for the Florida State University College of Social Work.
MICHAEL G. VAUGHN, PHD, is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at St. Louis University. Dr. Vaughn also holds appointments in Public Policy and the Department of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health. He has contributed more than 190 professional publications across a wide range of areas. Dr. Vaughn’s research interests include adolescent drug use and abuse in relation to antisocial behavior over the life course. Current projects include a cell-to-society approach to the study of human behavior, youth violence prevention, school dropout, and drug use epidemiology.
CHRISTOPHER A. VEEH, MSW, is a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. He holds his MSW from the University of Kansas. Mr. Veeh’s research primarily focuses on the community reintegration and desistance processes of juvenile and adult incarcerated populations. Prior to his doctoral studies, Mr. Veeh assisted in the evaluation of the Kansas Department of Correction’s Reentry Initiative at the KU School of Social Welfare.
JAMES HERBERT WILLIAMS, PHD, MSW, MPA is Dean and Milton Morris Endowed Chair at the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. He holds his MSW from Smith College, MPA from the University of Colorado, and PhD in Social Welfare from the University of Washington–Seattle. Dr. Williams has more than 30 years of experience as a scholar/educator and social work practitioner. His research and training has been funded by grants from several federal and state agencies and private foundations. Dr. Williams’ publications and community engagement focus on health promotion and disease prevention, health disparities, economic sustainability, human security, conflict resolution, delinquency and violence, mental health services for African American children in urban schools, disproportionate minority confinement of African American youth in the criminal justice system, community strategies for positive youth development, and social issues of the African American community. His scholarship has been published in several prominent health and social science journals.
TAREK ZIDAN, MSW, is a doctoral student at the Howard University Graduate School of Social Work and is an affiliated faculty member of the Social Work Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Mr. Zidan holds his MSW from the Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to his doctoral studies, Mr. Zidan worked in the child welfare system and with people who have severe mental illness and developmental disabilities in Colorado.