SSWR Conference Speakers' Photos and Biographies

Presidential Plenary Speaker Rick Kittles
Friday, January 16, 2009, 4:00 pm - 5:45 pm

Rick Kittles received a B.S. in Biology from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1989 and a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from George Washington University in 1998. He then went to Howard University where he helped establish the National Human Genome Center at Howard University. He also co-founded African Ancestry, Inc., a private company that provides DNA testing services for tracing African genetic lineages to genealogists and the general public around the world. Dr. Kittles is well-known for his research involving prostate cancer and health disparities among African Americans. His work on tracing the genetic ancestry of African Americans has brought to focus many issues, new and old, which relate to race, ancestry, identity, and group membership. Dr. Kittles’ high profile research and his strong ability to communicate genetic concepts and issues to the lay public has been featured over the past decade in five BBC and PBS network documentaries, CNN, and an interview with Leslie Stahl on CBS 60 Minutes. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on genetic variation in the African diaspora, “Race”, prostate cancer, and health disparities. Currently he is Associate Professor of Genetic Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago and Associate Director for Diversity and Community Relations at the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center.

Aaron Rosen Lecturer Jeff Jenson
Friday, January 16, 2009, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Jeffrey M. Jenson is the Philip D. and Eleanor G. Winn Professor for Children and Youth at Risk and Associate Dean for Research in the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver. Professor Jenson's teaching and research interests focus on the etiology, prevention, and treatment of childhood and adolescent aggression, juvenile delinquency, and substance abuse. He has published three books and numerous articles on the topic of adolescent problem behavior. Jenson’s book, Social policy for children and youth: A risk and resilience perspective (with Mark Fraser), was the 2008 recipient of the Society for Research on Adolescence Social Policy Award for Best Edited Book. Jenson is currently principal investigator of the Empowering Disadvantaged and High-Risk Youth Project, an investigation aimed at improving academic and behavioral outcomes among youth residing in three Denver public housing communities. He was recently principal investigator of the Youth Matters Denver Public Schools Prevention Project, a group-randomized trial assessing the effects of a structured curriculum on aggression and bullying among elementary school students in 28 Denver public schools. Jenson received the University of Denver Distinguished Scholar Award in 2003 and the University Lecturer Award in 2007. He is the current Editor-in-Chief of the journal Social Work Research.

Special Presentation Speaker Barbara Major

Racist Policy, Rebuilding Community and Equitable Partnering
Saturday, January 17, 2009, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
(Co-sponsored by the School of Social Work at Louisiana State University and the School of Social Work at Tulane University)

Barbara Major is a community organizer and trainer with over thirty years experience in many local, national, and international community development efforts. This work includes everything from nurturing leadership development efforts within local communities to assisting institutions in developing strategies to de-institutionalize racism. Originally trained in Sociology, Barbara is a native of New Orleans and Franklinton Louisiana. Her home base is Bright Moments Public Relations Firm where she specializes in community outreach. Until Hurricane Katrina, Ms. Major served as the chair of the St. Thomas/Irish Channel Consortium, a nationally acclaimed model for holistic community and institutional transformation. For 12 years she was Executive Director of the community driven and controlled St. Thomas Health Clinic. She is a core trainer for The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond. Ms. Major recently served as Co-Chair of the Mayor of New Orleans' Bring Back New Orleans Commission. She is a co-founder and Executive Vice President/community engagement specialist for Citizens United for Economic Equity, an organization founded by New Orleanians to ensure equitable African American community participation in the rebuilding of New Orleans. Barbara served as acting past president of the Regional Transit Authority and is currently a member of its Board of Directors. She is also a member of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA). Ms Major's latest published work is titled "Building a Net that Works" in the book State of The Race.

Invited Symposium Speakers

David Abramson

Life in the Wake of a Disaster: A Socio-Ecological Model of Recovery
Saturday, January 17, 2009, 10:00 am - 11:15 am

David Abramson, PhD MPH, is the Director of Research at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness and an Associate Research Scientist at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. He is presently the principal investigator of the Gulf Coast Child and Family Health Study, an examination of displaced and impacted families in Louisiana and Mississippi encompassing a cohort of 1,085 households. Other current disaster-related research activities include a study of the unanticipated consequences of pandemic flu, an examination of disaster preparedness as a psycho-sociological phenomenon, the measurement and mapping of social vulnerability, and an oral history of public health officials involved in Hurricane Katrina. A former paramedic, Abramson holds a doctorate in sociomedical sciences with a specialization in political science, and a masters of public health degree, both from Columbia University.

Mark Rank

American Misfortune: The Surprising Level of Economic Risk in Our Lives
Friday, January 16, 2009, 10:00 am - 11:15 am

Mark R. Rank is the Herbert S. Hadley Professor of Social Welfare at Washington University in St. Louis. He is widely recognized as one of the foremost experts and speakers in the country on issues of poverty, inequality, and social justice. His life course research has demonstrated for the first time that a majority of Americans will experience poverty and will use a social safety net program at some point during their lives. Prof. Rank’s research has been reported in a wide range of media outlets including the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.

Gail Steketee

Studying Hoarding and Mental Health: Trying to Keep Up with a Freight Train
Saturday, January 17, 2009, 2:00 pm - 3:20 pm

Gail Steketee, PhD, is Dean and Professor at Boston University’s School of Social Work. She received her master’s and doctorate from Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research. She has conducted numerous studies on the psychopathology and treatment of anxiety and related problems including studying familial factors that influence treatment outcomes, and developing and testing cognitive and behavioral interventions for OCD, body dysmorphic disorder, and compulsive hoarding problems. She has published over 150 articles, chapters and books. Her recent books include Cognitive Approaches to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Guilford); Compulsive Hoarding and Acquiring (Oxford) an upcoming edited volume on OC spectrum conditions (Oxford) and an upcoming co-authored book on hoarding and human services (Oxford).

SSWR Pre-Conference Methodology Workshops Presenters

Claudia Coulton

Geographic and Spatial Analysis in Social Work Research: Concepts and Tools
Thursday, January 16, 2009, Half-day Workshop, 1:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Claudia Coulton is the Lillian F. Harris Professor of Urban Social Research, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH. She also serves as Co-Director of Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, which she founded in 1988 to conduct applied research, evaluation and policy analysis related to urban poverty and community building. She instituted the Center’s comprehensive geographic information system (NEO CANDO) and participated in the establishment of the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership. Dr. Coulton teaches courses in quantitative methods and community data analysis. She has conducted a number of studies on neighborhood effects and urban policy issues that apply geographic and spatial analysis. Her published articles relevant to this workshop include: Job Access, Employment, and Earnings: Outcomes for Welfare Leavers in an Urban Labor Market, Urban Affairs Review; Parental and community correlates of participation in out-of-school activities among children living in low income neighborhoods. Children and Youth Services Review; Catalog of Administrative Data Sources for Neighborhood Indicators. Washington DC: The Urban Institute; How neighborhoods influence child maltreatment: A review of the literature and alternative pathways. Child Abuse and Neglect; Indicators of children’s wellbeing through a neighborhood lens. Social Indicators Research; Mapping resident perceptions of neighborhood boundaries. American Journal of Community Psychology; Neighborhoods and child maltreatment: A multi-level study of resources and controls. Child Abuse & Neglect.

Bridget Freisthler

Geographic and Spatial Analysis in Social Work Research: Concepts and Tools
Thursday, January 16, 2009, Half-day Workshop, 1:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Bridget Freisthler is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Welfare, UCLA. She is also an Affiliate Research Scientist at the Prevention Research Center, Berkeley, CA. Dr. Freisthler's research focuses the spatial ecology of problems, particularly child maltreatment, and the development of environmental interventions to prevent problems. She is an expert in incorporating cutting edge spatial analysis methods through Geographic Information Systems (GIS), spatial statistics, and spatial econometrics in 1) understanding how social problems vary across geographic areas, such as neighborhoods, 2) identifying those areas in a community which are at risk for developing or already experiencing high levels of social problems based on a growing understanding of neighborhood ecologies, and 3) examining how the location of social services may further help or hinder the development of problems in neighborhood areas. At UCLA, she teaches MSW students how to use GIS to understand and solve community problems.

Kevin Kim

Structural Equation Modeling
Thursday, January 16, 2009, Full Day Workshop, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Kevin H. Kim is a professor of research methodology in the Department of Psychology in Education, University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kim is interested in developing new statistical methods to be used in education, behavioral and social sciences. His research interests include but are not limited to structural equation modeling, multivariate statistics, multilevel modeling, and Asian American Mental Health. Dr. Kim has published a book chapter on introduction to SEM and a book on univariate and multivariate general linear models. He has also published many applied papers utilizing structural equation modeling in social work, health psychology, neuroscience, and nursing.

Deborah Padgett

Doing Qualitative Research: Balancing Flexibility with Methodological, Ethical and Practical Considerations
Thursday, January 16, 2009, Half-day Workshop, 1:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Dr. Deborah Padgett, a Professor at the Silver School of Social Work (New York University), is an anthropologist and mental health services researcher. She is the editor of The Qualitative Research Experience (2004), author of Qualitative Methods in Social Work Research (2nd edition, 2008), and co-author of Program Evaluation (5th ed., forthcoming). Dr. Padgett was co-principal investigator on two NIMH-funded grants and an NCI-funded mixed methods study of African-American women and breast cancer screening; she was also national Co-Director of the Screening Adherence Follow-up (SAFe) project funded by the Centers for Disease Control. She was most recently Principal Investigator of The New York Services Study, an all-qualitative four-year study of dual diagnosed homeless funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Her expertise in qualitative methods has led to invitations to speak at several NIH-sponsored training institutes and grant proposal reviews. Dr. Padgett has also been an active mentor of other researchers and has served on numerous journal editorial boards. Recently, she has been teaching courses on socio-behavioral health and qualitative/field methods in NYU’s Global Public Health program.

Co-Presenter Benjamin Henwood

Doing Qualitative Research: Balancing Flexibility with Methodological, Ethical and Practical Considerations
Thursday, January 16, 2009, Half-day Workshop, 1:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Benjamin Henwood, LMSW, is a doctoral student at NYU's Silver School of Social Work whose clinical and research experience has focused on services for dually diagnosed homeless adults. He is the recipient of a NIMH pre-doctoral fellowship (Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Award) that supports a qualitative study of mental health providers' treatment approaches for his dissertation. He was an interviewer and data analyst on the New York Services Study.

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