This document presents biographies of students who are currently enrolled or
have recently graduated from the Doctoral Program at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences,
Case Western Reserve University. It illustrates the breadth of experience that our students bring
to their studies, including experience in research, teaching, social work practice, and
administration.
MARISA ALLEN (Cohort '00) worked at a consulting firm in Santa Fe, NM, before
entering the MSASS Doctoral Program. There, she managed a number of public sector research and
program evaluation projects that were conducted throughout the western United States. As an
associate of the firm, Marisa managed research and data collection projects for the State of Utah,
designed a computerized data collection system for a New Mexico crisis network/hotline, and worked
closely with a number of social service agencies and departments, including the State of New
Mexico's Children Youth and Families Department and its Department of Health. Marisa has devoted
much of her professional experience to the fields of substance abuse prevention, child welfare, and
community-based program evaluation. Most notably, she worked at a federally-funded substance abuse
prevention organization in Santa Fe, where she coordinated state-level policy initiatives directed
at reducing substance abuse. As a part of this effort, Marisa authored a political and media
advocacy handbook, led legislative advocacy training in rural communities in New Mexico, and
coordinated a statewide legislative campaign that promoted the passage of state and municipal
legislation. In addition to her experience in research and administration, Marisa brings a clinical
background to her doctoral studies. In Chicago, where she attended graduate school, Marisa worked
at a substance abuse treatment center for pregnant and parenting women. Marisa earned a master's
degree in social work from the University of Chicago in 1997, where she worked on a research
project that examined workplace discrimination for welfare recipients and women of color. She holds
a BA in Anthropology from the University of Colorado. She was awarded an applied research
fellowship from the MSASS's Center on Urban Poverty and Social Change for academic year
2000-01.
NANCY AMOS (Cohort '01) is the field work coordinator in the undergraduate Social
Work Program at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. In addition, she teaches courses in group
work, child welfare, practice foundations, and human behavior in the social environment. Nancy also
maintains a private practice with an emphasis on serving children and families that includes a
contract with the Illinois Child Care Association. She has been working as a social worker for
nearly 30 years (since receiving her MSW from Washington University in St. Louis). Her practice
experience includes foster care and adoption, residential treatment, adoption preservation,
individual and family counseling, teaching behavioral science at the University of Illinois College
of Medicine at Peoria and at its Family Practice Residency, and working as a child welfare
supervisor and as clinical director at a child welfare agency. She has taught part-time in both
bachelor and master degree social work programs and has served as a consultant to various agencies.
Nancy has written several successful grants that have created programs to serve single-parent
families, adolescent parents, and delinquent youth exiting residential treatment. She has extensive
volunteer service as a member of the Illinois Attorney General's School Crisis Assistance Team and
a member of the Licensing Advisory of the Council of the Illinois Department of Children and Family
Services. Nancy is a past president of the Illinois Chapter National Association of Social Workers,
and has served the chapter in several other roles. In August 2002, she will be a delegate to the
NASW Delegate Assembly, representing Illinois. Nancy is a member of the Academy of Certified Social
Workers and a licensed clinical social worker in Illinois. She was selected as Social Worker of the
Year for her region of central Illinois, and a the winner of the Charlotte Danstrom Woman of
Achievement by Women in Management. Nancy's clinical and research interests center on adolescents
and include delinquency and depression, and the interplay of biology and environment in that
population.
PATRICK BOYLE
(Cohort '01) serves the Center for Evidence Based Practices at Case as
Director of Implementation Services. In that role, he oversees operations of the Ohio Substance
Abuse Mental Illness and Supported Employment Coordinating Centers of Excellence. He helps provide
clinical training and consultation as well as programmatic consultation for programs implementing
the evidence based Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) model in Ohio, nationally, and
internationally. Mr. Boyle received his master’s degree from the Mandel School of Applied Social
Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio and is an adjunct faculty member and
doctoral candidate at MSASS. He has contributed to several publications related to implementation
of evidence based practices and is Co-Investigator on a Supported Employment research study
investigating the impact of SE on outcomes for clients receiving concurrent Integrated Dual
Disorder Treatment service. Patrick serves Mental Health America, Arlington, Virginia on the
public policy and affiliate relations committees. He also
maintains a private practice.
KURT BUCKNER (Cohort '00) Kurt's professional interests include understanding
post-traumatic stress disorder in children and emergency service personnel. He is also interested
in developing methods for improving infant-father attachment, especially with newborns who are
at-risk for minimal paternal contact. In his role as caseworker, Kurt has designed and implemented
an early intervention substance abuse program that provides counseling for adolescents and their
families. In addition, Kurt has worked as a volunteer, providing counseling services to persons
with HIV/AIDS. He had been in the law enforcement profession for over 10 years. He worked as a
police officer, drug abuse resistance education (DARE) officer, undercover narcotics investigator,
and corrections officer. He holds a Master of Social Work and a Master of Education degree from
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. His thesis work explored the effects of paternal
absence on attachment between infants and their fathers.
ANGELA CURL (Cohort '01) obtained a Masters of Social Work in 1999 from the
University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, and a Bachelor of Social Work in 1990 from Taylor University,
Upland, Indiana. In addition, she is a National Center for Leadership Fellow (2000-01) and a
Grantmakers in Aging Fellow (2003). Angela has made 16 conference presentations, has
co-authored a book chapter (in press). One of Angela's current research projects uses data
from married, employed women simultaneously raising children and providing caregiving for an
elderly parent, in order to study the effect of multiple roles on role stress and role rewards.
Other research projects have focused on cross-national policy analyses of public pension programs.
The topic of her dissertation is the trajectories of physical health of married couples following
retirement. In addition to her dissertation work, Angela currently works as Project Coordinator for
the "Strengthening Aging and Gerontology Education for Social Work (SAGE-SW)" grant project at the
Council on Social Work Education. Last year she worked as a research assistant on a curriculum
development project for a course on the policy implications of global aging, and as a research
assistant for an NIA-funded grant project examining the depressive symptomatology of married older
adults. Angela has a multi-cultural background gained through living in Haiti, Canada, and the
United States, and is interested in pursuing research to retirement and international gerontology.
YIH-TSU HAHN (Cohort '01) earned her Masters of Social Work at Ming-Hsiung in
Chia-Yi, Taiwan. After graduate school, she worked for Taipei City's Bureau of Social Affairs,
where she administered four social welfare programs designed to assist women. Yih Tsu evaluated
applications by women seeking legal assistance in cases of domestic violence. Her research
interests include child welfare, domestic violence, and services for single-parent households. Yih
Tsu was awarded a research fellowship for the 2001-2002 academic year.
LINDSEY HOULIHAN (Cohort '00) holds an MSSA from CWRU. Currently, she is working
at the Adoption Health Service at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital where she is the Director
of Community Programs. In addition to facilitating family preparation classes for those interested
in international adoption, Lindsey is conducting research on early attachment in international
adoption which is also the area in which she is completing her doctoral dissertation. In 2003,
Lindsey and Dr. Gary Feldman of the Adoption Health Service presented preliminary results of the
attachment study at a national conference on attachment. Lindsey has several publications of book
chapters. She is also an adjunct faculty at MSASS where she has taught courses on human
development, substance abuse and research.
KAREN ISHLER (Cohort '01) worked at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School
of Medicine as the Assistant Director of the Western Reserve Geriatric Education Center, and the
Office of Geriatric Medicine , prior to entering the MSASS Doctoral Program. In these roles, she
was responsible for the development, implementation, and evaluation of geriatric education and
training programs designed for health care professionals, paraprofessionals, and students. Karen
previously worked as the coordinator for a regional Geriatric Education Center at Bowling Green
State University (BGSU), where she also taught in the undergraduate Gerontology Program. She
received her master's degree in Clinical Psychology from BGSU in 1996. Her thesis explored the
general and religious coping strategies used by persons caring for spouses with dementia. In
addition to a strong interest in gerontology (specifically in caregiving, aging and mental health,
and gay and lesbian elders), Karen's other research and professional interests include needs
assessment and program evaluation. She has functioned as an evaluation consultant for two federally
funded training projects at the Medical College of Ohio, where she also holds an appointment as an
adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy. Karen was awarded a doctoral
research fellowship for the 2001-2002 academic year.
VIVIAN H. JACKSON (Cohort '99) has over 25 years of social work experience as a
direct service practitioner, supervisor, administrator, trainer, and consultant, primarily in
health and mental health settings. She is co-principal of a consulting practice where she has
pursued her interests in managed behavioral healthcare and cultural competency. Current and recent
clients include the IBM Corporation (Vivian is a member of the IBM Mental Health Advisory Board),
the National Mental Health Association, the National Child Welfare Resource Center on
Family-Centered Practice, and the Washington Business Group on Health. Vivian served on the staff
of the National Resource Network for Child and Family Mental Health at the Washington Business
Group on Health, where she provided training and technical assistance to communities that have
received funds to implement the Center for Mental Health Services Children's Mental Health
Initiative through the end of that grant in 1999. Prior to these endeavors, Vivian was the director
of the Office of Policy and Practice at the National Association of Social Workers. In that
capacity, she oversaw a 14-member staff that had the responsibility of synthesizing and analyzing
policy and practice issues confronting the social work profession. She also provided advocacy on
behalf of the profession. Her focus on managed care led to the development of several resources,
including the Managed Care Resource Guide for Social Workers in Private Practice and the Managed
Care Resource Guide for Social Workers in Agency Settings. She is currently co-author of a book
chapter, "Managed Care and Child Welfare Practitioner Training Needs," which was published in
Managed Care Services: Policy, Programs, and Research by Oxford University Press in 2000. She is
coeditor of Cultural Competency in Managed Behavioral Healthcare, which was published by Manisses
Communications Group, Inc. in 1999. Vivian is also co-chair of the Commission on Social Work
Practice for the Council on Social Work Education and recently completed her three-year term as
member of the editorial board for the National Association of Social Workers' Health and Social
Work journal. Vivian is one of five Mandel Leadership Fellows who entered the Ph.D. Program in
1999.
SYLVIA LEIBBRANDT (Cohort '01) is a clinical social worker. Prior to entering the
MSASS Doctoral Program she worked as a consultant in geriatric psychiatry. In her practice, Sylvia
employed a biopsychosocial approach in the assessment and treatment of older adults with late onset
mental health and behavioral issues. Previous experience in community rehabilitation, emergency
services, and intensive care provided numerous opportunities to ameliorate practice and service
standards through the development of various policies, protocols, resource directories, assessment
tools, and a volunteer program for critical care. As a master's student, Sylvia designed a
full-year course in psychiatric group work, which she taught to BSW students at McGill University,
Montreal, Canada. Her master's project involved the design and implementation of an empowerment
group for seniors with low vision. Sylvia graduated from McMaster University in 1993, with a
Combined BA in Honours German and Russian language and literature. Following graduation, she spent
a year in Ratingen, Germany, on a Pedagogical Scholarship teaching English language and
conversation to students in grades 7 to 13. Upon her return, Sylvia attended McGill University
where she completed a BSW (1996) and an MSW (1997), with a specialization in gerontological social
work. She is a licensed member of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers
(OCSWSSW) and a member of the Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW). Sylvia's research
interests include aging, mental health, caregiving and social work education. She was awarded a
research fellowship for the 2001-2002 academic year. Sylvia has received an International
Fellowship from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) for 2003-04.
LOUISE DOSS MARTIN (Cohort '00) is an accomplished mental health/public health
clinician, who has over 38 years of experience as a practitioner, academician, researcher,
publisher, policy and program developer, and international consultant and author. Louise is
currently a senior public health analyst/senior social work consultant in the Health Resources and
Services Administration of the US Public Health Service (USPHS). She works at the Bureau of Primary
Health Care in Bethesda, MD, where she integrates mental health services in the Bureau's national
system of primary health care programs. Louise has also worked for the Bureau's
health-care-for-the-homeless and its public-housing-primary-care programs. Prior to her work in
Bethesda, Louise worked in the USPHS' Chicago office. There, she assisted in planning, developing,
and implementing systems of care for pregnant and postpartum substance abusers and their drug
exposed infants. She also worked as a regional public health social work consultant, with a
concentration in maternal and child health, family planning, and primary health care. Before
joining the USPHS, Louise helped initiate and direct a federally funded community mental health
program at Northwestern University Psychiatry Department, which provided outpatient aftercare
services to the chronically mentally ill. She also directed social work services at two federally
funded community health centers in Chicago, where she organized and directed community based
psychosocial services to inner city populations. Louise has received national recognition as an
author who has written about Black infant mortality and Black maternal mortality. She serves on the
board of directors of two non-profit organizations in Washington, DC. In 1999, Louise received the
Effie O. Ellis Memorial Award for her advocacy to improve the health of disadvantaged women and
children. Louise earned her MA from the University of Chicago. She has been recognized for her
outstanding contributions to the profession of public health social work by the American Public
Health Association (APHA), the largest professional organization of public health professionals in
the world. Her most recent award was conferred in October, 2001 at the Association's 129th Annual
Meeting in Atlanta, GA for "outstanding achievement award for public health social worker - 2001".
She was recognized for her many papers and publications, particularly in the areas of black infant
mortality and black maternal mortality, as well as contributing to the knowledge base on infusing
health and maternal and child health content in curriculum in schools of social work. Louise has
held numerous leadership positions in the Social Work Section, including Section Secretary, Action
Board representative, and Governing Board representative. She entered the MSASS Doctoral Program as
a Mandel Leadership Fellow.
MICHAEL MELENDEZ (Cohort '92) is an Associate Professor at Simmons College
Graduate School of Social Work. Although he primarily teaches in the clinical practice sequence,
Mr. Melendez has taught across the curriculum. Courses that he has taught include the foundation
year-long Social Work Practice course, Advanced Clinical Practice, Clinical Social Work with
Addictive Disorders, Human Behavior in the Social Environment, Social Work Research, and the
Dynamics of Racism and Oppression. In January 2000, Mr. Melendez was appointed Director of the
Urban Leadership Program at Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work Mr. Melendez graduated
from the Boston University School of Social Work in 1983. He trained and worked as a senior social
worker at the Judge Baker Children's Center from 1984-1989. Clinical services included adult and
child individual psychotherapy, family therapy and court ordered custody, and adoption evaluations.
From 1985 through 1998, he maintained a private practice. Currently he provides consultation to
individuals and organizations focused on culturally competent clinical practice. He is the former
co-director of the Boston University School of Social Work Post-Graduate Certification in
Alcoholism and Drug Addiction (1998-2001).Mr. Melendez is former president of the Broad of
Directors of the Latino Health Institute (1988-1997), the former Board President of the AIDS Action
Committee (1992-2002), and former second vice president of the Massachusetts Chapter of the
National Association of Social Workers. He is currently the President of the Massachusetts Chapter
of the National Association of Social Workers as well as being member at large for the Board of
Directors of the Association of Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse (AMERSA) (1997).
He is the recipient of the 1998 Elizabeth Ramos AIDS Activist Award (Latino Health Institute), the
recipient of the Simmons College Esteemed Professor Recognition Award for the Centennial
Celebration 2000, the recipient in the Excellence in Teaching from the Boston University School of
Public Health (2000) and recipient of the AIDS Action Spirit Award (2003). Mr. Melendez is doctoral
candidate at Case Western Reserve University. His research interests are culturally competent
clinical practice, HIV/AIDS, and chemical dependency.
HELEN MOLL (Cohort '01) is currently an assistant professor in the Department of
Social Work at Marian College in Fond du Lac, WI, where she teaches a number of courses at the
undergraduate level. She is also field coordinator. Helen has been an adjunct instructor in the
Department of Sociology as well. In her teaching, Helen integrates service learning projects in
class assignments and her students have facilitated focus groups for underserved populations in a
collaborative community needs assessment project. Helen's students have also written grants for
community agencies and received one of these grants. Helen chairs the Marian College Diversity Task
Force, which has been instrumental in creating a collaborative effort to increase awareness and
dialogue about issues of diversity in the community. In addition to teaching, Helen is very
involved in various community projects. She volunteers as a court appointed special advocate for
abused and neglected children and provides training to the volunteers. She volunteers at the AIDS
Resource Center of Wisconsin (ARCW), co-chairs the Fond du Lac Coordinated Community Response to
Domestic Violence (CCR), and is a member of the Refugee Family Strengthening Project and the
Headstart Policy Council. Helen has given presentations to different agencies on Ethics and
Boundaries and The Strengths Perspective. She holds a BA in Computer Science from Columbia
University and an MSW from Rutgers University. Prior to teaching, she worked as an independent
clinical social worker with high-risk children and their families. She conducted in-home therapy
and worked in a partial hospitalization program.
VALERIE RADU (Cohort '01) is an assistant professor of social work at the Southern
Adventist University and is director of the Undergraduate Social Work Program. Valerie has worked
in psychiatric hospitals and home health settings. She has also taught continuing education courses
to medical social workers and nurses. Her research interests include aging, medical social work,
and grief and loss among professional caregivers. She received her BSW from Southern Adventist
University and her MSW Walla Walla College.
MARY RAWLINGS (Cohort '01), is a faculty member at Azusa Pacific University, where
she lectures in the undergraduate social work program in the areas of human behavior, child
welfare, introduction to social work, and social work practice. She has assisted in the self-study
for reaffirmation of the program and has worked to develop and implement a recruitment strategy for
the Department of Social Work. Mary has been actively involved in integrating academic service
learning into the social work curriculum. She is a licensed clinical social worker in the State of
California, where she has practiced extensively in the area of mental health. She has worked both
in private practice and in the public sector. Her practice experience includes working with
individuals children and adultsi chronic and persistent mental illness and their families. Mary has
also been involved in providing supervision to both bachelor and master-level students. Mary's
research interests include the following: exploring the outcomes and effectiveness of social work
education; issues related to the provision of quality child care and its subsequent effects on the
family; and the impact of women's spiritual beliefs on their social roles and feelings of
empowerment. She has her BA from Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, CA and her MSW from University
of Southern California, Los Angeles.
ROSLYN C. RICHARDSON (Cohort '00) is currently an assistant professor in the
Department of Social Work at Southern University, where she teaches courses on research and
practice. She is also a faculty advisor to students conducting research at their field placements.
Roslyn has been involved with social health research, including two studies funded by the National
Institutes of Health. Prior to her career in higher education, Roslyn worked as a criminal justice
policy planning analyst with the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement, where she assisted in the
development of a computerized statistical program that enabled state law enforcement agencies to
report incidences of crime. Her primary research interests include the integration of information
technologies into social work education. She is also interested in finding new ways to integrate
research and practice into undergraduate social work education. Roslyn earned her MSW at The
University of Alabama, where she concentrated her studies in the areas of planning and
management.
CLIFFORD ROSENBOHM (Cohort '99) is currently at George Fox University and prior to
that he was an assistant professor of social work and the director of field education at
Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, KY. Clifford has over 15 years of experience in social
services. Prior to his current position, he worked in a child protection agency in Alaska for
almost 10 years. During that time, Clifford worked as an investigator, unit supervisor, regional
trainer, and manager of the largest office in Alaska. As a trainer he helped develop curriculum for
interviewing children, enhancing case management, and exploring ethics. Clifford implemented a
strengths-based model for family intervention while serving as a unit supervisor in child
protection. He served on the Governor's Child Protection Team, which was responsible for guiding
the revision of child protection laws. During his tenure in Alaska, he was involved with many
projects, ranging from safety issues to the complete reorganization of the division. In addition to
his service in the public sector, Clifford has extensive experience working with youth in urban
settings. He was director of Urban Ministries for Young Life in Louisville, KY, and has worked in
many church settings, where he has directed his attention to adolescent issues. He has been a
basketball coach at the high school level and worked at Christian outreach camps for adolescents in
British Columbia, CO, IN, KY, LA, and NC. He received his BA from Louisana College and his MSW from
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
MAMADOU SECK (Cohort '00) coordinated the Youth Violence Prevention Program for
the Cuyahoga County Metropolitan Housing Authority before entering the Doctoral Program full time.
Mamadou has experience in teaching, administration, and direct practice. From 1995 to 1999, he was
head of the Undergraduate Department at the National School for Specialized Social Workers in
Dakar, Senegal, where he also taught courses in supervision and small group therapy. As a
practicing social worker, Mamadou has worked mostly with at-risk youth and youth offenders. He has
been the assistant director of the Institution for Youth in Dakar, a caseworker with at-risk youth
and juvenile offenders in Dakar's Ministry of Justice, a detention officer at the Cuyahoga County
Juvenile Detention Center in Cleveland, OH, and a case worker for the Department of Youth Services,
also in Cleveland, OH. He has taught continuing education courses on cultural diversity, group
theory, and substance abuse assessment, among others. Mamadou was awarded an applied research
fellowship from MSASS' Cuyahoga County Community Mental Health Research Institute. He earned a
state diploma for specialized social workers from the National School of Social Workers in Dakar
and an MSSA from CWRU.
JOHN SINCLAIR (Cohort '96) began his involvement in social services as a counselor
and then director of crisis services at the Free Medical Clinic of Cleveland, OH. He has founded
his own issues-oriented public relations firm, has served as director of the New Jersey Museum of
Agriculture, and has been the founding member of several community cooperative ventures. Since
receiving his MSW from Columbia University, he has authored articles on post-modern thought in
social services and policy considerations for service provision to chronically ill adults. He has
also co-authored a chapter on the impact of social policy.
MELODY STEWART (Cohort '99) has over 15 years of combined administrative, legal,
and academic experience in a number of private and public settings. She has been an administrator
for a health care management company, a music teacher, a civil defense litigator, a law school
administrator, and professor. A classically trained pianist, Melody earned her bachelor's
degree in music from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. She
subsequently obtained a Juris Doctor degree as a Patricia Roberts Harris Fellow from Cleveland
State University (CSU). After practicing law for several years, she worked as a lecturer, an
adjunct instructor, and an assistant dean at CSU's law school before joining the faculty. She
also was a member of the faculty at the University of Toledo College of Law and Director of Student
Services at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Melody's teaching interests
include ethics and professional responsibility, criminal law, race and the law, criminal procedure
and legal research, writing, and advocacy. Her researach interests include juvenile delinquency and
criminal justice. She published the article, "How Making the Failure to Assist
Illegal Fails to Assist: An Observation of Expanding Criminal Omission Liability," in the American
Journal of Criminal Law. Melody serves on several community boards and she has been an officer in
several organizations. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including an award
for meritorious writing in the field of law and medicine the Cleveland State University
Distinguished Alumni Emerging Leadership Award, and the Administrator of the Year Award from the
Case School of Law. Melody has also presented and/or facilitated panel discussions and
workshops in the areas of cultural and ethnic diversity and academic support programming. She
is currently Assistant Dean of Admissions at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State
University, and also serves on the Planning & Zoning Commission for the City of
Euclid.
YAN YANG (Cohort '99) worked as a research assistant at the Department of National
Economy Administration in Renmin University, China, before entering the Doctoral Program. As a
research assistant, she constructed statistical indicators of the national economy for the State
Development Planning Commission and co-authored a paper on medical and health prices reform in
China, which was published by Price Press House. Yan's research interests include price theory and
practice, social development, social security, and public policy. Yan's practice interests include
youth counseling. She has volunteered with Youth Hotline, a well known organization in China. Yan
earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in economics from the Renmin University of China. She
was awarded an applied research fellowship in mental health services from MSASS for the 1999-00
academic year.
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