Doctoral Candidates Seeking Academic Appointments
We train master’s level human service professionals to become social work researchers, educators and policy experts. A GSSW doctoral education is differentiated by our:
- Emphasis on social work research through a social justice lens
- Deep engagement in community-based research
- Well-rounded preparation in quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods approaches to research
- Team-mentorship approach to support student-centered learning and development
- Pedagogical training and educator development
We have three outstanding doctoral candidates graduating in spring, 2020. Get to know their scholarship and areas of expertise.
Meet Brittanie Atteberry Ash
Brittanie Atteberry Ash focuses her research on LGBTQ populations as an exemplar for understanding the dynamics and processes of oppression in communities, and social work practice and education. She is committed to promoting social justice and inclusion across contexts. Atteberry Ash’s dissertation is titled, “Social Work, Social Justice and the Causes to Which We Are Called: Attitudes, Allyhood and Activism.”
Research Interests:
- LGBTQ policy
- Campus climate
- Social work education
- Power, privilege and oppression
Meet Ceema Samimi
Ceema Samimi focuses them research on alternatives to incarceration and restorative justice as a tool for positive youth development, youth voice and inter-generational collaboration, especially with systems-involved youth. Samimi’s dissertation is titled, “Getting it Right: A Mixed-Methods Examination of Mitigating Racial Disparities in School Discipline.”
Research Interests:
- Critical and community-engaged research methodologies
- Restorative practices
- Systemic exclusion of youth
- Service administration and social justice
Meet Rachel Speer
Rachel Speer focuses her research on disrupting the intergenerational effects of inequality and inequity for many marginalized communities mindful of intersecting identities (e.g., communities of color, queer communities, people with disabilities, and those with disadvantaged social class). Speer’s dissertation is titled, “Examining the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Paternal Warmth and the Role of Health and Racial Identity.”
Research Interests:
- Mental health and trauma
- Parenting and intergenerational transmission of risk
- LGBTQ
- Communities of color
- Intersectionality
