School of Social Work

The School of Social Work was founded in 1961 and has grown to become one of the largest and most respected schools of social work in the United States. In a short period of time, the school has emerged as the leader in social work education in Maryland and become known to national and international audiences.

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Richard P. Barth, PhD, MSW

Social Work Education

Adoption

Foster Care

The author of 12 books and more than 200 scholarly articles, Dr. Barth is recognized as a leading expert on several social topics including social work education, adoption, foster care, and child welfare. Dr. Barth, who is the former dean of the School of Social Work and past president of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, speaks across the globe on important social work topics and ways social work helps improve communities and the human condition.

Neijma Celestine-Donnor, JD, MSW

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

As the School of Social Work’s first assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Neijma Celestine-Donnor will help lead the school's diversity and anti-oppression efforts and guide the achievement of a new standard for inclusive excellence. As a member of the dean’s executive leadership team, Celestine-Donnor has a strategic position responsible for promoting and enabling an inclusive environment for faculty, students, and staff while championing organizational change. Grounded in pursuing social justice for minority populations and supporting equity in higher education, Celestine-Donnor is an experienced leader focused on providing strategic oversight for protocols, services, and policies related to campus climate. She uses her clinical and conflict resolution skills to provide individual and systemic trauma-informed outreach, advocacy, and support for all. Her extensive experience developing, facilitating, and assessing professional development workshops, training, and programming designed to enhance the intercultural competency of students, faculty, and staff will be a tremendous benefit to the school. Celestine-Donnor comes to the school from the University of Maryland, College Park, where she served as director of campus climate support and engagement in the Division of Diversity and Inclusion. She is a 2009 graduate of the School of Social Work’s MSW program and previously served as a clinical training instructor and adjunct faculty member at the school. In addition, Celestine-Donnor is studying for a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Baltimore.

Megan Meyer, PhD, MSW

Social Work Practice

Sociology

Political Science

Dr. Meyer has taught community organization and macro social work practice at the School of Social Work for 17 years. Dr. Meyer’s research and publications have been interdisciplinary, spanning the fields of social work, sociology, and political science. She has sought to examine the practices and challenges of building social capital and organizing for social change in economically distressed urban environments, barriers to and practices in facilitating collaboration among community-based organizations and associations, and effective practices for community-university partnerships. She received her PhD and MSW degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Judy L. Postmus, PhD, ACSW

Domestic Violence

Intimate Partner Violence

Dating Violence

Dean Postmus’ research has focused on the physical, sexual, and economic victimization of women. She was the founder and director (2007-2018) of the Rutgers University Center on Violence Against Women and Children, which works to eliminate physical, sexual, and other forms of violence against women and children — and the power imbalances that permit them — through multidisciplinary research, education, and community engagement. In 2016, Dean Postmus received a grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), within the U.S. Department of Justice, to create the Rutgers Violence Against Women Research Consortium. The consortium works collaboratively with interdisciplinary researchers and NIJ scientists to identify, implement, and disseminate research and evaluation projects that fill the gaps in our current knowledge of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, stalking, and teen dating violence.

Julia Scott

Diversity

Equity

Anti-Racist Frameworks

Julia Scott develops diversity and inclusion-focused education, programs, and events for the School of Social Work’s faculty, staff, and students and the local community. She also works with Baltimore Racial Justice Action (BRJA), which collaborates with individuals and organizations to fight racism and other forms of institutional oppression. With BRJA, she serves as an Advisory Board member, primary trainer, and “13th of the Month” event co-coordinator. Her interest revolves around using anti-racist and anti-oppression frameworks to approach community building and leadership programming. Scott earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature from Morgan State University.

Wendy Shaia, MSW, EdD

Positive School Climate

Community Outreach

Wendy Shaia, Clinical Associate Professor and Executive Director of the Center for Restorative Change, is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Wendy obtained her Doctor of Education in Human and Organizational Learning from The George Washington University. She has more than 20 years of experience developing, implementing, and leading organizations and programs. In New York, she developed and operated a shelter for homeless pregnant and parenting young women in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and built transitional and affordable housing in East New York, Brooklyn. She provided technical assistance to community organizations for the Enterprise Foundation, and conducted the summative evaluation of the Red Cross’ long-term recovery effort after hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Most recently, Wendy worked as a strategic planner for the Department of Defense, where she led change management efforts, and developed strategies around Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity. Wendy is also the co-founder of the Positive Schools Center at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Her work focuses on creating positive school climate and reducing the disproportionate suspensions and expulsions of children of color and children with disabilities from Maryland schools, particularly where children, families and school staff have experienced, complex, secondary and vicarious trauma. Wendy has been trained in restorative practices by the International Institute for Restorative Practices and in mindfulness by the Center for Mindful Awareness. She is passionate about issues related to poverty, social justice and oppression. Wendy is on the Board of Directors of the Community Law Center.

Corey Shdaimah, PhD, LLM, LLB

Sex Work

Foster Care

Child Care Policy

Dr. Shdaimah, who has degrees in law and social work, examines the impact of policy as it evolves through implementation, with a focus on child welfare, prostitution policy, and child care. She is an expert on alternative criminal justice responses to prostitution and street-based sex work and has consulted with jurisdictions across the country and internationally on development, implementation, and evaluation of such programs. In the field of child welfare, Dr. Shdaimah studies case processing. She advises the Maryland judiciary and has worked with the state’s Foster Care Improvement Program as well as a number of local jurisdictions on dependency court reforms and the involvement of stakeholders in the court process. She also is a leading voice on U.S. child care policy, speaking in academic venues and to the news media about the struggles faced by families and providers and the range of early education and child care policy responses to address them.