Denise Dews, MSW

Denisé Dews, MSW, has been promoted to assistant director of Field Education at the UNC School of Social Work. Dews joined the School’s faculty in 2007 as a clinical instructor, working primarily as a field faculty member in the areas of healthcare and aging. Prior to working at UNC, Dews served as director of Field Education at Appalachian State University.  In 2013, she was promoted to clinical assistant professor.  In addition to her field education responsibilities, Dews has taught several courses and seminars and has been active on campus working with other departments to think about and plan inter-professional education events.

Annie Francis, MSW

Ph.D. student Annie Francis presented a guest lecture for the Health and Medicine’s Committee to Enhance  Diversity and Inclusion Lecture Series of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, D.C. Francis’ lecture was titled, “Cultural Preservation of Native American Children in Out-of-home  Care.”

Anjalee Sharma, MSW

Ph.D. student Anjalee Sharma was recently awarded a Behavioral Health Academic Scholarship from the American Addiction Centers (AAC). This scholarship program was launched in 2015 to provide financial support for graduate students who are pursuing careers in the behavioral health field in response to the growing need for trained mental health and substance abuse experts.  The AAC will provide Sharma $2,500 in financial support for her studies.

Rainier Masa, Ph.D.

Assistant professor Rainier Masa was appointed as a research associate at the  Center for Social Development in Africa (CSDA) at the University of Johannesburg. Masa and Gina Chowa, a social work associate professor and senior research associate for CSDA, are part of a team working on a large-scale, nationwide Siyakha project. This project is testing and evaluating the effect of various employability programs on youth employment and economic security. The project is also part of Masa and Chowa’s work with UNC’s Global Social Development Innovations.

Tonia Deese and Rodney Little present at a conference in Florida.

Tonia Deese and Rodney Little, clinical assistant professors for the Family & Children’s Resource Program, presented at the Supervised Visitation Network conference in Florida in June. The conference, “B Engaged, B Collaborative, B Global” is an annual event focused on improving the practice of parent-child visitation and attracts practitioners from around the world. Their presentation was titled, “North Carolina: Enhancing Intakes Through Pre-Teaching” and shared a structured process that helps practitioners plan and implement parent-child visits.