Social Work

Faculty

Mr. Louis Guardiola, Jr. earned his MSW from Cleveland State University, Cleveland Ohio in 1998. He joined the social work program at The University of Toledo as field director in 2014. He has over 20 years in the practice of behavioral health care and hold professional licenses in social work and chemical dependency. His primary research/practice interests include cross-cultural communications, Latino/Hispanic mental health/health issues and macro social work practice. Recent research projects include “Comparing Coping Strategies and Resiliencies among Korean War and OIF/OEF Veterans”, “Recognizing and Overcoming Barriers to Cross-Cultural Communication”, and “Cross-Cultural Examination of Utilization of Hospice Care in the Northwest Area.” He teaches advanced field experience and research courses.
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Aravindhan has taught across the curriculum in both BSW and MSW levels.   His teaching interests are: Arts based engagement in social work, Human behavior and the social environment, oppression and social justice, social work practice, community mental health, social research methods, psychopathology and mental health, medical and psychiatric social work, substance abuse treatment, family therapy and child welfare.  He won the John A. Yankey award for outstanding teaching at Case Western Reserve University, Ohio.

Aravindhan’s professional interests involve the use of the Arts in social work practice and research.  In social work practice, the Arts can be cathartic for clients and can facilitate better client-worker interaction.  The Arts can also play a great role in research by facilitating knowledge building and then disseminating that information to the public.  He uses photography, painting, sketching and other art forms to explore issues of social and economic justice.

Aravindhan’s other research interests are in the areas of Mental Health and substance abuse treatment.  He studied alcohol consumption and related problems among sanitary workers in Chennai (Madras), India, and group processes in groups for alcohol dependence at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS).  His doctoral work involved studying stages of change and mandated substance abuse treatment under the criminal justice system.  As a psychiatric social worker, he has practiced family systems therapy, cognitive-behavior therapy and group therapy.  He has worked with clients diagnosed with substance abuse, depression, schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder.
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Mamta Ojha is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Justice, Social Work Program. She completed her MSW and Ph.D. from University of Kentucky. She is currently teaching social welfare policy, macro practice, micro research, and introduction to social work classes across the curriculum at BSW and MSW levels. Her other teaching interests are human behavior and the social environment, oppression and social justice, research methods, and international social work. She was nominated for Faculty Excellence in Service Learning and Civic Engagement award and her class projects received Excellence in Service Learning and Civic Engagement award twice at Bowling Green State University.

Her research and scholarship addresses work-family issues among low-wage and immigrant workers, social work education in macro practice, re-entry in suburban and rural context, intimate partner violence and work, and homelessness. Her work has been published in various journals and she has presented at numerous national and regional conferences. She has served as a reviewer for CSWE conference and Journal for International Students. She is also engaged in various community initiatives.
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Dr. Megan Petra is an Assistant Professor in the social work program. She teaches in both the Bachelor of Social Work & Master of Social Work programs, and conducts research about addictions and family violence. Dr. Petra is especially interested in how families of people with addictive disorders cope with the situation, given complicating factors such as intimate partner violence or membership in diversity groups such as the LGBT community. She uses both quantitative and qualitative methods in her research. Dr. Petra’s social work practice experience includes work with women at a domestic violence shelter and on college campuses, facilitating support groups for members of the LGBT community, case work with older adults, community organizing around women’s issues, and working with community groups to evaluate prevention programs targeting adolescent substance use.
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Dr. Michael Prior, Assistant Professor, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Eastern Michigan University and both Master’s and Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington. 

Dr. Prior is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the Council on Social Work Education, and the Society for Spirituality and Social Work.  Dr. Prior has over sixteen years of direct practice and administrative experience in the mental health field.  His main area of practice has been with adolescents and families, especially those with chemical dependency issues.  His areas of study and personal interest center on spirituality, treatment of the effects of child abuse, and fighting racial inequality.
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Meredith earned her Master's degree in Social Work from Case Western Reserve University. She is a Licensed Independent Social Worker, Supervisor specification within the State of Ohio and a Licensed Master's Social Worker within the State of Michigan. She has experience working over 20 years in the Social Work field at the micro, mezzo and macro level. Her areas of interest includes working with individuals within the criminal justice system, policy development, and clinical intervention for anxiety, depression, personality disorders and PTSD. She is an Assistant Lecturer at The University of Toledo in their social work program.
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Dr. Sloane received her Bachelor of Science degree from William and Mary and her Master of Social Work degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she specialized in healthcare social work where she completed internships working with the homeless in Richmond, Virginia and in the Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit. Dr. Sloane teaches across the curriculum with a focus on macro practice and policy. She blends her education and experience in healthcare social work with cultural studies and critical theory. As a former healthcare social work in intensive care and rehabilitation, Heather is a long-term member of the interprofessional faculty steering committee and investigates the culture of professional education and interdisciplinary collaboration through the lens of decreasing medical error and health disparities caused by implicit bias. Dr. Sloane created an interprofessional creative writing mentoring program with Toledo Public high schools called Fearless Writers. https://www.instagram.com/fearlesswriterstps/?igshid=16g17gbfr4xsm 

Her dissertation research involved interviewing physicians about their understanding of poverty, as well as analyzing the novel The House of God. As is typical for cultural studies research, Dr. Sloane also used cultural history method to look at conversations within the Association of American Medical Colleges about poverty from 1910 to 2010. As a result of this early research, Dr. Sloane has focused on the importance of empathy to cultural humility. Dr. Sloane also writes about wellness and the right to pleasure.

For a summary of Dr. Sloane’s research, the following link is her Future of Higher Education talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bB9YInfZzM&feature=youtu.be 

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Sherry Tripepi teaches primarily field classes in the BSW Program.  Her passion it to assist students with implementation of their classroom knowledge into their field internship and grow into competent social workers. She also developed an elective course titled “Interpersonal Practice with LGBTQ+ Individuals”, which is typically offered at Utoledo annually during the fall semester; while a social work elective course, it is open to all majors.  

Sherry’s clinical social work expertise spans over 35 years in the area of mental health in the Toledo area. Her areas of interest include working with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities, women’s issues, physical and sexual abuse treatment, domestic violence treatment, body image and advocacy to work towards equality and social justice for marginalize and oppressed groups of people.
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William (Bill) Weaver is an Assistant Lecturer and BSW Field Director, starting in this role in August 2021.  He has taught part time with the Criminal Justice program since 2018 and continues to teach the Applied Psychology for Criminal Justice Personnel course.  Bill has worked in community corrections, substance use, and mental health for over 20 years, specializing in the intersection of these areas in a person’s life.  He took over 300 interns during his former career and believes in the importance of field education in overall learning. Bill’s philosophy on treatment and education is holistic, believing that we have to treat the body, mind, and spirit to get human beings well.
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Kristen Williams graduated from The University of Toledo in 2012 with her B.S.W. and from Eastern Michigan University in 2017 with her M.S.W.  While at The University of Toledo, Kristen participated in the University's Child Welfare Partnership Program during her senior field year.  After graduation Kristen became employed at Lucas County Children Services, where she worked for 9 years before entering into the field of Mental Health in 2021. Kristen officially became the Title IV-E University Partnership Program Coordinator at the University of Toledo in September 2022. 
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Dr. Williamson's research focus is human trafficking with particular attention to domestic minor sex trafficking. She has published numerous articles on the subject, has delivered over 200 presentations, and been the keynote speaker at more than 20 conferences. She also studies prostitution, vulnerable women, and drug abuse. She teaches social work practice courses and a human trafficking course. She founded the first anti-trafficking program in Ohio in 1993. Dr. Williamson completed numerous studies, articles, and reports, and edited 2 books on sex trafficking and her memoir. She directs UT's Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute and built a variety of funding streams and global connections used to serve the mission of the Institute. Additional accomplishments include: founding the oldest and largest annual International Human Trafficking and Social Justice Conference; founding the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition; founding the Global Association of Human Trafficking Scholars, and participation on the Research & Analysis Subcommittee for the Ohio Attorney General's Human Trafficking Commission and the international Journal of Human Trafficking.
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