Professor Bern-Klug is a gerontological social work scholar who focuses on improving care for older adults with advanced health conditions, including dementia. She studies how to better support medical decision-making as the end-of-life approaches, including working with family members who may serve as surrogate decision-makers. Mercedes is working to enhance the role of nursing home social workers.

Amber is interested in contributing to research in the areas of sexuality, health disparities, and mental health of people with disabilities. She is currently working on a project with Dr. Mercedes Bern-Klug evaluating the impact of quality of services for people in end-of-life care in nursing homes with family support. 

Kara Carter graduated with her PhD from the University of Iowa School of Social Work (UISSW) in May 2023. Her research interests include end-of-life care, rural aging, COVID-19, and post-ICU syndrome.

Christie (they/them), MSW, LMSW, is a PhD student at the University of Iowa’s School of Social Work. Their focus is on Public Health with their professional and research interests centered on health and disability-related research and policy, as well as advocating for and promoting the well-being of the disabled community as a disabled individual. 

Dana Cheek's research interests involve examining the integration of the primary care clinics with behavioral health consultants and/or social workers. Her research will look at the role of the social worker to help improve patient wellness and reach health outcomes. It will focus on social services necessary for treating the whole person, and she hopes to identify specific tasks that the behavioral health consultant/social worker performs that are consistently noted to be useful in the setting by other healthcare providers and patients, such as referrals for entitlement programs. 

Lance Clemsen has taught the School of Social Work's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual class since 2005. His professional career began in 1985 providing behavioral health therapy and evaluations in public, health care, and private practice settings in California and Iowa.

Dr. Conrad's research examines the social determinants that reduce child maltreatment and promote family wellbeing. Past projects include linking material hardship (food/housing insecurity) to child abuse, and validating the Spanish version of the Protective Factors Survey. 

Carol Coohey has a broad background in research methods, with expertise in community-engaged program development and evaluation. She also has substantial direct and administrative social work practice experience with children, adolescents, and adults who have experienced trauma and are in crisis or experiencing persistent mental health challenges.

Stephen Cummings is a clinical associate professor with over 20 years of practice in social service fields, including 10 years as a licensed social worker in a Trauma I level hospital setting. His areas of interest include ethical use of technology in social work practice, clinical supervision, and preparing students for the social work licensure exam.

LaTasha J. DeLoach holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Iowa School of Social Work. In her position as the Director of the City of Iowa City Senior Center she provides administrative leadership for staff. She was previously Community Projects Specialist at Johnson County Social Services and the Johnson County Disproportionate Minority Contact coordinator and the Community Partnerships for Protecting Children coordinator for 10 years.

Dr. Lorraine T. Dorfman's main area of research is in gerontology, focusing on adjustment to retirement, aging, and the family, and gerontology education. She is particularly interested in life transitions and how people adjust to them.

In 2010, Yvonne Farley joined the National Center for Social Work Trauma Education and Workforce Development through their National Collaboration for Trauma Informed Care. Over the last 4 years, she has been helping to train Iowa’s workforce in trauma informed practice and to prepare M.S.W. students through the trauma informed class.

Taylor Ford has a decade of experience providing concrete clinical social work services to clients struggling with a variety of mental health and substance use disorders. She has served in various settings and levels of care including outpatient, partial hospital, residential, psychiatric observation/emergency, acute inpatient, k12 schools, and higher education institutions.

Dr. Gilster is an Associate Professor of Social Work, and Research Fellow in the Social and Education Policy Research Program in the University of Iowa Public Policy Center. Her research addresses how community and neighborhood conditions matter for the well-being of residents.

Dr. Guo's work addresses the intersection between immigration and aging, examining the well-being of older immigrants in the changing family and neighborhood contexts.

Motier F. Haskins' primary teaching goal is to help social work students develop an increased awareness of their values, interests, strengths, and motivations so that they are compassionate and effective practitioners, confidently represent their expertise in interprofessional work settings, and critically engage with complex social problems.

Abigail’s research interests include how food security, poverty, and housing status impact health and health disparities.

Amanda graduated from the UI School of Social Work with a BSW in 2007 and from the University of Northern Iowa with a macro-focused MSW in 2010. Amanda’s field experience is in crisis intervention, psychotherapy, and program design and evaluation in community and healthcare settings.