The Social Work Routes Podcast
by Prof. Kris Clarke
Welcome to Social Work Routes - a podcast dedicated to exploring the pathways to social justice work. We listen to the stories of people involved in social work and activism – what brought them to the field? Where does their passion for social justice work lie? What experiences have shaped their perspectives? And what hopes and dreams do they have for the future? We have conversations with people around the globe to hear their stories of activism and change-making. My name is Kris Clarke and I am an associate professor of social work at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Join us on Spotify to listen to Social Work Routes -- stories of personal, political, and social transformation.
Episodes
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Heather McCalden on creativity and the internet
Heather McCalden is a multidisciplinary artist working with text, image and movement. She is a graduate of the Royal College of Art (2015) and has exhibited at Roulette Intermedium, Pierogi Gallery, National Sawdust, Testbed 1, and Seattle Symphony. In 2021 she won the Fitzcarraldo Essay Prize.…
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Racism and Mental Health in U.S. History
Mab Segrest talks about her book, Administrations of Lunacy: Racism and the Haunting of American Psychiatry from Georgia’s Milledgeville Asylum. Mab Segrest is the former Fuller-Matthai Professor of Gender and Women's Studies at Connecticut College.
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A conversation about Finnish social work research
Tarja Pösö, Professor in Social Work at Tampere University, Finland, has a long experience of more than 30 years in studying social work, especially child welfare, from different perspectives, with a keen interest in cross-country perspectives and exploring methods and ethics for child welfare...
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A conversation about young masculinities in Finland
Harry Lunabba is a University lecturer in social work and a youth researcher at the University of Helsinki. In his research he has mainly focused on studies on young masculinities. His latest article analyses how to recognise young masculinities vulnerabilities in youth work....
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A conversation with Minna Zechner on pathways into Finnish social work research
Minna Zechner is an Associate Professor in Social Work at the University of Helsinki. Her speciality area is health and social services. Her educational background is in social policy, both Master and Doctoral degrees are from the University of Tampere, Finland. For eight years she worked in a...
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A conversation on social work, migration and international education
Tobias Pötzsch, Ph.D, works as a lecturer in Social Work at the University of Helsinki’s Swedish School of Social Science. My doctoral dissertation; Critical Perspectives on Social inclusion in Integration Education Programs for Adult Migrants (2020) explored inclusion strategies through the…
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Stanley Witkin - a life in social work
Stanley Witkin is Emeritus Professor of Social Work at the University of Vermont, USA and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. USA. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin and an honorary doctorate from the University of...
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A conversation on whiteness in social work education and practice
Harjeet Badwall is an Associate Professor at York University’s School of Social Work in Toronto, Canada. Her areas of research focus on disrupting racism, whiteness, and colonialism in Social Work. Harjeet teaches core theory and practice courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels of…
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A Hmong-American pathway into nonprofit leadership
Susan was born and raised in Fresno, California, USA, to refugee parents of Hmong descent. She received her Bachelor of Social Work from California State University, Fresno, and her Master of Public Administration with a specialization in Organizational Leadership from National University. Susan…
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A conversation on international development and research ethics
Marjaana Jauhola (she/they) is an ethnographer at the intersection of international politics, development, peace and conflict, and feminism. With life's historical and visual methods Marjaana focuses on global politics of post-conflict/disaster reconstruction and gendered and sexualized notions…
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A conversation on feminist activism in universities
Jessica Schulz (she/they) is a passionate feminist scholar-activist from California’s Central Valley. With degrees from Fresno State and Iowa State Universities, Jessica aims to help institutions of higher education support student victims and survivors of interpersonal violence, and marginalized...
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Latinx young adult literature
Cristina Herrera earned her PhD in English from Claremont Graduate University and is a Professor and Director of Chicano/Latino Studies at Portland State University. Born and raised in Oxnard, California, she is a second-generation Chicana. Her book, ChicaNerds in Chicana Young Adult Literature:...
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A conversation on personal sovereignty
Dayka Robinson is a Sovereignty Guide, nationally recognized Interior Designer, World Traveler & unapologetic Wild Woman helping women know themselves, trust themselves & honor themselves, so they can speak their truth, know their worth and trust their authority. Whether helping women identify…
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A life in LGBTQ+ activism
Dr. Michael Barron is an Irish community activist who since the late 1990s has worked with minority and marginalized communities. He was centrally involved in the LGBTI+ rights movement in Ireland (including the marriage equality referendum campaigns) as founding director of BeLonG To, the…
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Social work with African American women
Dr. Quenette Walton is an assistant professor at the University of Houston in the Graduate College of Social Work. The aims of her research program are to build knowledge and develop a theory that informs policies, practices, and culturally relevant and evidence-based interventions in order to...
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Health inequities and decolonization
Luke has family connections to the Gunditjmara nation of Victoria (Australia) and is a Research Associate located within the Social Work Innovation Research Living Space (SWIRLS) at Flinders University. Through his research, Luke seeks to understand the role Indigenous culture plays as a…
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Black feminist perspectives on British social work practice
Professor Claudia Bernard, Goldsmiths, University of London Dr Claudia Bernard is Professor of Social Work and Co-Head of the Department of Social, Therapeutic and Community Studies, at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her research interests lie in the areas of social work with children and...
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Literacy as social justice
Yer Vang was born in Ban Vinai, Thailand, and raised in Fresno, California. She comes from a big family with a total of eight siblings: three sisters and five brothers. She is the first in her family to pursue higher education and a first-generation student who completed her Master’s Degree in...
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Irish child welfare
Robbie Gilligan is Professor of Social Work and Social Policy at Trinity College Dublin. His path to professional social work began through voluntary youth work in inner city Dublin. His formative practice experience came from his first social work post in a largely rural community, followed by a...
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Abolition and child protection
Alan J. Dettlaff is Dean of the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston and the inaugural Maconda Brown O’Connor Endowed Dean’s Chair. Prior to entering academia, Dean Dettlaff worked in the child welfare system as a caseworker and an administrator. He received his bachelor’s...
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Decolonizing social work
Michael Yellow Bird, MSW, Ph.D., is Dean and Professor of the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba. He is an enrolled member of the MHA Nation (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara) in North Dakota, USA. He has held faculty and administrative appointments at the University of British...
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Social work during the Troubles in Northern Ireland
Jim Campbell is Professor of Social Work in the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, University College Dublin. He was co-editor of the British Journal of Social Work from 2010-15. Jim has a number of teaching and research interests including mental health social work and the...
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From the civil rights movement to prison abolition in social work
Susan Chandler, MSW, PhD, is a community organizer and social work educator. She retired from 20 years of teaching in the University of Nevada, Reno, School of Social Work, but continues to teach her favorite course, Mass Incarceration, Race and Justice, at the university. She is the author, with...
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Introduction to season two
Welcome to season two
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Masculinity and post humanism in social work
Bob Pease is Adjunct Professor in the Institute for Social Change at the University of Tasmania and Honorary Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia. His most recent books are Doing Critical Social Work (co-editor, Allen and Unwin)…
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A conversation on reproductive justice and sex positivity
Melody Makeda Ledwon is an interpreter, translator, sex educator, and yoga teacher. In her work, she focuses on the intersectional perspectives of Black Feminism. In 2014 she founded BPoC Community Yoga Berlin - a safer space for Black people and people of Color who experience multiple forms of...
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A conversation with Ayaka Nakaji on diversity in social work practices
Ayaka Nakaji, MSW, LCSW Oncology Social Work Care Coordinator Born and raised in Japan, Ayaka moved to Hawai'i to pursue MSW at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa in 2009. Since graduating in 2011, Ayaka has worked in diverse practice settings in Hawai'i and Los Angeles, including domestic…
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A conversation about managing mental health programs with Ahmad Bahrami
Ahmad Bahrami has worked in county behavioral health systems for over twelve years and is the Division Manager of Public Behavioral Health and the Equity Services Manager for Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health. Ahmad has been involved at the state and regional level with developing...
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A conversation about community mental health
Dawn-Marie is Afrolatinx, indigenous to the Americas; living in Long Beach, CA. She is an associate therapist working towards licensure. Dawn-Marie is passionate about maternal mental health and disrupting the cradle to prison pipeline. When she is not therapizing you can find her strength…
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A conversation about BIPOC healing with Wambui Njuguna-Räisänen
Wambui Njuguna-Räisänen is a Kenyan-American based in Finland, passionate about making wellness through yoga and meditation seamlessly engaged in equity and justice so that more people of the global majority can live well and thrive. Wambui is deeply inspired by spiritual teachers and communities...
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A conversation about trauma-informed school social work
Dr. Felipe Mercado has promoted equity, diversity, inclusion, and compassion in the fields of K-12 education, non-profit organizations, mental health, and higher education for over a decade. He currently is the founder of Wise Soul LLC and coordinator in the office of clinical practice at Fresno...
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A conversation with Rosaline M’bayo about culturally sensitive social work
Rosaline M'Bayo, Dipl. Soz. Päd., MA, project coordinator in the field of Migration and Health Education, Psychosocial Counselling especially on HIV/AIDS and STD at the VIA-Verband für Interkulturelle Arbeit Regionalverband Berlin/Brandenburg. Her work focuses on culturally sensitive social work...
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A conversation with Tina Rodriguez about equity counseling
Our guest for this week, Tina Rodriguez is a survivor of child abuse and a licensed marriage and family therapist but I choose to identify as an Equity Therapist. I am responsible for connecting the symptoms of racial trauma to mental health conditions. I specialize in working with victims of...
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A conversation about military social work with Dr. Randy Nedegaard
Randy Nedegaard, PhD, is an associate professor at California State University, Fresno, Department of Social Work Education. He has authored publications on military cultural competence and overcoming stigma with military clients, intimate partner violence and its intersections with faith...
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A conversation with Bryson White about faith and activism
Rev. Bryson White is the last of six children to the union of Paul and Sheila White of Fresno, California, and is the husband to the wonderful Jennifer White of Richmond, California, and the father of Kairos White. He is a Ph.D. candidate in Theology and Ethics at Garrett-Evangelical Theological...
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A conversation on healing justice with Grisanti Avendaño
Grisanti Avendaño is an organizer, movement builder a weaver, a Xingonx, and a space holder in the Central Valley of California. She is the daughter of Belen Avendaño and is a Queer Indigenous Zapotec migrant from Oaxaca who loves her adopted home Fresno. She writes poetry from personal…
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A conversation with Dr. Gena Lew Gong about anti-Asian racism in the US
Dr. Gena Lew Gong is a Lecturer in Asian American Studies in the Department of Anthropology at Fresno State. She has extensive experience working and volunteering in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and has held numerous leadership positions, including Board President of Central...
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A conversation on diversity and inclusion with Diana Crāciun
Diana Crāciun’s social work route started in a little city in Transylvanian Romania – struggling with classism and other exclusion mechanisms of the post-communism era when growing up, never assuming that she would eventually live and work in Berlin. She chose to stay in Germany after finishing…
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A conversation with Julian Garza on Native American pathways into social work
Julian G. Garza Julian is from Fresno, California to a first-generation Mexican American father, George Garza, and a mother of both Native American (Pascua Yaqui Tribal member) & Mexican American descent, Rachael Moreno Garza. He served in the US Air Force for five years. Julian started working…
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A conversation with Dr. Malcolm Payne about British social work practice
Malcolm Payne is a writer, academic, and consultant on social work, social care management, and multi-professional teamwork. He was previously Director of Psychosocial and Spiritual Care at St Christopher's Hospice, London. He has held academic posts at the University of Bristol, Manchester...
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A conversation with Dr. Irán Barrera on Chicano social work
Dr. Irán Barrera is a Professor and Graduate Coordinator at Fresno State in the Department of Social Work Education. He has two doctoral degrees from The University of Texas at Arlington and the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León-México. This experience raised awareness about mental health care...
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In conversation with Gloria Hernandez about a life of activism
Gloria’s retirement speech I began working as a patient rights advocate after doing civil rights class actions and other lawsuits. (I thought when I was working with farmworker and their families that I was working with the most vulnerable people in this country. That changed when I began this...
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A conversation with Dr. Cassandra Little on African American experiences in social work
Cassandra Little Ph.D. MSW She received her Doctorate in 2003 from the University of Nevada Reno, Counseling Educational Psychology Department in Reno, Nevada. For 27 years she worked in the Child Welfare field as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Cassandra received her M.A., in Social Work from...
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A conversation about breaking barriers with Dr Virginia Rondero Hernandez
Dr. Virginia Rondero Hernandez is a Professor Emeritus at California State University, Fresno. She was also the executive director of CalSwec at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to coming to Fresno State, Dr. Rondero Hernandez taught at Texas State University, San Marcos, and the...
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A conversation with Dr. Kizzy Lopez-Jones on foster youth education and empowerment
Dr. Kizzy Lopez has worked in higher education for 13 years in academic and student affairs as a champion for educational equity for underserved students, particularly those who have experienced foster care or homelessness. Dr. Lopez currently serves as an Assistant Professor in Social Work at...
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A conversation with Anthony Ash on community organizing and social work
Anthony Ash, MSW, ACSW, is a lifelong Central California resident, organizer, and social worker. He got his start in social work through community organizing in the wake of California's Proposition 8, which would strip same-sex couples of the right to marry. Anthony completed his undergraduate...
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A conversation on Asian American identity and critical race theory
Sharon Chun Wetterau, LCSW is the Assistant Field Director at California State University, Dominguez Hills Department of Social Work, founded on Critical Race Theory (CRT). She is fascinated by the practical integration of CRT, mindfulness, and spirituality, including her own faith…
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A conversation on Intersectionality and Trans Rights with Zoyer Zyndel
The first interview on the Social Work Routes podcast features Zoyer Zyndel, MSW, of Fresno, California. Zoyer was a mental health specialist and trans community activist involved in a multitude of social issues. Listen to him talk about how his route to social work and activism.
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Tribute to Zoyer Zyndel
A tribute to Zoyer Zyndel, MSW, trans activist, and community organizer in Fresno, California, who tragically passed away a week after a forthcoming interview with Kris Clarke. Rest in Power Zoyer Zyndel. Producer: Priscilla Osei
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Welcome to the Social Work Routes Podcast
Welcome to Social Work Routes - a podcast dedicated to exploring the pathways to social justice work. We listen to the stories of people involved in social work and activism – what brought them to the field? Where does their passion for social justice work lie? What experiences have shaped their...
About this show
Welcome to Social Work Routes - a podcast dedicated to exploring the pathways to social justice work. We listen to the stories of people involved in social work and activism – what brought them to the field? Where does their passion for social justice work lie? What experiences have shaped their perspectives? And what hopes and dreams do they have for the future? We have conversations with people around the globe to hear their stories of activism and change-making. My name is Kris Clarke and I am an associate professor of social work at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Join us on Spotify to listen to Social Work Routes -- stories of personal, political, and social transformation.
Hosted by
Prof. Kris Clarke