Wayne State associate professors named 2019 fellows of national social work society

sbAssociate Professors Suzanne Brown and Stella Resko in the Wayne State School of Social Work have been named members of the 2019 Class of Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Fellows.

Brown and Resko will be inducted into the fellowship program on January 20th at the 23rd Annual SSWR Conference held in San Francisco, CA. Fellows are SSWR members who have aided the Society in its mission to advance, disseminate, and translate research that addresses issues of social work practice and policy and promotes a diverse, equitable and just society. Recognized for their individual accomplishments, leadership, and contribution to SSWR as a scientific society, SSWR fellows serve as role models and mentors for individuals pursuing careers in social work research.

As a member of Wayne State's social work faculty since 2012, Brown's research focuses on mothers with substance use disorders or co-occurring substance use and post-traumatic stress disorders, effects of neighborhood violence and social networks on parenting, the neurobiological dimension of addiction and trauma, and gay and lesbian family formation and adoption. Brown received her MSW from Smith College and PhD from Case Western Reserve University, and practices as an independently Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Brown has authored or co-authored over 40 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and has presented annually at the SSWR since 2008.

Brown serves as a co-Principal Investigator with Assistant Nursing Professor (Clinical) Umeika Stephens on a U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration grant to educate and train graduate social work and nursing students, their nursing preceptors, social work field education supervisors and faculty advisors, and community partners in integrated mental health care delivery. She is also co-investigator on the SAMHSA funded grant on the training and implementation of The Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment intervention. Through the State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis grant, Brown, Resko, Social Work Assistant Professor Jamey Lister, Medicine's Professor of Pharmacology Eugene Schoener and Social Work Manager of Community Partnerships Elizabeth Agius have come together on the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services funded Michigan's Opioid Initiative to evaluate the activities and outcomes of Michigan's targeted opioid response.

"I am honored to be recognized by the Society for Social Work Research at this point in my career, and look forward to supporting SSWR mission to advance social work research in the years to come," Brown noted.

rAfter receiving her MSW and PhD from Ohio State University, Resko completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan Addiction Research Center before joining the Wayne State School of Social Work in 2009. Resko was recently a visiting scholar at the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at the University of Michigan and serves as a member of the editorial board for Youth and Society, Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions and Social Work Research. Resko also coordinates the Graduate Certificate in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Studies (CADAS) within the Wayne State School of Social Work.

Resko's research focuses on treatment and prevention of substance misuse and interpersonal violence among adolescents and adult women. Resko has published broadly in over 40 journals, books and encyclopedias, and has regularly presented at national conferences including SSWR, CSWE, and the annual meetings of the American Public Health Association, The Research Society on Alcoholism, and the Society for the Advancement of Violence and Injury Research.

Resko is currently the co-principal investigator on the evaluation of two projects funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration to help reduce opioid overdoses in the state of Michigan. In partnership with LA VIDA, Resko and Social Work Associate Professor Debra Patterson received funding to evaluate the effectiveness of culturally-specific services to meet the acute needs of Latina intimate partner violence and sexual assault survivors. Resko, Patterson and University of Washington Assistant Professor Angelique Day are also collaborating on a study funded by the Children's Bureau to identify the knowledge, skills and attitudes that resource parents need when caring for adolescents with severe substance use and mental health challenges with the goal of reducing foster parent turnover.

"I am honored to be recognized as a SSWR fellow," Resko stated. "Fifteen years ago, I gave my first conference presentation-a poster at the 2004 SSWR annual meeting. SSWR has played a prominent role in promoting social work research and I now encourage my students to share their work at this meeting."

← Back to listing