Highlights

Congratulations to our School of Social Work faculty colleagues who received major awards recently for their research and impact.

Susan A. Green, clinical professor and co-director of the school’s Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care (ITTIC), was named to the Fulbright Specialist Roster for a three-year tenure. Part of the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright Specialist program pairs U.S. academics and professionals with host institutions abroad to share expertise, strengthen international ties and help institutions build capacity.

“Trauma exists everywhere,” Green says. “I can bring everything we do at ITTIC into these engagement opportunities — providing foundational training, promoting trauma-sensitive practices, building trauma-informed organizations, and more.”

The Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) lauded three UB faculty members at its conference in January.

Annahita Ball and Yunju Nam, both associate professors, were inducted as SSWR fellows, in recognition of their efforts to advance, disseminate and translate research that addresses issues of social work practice and policy to promote a diverse, equitable and just society.

An expert on school social work, Ball studies how schools, families and communities can partner to provide services that foster positive youth development and promote equity in education. Meanwhile, Nam studies economic inequality and social policies and is an internationally recognized expert on language access for individuals with limited English proficiency.

Finally, SSWR honored Associate Professor Nadine Shaanta Murshid for her book, Intimacies of Violence: Reading Transnational Middle-Class Women in Bangladeshi America. Murshid received the honorable mention for the 2026 SSWR Book Award for Best Scholarly Book Published.

Tiffany J. Nhan, an MSW/PhD student in the School of Social Work, has been selected for the Minority Fellowship from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

Funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the fellowship supports students focused on reducing health disparities and improving mental health outcomes for underserved populations.

Nhan describes her work as intentionally understanding the intersection between historical and societal systems of oppression, personal identity and traumatic experiences, mental well-being, and the resilience of marginalized groups. Exploring these topics is personal for Nhan, whose family resettled to the United States from Vietnam as refugees before she was born.

The master’s fellowship will help her complete the MSW portion of her dual degree, including an upcoming summer practicum experience in Vietnam.

“Social work feels like a calling to me. It is not just a job,” Nhan says. “My research, my clinical work and my engagement with the community is an act of resistance and a way to honor my ancestors who paved the way to give me this life.”

Last fall, the School of Social Work welcomed Robyn Wiktorski-Reynolds, LMSW, to our faculty as a clinical assistant professor. Prior to joining UB, she served as vice president of clinical operations at Crisis Services, overseeing all clinical services to ensure 24/7 excellence at the Buffalo-based crisis center.

Tell us about your research or professional interests. What are you working on now?

RWR: My interests are anchored in social work management, specifically the beneficial impact that trauma-informed and human rights perspectives can have on social workers, programs and organizations, as well as the collective influence these perspectives can have on creating more socially just and equitable policies.

Prior to full-time academia, I spent 24 years in community-based nonprofits, with an emphasis in crisis intervention-related organizations and programs. The last three years I served as an adjunct in the school instructing Interventions I and II. I am looking forward to working with faculty in meaningful, collaborative ways using my expertise and knowledge for the betterment of the profession.

What are you passionate about?

RWR: Building a positive and safe culture for students in the classroom is very important to me. I also am a firm believer of self-awareness in the work, whether that is with students, clients, colleagues, etc. To that end, using a trauma-informed approach with staff supervision and organizational management is another passion of mine. Advocacy at all levels is something I promote with social workers, specifically how we can operationalize this on a micro, mezzo or macro level.

What do you like to do for fun or self-care?

RWR: I really enjoy spending time with my husband, our teenagers and our dogs. We do a lot of outdoor activities together, including camping, hiking, kayaking, swimming and outdoor concerts. I love a good road trip and adventuring. In my downtime, I really enjoy reading, yoga, catching up with friends, attempting to have a green thumb and taking a solid nap.

“You don’t have to earn joy, you don’t have to have money to have joy. You don’t have to do anything in order to know that it exists within you.”

— Desmond Upton Patton, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania, during a conversation on joy as an intentional practice that can act as an intervention for trauma and grief and a sustaining practice that nurtures resilience and connection. Listen now at inSocialWork.org.

At the School of Social Work’s first-ever swap meet last fall, our alumni, students, faculty and staff enjoyed an evening of networking and picked up a few new-to-you items. Thanks to all who joined us!