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Karen Aderer
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Rene' Drumm
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Michael Forster
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Deborah Graham
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Susan Hrostowski
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Tamara Hurst
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Jerome Kolbo
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Rachel Lahasky
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Joohee Lee
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Vickie Murdy
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John Reynolds
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Laura Richard
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Nyshetia White-Chapman
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Lauren Zakaras
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Lecturer
Karen Aderer has been a resident of the Mississippi Gulf Coast for over 20 years. She has worked in a child advocacy role for much of that, having served most recently as the District Social Worker for Bay Waveland Schools. She worked previously at an emergency children’s shelter, and has served as a DHS foster parent and a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) in Youth Court.
Following Hurricane Katrina, she helped to write grants for and administer Hope Haven’s Helping Hands Fund, which distributed emergency aid, food, Christmas presents, and furniture, to hurricane affected families in coastal Mississippi. Karen currently serves as Board President of Hancock County CASA.
Karen received both her undergraduate Psychology degree and her Master’s in Social Work from USM, and is proud to be at USM as a Visiting Instructor, providing students with the same high quality education she feels she received.
Karen feels blessed to have the opportunity to welcome students to the joys and rewards of providing service to others, and enjoys the fact that she gets to teach people who are committed to bettering themselves and others.
Toward that end, Karen is planning a return to school for a Doctorate of Social Work in the near future.
Cultural Competence & Fighting Racism
Ethics
Ethics & Social Media
Human Rights
(228) 214-3225
(601) 266-5805
Karen.Aderer@usm.edu
Gulf Park
Hattiesburg
Assistant Professor
Bret Blackmon joined the faculty of the USM School of Social Work in August, 2014. His research interests include juvenile justice policies, early intervention programs for at-risk youth, and truancy interventions. He is interested in developing and evaluating programs that serve at-risk youth in south Mississippi.
Blackmon’s work history includes several years of employment in social services. Most recently, he worked for the Office of Social Service Research and Development at Louisiana State University where he assisted in program development, evaluation, and grant writing. He also served as the Acting Director for the Louisiana Center Addressing Substance Use in Collegiate Communities where he led a statewide coalition of higher education institutions in addressing substance abuse on college campuses.
Blackmon’s micro-level work has consisted of multi systemic therapy, mental health counseling, and substance abuse counseling. His experience also includes working with individuals with severe physical disabilities to help them maintain their independence in the community.
Blackmon received his Ph.D. from the School of Social Work at Louisiana State University in 2014. He also received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (2004) and Masters of Arts in Community Counseling (2009) from Louisiana State University.
In his leisure time, Blackmon enjoys fishing the marshes of south Louisiana
Delinquency & Juvenile Justice System
Disaster & Psychological Resilience
Mississippi Person Centered Practices Initiative (MS-PCPI)
(228) 214-3275
Bret.Blackmon@usm.edu
Gulf Park
Hattiesburg
MIHDP Director & Instructor
Michelle Brazeal joined the faculty of the USM School of Social Work in August 2011 as a Clinical Instructor. In August 2012 she became the Program Director for the School of Social Work’s Mississippi Integrated Health and Disaster Program. She returned to the faculty full time in August 2017.
Ms. Brazeal is licensed as an LCSW in Mississippi and an LICSW in Alabama. Her work history includes several years in community mental health in both administrative and clinical roles. This has included serving as a grant writer, a clinician in both outpatient and residential children’s programs, and Coordinator for a Residential Transitional Living Program. She also worked as the Clinical Director for a community based nonprofit providing services to individuals struggling with substance use disorders.
In her clinical work, she uses a systems based assessment approach combined with solution focused techniques and CBT to support client goals. Her research interests focus on risks that affect traditional age youth and adults. In addition, she is interested in the intersection of physical and emotional health, particularly for individuals with chronic health conditions.
Ms. Brazeal in an Army veteran who received her MSW from the School of Social Work at The University of Alabama in 2006. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of South Alabama in 2003.
Adolescent Disruptive Behaviors
Integrated Mental & Behavioral Health
Medical Social Work
Schizophrenia in Young Adults
Trauma in Transitional Age Youth
Mississippi Integrated Health & Disaster Program (MIHDP)
(228) 214-3369
(601) 266-5805
Michelle.Brazeal@usm.edu
Gulf Park
Hattiesburg
Associate Dean & Professor
When she is not teaching or engaged in research, Dr. Drumm loves walking, the combination of sun and sand, and anything related to chocolate.
Counseling Skill Development & Training
Curriculum Development
Intimate Partner Violence
Learning Styles & Approaches to Learning
Marriage & Family Life
Parenting
Program Evaluation
Sexuality
(228) 214-3336
Rene.Drumm@usm.edu
Gulf Park
Professor
Michael Forster is a professor of social work at the University of Southern Mississippi.
From 2008 to 2016 he served as the Dean of the USM College of Health, and from 2000 – 2008 he served as Director of the USM School of Social Work.
Before joining the USM faculty in 1994, he served for 14 years as a direct service social worker, supervisor and administrator in Chicago child welfare organizations. With Tim Rehner, Forster is co-founder of the Family Network Partnership, a community-based youth and family service agency on the east side of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
He is author or co-author of more than sixty academic publications over the past 20 years, and has served as co-Principal Investigator on more than $15 million in externally-funded grants and contracts.
He currently serves on the Leadership Council of Youth Villages Mississippi, and on the advisory board of UCAN, Chicago’s largest child welfare agency.
Leadership
Organization Management
Politics & Social Movements
Program Planning & Evaluation
Social Welfare Policy
Supervision & Personnel Evaluation
Mississippi Health Access Collaborative (MHAC)
Center on Aging
(601) 266-6754
Michael.Forster@usm.edu
Hattiesburg
Lecturer
• Licensed clinical social worker
• Certified clinical supervisor
• Over 17 years of clinical social work practice with children, adolescents, and adults
• Social Work practice in multiple settings in the mental health and addiction fields
• 10 years of supervisory and management experience
I have been teaching at the USM School of Social Work for over 10 years. In the MSW program, I teach foundation practice courses for individuals and groups. In addition to the foundation courses, I teach advanced assessment, diagnoses and treatment courses focusing on children, adolescents and adults with mental health and addiction issues. In the BSW program, I teach the theory class.
My approach to social work practice is relational, strength-based, and person-centered. Motivational interviewing, solution-focused therapy, and cognitive-behavioral therapy are some of the treatment modalities taught in my courses.
Because I am educating future social workers, I teach the importance of understanding the person-in-the environment. Our mission as social workers is to help people who are oppressed, marginalized and discriminated against. I guide students in understanding the importance of advocating for social justice for all people.
I value my relationships with my students and facilitate open discussions in the classroom. In this classroom forum, I encourage students to understand the use of self through the development of critical thinking skills, which are needed in the complex world of social work practice. My extensive clinical practice has provided me with a wealth of casework knowledge that enriches my classroom teaching.
Addiction Assessment & Treatment
Mental Health Access & Addiction Treatment Policies
Mental Health Assessment & Treatment
PTSD
Suicide Assessment & Prevention
Trauma
(601) 266-6226
Deborah.N.Graham@usm.edu
Hattiesburg
Associate Professor
Dr. Hrostowski is Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Southern Mississippi’s School of Social Work and Vicar of St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Collins, Mississippi.
A native of Gulfport, Mississippi, she earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi, a Master’s of Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary, a Master’s of Social Work from the University of Southern Mississippi, and a Ph.D. in Social Work from Tulane University.
Before entering academia, she worked as a parish priest, a mental health therapist, and as executive director of a partial hospitalization program for older adults with mental illness. Dr. Hrostowski joined the faculty of USM’s School of Social Work in 1999, and she teaches gerontology, social welfare policy, and human diversity and social justice.
Dr. Hrostowski has worked to garner equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community through social justice actions including bringing law suits against the state of Mississippi. She and her wife were plaintiffs in the suit which secured the right to adopt for gay couples in 2015 and continue to press for the repeal of HB1523. In 2017, Dr. Hrostowski, her wife and son were awarded the Human Rights Champions of the Year award by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Choir.
FEATURED VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDlD-gXxU2Q
Aging
HIV/AIDS
LGBT Issues
Resilience
Social Justice
Social Welfare Policy
Theology
(601) 266-4178
Susan.Hrostowski@usm.edu
Hattiesburg
Assistant Professor
Tamara Hurst is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at The University of Southern Mississippi, where she teaches Forensic Social Work, Child Maltreatment and Advocacy, and Crisis Intervention courses to graduate and undergraduate students.
She earned her doctorate from The University of Georgia School of Social Work, and her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in social work from Georgia State University. She is an alumni of a Doris Duke Foundation Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-Being.
Dr. Hurst is a licensed certified social worker with 12 years of experience as a forensic social worker, and 8 years of experience as a forensic interviewer. She is on Mississippi’s ChildFirst faculty. Dr. Hurst was previously appointed to the Mississippi Governor’s Task Force on Human Trafficking and chaired its subcommittee on statewide administrative practices.
She is also program director of the Mississippi Wraparound Institute, which provides technical assistance to agencies serving families of children with severe emotional disabilities.
Dr. Hurst has published on topics concerning child maltreatment and leadership skills for social workers. She frequently conducts keynote presentations and trainings on topics related to child abuse and neglect, and childhood sexual exploitation.
Food Insecurity in Higher Education
Nonprofit Agency Development
Prevention & Identification of Child Maltreatment & Exploitation
Training & Education-Child Maltreatment Professionals
Training & Education-Macro Social Work Students
Mississippi Wraparound Institute (MWI)
(601) 266-4167
Tamara.Hurst@usm.edu
Hattiesburg
Interim Director & MSW Coordinator
Dr. Kolbo is the Principal Investigator (PI) of numerous weighted, representative child obesity studies in Mississippi.
These include the biennial Child and Youth Prevalence of Obesity Studies (CAYPOS) among public school students (2003-2017), prevalence of obesity among Head Start students (2005, 2010), shifts in extreme weight distribution (underweight and severe obesity) among public school students (2015), and perinatal factors associated with the prevalence of obesity among Pre-K children in licensed child care facilities (2017).
The CAYPOS data were instrumental during a five year Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded initiative (with Co-PIs at Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi) to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of state legislation requiring schools to implement a number of local wellness policies and coordinated school health programs that are part of the Mississippi Healthy Student Act.
Together with a multidisciplinary university team, Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative, and local community stakeholders, Dr. Kolbo (PI) and Ms. Maggie West (Co-PI) received NIMHD funding through the Gulf States Health Policy Center in order to employ Community Based Participatory Research to examine policies and practices affecting adolescent sexual health.
Dr. Kolbo was also the PI of the 2012 and 2015 Evaluations of Sex-Related Education Policy and Practices in Mississippi. The purpose was to assess implementation of sex-related education policy, compare the findings of the two studies, and examine how sex-related education policies and practices affect adolescent sexual health.
A similar line of research by Dr. Kolbo is related to women’s health care and contraceptive practices (2018). This research collects the perspectives of women of childbearing age across the state in order to develop and implement policies designed to address the high rates of unintended pregnancies, premature births, low birth weight, and infant mortality.
Another line of research by Dr. Kolbo is related to the prevalence of fitness among public school students (2012), correlations between fitness and academic and behavioral performance (2014), and the effectiveness of Move to Learn on time on task (attention) in the classroom (2015, 2016).
Adolescent Sexual Health
Childhood Obesity
Fitness & Academic/Behavioral Performance
Women's & Children's Health
(601) 266-5913
Jerome.Kolbo@usm.edu
Hattiesburg
Clinical Instructor
Rachel received her Master’s Degree at Louisiana State University and her professional background is based primarily in school-based social work.
Rachel began her career in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she worked for five years as a school-based therapist in the largest outpatient mental health facility in the state. While there, Rachel provided individual, group, and family therapy to at-risk middle school students who were diagnosed with emotional and behavior disorders.
Rachel also had the honor of serving as an intern supervisor for five LSU School of Social Work graduate student interns. While working with her interns, Rachel played a role in training and mentoring graduate students in completing their internship requirements towards their Master’s Degree in Social Work. She also co-trained the school-based staff at Baton Rouge Mental Health in Crisis Prevention and Supportive Intervention strategies.
Additionally, Rachel worked for a hospital based clinic in a vocational and technical high school in Wilmington, Delaware. While there, she worked alongside a nurse practitioner and dietitian to serve high school students needing mental health services and provided education and support to students dealing with depression, anxiety, and pregnancy.
Rachel also has a medical social work background, as she has most recently worked in the medical social services department at Forrest General Hospital here in Hattiesburg. While there, she had the opportunity to work with a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, therapists, and dieticians to provide comprehensive services to patients on the Medical Surgery and Oncology units.
Rachel is looking forward to starting a new chapter in her professional career by expanding her practice to working with college students and those in higher learning. Rachel also teaches fitness classes at the Payne Center here on campus and enjoys spending time with her family pets at home.
Adolescents & Teens
Grief & Bereavement
Medical Social Work
(601) 266-6952
Rachel.Lahasky@usm.edu
Hattiesburg
Gulf Park
Associate Professor
Dr. Joohee Lee is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Southern Mississippi.
She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in Social Work from the University of South Carolina and the University of Texas at Austin, USA, respectively. She joined the USM faculty in 2006.
Child Welfare
Community Resilience
Disaster & Mental Health
Disaster & Psychological Resilience
Intimate Partner Violence & Sexual Assault Among Asians
Mississippi Person Centered Practices Initiative (MS-PCPI)
(601) 266-5900
Joohee.Lee@usm.edu
Hattiesburg
Coordinator of Field Education & Instructor
Prior to assuming her current position, Ms. Murdy served as the Social Work Coordinator at the Institute for Disability Studies (IDS) and Early Childhood Specialist for the Mississippi Integrated Community Systems (MICS) project at IDS.
Ms. Murdy has a master’s degree in social work from The University of Southern Mississippi. She received her LCSW in 2006 and is currently working on a Ph.D. in Health Psychology from Walden University.
She has provided direct social work assistance and technical assistance to IDS social workers on various programs. In addition, Ms. Murdy has served as the IDS Field Instructor in supervising all undergraduate and graduate social work students during their internships at IDS.
Ms. Murdy has 9 years of experience as the Children’s Medical Program/Genetic Coordinator for the Mississippi State Department of Health, District VIII; she also has experience as a child protection worker at Forrest County DHS, and medical social worker at Forrest General Hospital.
Chronic Diseases
Criminal Justice
Disaster & Resilience
Health & Mental Health Access
Homelessness
Licensure
Medical Social Work
(601) 266-5852
Victoria.Murdy@usm.edu
Hattiesburg
Visiting Instructor
John Reynolds joined the Southern Miss School of Social Work in 2005, providing training and consultation to social workers, supervisors, and administrators at the Mississippi Department of Human Services through the Title IV-E program and the Southern Miss Child Welfare Training Academy, a project he directed for several years.
John is presently a member of the faculty in the School of Social Work as a visiting instructor and enjoys seeing his students learn, grow and transform into the state’s best new social workers.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1995, before continuing his studies at the University of Tennessee, where he earned his Master of Science in Social Work.
He has worked with domestic violence offenders and victims, clients in both outpatient and inpatient mental health settings, and has extensive experience in multiple levels of child welfare, where he worked as a front-line social worker, a county-level supervisor, and as a regional director with the MDHS.
He has taught multiple courses at Southern Miss and has done consultation work through the University of Maryland and Salem State College.
Child Welfare
Client Engagement
Disaster & Resilience
HIV/AIDS
LGBT Issues
Policy Development
Social Justice
(601) 266-4413
John.Reynolds@usm.edu
Hattiesburg
BSW Coordinator & Assistant Professor
Laura Richard is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Southern Mississippi. Her primary areas of research are school social work, school mental health, and health and mental health access.
She received her MSW from Louisiana State University and has school social work practice experience in Louisiana public schools. Her dissertation research utilized a survey research design to examine the role of school social workers in Louisiana, leading to development of a model of practice and a job description for Louisiana school social workers.
Dr. Richard has published her research in peer-reviewed journals such as Children and Schools and School Social Work Journal. She has also authored a chapter in a school social work textbook.
Macro practice (community development; program, practice and policy evaluation; grant writing) is an integral part of Dr. Richard’s work. She has worked extensively with city government, non-profit agencies, and state-level entities to provide consultation and development of projects to enhance the community and the state. Some of those projects include the:
--Hattiesburg Area Youth Master Plan,
--City of Hattiesburg’s Financial Master Plan, and
--E3 Health Initiative, a grant-funded project that provided health insurance education and enrollment assistance to a target area in the city.
She has also received over $3 million in federal funding for additional health access projects serving south Mississippi. Dr. Richard is working to ensure that school social work practice is recognized by the Mississippi Department of Education, and she provides education and consultation to school districts around south Mississippi in addition to providing solutions to the challenges of delivering behavioral health services in rural schools.
Dr. Richard developed and managed a mental health program in the Louisiana public schools to provide mental health services to underserved students and continues to expand that work to Mississippi.
Teaching and service are also priorities for Dr. Richard. Her teaching interests include community and program development, mental health, school social work, program and practice evaluation, management and supervision. She has maintained affiliations with Louisiana State University Office of Social Services Research and Development, an external funding and support arm of the LSU School of Social Work.
She is also a former board member and Director of Standards and Practices of the American Council for School Social Work (ACSSW) and a meber of the School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA). Dr. Richard is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Louisiana and Mississippi and prov
Health & Mental Health Access
School Mental Health
School Social Work
Mississippi Health Access Collaborative (MHAC)
(601) 266-4171
Laura.Richard@usm.edu
Hattiesburg
Visiting Instructor
Nyshetia White-Chapman is a Visiting Instructor in the School of Social Work.
She earned her doctorate and master’s degree in social work from the University of Alabama. She also earned a master’s degree in educational psychology from the University of Alabama and a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Dr. White is a licensed independent clinical social worker in the state of Alabama with over 12 years of practice experience in mental health. During that time, she has worked in outpatient and inpatient settings with children, adolescents, older adults, and families.
Her areas of interest include: older adult mental health, workforce development, financial literacy, health/mental health literacy, and translational science.
In her free time, she enjoys reading, being outdoors, and arts and craft projects.
Financial Literacy
Health & Mental Health Literacy
Mental Health-Older Adults
Translational Science
Workforce Development
(601) 266-5765
Nyshetia.WhiteChapman@usm.edu
Hattiesburg
Clinical Director
Lauren Zakaras joined the School of Social Work in February 2013 as a Clinical Team Leader for the Mississippi Integrated Health and Disaster Program (MIHDP). In 2014 she assumed the position of the Coordinator of Clinical Programs and Training for the MIHDP and was promoted to her current position of Clinical Director in 2015. Zakaras is also an adjunct instructor for the School of Social Work.
Zakaras graduated from Arizona State University with a Doctorate in Behavioral Health (DBH) and is an LCSW in Mississippi. She has experience in providing individual, family, and group therapy to adults, children, and families in mental health clinics, school settings, and medical practices.
Zakaras has extensive training and experience in developing and providing clinical services within multiple provider integrated care clinics. She has implemented behavioral health services in several medical clinics and developed programs and interventions from a social work perspective for individuals living with chronic diseases.
Zakaras is also certified through the National Council of Behavioral Health as a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Instructor for the Adult, Youth, Public Safety, and Military Programs and frequently conducts presentations and trainings on topics related to integrated care, patient engagement and empowerment, motivational interviewing, mental illness, and evidence-based interventions.
Child & Adolescent Mental Health
DSM-5 Diagnosing
Medical Social Work
Chronic Diseases
Integrated Mental & Behavioral Health
Mississippi Integrated Health & Disaster Program (MIHDP)