The Faculty and Their Research

Gloria Adams, Lecturer and Coordinator, Faith-Based Community Partnerships; D.Min., Hartford Seminary. Spirituality and religion in social work.

Phone: 631-444-3676

Email: geadams@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Jean Bacon, Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of Field Instruction; Ph.D., South Carolina. Death and dying, ethnic-sensitive practice, AIDS, child welfare, qualitative methods, mental health, student-community development, women's studies.

Phone: 631-444-3151

Email: jbacon@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Bridget Baio, Director, The Sayville Project; LMSW, Stony Brook University.
Mental health, case management, advocacy, empowerment/recovery based practice, community education and integration.

Phone: 631-563-2290

Joel Blau, Professor and Director of the Ph.D. program; D.S.W., Columbia. Social policy, history of social welfare, poverty, homelessness, the political economy of social welfare, comparative social welfare. Author (with Mimi Abramovitz) of the social welfare policy textbook, The Dynamics of Social Welfare Policy(Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 2010); Illusions of Prosperity (Oxford University Press, 1999); and The Visible Poor: Homelessness in the United States (Oxford University Press, 1992), designated by Choice magazine as one of the outstanding academic books of 1992 and by World Hunger Year as one of the 100 most significant books on homelessness and poverty.

Phone: 631-444-3149

Email: jblau@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

For additional information about Dr. Blau, click here.

Frances L. Brisbane, Professor and Dean; Ph.D., Union (Ohio). Alcoholism, counseling with people of color, complementary medicine.

Phone: 631-444-2139

Email: fbrisbane@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

For additional information about Dr. Brisbane, click here.

Thomas M. Cassidy, Clinical Associate Professor, M.A., geriatric care management, professional continuing education, Medicare, Medicaid, long-term care financing and the prevention of elder fraud and abuse. Author of, Elder Care/What To Look For/What To Look Out For! (New Horizon Press, 2004) Co-editor of, Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Aging (Springer Publishing Company, 2004).

Phone: 631-444-3439

Email: tcassidy@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Marie Chandick, Lecturer; Director, Sudden Infant and Child Death Resource Center; MSW, Stony Brook University. Maternal and child health, infant and child safety, professional and community education, grief and loss.

Phone: 631-444-3690

Email: mchandick@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

John Colon, Lecturer; M.A., Inter American of Puerto Rico. Substance abuse, methadone treatment, inner-city community-based organizations, grant reviewer for SAMSHA.

Phone: 631-444-1629

Email: jrcolon@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Marvin Colson is the Director of Developmental Disabilities Programs for the School of Social Welfare at Stony Brook University. Professor Colson retired from the New York State Office For People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), as the Long Island Regional Director.

Phone: 631-444-3162

Email: mcolson@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

For additional information about Mr. Colson, click here.

Christopher Coverdale, Clinical Instructor J.D. Columbia Law School. Social change, law, spirituality, comparative religion, psychology of change, sociology, anthropology, neurobiology, ethno botany, holistic health.

Phone: 631-444-3166

Email: ccoverdale@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Harvey A. Farberman, Professor of Social Policy Research; Director, Center for Aging Policy Research. Dr. Farberman received a bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College in 1961, studied at the Ecole Pratique Des Hautes Etudes in Paris in 1962, and received a PhD in sociology from the University of Minnesota in 1968. He has been on the faculty at Stony Brook University since 1966.
 
Dr. Farberman is the founding director and has been the principal investigator of the School of Social Welfare's Center for Aging Policy Research since its inception in 2000. He chairs the school’s Research Sequence and teaches courses on Research Methods and Aging Policy. He also supervises doctoral dissertations and teaches two courses in the school’s doctoral program, one on Qualitative Research Methods the other on The Philosophy of Applied Social Research.

Dr. Farberman was a co-founder of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction in 1977, elected its president in 1979, and served as Editor of the Journal Symbolic Interaction from 1980-1983. Dr. Farberman has published widely, won many awards, and is listed in Who's Who in America.

Phone: 631-444-3163

Email: hfarberman@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

For additional information about Dr. Farberman, click here.

Jack Farrington, Clinical Associate Professor; Ph.D., Nova Southeastern. Dr. Farrington is Interim Chair of the Policy Section in the School of Social Welfare. He was elected to the Alpha Eta Society, an organization devoted to scholarship in allied health at Stony Brook University. He is a member of the Nassau County Mental Health Association Board of Directors, a former member of the Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Farrington has been recognized for his contributions to public health as well as his commitment to the health and wellness of youth and families, and for caring service in hospital administration. He has served as Deputy Commissioner of Public Health for Nassau County, and has held senior executive positions in hospitals and health care organizations in New York City and Long Island. He has worked with diverse community organizations to improve the social welfare and health conditions of communities on Long Island. For his commitment he has received citations from the Nassau County Youth Board, Suffolk County Police Department, Suffolk County Human Rights Commission, Nassau County Board of Health as well as commendations from Nassau County, Suffolk County, the Town of Hempstead, the Town of Huntington. Congressman Gregory Meeks recognized his efforts in preventive health care initiatives for the residents of Queens.

Phone: 631-444-3159

Email: jfarrington@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Diana M. Filiano, Director, Child Welfare Training Program, DSW.
Social work practice, child welfare, family violence, program development and evaluation.

Phone: 631-444-2805

Email: dfiliano@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Jeanne Bertrand Finch, Clinical Associate Professor, Assistant Dean, Graduate Program Director and Director, Student-Community Development Specialization; D.S.W., Columbia. Child welfare, social work practice, drug-involved women and their children, clinical practice with children in foster care, qualitative research, and quality assurance within nonprofit organizations.

Phone: 631-444-3167

Email: jfinch@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

For additional information about Dr. Finch, click here.

Iris Cohen Fineberg, Associate Professor, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Ph.D. (Boston University), M.S.W. (New York University). Dr. Fineberg is an oncology and palliative care social worker with a background in clinical work, teaching and research.  Dr. Fineberg has joined Stonybrook University as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from the International Observatory on End of Life Care in the School of Health and Medicine at Lancaster University in England. She recently completed a 2 year National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) funded grant focused on community-based evaluation of an advance directive used in the United Kingdom. Dr. Fineberg is a Social Work Leadership grant recipient from the Open Society Institute’s Project on Death in America (PDIA). Her research interests are in palliative and end of life care, family conferencing, interdisciplinary practice and education, and clinical and research ethics. 

Phone: 631-444-3164

Email: iris.fineberg@stonybrook.edu

Helen Gebresillassie, Clinical Assistant Professor, LL.B., Addis Ababa University Faculty of Law; LL.M., Columbia Law School. Ms. Gebresillassie's interests in teaching and writing are in the areas of international human rights and humanitarian laws, the role of law and legal reform in Africa's economic development, socio-economic rights in developing countries, comparative criminal law and juvenile justice.

Prior to joining the School of Social Welfare, Ms. Gebresillassie has worked as a policy advisor for CARE international in Ethiopia, an organization working to alleviate poverty and bring social justice in Ethiopia; and as a legal advisor for an NGO working to promote juvenile justice and the rights of children in Ethiopia. She continues to consult and work in these areas with the United Nations, various law firms and organizations in the New York area.

Phone: 631-444-2138

Email: Helen.Gebresillassie@stonybrook.edu

R. Anna Hayward, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore. Dr. Hayward teaches Psychopathology and Human Behavior in the Social Environment (HBSE) in the MSW program. Research interests include child welfare, children and family services, juvenile justice, and the implementation and evaluation of evidence based interventions. Dr. Hayward's social work practice experience includes direct service with foster families, program administration, and research project management.

Phone: 631-444-3177

Email: rhayward@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Magnus Jegermalm, Associate Professor in Social Welfare. Dr. Jegermalm received a Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Stockholm, Sweden, conducting quantitative, longitudinal survey research in the area of formal and informal care to the elderly. Dr. Jegermalm has continued to conduct research and to publish widely in the topic of informal care and volunteering among older people and the role of civil society in an aging society. He teaches courses on Research Methods, Aging Policy and International Social Work.  

Phone: 631-444-3155

Email: magnus.jegermalm@stonybrook.edu 

Nicholas Kardaras,  Clinical Assistant Professor, Ph.D. LCSW. Dr. Kardaras received his BS from Cornell University, his MSW from Stony Brook and his Ph.D. in psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, California. Dr. Kardaras's research and clinical practice embraces a transpersonal perspective as he specializes in the treatment of addiction, Jungian psychology, philosophical counseling and existential and/or psychospiritual emergencies.
 
In 2007, Dr. Kardaras was asked to present his doctoral research at the annual American Psychological Association (APA) conference in San Francisco. Dr. Kardaras is also a regular contributor/blogger for Psychology Today and is the author of "How Plato and Pythagoras Can Save Your Life" (Conari Press, 2011).
 
In addition to teaching at Stony Brook and maintaining a private practice, Dr. Kardaras is also on the faculty at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, is a founding member of the Greek Transpersonal Association in Athens, Greece, is a clinical consultant for LICADD (Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence), and conducts lectures and workshops both nationally and internationally. 

Phone: 631-444-2138

Email: nicholaskardaras@yahoo.com

Leslie Crisafulli Kulewicz, Field Education Coordinator; Field Education Liaison; LCSW, MSW, SUNY at Stony Brook. Field education; supervision; communication, parenting and empowerment in clinical work with individuals and families.

Phone: 631-444-3147

Email: lkulewicz@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Pamela L. Linden, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Stony Brook. Mental health, juvenile justice, qualitative methods, program evaluation.

Phone: 631-444-3154

Email: plinden@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

For additional information about Dr. Linden, click here.

Abraham Lurie, Professor; Ph.D., NYU. Mental health, case management, the aged.

Phone: 631-444-3155

Email: ablurie@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Kathleen Monahan, Associate Professor; Associate Dean and Director of the Family Violence Education and Research Center; D.S.W., Adelphi. Siblings and sexual abuse, battered women, domestic violence, disability. Dr. Monahan has been in private practice since 1984. While she considers herself to be a general practitioner, areas of practice and research expertise include bereavement, and the effects of childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, and severe trauma. She has provided therapy and clinical supervision/consultation in several of the domestic violence shelters on Long Island and Sagamore Children's Psychiatric Center. Dr. Monahan is a national and international lecturer on these topics and also serves as a clinical consultant, expert witness, and forensic consultant. Dr. Monahan currently serves on the Board of Directors of Brighter Tomorrows (a Long Island domestic violence shelter, 2006-Present) and the American College of Forensic Examiners, (Diplomate and Social Work Board Member, 2000-Present).

Phone: 631-444-3152

Email: kmonahan@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

For additional information about Dr. Monahan, click here.

Richard Morgan, Clinical Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Fordham. Child welfare policy and programs, child sexual abuse and juvenile sex offenders, research.

Phone: 631-444-6926

Email: rmorgan@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Bertha Murphy, Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Program; M.S.W., SUNY at Stony Brook. Substance abuse and ethnically sensitive practice.

Phone: 631-444-3168

Email: bmurphy@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Joan Pastore, Clinical Assistant Professor, D.S.W., Adelphi University, Aging; End-of Life-Decision Making, Bio-Ethics, and Healthy Aging; Clinical Practice; and Interorganizational Relations.

Phone: 631-444-2138

Email: jopastore@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Carolyn Peabody, Clinical Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Eastern Long Island Sites; Ph.D., SUNY at Stony Brook. Advocacy/empowerment theory and practice, feminist theory and practice, mental health, lesbian and gay issues, development of political identity among oppressed populations, impact of sexual abuse histories among mental health populations.

Phone: 631-444-3165

Email: cpeabody@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Charles Robbins, Associate Professor, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Dean of the Undergraduate Colleges, D.S.W., Yeshiva. Violence in intimate relationships and as a public health problem, health-care policy, health care disparities, social work and health care, the use of complementary medicine, men's health, cultural competency.

Suzanne L. Velázquez, Assistant Professor, Ph.D. Stony Brook.  Community Development, service-learning,cultural competency, leadership, transformative learning, higher education policy, organizational culture management, women's life work issues.

Phone: 631-444-6909

Email: svelazqu@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Betty Jean Wrase, Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of Field Education; M.S.W., SUNY at Stony Brook. Betty-Jean Wrase is currently the Director of Field Education since 2007. Ms Wrase has been on the faculty in the Office of Field Education since 1989. Her areas of interest include field education, health, child welfare and children and families.

Prior to being on the faculty Ms. Wrase was the Associate Director of the Child Welfare Program, School of Social Welfare, Stony Brook University. She was responsible for all administrative and programmatic aspects of this multi-component education and training program including supervision of graduate student units working with homeless families placed in welfare motels in Suffolk County, New York. She was also responsible for the development and implementation of training of child welfare workers in a seven county area in southern New York State. Each year approximately 1500 trainees attended training offered by the Child Welfare Training Program. 

Ms. Wrase began her social work career working with families with children with health issues.  She worked alongside health clinic physicians and social workers offering supportive services to both families and their children. Health issues have remained a primary interest for her.
Ms. Wrase has been a consultant for Little Flower Children’s Services, Project Independence Suffolk, HELP Suffolk, and The Mother’s Center. Her consultant services have included proposal writing, administration, evaluation and supervision. Ms Wrase has also organized over 20 conferences covering topics on substance abuse, social work licensing, health and wellness, and developmentally disabled adults.

Ms. Wrase has presented at a number of conferences and has co-authored a number of social work articles. She is a member of Council on Social Work Education, National Association of Social Workers, Association for the Advancement of Social Work Groups and Society of Social Work Leadership in Health Care, Suffolk County Chapter. 

Phone: 631-444-3161

Email: bwrase@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Fuhua Zhai, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Columbia University. Dr. Zhai's research focuses on the impacts of early intervention policies and programs on children's developmental outcomes. His work includes Head Start and other child care programs, classroom-based interventions, child maltreatment, comparative child and family policies, and quantitative methodology. Dr. Zhai has published his work in peer-reviewed journals in the fields of education, psychology, economics, social policy, demography, and social work.

Phone: 631-444-3176

Email: fuhua.zhai@stonybrook.edu

For additional information about Dr. Zhai, click here.