FA C U LT Y & S TA F F U P D AT E S
NEW FACULTY In August, Sumiko Anderson was hired as an assistant professor (clinical) in the College. She is a licensed clinical social worker, who spent the last 21 years with the Department of Workforce Services (DWS), most recently as a licensed clinical therapist supervisor. She has also worked as an associate instructor in the College since 2018. Stephanie Bank, assistant professor (lecturer), has maintained her own private practice since 2003, specializing in a variety of issues including anxiety, grief, and parenting. When Ms. Bank joined the BSW Program as an adjunct instructor in 2015, teaching quickly became her new passion. She has embraced technology and is always looking for new ways to help students get the most out of their education. Emily Bleyl began her role as assistant professor (clinical) in April. She has served Utah’s social work community for over 25 years as an educator, clinician, and administrative leader. Her primary interests are the intersection of social work practice and policy, field education, ethics, and professional socialization. Tonie Michelle Hanáázbaa’, assistant professor (clinical), has significant experience in the field of substance use disorders, mental health, and trauma-informed care. She is passionate about social justice; issues of power, privilege, and oppression of historically marginalized populations, and helping historically underrepresented students in higher education succeed in the classroom and field education.
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Research Assistant Professor Mi Seong Kim comes to the U from Texas Tech University, where she taught and conducted research in the College of Human Sciences. Her current research focuses on: the contextual frame of elder mistreatment, coping and resilience of older adults exposed to elder mistreatment, and how elder mistreatment is sharing time and space with other types of family violence. Assistant Professor Elizabeth Siantz takes a systems-level approach to research that addresses health disparities among persons with serious mental illness. She will join the College in January of 2021, after completing a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California San Diego. Tamber Snarr-Beesley joined the practicum office as an assistant professor (clinical) in January, but worked within the College as an adjunct faculty member, field advisor, and Practicum Advisory Committee member for several years before that. She brings with her a wealth of experience in medical social work, grief and loss, and social work education.
“These skilled clinicians, scholars, and mentors will benefit thousands of future social workers and the communities they will serve.” —Martell Teasley, Dean
