Faculty and Staff

Jon W. Carroll
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Michigan State University, Anthropology
Cultural transmission, sociopolitical and economic organization, Geographic Information Science (GIScience), aerial drones, computer modeling/simulation, archaeology of the Eastern Woodlands of North America

Henri Gooren
Professor
Ph.D., Utrecht University, Anthropology
Religion, Latin America

Mike Pytlik
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Anthropology—Judaic Studies
Doctor of Science in Jewish Studies, Spertus College
Archaeology of Israel, Archaeology of Sacred Sites in the Near East, formation of ancient states, leads Study Abroad archaeological trip to Israel.

Suzanne Spencer-Wood
Professor
Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Anthropology
Feminist theory in anthropology and archaeology, archaeological theory and method, historical archaeology, industrial archaeology and cultural resource management

Maria Beam
Director of Social Work & MSW Program Director
LMSW, Michigan State University
Ph.D., Oakland University, Educational Leadership
Community and organizational development, program evaluation & food insecurity

Hydeen Beverly
Special Instructor of Social Work
Ph.D The University of Texas at Austin
Resilience, educational attainment or urban youth, restorative justice, children of incarcerated parents, mental health practice with racial/ethnic families.

Stephanie Brandimarte
Director of Practicum Education
LMSW, University of Michigan
Gerontology, end-of-life care, family transitions, mental health

Keren Escobar
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Ph.D., University of Windsor
Immigrant resiliencies and vulnerabilities, Hispanic social determinants of health, evidence-based culturally responsive interventions, social epidemiology, intersectionality in health and mental health, diversity and social work

Nicolaus Espitia
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Ph.D., University of Michigan, Social Work & Sociology
Social policy, community organizing, macro practice, community-based methods, social disparities, and race, ethnicity and immigration.

Peter Felsman
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Ph.D., University of Michigan
Social work and social psychology

Paige Freed
Assistant Director of Student Support
LMSW, Wayne State University
Medical social work, Hospice

Angela Kaiser
Associate Professor of Social Work
Ph.D., Wayne State University, Social Work
Organizational and community processes

Raenece Johnson
Coordinator of Practicum Education
MSW., Michigan State University
Higher education, Black student transfer, student basic needs

Nikki Scott
Visiting Assistant Professor

Scott J. Smith
Associate Professor of Social Work
Ph.D., Arizona State University, Social Work
Sexual health, health disparities, international social work

Kareen Tonsing
Associate Professor of Social Work
Ph.D., The University of Hong Kong, Social Work
Immigration-related factors, mental health, immigrants and refugees, domestic violence”

Betty Tonui
Associate Professor of Social Work
Ph.D., The University of Texas Arlington, Social Work
Refugees, Immigrants, trauma mental health, health disparities, international social work

Jacob H. Becker
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University, Sociology
Communities and crime, quantitative analysis, urban sociology, neighborhood social control

Terressa Benz
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Criminology, University of California, Irvine
Critical criminology, firearm ownership and carry practices, criminological and sociological theory, law and society, elite and white-collar crime, community context of crime, crime and public policy, policing and self-protection, urban sociology, ethnographic field methods, deviance and social control

Lori Burrington
Associate Professor
J.D.,Ph.D., Ohio State University, Sociology
Contextual effects on adolescent and early adult crime, delinquency and health-risk behaviors; race, ethnic, class and gender disparities in problem and health-risk behaviors

Kimberly Byrd
Director of Field Services & Student Support
MSW, Wayne State University
Post Master Certificate in Higher Education

Wendi L. Johnson
Associate Professor
Ph.D., Bowling Green State University, Sociology
Criminological theory, delinquency, health and well-being, family and parenting, inequality, adolescence and emerging adulthood, quantitative methodology

Watoii Rabii
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University at Buffalo, Sociology
Crime, Law, Deviance, Race and Ethnicity, Immigration, Urban Sociology, Masculinity

Judith K. Brown
Ed.D., Harvard University, Human Development

Dorothy Nelson
Ph.D., Michigan State University, Anthropology

Jacqueline Scherer
Ph.D., Syracuse University, Sociology

Gary Shepherd
Ph.D., Michigan State University, Sociology

Richard B. Stamps
Ph.D., Michigan State University, Anthropology

In Memoriam

Peter Bertocci
Ph.D., Michigan State University, Anthropology

James W. Dow
Ph.D., Brandeis University, Anthropology

William E. Bezdek
Ph.D. University of Chicago, Psychology

David R. Maines
Ph.D. University of Missouri, Sociology

Elizabeth Rose Paré
Elizabeth R. Paré graduated from Wayne State University in December 2009, earning a Ph.D. in Sociology. Her dissertation, “Mother and Student: The Experience of Mothering in College,” explored the nature of student motherhood and whether educational institutions are equipped to handle students who have full-time parenting responsibilities. She is currently working on publishing parts of this dissertation in article form. Her primary research interests include family, gender, and education. Her work has been published in the Michigan Family Review, Journal of Family Issues and Advances in Gender Research.

Tanisha Moir

Tanisha has been teaching in the Social Work program since 2016. Her focus includes Field Seminar and Substance Abuse Theory and Practice I and II.  In addition, she has taught other courses in Oakland University’s Social Work program, through the Continuing Education program and at Marygrove College prior to its closing. At the individual and community levels, Tanisha centers the experiences and needs of people with marginalized identities including race, class, gender, legal status, sexual orientation and ability. Since 2003 Tanisha has served people experiencing problems related to substance use, trauma, mood dysregulation, psychosis, poverty, stigmatization, criminal injustice, and systemic oppression. She has been a provider in outpatient and inpatient treatment settings, a clinical supervisor in several agencies and is founder of and practitioner in a private practice. Tanisha has an associate degree in mental health/social work from Oakland Community College, a BSW from Marygrove College and an MSW from the University of Michigan.  She is a Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor and has received certificates from the NASW in Core and SUD Supervision. She also serves as a member of Oakland Community Health Network’s Substance Use Disorder Oversite Policy Board. 

Paul Bernstein

Courtney Byers
Office Assistant II
Sociology, Anthropology & Criminal Justice
248-370-2420

Debbie Valla
Office Assistant for MSW and BSW Programs
Social Work
248-370-2371