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Bio
As a faculty member at Metropolitan State University of Denver, I teach and mentor students in the Master of Social Work program. I facilitate courses in Capstone, Research Methods, Organizational Leadership, and International Social Work. I infuse liberatory andragogy into my teaching methodology while integrating theory and praxis from a global perspective.My personal and professional mission is to advance human liberation and societal change toward freedom. My scholarship thrives on interrogating the epistemological underpinnings of social work theory and practice while actively centering various ways of knowing, doing and helping. My goal is to decenter Euro/Americentric social science research and settler colonial worldview to reimagine working with the social.
My social work practice is in International Social Work, community development/empowerment, Non Governmental Organizational capacity building and leading. I draw upon my 20 years of experience in domestic and international service to foster intercultural education, global citizenry and transnational inclusive practices. I have developed and led numerous international learning immersions for/with students focusing on the decolonization of social work practice. These study abroad/learning immersions have engaged: Cape Town, South Africa and the Townships of Khayelitsha/Langa, Punta Gorda, Belize and the outlying Mayan/Garifuna communities, The People's Republic of China, with particular focus in X'ian, Chengdu and Dalian, The Republic of Ireland/Northern Ireland, Brussels, Belgium, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Dortmund, Germany and Recife, Brazil.
Degree
PhD in Social Work
University of Denver
MSW in Social Work
Colorado State University
BA in Philosophy
Humboldt State University
Published Works
- Retrum, H. J., Atkinson, N. K., Farrell, S. . Effective Innovations for Engaging Students in Capstone Projects Focused on Community Benefits. Journal of Social Work Education.
Research Interests
My research interests include global citizenship, transnational learning immersions/engagements, decentering Eurocentric epistemology/ontology in the helping professions and centering Indigenous ways of knowing in social work practice/research. I am also interested in the inclusion of student's ancestral lineages as means to deepening understanding of one's intersectionality and viewing global citizenship/global identity from this perspective.
Office Hours
By Appointment Only.