Brown School Welcomes 12 Dynamic New Faculty Members, Fall 2022

The Brown School welcomes 12 dynamic new faculty members in fall 2022. Their areas of expertise straddle multiple disciplines and build upon our dedication to providing research, teaching and leadership in key areas of social work, social policy and public health.  The group includes alumni and administrative leaders, as well as members of WashU research centers.

Learn more about them below.

New Brown School Faculty

Eunhye Ahn, assistant professor, tenure track, is a social work data scientist. Her research is focused on leveraging data to improve the outcomes for children and families and advance broader social goals of equity and justice. Some of her current projects explore the ethical use of data in child welfare to support human decision-making processes.

Kate Barbier, lecturer, teaching track, has over 20 years of experience as a social work and public health professional focusing on program planning and implementation, interdisciplinary collaboration, group facilitation, and supervision in a broad range of social service and healthcare settings. Her contributions will focus on field education.

Rachel Brathwaite, research assistant professor, research track, has been involved in population health research on modifiable behavioral risk factors among vulnerable populations, harm reduction among marginalized populations and research to identify and prevent poor mental and physical health among vulnerable youth populations in low- and middle-income countries. Her epidemiological research focuses on developing tools to facilitate early prevention/intervention to improve the physical and mental health of vulnerable and marginalized populations.

Yung Chun, research assistant professor, research track, leads Housing Initiatives at the Social Policy Institute. His main research is in the public policy field with a focus on the housing market and its policy in the U.S. As an emerging policy analyst, he has made policy recommendations and given testimony to policymakers, including the U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee and House Economic Matters Committee, the House of Delegates of Maryland, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Marcia Ford, professor of practice, practice track, has held significant clinical and leadership roles with the Missouri Department of Mental Health. She has local, state, and national expertise in behavioral health policies and services, specifically policies and services reflective of the existing community mental health systems of care. Her organization and leadership expertise include risk management, strategic planning, change management, mentorship, and trauma-informed care. As the Director of Part-Time Programs, she will oversee the implementation and growth of the MSW Part-Time Program. 

Caitlin McMurtry, assistant professor, tenure track, combines theories and methods from public health, economics, and political science to examine the politics of health in the United States. Their current research focuses on the magnitude and origins of political polarization during disease outbreaks, the causes and consequences of firearm deregulation, experiences of discrimination among Asian Americans, and the role of state ballot initiatives in health policy.

Proscovia Nabunya, assistant professor, tenure track, serves as the co-director of the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD). Her global research focuses on HIV-stigma reduction interventions, mental health and family and community-based support systems as protective factors for the development and well-being of children and families impacted by HIV/AIDS.

Mitra Naseh, assistant professor, tenure track, informs her scholarly work with her previous professional experience as a staff member for non-governmental organizations and the United Nations in the Middle East and South Asia. Her areas of scholarship focus on the social and economic integration of minorities and radicalized groups with a migration background. Her work examines migration policies as social determinants of health. Mitra serves on the advisory committee of the CSWE’s Center for Diversity and Social and Economic Justice.

Molly Pearson, lecturer, teaching track, has been deeply involved in local and state-based efforts toward queer liberation, HIV and sex work decriminalization and queer aging advocacy. As a freelance consultant and educator, she has coached emerging sex work advocates, provided technical assistance to ensure Missouri’s State Plan on Aging is inclusive of the needs of LGBTQ older adults and has trained hundreds of aging care providers on the provisions required under New Jersey’s LGBTQ Senior Bill of Rights. 

Joshua Rusow, research assistant professor, research track, primarily focuses his research on the health and wellbeing of sexual and gender minority youth and young adults – understanding how experiences of stigma and discrimination are associated with relationships, behavior and mental, physical and sexual health.

Morgan Shields, assistant professor, tenure track, is one of few people studying the quality of inpatient psychiatry. She researches the quality and accountability of behavioral healthcare. Her research identifying disparities in quality performance at the Veterans Health Administration led to internal investigations by the Deputy Under Secretary for Health and Organizational Excellence.

Durrell Smith, lecturer, teaching track, has over a decade of experience actively combatting institutionalized racism and advancing social mobility through the lens of social and economic development. His primary role as field faculty is to teach, advise and oversee students in the domestic socioeconomic development concentration in the Office of Field Education.