Clarissa D. Jackson, MSW (she/her) earned her MSW degree from the Brown School in 2016, with a focus on older adults and social and economic development. Throughout her decade of social work practice in St. Louis, Clarissa has served as a Field Instructor for many practicum students on both the Foundation and Concentration levels. She has also served as an adjunct instructor for Texas State University and WashU, teaching an Introduction to Social Work course from 2020-2025. Her teaching emphasizes critical reflection, inclusive learning environments, and the integration of theory and practice to prepare students for ethical, equity-centered professional practice.

Before joining the Brown School, Clarissa served as a social worker with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, where she advocated for youth and families experiencing educational inequities and housing instability for six years. Her work included advancing education justice initiatives, implementing evidence-based interventions, contributing to grant-funded programs, and collaborating with interdisciplinary partners to address systemic barriers affecting unhoused, unaccompanied youth. This led to innovative case law changes, including allowing unaccompanied youth to access mental health care with managed care providers, obtain identification, and led to the creation of the Missouri Homeless Youth Handbook. 

Clarissa is thrilled to return to the Brown School as a lecturer. Her goal is to educate, inspire and empower students to understand the concepts of social justice, equity, empathy and being a person for others. She is dedicated to expanding opportunities for future social workers and fostering the next generation of leaders committed to becoming agents of change.

Katie VonDeLinde, MSW, LCSW (she/hers) is an energetic and passionate social worker whose 25-year career has focused on improving the lives of people impacted by intimate partner violence through direct practice, education, organizational leadership, and systems change efforts.

Katie began her career as the Assistant Director of a dual domestic violence/sexual assault program in Southeast Iowa. She received her MSW at the University of Iowa where she worked with the innovative program Building Comprehensive Solutions to Domestic Violence. Since moving to St. Louis in 2001, Katie has worked on groundbreaking initiatives, including the first comprehensive economic empowerment program for survivors of intimate partner violence in the US.  As the founder of KMCV Consulting, LLC and an expert advisor to the Center for Survivor Agency and Justice, Katie trained thousands of helping professionals in economic justice and advocacy while advancing organizational and policy reforms. She also has provided counseling and advocacy at Barnes Jewish Hospital’s AWARE program. Katie is committed to empowering social workers to sustain their well-being so that they can continue the important work of caring for others. 

Katie is thrilled to serve as the Director of the Office of Practicum Education where she aims to create meaningful, engaging, and educational relationships between Brown students and community partners.

Joe Jovanovich (he/him) earned his Master of Social Work degree from the Brown School in 2010, with a focus on community development and youth programming. He also previously served as an academic advisor and adjunct instructor at the Brown School, teaching Foundations of Social Work Practice in Organizations and Communities from 2013 – 2020. Joe has also served as a Field Instructor for numerous practicum students at both the Foundation and Concentration level.

Joe has two decades of diverse experience in the non-profit sector, having worked for national organizations like City Year and local agencies like Beyond Housing. Most recently, Joe was the Chief Operating Officer at Seed St. Louis, where he was able to work at the intersection of neighborhood engagement, food justice, and climate resilience. Joe also spent seven years as an independent consultant doing project management for numerous local agencies.

Joe currently sits on the board of directors of earthday365, which plans the annual Earthday festival in Forest Park. Joe is a proud alum of the AmeriCorps national service program, and has served as a mentor for many years through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri. He has also spent time in the private sector, having managed his family’s small business for nine years. Joe grew up in St. Louis, where he now lives with his family, and is an active parent in St. Louis Public Schools. 

Joe is delighted to return to the Brown School as an Instructor and Field Faculty in the “mezzo/macro” domains, which allows the opportunity to weave together many of his experiences and passions to help drive progress in the social sector.

Manasseh C. Begay serves as program manager for Social Workers Advancing through Grounded Education (SAGE). The program recruits, trains and financially supports Brown School MSW students who are interested in completing three credits of their practica in Indian Country and is facilitated by the Buder Center for American Indian Studies. He works collaboratively with the Office of Field Education.

​While working out of the Shiprock, NM campus of Diné College, Begay assisted in building the social work program through collaboration and curriculum development that is currently in place. He taught and assisted in field placement, community social services and culture, and other introductory social work courses. Prior to his time at the Brown School, Begay wore many hats, spending time as a federal firefighter and as a San Juan County sheriff deputy.

​Begay is originally from Cibecue, Arizona and is enrolled with the White Mountain Apache Tribe and is also Diné. Manasseh received his MSW from New Mexico Highlands University and his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from the University of New Mexico.

Janelle Barker Gibson’s career reflects 25 years of practice in human services and healthcare. Focusing on macro level interventions, Janelle’s career reflects the intersectionality of a social work career, centering community health and well-being, public policy, and organizational management.

Prior to joining the Brown School, Janelle had professional practice career spanning child welfare, policy practice as a registered lobbyist in Missouri and Illinois, foundation management, fund development, healthcare promotion and training, and board membership with organizations in both St. Louis, Missouri and Seattle, Washington.  While spending several years working in the healthcare sector she focused on development, dissemination and training on disease state and pharmaceutical management protocols for medical professionals and administrators.

As an instructor since 2009, Professor Gibson has served as course lead for both Human Behavior in the Social Environment, as well as Social Work Practice with Organizations and Communities.  She also teaches courses at the intersection of sociology, policy and economics.  She serves as a frequent instructor for the Brown School’s Professional Development coursework in management and leadership. As such, she has been recognized twice for excellence in teaching and was honored to lecture at Fudan University in Shanghai, China on the topic of nonprofit management and social entrepreneurship.

Ms. Gibson is currently Special Advisor to the Dean, where she is focused on activities tied to accreditation and continuous quality improvement for the MSW Program. Previously, Janelle served as the Assistant Dean for the MSW Program.  In this role she managed course scheduling, completed the self-study for the program’s reaccreditation efforts, and facilitated curriculum continuity through curriculum redesign efforts.

She is the author of Social, Economic, and Political Environments for Social Work Practice which was published in 2023 by Cognella Publishing.  She is co-author of A Founder’s Story, a case study published in the Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership.  She is also a reviewer for Voluntas International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Management, and a textbook reviewer for Pearson Publishing.  

Since 2007, she has provided management consulting services for nonprofit organizations throughout St. Louis as Principal for ChangeMakers Consulting.

A two-time recipient of the Brown School’s Excellence in Teaching Award, Anna Goldfarb Shabsin is passionate about issues related to social welfare and their interplay with politics, advocacy, and policy. She serves as the Assistant Dean for the Master of Social Policy degree program and as Chair of the Policy Specialization. She also teaches classes in law and policy in Washington University’s Prison Education Project.

Shabsin oversees the university’s dual-degree JD/MSW program and serves as a faculty advisor for both MSP, MSW, and dual JD/MSW students. She is the university’s Safe Zone trainer for all faculty and staff.

Shabsin is also an independent consultant, having designed and facilitated workshops for many notable clients including Twain Financial and Kaiser Permanente. Prior to joining the Brown School, she practiced law for ten years.