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IN THIS ISSUE
From the MFP DirectorFellows Spotlight
Fellows Forum
Defended and Delivered: Dissertation and Capstone Highlights
MFP 2026–2027 Application Season Closed
Update Your Contact Information
Resources
From the MFP Director
Greetings MFP Community,The past week marked a meaningful milestone for our broader CSWE fellowship community as fellows convened for the 2026 Fellows Forum on May 18–19. This annual gathering brings together fellows from the Minority Fellowship Program (MFP), the Substance Use Disorder Education and Leadership Scholars (SUDEALS), and the Doctoral Student Policy Fellowship (DSPF), creating space for connection, shared learning, and collective reflection across programs. Throughout the Fellows Forum, fellows engaged in rich dialogue, exchanged insights from their academic and professional journeys, and strengthened relationships grounded in a shared commitment to behavioral health and social work values.
A central component of the Fellows Forum is the opportunity for fellows to come together on Capitol Hill to advocate for behavioral health priorities. Through this experience, fellows elevate the voices of the communities they serve, engage with policymakers, and highlight the critical role of social work education, research, and practice in advancing access to high-quality behavioral health services. I am appreciative of the care, preparation, and thoughtfulness the fellows brought to these advocacy efforts.
This moment also provides an opportunity to celebrate a significant academic achievement within our own community. We extend heartfelt congratulations to the doctoral fellows who have successfully defended their dissertations and presented the capstone projects. Completing the dissertation and capstone process reflects years of sustained effort, scholarship, and dedication to advancing knowledge that informs behavioral health policy, practice, and education. We are proud of these accomplishments and the contributions our fellows continue to make within and beyond the academy.
As we reflect on the conversations, advocacy, and achievements highlighted through this year’s Fellows Forum and successfully completing the doctoral process, I am reminded of the collective strength and purpose of this community. Thank you for the meaningful ways you continue to support behavioral health in your communities and for the commitment you bring to this work. Warm regards,
Warm regards,
Dr. Kimberly R. Mayes, LCSW
Director, Minority Fellowship Program
Fellows Spotlight
Mojdeh Rohani is a recently conferred doctor of social work. She earned her degree from Monmouth University with a focus on human rights leadership. Mojdeh earned an undergraduate degree in psychology from the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education in Iran and an MSW from Boston University, with a major in clinical social work and a minor in macro social work. Since 2000, she has worked with survivors of torture, war trauma, gender-based violence, and human trafficking. Mojdeh served as a lecturer at Boston University School of Social Work for 12 years and co-designed/co-directed the BRIDGE (Building Refugee and Immigrant Degrees for Graduate Education) Program for 8 years. She has co-authored a book titled Social Work Practice With Refugee and Immigrant Youth in the United States.
Currently serving as executive director of the De Novo Center for Justice and Healing in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Mojdeh’s commitment to advancing human rights and social justice is deeply rooted in her lived experiences of persecution.
To combat the multitude of issues facing our society effectively, I understand the necessity of taking action and standing in solidarity with groups facing unjust discrimination. I firmly believe that creating a more just and inclusive world involves challenging discrimination and injustice, not just when it aligns with personal interests but universally, for any oppressed group.
(Rohani, 2026)
For Mojdeh, MFP fostered a supportive environment for honest conversations about successes, challenges, and collective aspirations. It reinforced her commitment to increasing access to responsive mental health services, supporting the development of more competent clinicians, and advancing research/macro practice that addresses disparities in mental health care, education, and professional opportunities.
Looking to the future, Mojdeh’s vision is to continue building bridges between academia, practice, and grassroots organizations by expanding interdisciplinary training opportunities, strengthening partnerships with universities and civil society organizations in conflict-affected regions. She will continue highlighting the need for the inclusion of human rights–based social work within global recovery frameworks. She also plans to continue her clinical, leadership, and macro practice work with diasporic communities, asylum seekers, torture survivors, and refugees in the United States. Mojdeh hopes to contribute to a growing global community of practitioners and scholars advancing holistic, justice-centered, decolonized, and community-driven approaches to healing, peacebuilding, and social development.
Marcus Brown, MSW, LCSW-S, is a PhD graduate from the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, where he recently defended his dissertation, “Pathways to Mental Health Recovery among Black Adults with Serious Mental Illness (SMI).” He earned his BSW from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and his MSW from Washington University in St. Louis. His work centers on addressing inequities in how Black adults with SMI access, engage with, and are treated within mental health systems, particularly when formal services are misaligned with culturally grounded ways of healing and support. His work is informed by early experiences observing how mental health was often unspoken and stigmatized in Black communities, shaping how individuals understand and pursue recovery.
Marcus is a licensed clinical social worker supervisor with 14 years of direct practice experience across inpatient, outpatient, and community mental health settings. He provides clinical supervision, delivers therapy, and supports individuals across the lifespan. His research focuses on how Black adults with SMI experience recovery as a relational, culturally grounded, and ongoing process, sustained through community, identity, faith, and the navigation of both formal and informal supports.
As an MFP fellow, Marcus has strengthened his clinical and research training, obtained his LCSW-S, and expanded his network through conferences and mentorship. Through MFP support, he has also accessed professional development and training that directly advance his qualitative research and community-engaged methodological approach. He plans to pursue a career in academia, where he will advance community-engaged research and train future social workers to deliver culturally responsive, recovery-oriented care that intentionally bridges clinical and community-based systems.
He is committed to advancing recovery-oriented systems that reflect the lived experiences, strengths, and cultural realities of Black communities.
Fellows Forum
The 2026 CSWE Fellows Forum held May 18–19 in Alexandria, VA convened CSWE fellows from the CSWE MFP, the Substance Use Disorder Education and Leadership Scholars (SUDEALS) program and the Doctoral Student Policy Fellowship (DSPF).
The forum's theme, “Sustaining Resilience: Building Confidence, Capacity, and Collective Impact,” offered 2 days of learning and professional development related to mental health and substance use support through macro social work practice. The event emphasized resilience-building for emerging behavioral health professionals through workshops, networking, and a Capitol Hill visit that strengthened leadership development and macro social work practice skills.
Defended and Delivered: Dissertation and Capstone Highlights
Please join us in celebrating the following fellows who have achieved a significant milestone in their doctoral journey through the successful defense of their research and the presentation of their dissertation/capstone work this past month. We congratulate these leaders in the social work profession and look forward to their continued contributions to the areas of mental health and substance use!
 Terrell Richardson, University of Alabama |
 Kristina “Tina” Hulama, University of Denver |
 Eliza Galvez, University of Tennessee |
 Marcus Brown, University of Houston |
 Mojdeh Rohani, Monmouth University |
 Fatima Mabrouk, New York University |
 Bobbi Fields, University of St. Thomas |
MFP 2026–2027 Application Season Closed
The CSWE MFP completed another successful application season, welcoming aspiring scholars from across the nation to apply or renew for the prestigious 2026–2027 CSWE Fellowship Award. We extend our sincere thanks to all applicants who participated in Q&A sessions and submitted applications to the program.
We now look forward to reviewing the applications that advance through the second round of evaluation, made possible by our dedicated volunteer reviewers this summer with the MFP Advisory Board. The Board will convene to make final recommendations and selections for the upcoming fellowship year that is anticipated to start October 1, 2026. If you missed an application deadline, or are interested in applying next year, complete the interest survey applicable to you below:
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 2027–2028 Doctoral MFP Notification |
Update Your Contact Information
Have you changed jobs in the last few years? Changed your primary email address? CSWE’s MFP relies on current contact information for our internal database, which we use to contact alumni and help us prepare our reports for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Please use this link to share your updated contact information. Additionally, you are encouraged to reach out to MFP alumni you are connected with and request that they share their updated information too. Thank you in advance for supporting MFP team efforts to enhance connectedness in the MFP community.
Resources
Call for Submissions
Focusing on the theme “No Podemos Perder la Esperanza—Intersecting Barriers for Latino/a/x Families: Implications for Social Work Practice and Policy,” the special issue of Child and Family Social Work calls for manuscript submissions by June 1, 2026. Learn more.
Conference
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is thrilled to announce the 2026 NASW National Conference: ‘Beyond the Breaking Point: Connection Through Purpose and Power,’ June 10–13, 2026, at the Marriot Marquis in Washington, DC. Join thousands of social workers, like-minded professionals, and social work thought leaders at NASW’s 2026 National Conference. Take advantage of unparalleled opportunities in professional development, continuing education, and networking. Engage in thought-provoking conversations tackling the most pressing issues facing the social work profession across the world. Learn more.
Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Career Accelerator To address the mental health and substance use treatment workforce shortage and to increase the number of licensed clinicians available to serve clients, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing launched the Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Career Accelerator, funded by and developed in partnership with Kaiser Permanente. Learn more.
From MFP Alumna
An outstanding MFP alumna and current board member, Dr. Joelisse Galarza-Davis is dedicated to advancing leadership and strengthening representation within the behavioral health workforce. She is a licensed clinical social worker supervisor with more than 9 years of experience spanning school social work, mental health program leadership, and clinical supervision. She has also developed several resources for mental health professionals! Check them out here.
Training—SUD 101 Core Curriculum (2023)
The 23 modules in this 2023 curriculum provide an overview of evidence-based practices in the prevention, identification, and treatment of substance use disorders and co-occurring medical and psychiatric conditions for a variety of populations. Learn more.