Disability Manuscript Award
The CSWE Council on Disability and Persons With Disabilities (CDPD) is pleased to announce the 2025 Disability Manuscript Award recipient. The award recognizes scholarship that contributes to knowledge about disability; full participation of persons with disabilities; social, political, and economic issues related to disability and persons with disabilities; and social work education curriculum materials focused on disability and persons with disabilities.Please join us in celebrating the 2025 Disability Manuscript Award Winners, Brendon T. Halloway, MSW, PhD, Rose C. B. Singh, BSW, MSW, RSW, Laura Wernick, MSW, MPA, PhD, and Dr. Shanna Katz Kattari, MEd, PhD, CSE for their submission titled “Action Steps Toward Dismantling Ableism in Social Work Education.”
Brendon T. Halloway, MSW, PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Social Work at Colorado State University
Brendon T. Holloway (he/they) is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work at Colorado State University. Brendon uses communityengaged, participatory research methods to examine the health care experiences of trans and nonbinary communities. Brendon’s scholarship centers the well-being of trans individuals with specific focuses on health care access, mutual aid, and gender euphoria. His research is informed by his lived experience as a queer and trans person and their seven years of practice experience in health care settings. Brendon’s research seeks to disrupt conventional deficit-based narrative of trans people, painting a more holistic picture of who trans individuals are. Brendon received their BSW from Middle Tennessee State University, MSW from the University of Michigan, and PhD from the University of Denver. Rose C. B. Singh, BSW, MSW, RSW
PhD candidate, Memorial University
Lecturer, Dalhousie University
Rose C. B. Singh, BSW, MSW, RSW, is a PhD candidate at Memorial University and a sessional lecturer at Dalhousie University. Rose teaches courses focusing on critical approaches to theory, practice, and policy. With over two decades of experience in the social services sector, Rose is also a practicing social worker. Rose’s research and interests centre on critical social work education, social justice, disability justice, disabilities, mental health, substance use, online learning and teaching, and emerging technologies. Additionally, Rose was awarded the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship (2023-2024) and the Memorial University Dean’s Excellence Award (2023-2024). Rose is also a recipient of the Memorial University Peter Mackey Memorial Graduate Scholarship (2022), the Memorial University Olivia Lewis and Michael Lonardo Graduate Scholarship (2022-2024), the Memorial University Graduates Students’ Union Award for Excellence in Research (2024), and the inaugural Association for Distance Education and Independent Learning (ADEIL) Evan Smith Research Award (2024). Rose currently serves as one of the CASWE-ACFTS Disability Caucus CoChairs. Laura Wernick, MSW, MPA, PhD
Associate Professor, Fordham University School of Social Service
Laura J. Wernick is an Associate Professor at Fordham University School of Social Service and a life-long organizer/activist. Using predominantly participatory action research, their scholarship uses a disability justice lens to explore how transformative organizing models address intersectional issues of power, oppression, healing and change within their movement organizing. Laura’s work has focused on organizing LGBTQ+ youth, lowincome youth of color, young adult activists with wealth, and employers of domestic workers. Their current research is examining ableism & white supremacy culture in the social work academy. Dr. Shanna Katz Kattari, MEd, PhD, CSE
Associate Professor, University of Michigan School of Social Work
Dr. Shanna Katz Kattari is an associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, in the Women’s and Gender Studies Department (by courtesy) and is the director of the [Sexuality | Relationships | Gender] Research Collective. A white, AuDHD, disabled, chronically ill, queer, fat, nonbinary femme, they are an esteemed researcher, scholar, and advocate whose work has made significant contributions to the fields of social work, health disparities, and LGBTQ+ studies. With a steadfast commitment to social justice and equity, Dr. Kattari’s research and advocacy efforts have focused on understanding and addressing the unique challenges faced by marginalized communities, particularly within the realms of gender, sexuality, and disability (including neurodiversity). Honorable Mention - Disability Manuscript Award
The 2025 Honorable Mention is awarded to Jessica Curd, PhD and Thu Suong Nguyen, PhD for their submission, "I was always on the outside, watching quietly: Autistic women reflect on school experiences.”Jessica Curd, PhD, LCSW, ACSW, APHSW-C, ACHP-SW
Jessica Curd, PhD earned her doctorate from Indiana University and is a licensed clinical social worker with over 20 years of practice experience and 18 years of university teaching. She is dedicated to advancing the field through both clinical work and education. Jessica strives to make change on all levels and serves on regional, state, and national committees— including NASW-IN, NHPCO, SWHPN, and AAIDD. Jessica’s research focuses on addressing end-of-life disparities, disability justice, and the experiences of women with autism. Recognizing gaps in specialized care, Jessica founded Red Wheelbarrow Counseling to provide tailored support for individuals navigating grief, trauma, and neurodivergence. Her private practice is designed to offer life skills and mental health care for those facing multiple layers of disparity. Passionate about social work education, Jessica integrates her clinical expertise and academic experience to empower the next generation of social work professionals. She strives to contribute to a more inclusive and compassionate society and continually advocates for underserved communities. Thu Suong Nguyen, PhD
Associate Professor, Indianapolis School of Education at Indiana University
Thu Suong Nguyen is an Associate Professor of Urban Education Leadership & Policy in the Indiana University Indianapolis School of Education. Her research, teaching, and practice are informed by her experiences as the daughter of refugees from Viet Nam, her collaborations with refugee serving community organizations, and as mother to two young sons. In particular, she interrogates the ways marginalized communities find themselves at, pushed to, and resisting from the margins of policy, practice, and our social imaginations. To do so, she utilizes ethnographic approaches that center micropolitical and cultural dynamics within and beyond schools. Most recently, she is exploring shifting conditions of work resulting from ongoing and intensifying austerity measures imposed on pk12 schools and in higher education. She is concerned that this context further undermines, devalues, and obscures the significant and substantial carework – the necessary social reproductive labor – required in sustaining societies.