Academic & Curriculum Partners
Our Curriculum Team
Our CADER Curriculum Team has more than twenty years of experience in developing national training programs in aging and disability with a focus on implementing these programs in home and community-based settings. We work in partnership with subject matter experts from the community and learning experience designers to create competency-based, practice-relevant programs based on adult learning theory.
- Bronwyn Keefe, MSW, MPH, PhD, is the Assistant Dean of Workforce and Professional Development, Research Assistant Professor, and Director of BUSSW’s Center for Aging and Disability Education and Research (CADER) and The Network for Professional Education.
- Kathy Kuhn, MSW, LICSW, has worked with older adults in a variety of health and mental health settings and is a dedicated advocate for improving training for social service professionals and the provision of services to older adults.
- Amelia Paini, MSW, has years of experience in the social services field with a focus on evaluation, program management, and content development in training programs created for individuals working with older adults and adults with disabilities.
- Joan Ead, ALM, is a writer and content researcher who approaches content from a scientific and analytical perspective to develop skills-based curriculum for social service professionals.
Our Academic Partners
CADER and The Network are pleased to collaborate with colleagues from across Boston University and beyond to create innovative and interactive educational offerings for professional education and workforce development for people who work in health and social services.
Dawn Belkin Martinez, PhD, LICSW, is the Associate Dean for Equity & Inclusion at Boston University School of Social Work. As a Clinical Professor at the school, her specialties include social justice in clinical practice, racial justice, community organizing as a therapeutic intervention, the Liberation Health framework for social work practice, clinical practice with the Latinx community, family therapy, and substance misuse with adolescents and young adults. Please refer to Dr. Belkin Martinez’s course on Understanding Structural and Institutional Racism.
Deborah Chassler, MSW, is a Senior Academic Researcher, Lecturer at Boston University School of Social Work, and a Training and Curriculum Lead with the BU CTSI Community Engagement Program. She is committed to community engagement methods that center power in the community, working with both community members and academic researchers to increase racial, social, and health equity, and reduce stigma in healthcare systems. Ms. Chassler is a contributing author to Communities Connecting to Research
Jorge Delva, MSW, PhD, is a nationally recognized expert on substance use disorders and ethnic health inequities who seeks to understand cultural variations in the etiology of substance use and mental health disorders in the US and globally. As Professor at Boston University School of Social Work, he specializes in cross-cultural research in social work practice, addictions, and mental health. Please refer to Dr. Delva’s course on creating Pathways to MSW Programs. (forthcoming winter 2025)
Hyeouk Chris Hahm, MSW, PhD, is the Associate Dean for Research and a Professor at Boston University School of Social Work. She specializes in mental health with a focus on Asian Americans, acculturation, health risk behaviors, as well as reducing health disparities among Asian American populations. Please refer to Dr. Hahm’s course, the AWARE Intervention Training Certificate.
Katherine Hobart, MSW, PhD, LCSW, is a Visiting Scholar at CADER. As a long-standing practitioner, researcher and professor of community practice social work, she specializes in Human Services Management and Program Evaluation. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Uganda teaching at the first Masters of Social Work program in East Africa and conducting action-based research with rural elders now in Rwanda. She is also a member of our Network Trainers Hub Board of Alumni Advisors. Dr. Hobart is a contributing author to CADER’s Program Evaluation course (forthcoming) and the Train-the-Trainer Certificate program.
Donna McLaughlin, MSW, LICSW, is a Full Clinical Professor at Boston University School of Social Work. She specializes in social work practice in groups and with individuals, as well as behavioral health and trauma. She is a contributing author of the CADER course, Group Work with Older Adults.
Jordana Muroff, PhD, MSW, LICSW, is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Clinical Practice Department at Boston University School of Social Work. Her scholarship focuses on developing and testing innovative, technology-supported, evidence-based assessments and interventions for hoarding and other mental health challenges, and reducing inequities and improving access to mental health services for underserved populations. Dr. Muroff is a contributing author of the CADER course, Hoarding Disorder in Older Adults.
Karen Jacobs, OT, EdD, OTR, CPE, FAOTA, is the Associate Dean for Digital Learning & Innovation at Boston University Sargent College, as well as a Clinical Professor. She also serves as the Program Director for the Online Post-Professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program at Sargent College. Dr. Jacobs is a contributing author of the hybrid online certificate, Interprofessional Leadership in Healthcare.
Craig Slater, PhD, MPH, OT is the Director for Interprofessional Education and Practice program at Boston University Sargent College, as well as a Clinical Assistant Professor specializing in interprofessional practice. Dr. Slater is a contributing author of the hybrid online certificate, Interprofessional Leadership in Healthcare.
