Meet Our Resident Faculty

Our resident faculty are world-renowned experts and committed educators who care deeply about our students. Their unique experiences and interests fuel their research and enrich their classrooms.  

Resident Faculty
Kenta Asakura headshot

Kenta Asakura, M.S.W. '04, Ph.D., LICSW

Associate Professor, Chair of Practice Sequence
Kenta Asakura’s scholarly work is informed by nearly two decades of clinical practice across three jurisdictions (New York, Washington, Ontario), where he…
Loren Cahill stands in the Colored Girls Museum in Philadelphia wearing a black and white blouse. Her arms are folded in front of her.

Loren Cahill, M.S.W., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Loren S. Cahill is an assistant professor at Smith College School for Social Work. Cahill grew up in St. Louis, MO, where she was nurtured by a family of judges…
Rory Crath leans against a railing in the Smith College Campus Center

Rory Crath, M.A., Ph.D.

Associate Professor | Chair of the Research Sequence
Rory Crath brings a sociological and visual studies imagination, humanities thinking, and years of experience as a community activist and youth worker in…
Annemarie Gockel headshot

Annemarie Gockel, M.S.W., Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Annemarie Gockel’s research centers on enhancing clinical intervention, clinical training, individual healing and growth. In her work with clients, Gockel is…
Alberto Guerrero headshot

Alberto Guerrero, M.S.W., Ph.D.

Lecturer | Practicum Faculty Adviser
Alberto Guerrero, M.S.W., Ph.D., focuses his research on the intersecting impact of trauma, legal system involvement, and zero tolerance policies for…
Megan Harding smiles at the camera

Megan Harding, M.S.W. '07

Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Megan Harding has been teaching at the Smith College School for Social Work since 2009, initially as an adjunct and eventually as a senior lecturer. She has…
Hannah Karpman headshot

Hannah Karpman, M.S.W., Ph.D.

Associate Professor | Practicum Faculty Adviser
Hannah Karpman, M.S.W., Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the School for Social Work. She is the chair of the policy sequence, teaches in the research sequence…
Shveta Kumaria headshot

Shveta Kumaria, M.A., Ph.D., LCSW

Assistant Professor
Shveta Kumaria is an assistant professor in the School for Social Work. Kumaria’s research interests lie in psychotherapy research, more specifically therapist…
Brandyn-Dior McKinley smiles at the camera.

Brandyn-Dior McKinley, M.S.W., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Brandyn-Dior (Brandyn) McKinley is an assistant professor in the School for Social Work. McKinley’s scholarship uses an interdisciplinary approach to examine…
Ora Nakash headshot

Ora Nakash, M.A., Ph.D.

Professor and Director of the Ph.D. Program
In her work, Professor Ora Nakash aims to generate innovative knowledge to improve access, equity, and quality of care for communities of color and historically…
Peggy O'Neill headshot

Peggy O'Neill, Ph.D., LCSW

Associate Professor | Chair of HBSE Sequence | Practicum Faculty Adviser
Peggy O’Neill, Ph.D., LICSW, LCSW (she/her) identifies as a white cisgender woman and is a resident faculty member at Smith SSW. O’Neill was a senior lecturer…
Marsha Kline Pruett smiles at the camera wearing a purple sweater and striped scarf.

Marsha Kline Pruett, M.S., M.S.L., Ph.D., ABPP

Maconda Brown O'Connor Professor
Kline Pruett's writings include over 150 scholarly articles, chapters, co-edited and co-written books, including: Your Divorce Advisor: A Lawyer and a…
JaLisa Williams smiles at the camera.

JaLisa Williams, M.S.W., LCSW

Lecturer | Practicum Faculty Adviser | Chair of the Social Welfare Policy and Service Sequence
JaLisa Williams, M.S.W., LCSW, is a fierce therapist, educator and curator who has worked to create intentional spaces and conversations regarding self-care…
Dean Marianne Yoshioka smiles at the camera.

Marianne R.M. Yoshioka, M.S.W., MBA, Ph.D., LCSW

Dean | Elizabeth Marting Treuhaft Professor
Dean Marianne Yoshioka arrived at the Smith College School for Social Work in 2014. Prior to Smith College, Yoshioka spent 18 years on the faculty of the New…