Graduate Social Work Faculty & Staff
WSU-Rochester on Broadway
Hannah joined the Department of Graduate Social Work as faculty in 2024. She is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in Minnesota and Missouri. Her social work practice experience includes school social work, school-based mental health, and supervision of mental health professionals.
Hannah’s scholarly interests are trauma-informed practices in schools, student mental health, social emotional learning, the implementation of clinical interventions in schools, suicide prevention, and increasing inclusion.
Education
- MSW | Washington University in St. Louis
- BA: Psychology | Macalester College
WSU-Rochester on Broadway
507.535.2535
Arlen Carey is Professor of Social Work and a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. He earned a BA, MA, and PhD in Sociology, specializing in social theory and demography, at the University of Texas at Austin. While at UT-Austin, he was an NICHD Training Fellow, University Fellow, and Research Associate at the Population Research Center. He subsequently earned an MSW in Clinical Social Work at the University of Central Florida where he was a Sociology faculty member for 7 years.
Arlen has practiced clinical social work for nearly 25 years, and he has more than 25 (mostly concurrent) years of university teaching experience. Curiosity about human behavior and striving for social justice are consistent threads in his life and professional career. Early in his career, he studied the evolution of human behavior and researched the largely structural causes of health and longevity disparities between Mexican immigrants, Mexican Americans, and the dominant white, non-Hispanic populations in Texas. Similarly, he has investigated the differential impacts of health care access and public health system development across genders. More recently, Arlen has focused his curiosity on trauma’s causes and impacts as well as on means to help people heal from trauma.
Arlen joined the Social Work Faculty at WSU in 2004. For more than 10 years, he served as Rochester Social Work Program Coordinator and taught and developed a broad array of undergraduate courses. In 2015, he and Dr. Jessica Tye began development of the WSU MSW Program. Arlen served as the program’s initial director until 2022.
In addition to his service at WSU, Arlen practices Trauma Therapy at AMAR Wellness Services in Rochester, MN. He has earned a certificate in Traumatic Emotional Stress Studies from Bessel van der Kolk’s Trauma Center and has been trained in and continues to study Trauma-Focused Neurofeedback, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Somatic Integration and Processing (SIP), and Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy trauma treatment modalities.
Most important in Arlen’s life are his partner (and fellow clinical social worker) Amy and his children, Lily and Jasper, who reside with him in Rochester.
WSU-Winona | Maxwell Hall
507.457.5421
Alex Espadas joined Winona State’s faculty in 2018. His research focuses on access to mental health services, recidivism, and culturally informed pathways to mental and healthcare services. He has published work in these areas, contributing to the understanding of systemic and cultural factors that shape service utilization.
Dr. Espadas brings extensive clinical and advocacy experience to his academic role. His social work practice includes working with individuals affected by opioid and substance use disorders, providing care in outpatient and inpatient settings for clients with severe and persistent mental illness, and engaging in community advocacy with immigrant and international populations.
Education
- PhD: Social Work | University of Houston
- MSW: Social Work | University of Houston
- BS: Psychology, Sociology minor | University of Houston
WSU-Rochester on Broadway
507.535.2541
Amy Fischer Williams joined the WSU faculty in 2023. Her dissertation is titled, “Tribal Sovereign Status: Indigenous Social Workers Inform Social Work Curriculum.”
Dr. Fischer Williams practices psychotherapy part-time at Oneida Behavioral Health, a facet of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Health Division. She has also practiced as a school social worker and as a macro practitioner, specializing in program evaluation and grant procurement.
For more than 15 years, Dr. Fischer Williams served as an independent evaluator for the U.S. Department of Education-funded Native American Vocational & Technical Education Program (NAVTEP) and Native American Career & Technical Education Program (NACTEP) grants.
Before joining the WSU faculty, Dr. Fischer Williams served the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, holding associate and assistant professor appointments, and served in MSW and BSW field director roles. She also taught at the College of Menominee Nation (CMN) in Wisconsin. CMN is one of the 37 accredited Tribal College & Universities (TCUs) in the United States.
Dr. Fischer Williams’ research areas include social welfare policy and its integration into social work curriculum, as well as social welfare program design and evaluation. Select presentations include speaking to the Joint World Conference on Social Work and Social Development in Hong Kong, China, and presenting a paper on Indigenous Human Rights: Sovereignty, Foods, and Water in Poznan, Poland (IUAES).
She is an alpine skier.
Education:
- DSW | University of St. Thomas
- MSW | University of Minnesota
- BA: Psychology | Concordia University
WSU-Rochester on Broadway
507.535.2542
Emma Fuhrman is a social work educator and practitioner whose teaching and scholarship focus on advancing excellence in practicum education. She serves as Practicum Coordinator and Adjunct Instructor in the Master of Social Work program at Winona State University–Rochester, where she oversees practicum placements, supports curriculum aligned with CSWE competencies, and partners with community agencies to expand learning opportunities. Her research interests include trauma-informed approaches to experiential learning and emerging topics in practicum education.
Dedicated to supporting student success, Emma advises MSW students throughout the practicum process. Emma leads the NASW-MN Social Work Educator Affinity Group, fostering collaboration and shared learning among social work educators across the state.
Education
- MSW | Minnesota State University, Mankato (2021)
- BSW | Minnesota State University, Mankato (2020)
WSU-Rochester on Broadway
507.535.2584
WSU-Rochester on Broadway
507.535.2540
Denise started in 2006 as an adjunct with the Bachelor of Social Work program and joined the faculty of the MSW program in 2022 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Graduate Social Work at Winona State University.
Denise is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in Minnesota with extensive leadership experience in educational settings. Her social work practice has been primarily in school settings, where she pioneered district-wide implementation of trauma-informed approaches and created comprehensive behavioral health services in schools.
Denise’s academic and research interests focus on comprehensive mental health systems and trauma-informed practice in educational settings, including student mental health, educational leadership, social emotional learning, trauma-informed practices in schools, educator resilience, and belonging in schools. She has designed and delivered professional development programs reaching over 3,000 practitioners nationwide and has been a keynote speaker at national conferences on trauma-informed education.
Education
- EdD: Educational Leadership | St. Cloud State University
- MSW | University of St. Thomas/College of St. Catherine
- BSW | Winona State University
WSU-Rochester on Broadway
507.535.2539
Dr. Carolyn Mueller joined the WSU MSW program in 2025. Carolyn has previously taught BSW, MSW, and DSW students at the University of Minnesota–Duluth and Tulane University.
Carolyn is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in Minnesota. Her social work practice experience includes domestic violence, child welfare, bioethics, pediatric intensive care, pediatric palliative care, and pediatric bereavement. Her clinical social work experience includes conducting psychosocial assessments, providing individual grief support, developing and facilitating grief group programming, overseeing clinical services for bereaved families, and leading multidisciplinary bereavement support initiatives.
Carolyn’s academic and research interests are grief and loss, bioethics, moral distress, and traumatic loss. Carolyn has presented nationally and internationally on the topics of the role of the clinical social worker in pediatric palliative care.
Education
- DSW | Tulane University
- MSW | University of Minnesota–Duluth
- BS: Sociology | University of Wisconsin–Superior
WSU-Rochester on Broadway
507.535.2542
Dr. Sky Smith joined the MSW program in 2021. Previously, she held positions in the MSW program at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and the BSW program at Winona State University.
Her research and practice experience centers around trauma-informed and culturally relevant practices within all level of systems.
Dr. Smith has a breadth of practice experience, including oncology, private practice, child welfare, forensic interviewing, and trauma-informed interventions such as EMDR, Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), Narrative therapy, and TF-CBT. Dr. Smith presents and speaks internationally on the topic of trauma-informed care in healthcare systems.
Education
- DSW | University of St. Thomas
- MSW: Clinical Social Work | Aurora University
- BSW | University of Illinois
WSU-Rochester on Broadway
507.535.2536
Dr. Jessica Tye joined the WSU faculty in 2011 as a BSW faculty member on the Rochester campus. She served as the BSW Field Coordinator and was responsible for field coordination and placing BSW students in practicum sites from 2012 to 2018. Dr. Tye and Dr. Arlen Carey co-developed the WSU MSW Program, which started in 2019 and was granted full CSWE accreditation in 2022. Dr. Tye served as the initial MSW Field Director in 2019 until her sabbatical in 2023. She has served as the Chairperson for the Department of Graduate Social Work since 2024 and continues to serve as Chair.
Dr. Tye is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in the states of Minnesota and New Hampshire and continues clinical practice while teaching. She has over 13 years of trauma-informed social work practice experience conducting assessments, diagnosis, and treatment planning for co-occurring clients. Her practice includes clinical college counseling, substance use disorder treatment, teletherapy, grant administration, and child welfare services. She has led a multi-disciplinary treatment team, facilitated co-occurring therapy groups, provided psychotherapy for various client populations, and supervised grant programming and evaluation.
Dr. Tye’s scholarship and research interests are college student mental health, supporting families in the context of substance use, interconnection of substance use disorders and trauma, and integration of self-care into professional practice. She has published in areas such as college student mental health, families impacted by substance use disorder, and faculty responses to college students of concern. She has provided trainings and presentations in areas of college student mental health, leadership development, self-care and professionalism, higher education administration, substance use disorders, and co-occurring disorders.
Education
- EdD: Higher Education Administration | St. Cloud State
- MSW | University of St. Thomas/College of St. Catherine
- BSW and BA: Psychology | Wartburg College
WSU-Rochester on Broadway
507.535.2543
Dr. Kimberly Zammitt joined the WSU MSW program in 2023. She previously held positions as the MSW Program Director and Professor at MSU-Mankato.
She is a LICSW and has over 24 years of clinical social work practice experience in the fields of community behavioral health, child and adolescent behavioral health, geriatric behavioral health, and private practice.
She maintains a practice specializing in trauma and attachment issues and couples counseling. She is trained in using Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment (SMART), and Mindfulness-Based Interventions.
Her research interests are in mindfulness-based interventions, trauma, LGBTQIA+ issues, and cultural responsiveness.
Education
- PhD: Social Work | Jackson State University
- MSW | University of Southern Mississippi
- BSW | University of Southern Mississippi