Graduate Social Work Faculty & Staff
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), and Somatic Integration and Processing (SIP) 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-Rochester on Broadway
507.535.2538
Alex joined the faculty in 2018. Alex has conducted and published research on access to mental health services and recidivism and cultural pathways to mental and healthcare services.
He has extensive social work practice experience working with clients with opiate and other drug use concerns, inpatient clients with severe and persistent mental illness, and community advocacy among immigrant and international communities.
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 in Wisconsin 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 and Technical Education Program (NAVTEP) and Native American Career and 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 coordinator roles. She also taught at the College of Menominee Nation, an accredited tribal college.
Dr. Fischer Williams’ research area includes social welfare policy and its integration into social work curriculum, as well as social welfare program design and evaluation. Noteworthy 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 joined the MSW program in August 2023. Emma has post-graduate direct practice experience in an outpatient therapy setting. Emma has research experience related to elder family financial exploitation.
Emma’s academic interests include social work field education, outreach, research, and aging.
Education
- Master of Social Work | Minnesota State University, Mankato (2021)
- Bachelor of Social Work | 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.
Denise is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in Minnesota. Her social work practice experience includes school social work, school-based mental health, and adoption.
Denise’s academic and research interests are student mental health, educational leadership, social emotional learning, trauma-informed practices in schools, educator resilience, and belonging in schools.
Education
- Master of Social Work | University of St. Thomas/College of St. Catherine
- Bachelor of Social Work | Winona State University
WSU-Rochester on Broadway
507.535.2539
Doyle joined the WSU faculty in August 2021. In 2018, she completed a year-long practice fellowship in clinical supervision through Adelphi University.
She is a licensed, independent clinical social work practitioner in both Minnesota and New York. Doyle seeks to provide culturally responsive, client-centered, and compassionate care aimed at ending and healing trauma. With over 20 years of sustained clinical practice, Doyle has provided individual, family, and group therapy in residential and outpatient treatment settings, clinical supervision, forensic evaluations, and consultation and trainings to various state agencies, non-profit organizations, schools, and members of the legal system.
She is a close partner with the child advocacy center in expanding the capacity of the community to effectively work with victims of sexual abuse through education, supervision, and the development of additional multidisciplinary teams for victims’ post-legal involvement and the minors who caused the harm.
The overarching goal of Doyle’s research is to promote hope, growth, and resilience. Her interests are on forensic social work policy and practice, the prevention and treatment of trauma, and the individual and organization practices promoting well-being of helping professionals. Doyle has multiple peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. She has presented at local, national, and international conferences, including in Hong Kong, Austria, Czech Republic, Portugal, Ireland, and France.
Education
- PhD: Social Welfare | State University of New York | Buffalo, NY (2013)
- MSW | Syracuse University (2002)
- Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Social Work | Nazareth College (2001)
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, 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
Jessica joined the faculty in 2011 on the Rochester campus. Jessica is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in Minnesota.
Her social work practice experience includes chemical dependency treatment, grant administration, child welfare services, and gender specific case management. Jessica’s clinical social work practice experience includes conducting assessments, diagnosis, and treatment planning for dual-diagnosis clients in outpatient treatment, facilitating severe and persistent co-occurring therapy groups, and leading a multi-disciplinary treatment team.
Jessica’s academic and research interests are college student mental health, substance use and abuse, child welfare, social work field education, higher education leadership.
Education
- EdD: Higher Education Administration |St. Cloud State
- Masters of Social Work |University of St. Thomas/College of St. Catherine
- Bachelors in social work and 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 22 years of clinical social work practice experience in the fields of community behavioral health, child and adolescent behavioral health, and geriatric behavioral health.
She maintains a practice specializing in trauma and attachment issues and couple’s counseling. She is trained in using Emotion Focused Therapy, 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