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FSWA Board of Directors 2025-2026

President

David McLeod, PhD, MSW has spent the past two decades working to actively reduce violence, particularly that directed at people and communities with diminished capacities for self-protection. In addition to being an Associate Professor in the SSW he holds affiliate faculty status with the OU Department of Women’s and Gender Studies and the OU Center for Social Justice, and is the Director of the OU Knee Center for Strong Families. A former police detective who transitioned to become a forensic social worker, David has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in programs of social work, criminal justice, and preparing future faculty. His research is focused on the intersection of criminal behavior development, gender, and trauma. Some of David’s current professional activities include investigations of forensic psychopathology and differential criminal behavior development, female sexual offending, female incarceration, child sexual abuse, forensic social work, intra-professional and multidisciplinary collaboration, domestic and relational violence, and social work education. David is a board member of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work, the Co-Chair of the Oklahoma Children of Incarcerated Parents Advisory Committee to the Legislature and is currently working on multiple funded research projects. His most recent publications include works on female sexual offending, trauma, domestic violence, and social work education. He has won numerous teaching, service, and research honors and is a four-time recipient of the Ann and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work “Professor of the Year” award.

 

President Elect

John P. Maheras, MSW LCSW  is a mitigation specialist for the federal defender of the Southern District in Indianapolis, Indiana. John received his undergraduate degree from Wittenberg University, his Master of Social Work degree from the Indiana University School of Social Work,and is currently a doctoral candidate with the Indiana University School of Social Work.  Prior to his work in the federal court system, John was the director of a reentry program at a non-profit agency in Indianapolis for four years. He has worked in mental health and substance use disorder treatment in various roles since 2007. John has been on the board of the NOFSW since 2016.

 

 

 

Past President

Dana E. Prescott, PhD, JD, MSW has been licensed to practice in Maine and Massachusetts since 1983 and is a partner with Prescott, Jamieson, & Murphy Law Group LLC, Saco, Maine. He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Attorneys and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He was awarded an MSW from Boston College and PhD in social work from Simmons College. Dr. Prescott holds an instructor appointment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and is adjunct faculty at Boston College School of Social Work. He is a frequent consultant, writer, and speaker on professional ethics and policy related to expert and forensic roles, family law and practice, and judicial systems. He is a rostered guardian ad litem and currently serves as Chair of Maine’s GAL Review Board.

 

 

Treasurer

Dr. Anjali Buehler PhD, MSW is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work at Governors State University. Anjali primarily teaches courses in social policy, along with research, program evaluation, and forensic social work. Her previous research has looked at law enforcement response to intimate partner violence and she is interested in expanding this work to look at how police social work and victim’s services augment the response. Anjali is interested in collaborative research that can inform both policy and social work practice.

 

 

 

Secretary

Emily Reeder Abili, PhD, MSW is a Mitigation Specialist at the Clark County Public Defender in Las Vegas,  Nevada.  In that capacity, she has been responsible for the investigation of mitigation evidence in capital and non-capital murder cases since 2003.  During her tenure at the Public Defender, Dr. Reeder Abili has been responsible for uncovering mitigation evidence in death penalty cases and has extensive experience investigating Atkins claims, assisting with the presentation of mitigation in jury trials, and working with nationally renowned experts as a part of the criminal defense team.  She earned her BSW, MSW, and PhD (Public Affairs) from the University of Nevada Las Vegas and previously taught undergraduate courses in quantitative methods and criminology.  Professional honors have included Excellence in Legal Defense (Clark County Public Defender), Legal Advocate Award (Nevada Disability Advocacy and Law Center), and Value in Performance Award (Clark County).

 

 

President Emeritus

Viola Vaughan-Eden, PhD, MSW, MJ is a Professor and the PhD Program Director at the Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work at Norfolk State University. She also serves as the President and CEO of UP For Champions, a nonprofit partnered with The UP Institute, a think tank dedicated to upstream solutions for child abuse prevention. A forensic and licensed clinical social worker, Dr. Vaughan-Eden consults on and provides expert testimony in child maltreatment cases. She is President Emerita and Fellow of the Association of Professionals Solving the Abuse of Children, as well as President Emerita of the National Plan to End Interpersonal Violence and the Forensic Social Work Alliance. She also serves as a child welfare advisor to the National Family Violence Law Center at George Washington University and sits on the board of the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children. Dr. Vaughan-Eden lectures nationally and internationally to multidisciplinary professional audiences on child welfare and violence prevention, and in May 2025, was the Commencement Speaker for VCU School of Social Work.  She contributes to several peer-reviewed journals and is an editor-in-chief of the six-volume NPEIV Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan (2022). She co-edited the national APSAC Practice Guidelines on Forensic Interviewing of Children in 2012 and 2023. Her accolades include the 2025 NSUDistinguished Alumni Award, 2024 VCU Alumni Stars Award, 2023 Outstanding Individual in Academia Award from the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy, 2020 NOFSW Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award, and 2012 NASW-Virginia Chapter Lifetime Achievement Award. See violavaughaneden.com.

Councilor

Shuei Kozu, PhD, LICSW joined the Department of Social Work at Southern Connecticut State University in 2019, bringing more than 20 years of experience as a clinical social worker, primarily in the health care field, working with children and families.  Dr. Kozu imparts knowledge across bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels, influencing future generations of social workers. Currently, Dr. Kozu serves as a Faculty Development Co-Director. As part of the Faculty Development, she is interested in faculty engagement, compassion, and empathy for each other, while promoting social emotional learning for students. Dr. Kozu has been conducting research studies to investigate the racially motivated offense against Asians and Asian Americans during the last few years. She has been successful in creating a disaster mental health certification program for graduate students, with the hope to incorporate study abroad program so that students can visit countries that are prone to have natural disasters and learn how people cope and show resilience. Dr. Kozu strives to make meaningful contributions to the field of social work and society at large.

 

Councilor

Sandra Joy, PhD, LCSW is a Sociology Professor who has been on the faculty at Rowan since 2002, teaching courses such as Race & Crime; Crime, Race & Social Justice, and The Sociology of Death, Dying, and Bereavement.  In 2002, she received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Temple University and in 1990 she received her M.S.W. from Norfolk State University. Dr. Joy is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a dozen years of experience as a mental health and substance abuse therapist. For several decades, whether Dr. Joy was working in the mental health field or within academia, she has maintained her work as a community activist. She has been an abolitionist in the anti-death penalty movement throughout this time and served for many years on the Board of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty (CEDP). She is a member of the Philadelphia Coalition Against Death by Incarceration (CADBI). She serves as a member on the Board of the Kalief Browder Foundation and is an Advisory Board member for the Petey Greene Program. Dr. Joy is the author of Coalition Building in the Anti-Death Penalty Movement: Privileged Morality, Race Realities (2010) and Grief, Loss, & Treatment for Death Row Families: Forgotten No More (2014). She is a co-author for the recent book publication (2022), titled Life Without Parole: Worse than Death? She serves as the coordinator of the Rowan Youth Empowerment Program, a group that offers mentoring to Rowan students who have experienced the incarceration of one or more parents. She is also an active member of the Africana Studies Council and she is on the advisory board of the Rowan Office of Social Justice, Inclusion, and Conflict Resolution.

Councilor

Dimi Lattas, PhD, MA(Res), MSW, BA is an Australian social work academic, researcher, and practitioner with a strong commitment to forensic social work education and training. She works at the University of the Sunshine Coast and is currently a Fulbright Scholar hosted at the University of Tennessee. Dimi is best known for her work on global forensic social work education models and brings deep expertise in pedagogy grounded in real-world complexity. In 2024, she was named Australian Social Work Researcher of the Year and has received four awards for her work in simulation-based learning.
Dimi is thoroughly enjoying her Fulbright experience in the US, connecting with forensic social workers across the country and sharing insights from Australian practice. She is passionate about mentoring emerging researchers, practitioners, and “pracademics”—those blending practice and academia. When she’s not working, she’s usually exploring America’s children’s museums with her 4-year-old son, hunting down the best local dishes, or sneaking in a bit of hiking or reading wherever she can.

Councilor

Susan McCarter, PhD, MS, MSW, is UNC Charlotte’s 2022-25 Bonnie E. Cone Professor in Civic Engagement. Dr. McCarter’s career began in Virginia as a juvenile probation officer, adolescent therapist, and policy analyst. For over 25 years she has conducted research as a Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Scholar (now Racial and Ethnic Disparities (RED)) and forensic social work practitioner. Nationally, she co-authored concept papers for both the Eliminate Racism and Achieve Equal Opportunity and Justice Grand Challenges for Social Work. Regionally, she co-founded the non-profit, Race Matters for Juvenile Justice and developed their community data dashboard and Charlotte’s first Racial Equity Impact Analysis. Professor McCarter learns and teaches at UNC Charlotte where she co-facilitated the UNC Charlotte Racial Equity Skill Building Caucus and currently leads multiple funded research studies examining Juvenile Justice, the School-to-Prison Pipeline (STPP), and Racial Justice – she also speaks and trains on these topics worldwide.

Councilor

Shawna Paris-Hoyte ONS, KC MSW RSW has practiced law in Nova Scotia for 27 years. Her areas of practice are criminal law/youth, human rights, child protection, family law, and poverty law. As defence counsel, her advocacy has taken her to all levels of the court system and tribunals in Canada, including to the Supreme Court of Canada when she successfully argued R. v. LTH in 2008 which is still the leading case on admissibility of statements to police authorities (by youth) under the YCJA. Shawna has been involved in many exciting and innovative legal cases and initiatives over the years. She recently concluded her work as legal counsel for a participant (group) of the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission Public Inquiry. Shawna is an innovative dual-professional and trailblazer. As an educator, she continues to teach at the university level in law and social work. As the founding director of the National Institute of Forensic Social Work (NIFSW -2016), Shawna provides expert consultation and training to grassroots community organizations, NGOs, and federal and provincial governments on a variety of integrated social/legal issues. She designs, develops, and implements course curriculums and professional development training programs for lawyers, social workers, social service workers and others. Additionally, Shawna recently completed the development of a trauma-informed certificate program for lawyers specific to advising victims/survivors of sexual assault. In October 2022, Shawna provided forensic social work training to legal professionals in the Caribbean specific to strengthening the child welfare system and building professional capacity for lawyers, judges, social workers, and justice administrators. Shawna has been instructing, supervising, and mentoring lawyers and law students, social work students and psychology students from numerous universities across Canada including the University of Calgary, University of Manitoba, Yorkville University, Saint Mary’s University and Dalhousie University for many years.

 

Councilor

Ali Winters, DSW, MSW is an Associate Professor of Practice in the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee. She earned her DSW from the University of Tennessee in 2015, her MSW from the University of Alabama in 1996, and her BSSW from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1992. With over 30 years of direct social work practice experience, Dr. Winters’ primary areas of social work practice have been forensic social work in corrections and juvenile justice, direct trauma-based service delivery, program development and evaluation, and behavioral health in healthcare settings. Dr. Winters has also been active in providing clinical supervision and leadership since earning her LCSW in 2005. Her areas of research interest include mental health and solitary confinement, forensic social work ethics, trauma-informed care, and secondary traumatic stress.

 

 

Executive Director

Jim Campbell, PhD, MSW has served as Associate Executive Director of NOFSW since 2015. Prior to joining FSWA/NOFSW Jim was a faculty member, department chair and associate dean in the Division of Continuing Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison and coordinated the Midwest Conference on Child Sexual Abuse.  He has coordinated training for a number of other professional organizations including the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC).  He has an MSW and PhD in Social Work from Arizona State University.

 

 

 

Executive Director

Jane Campbell is a retired sixth grade language arts teacher.  Ms. Campbell has a Master’s in Education from Viterbo University.  She has extensive experience in writing and editing various publications. Jane brings a wealth of knowledge having worked as a consultant to various non-profit organizations on training and conference programming.  She is currently providing support to FSWA/NOFSW, APSAC and Expressive Therapies Summit.

 

 

 

2025 Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient – Dr. George Leibowitz

Dr. George Leibowitz is Dean and Distinguished Professor at Rutgers School of Social Work, The State University of New Jersey.

He provides leadership for social work programs on the New Brunswick, Newark and Camden campuses. His work has been focused on integrated behavioral health, community and stakeholder engaged research, child maltreatment, and etiological models of victimization. For the past 25 years he has dedicated his career to forensic social work including providing clinical treatment, risk assessment, evaluation, and offense-specific interventions with adults and adolescents with sexually harmful behavior. He has been active in policy change and serves as research and clinical member of the Association for the Prevention and Treatment of Sexual Abuse (ATSA). In 2018, Dr Leibowitz co-authored with Dr Maschi Forensic social work: Psychosocial and legal issues across diverse populations and settings (2nd Ed.) with Springer Publishing, and he was founding chair of its Forensic Social Work program in the MSW Program at Stony Brook University (SUNY). He also has a visiting appointment as Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai, India. Dr. Leibowitz received his MSW and PhD at the University of Denver.
 
Dr. Leibowitz’s current service is at Montfort Therapeutic Residence in Port Jefferson, New York, where he provides program consultation and training, risk assessments, and clinical treatment with adolescents with sexually harmful behavior. His prior forensic social work practice included consultation/training at the Vermont Department for Children and Family Services; at Stetson School residential treatment program in Barre, Massachusetts; as a clinical/research consultant at Northeastern Family Institute in Burlington, Vermont; as well as a clinical supervisor at Progressive Therapy Systems in Denver, Colorado.
 
Additionally, Dr. Leibowitz is an expert on opioid addiction and is an interdisciplinary researcher implementation scientist, consultant, trainer, and licensed clinician in adult and adolescent mental health and substance abuse assessment and treatment across the lifespan. His research focuses on the social determinants of health, and he has worked with his colleagues at Rutgers and SUNY to bring cutting-edge artificial intelligence to solve real-world community issues and drive better health outcomes through informatics. He recently served as the Director of the Community and
Stakeholder Engagement Network for the Long Island Network for Clinical and Translational Science (LINCATS) module as part of Stony Brook’s Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), with the aim of enhancing trusting relationships between researchers, patients, and community members and reducing health inequalities by race and socioeconomic status.

2011 Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award – Sol Gothard, JD

The Honorable Sol Gothard has devoted his entire career to protecting the abused and to improving the legal system to which they are entrusted. For this and for his continued work with the National Organization of Forensic Social Work, he was honored at the 28th annual con-erence with the Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award from NOFSW.  In his remarks, Judge Gothard re-flected on his personal experience with forensic social work. “My childhood was traumatic because of the domestic violence that occurred in the home. It was so bad that child protection workers actually appeared at my home to remove me to a foster home or some kind of institution for neglected children.”

Judge Gothard received his B.A. from the City College of New York (1953) and his Masters of Social Work from Case Western University(1957). While serving as a probation officer, and eventually Asst. Directorof Probation in the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court, he attended law school at night for 4 years.  Judge Gothard graduated from Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans (1962).  In 1972, he was elected to the bench of the Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Juvenile Court.

​Sol stated that “the social workers that helped define me, gave me hope and a purpose in life, and expanded my horizons were the most important people in my life throughout this time. Social workers were my heroes, father figures, role models, and mentors until they, were ultimately replaced by my wife (whom I met in Case Western Reserve University’s School of Social Work) and my family".  During his tenure as Chief Judge on the juvenile bench, the court was nationally recognized for its comprehensive and innovative evaluation and treatment programs. Under Judge Gotthard’s leadership, in 1978, the Jefferson Abuse and Neglect Advocacy Project, which created the Tulane Juve-nile Law Clinic, began. The Clinic jointly trained law students, social work students, and volunteer local attorneys to advocate for abuse and neglect victims in the court. He was elected to the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal where he served until his retirement in 2005. He served as a board member of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work.  Judge Gothard taught at theTulane School of Social Work, served on the National Council of  Juvenile and Family Court Judges, The Institute on Violence, Abuse andTrauma, The American Humane Association, Loyola University, and Southern University Graduate Schoolof Social Work.

Judge Gothard was also selected“ Citizen of the Year” by the Louisiana State Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.  “Receiving the (NOFSW) award was a complete shock to me,” said Gothard, who has been an active participant in NOFSW meetings and activities for 25 years.

NOFSW has meant more to me than all of the other organizations. Whatever contribution I have made throughout these years, has been more then matched by what I have received in friendship and satisfaction witht he folks of our group. Thank  you, again, for this wonderful honor. I cannot express how much it means to me. -Sol

2012 Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award – Richard Ducote, JD

I was first elected Juvenile Court Judge in Jefferson Parish, La., in 1972, some 40 years ago. Two years later, I hired Richard as a probation officer. He asked if he could go to law school at night. I told him that in 1958, I did the same thing when I was hired as a probation officer in the New Orleans Juvenile Court. My judge, Leo Blessing, allowed me flexibility so that I could attend Law School in the evening and also maintain a full time job. I did the same for Richard, and he worked Saturdays, holidays and other unusual times (as I also had done) to fulfill his obligations to the Court.

And he more than fulfilled the required obligations and duties…much more!! From the beginning of his tenure with the Juvenile Court, he was a different kind of probation officer. He brought original and innovative ideas regarding what we should be doing to help children, particularly abused and neglected children.

In 1978, while still a probation officer, he obtained a considerable grant and created a specialized program to train attorneys to represent and work in behalf of abuse and neglected children in my court. I forget how much money Richard was awarded, but in the use of these funds, there was no graft or scandal. Now that is pretty damned good for the State of Louisiana at that time; in fact, it was outstanding. (No joke about Louisiana Judges!) The other 2 judges in the Court were skeptical, saying that no lawyer would show up, on his/her own time, without compensation, on a Saturday morning, no less! Yet, as Richard had predicted about 40 lawyers showed up to volunteer. They were all specially-trained and then worked for free to represent these otherwise voiceless children. This project developed the Tulane

University School of Law – Juvenile Law Clinic, which was one of only four in the country to be nationally recognized by the federal government for its innovative court improvements.

Thus began Richard’s life-long career of, for the most part, representing victims of child abuse and domestic violence. Richard claims I had an influence on him. I don’t know how true this is, but in classic Jewish thought there is a Midrash, a teaching, that says that a parent is a success when his child surpasses him, and this was certainly the case with Richard. Richard has written numerous learned and influential articles, published nationally, and cited in court decisions, I know this to be true, because I have read these articles and cases and have used them in my teaching. He has won many awards such as the one he is receiving today, from a variety of organizations, such as the Battered Women’s Conference, NASW, and many others. He has presented at major conferences and trained members of every profession, lawyers, police, social workers, psychologists, teachers, and especially judges, dealing with a multitude of issues including: child abuse, neglect, domestic violence, and related issues such as the reliability of children’s memory , the so-called “false memory syndrome” and the even worse, the so-called “parental alienation syndrome.” He has testified before many state legislatures, including committees of the U.S. Congress and has successfully written laws that have been enacted in many states. He has been on national television. And he even had an actor portray him in a movie about the nationally known trial and subsequent jail term of Dr. Elizabeth Morgan. Richard had been her attorney. She hid her young daughter from the father who, beyond any doubt in the minds of most of us (but not 2 different judges involved in the case) had sexually abused his daughter in the past. There was also evidence that he had done this to a child from a previous marriage. Dr. Morgan served over 2 years in jail for contempt of court…a longer sentence, than many, if not most, child abusers receive. Now I have never been on national television or testified before Congress or had a movie about me…remember what I said about a child surpassing his parent?

“…he continues his good work and his fight on behalf of victims of abuse, neglect, and domestic violence…in these matters, he is, in my opinion, the preeminent attorney in the country today.”

This is not to say that he is universally admired for these accomplishments! Shortly after leaving Court to go into private practice, he drafted a law regarding citizens’ review of children in foster care because too many children were, and still are, languishing in foster care, for many years, in what is supposed to be a short-term solution. Richard enlisted me to testify on behalf of the legislation, before the Louisiana Legislature and I and two other judges were opposed by the other approximate 75 other judges in the state who had jurisdiction over juvenile matters.

Not only was he intensely disliked for having the audacity to say that the judges and Courts were not protecting these children, but he succeeded in having me put on the Judges’ s— list as well. But you know something? The law passed! And, we both taught for many years at the National College of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. But, a certain few judges did blackball me from becoming an officer in the organization. That was the only election I ever lost. Thanks a lot, Richard! Because of Richard, I was in a movie, as was he, shown on public television, called “Breaking the Silence: Children’s Stories.” It was about children’s experiences of abuse. It had a variety of victims, including Joe Torres, former manager of the N. Y. Yankees, the president and CEO of Parade magazine, and other prominent adults. There was an extreme reaction to this movie and it was cancelled after a short time and was not seen in the majority of the country. In fairness, though, it should have been more balanced. Soon afterwards, however, the so-called “Fathers’ Rights” groups started targeting me in some of their writings and monitoring my presentations, etc. Again, thanks a lot, Richard!

But they really went after Richard in a variety of vicious ways that I will not talk about here. They caused him a great deal of money, time, and anguish. I cannot emphasize enough the long, lonely battles he fought, as did other professionals who were also targeted. But, with tenacity, very hard work, and perseverance, he won every battle that I am aware of, and these mean-spirited people have almost, but not quite, given up. And, most importantly, he continues his good work and his fight on behalf of victims of abuse, neglect, and domestic violence, as he refuses to be intimidated. In these matters, he is, in my opinion, the preeminent attorney in the country today.

So, this is a very brief and simplified insight into the man whom NOFSW honors today. You have chosen well, and I am grateful to you to present this tribute to my long-time friend and colleague, Richard Ducote.

I deeply appreciate your Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award given to me on April 17. Judge Gothard’s support, confidence, and encouragement throughout my career were indispensable, and I thank him for the 36 years I have known him. NOFSW could not have selected a more iconic figure to embody lifetime achievement than Judge Gothard, who has always led a life of service, humanity, scholarship, leadership, inspiration, and courage. Few judges have so boldly challenged their own ranks to shed the bias, ignorance, complacency, and lethargy which have gravely disserved the abused, battered, and troubled appearing before them for redress daily. Now, long after his “retirement,” he continues to energize and shape the practical and intellectual debates confronting all of us in the classrooms and court rooms, with the same acuity and wit endearing him to us for decades. I also thank Dr. Viola Vaughan-Eden for nominating me, and for bringing to the field- locally, nationally, and internationally – a whirlwind of competence, integrity, and professional coalescence. So many are indebted to forensic social workers. Child sexual abuse victims would still be chained by the misguided Freudian psychiatrists, were it not for pioneering insightful social workers in the early 70’s. Special needs adoption would likewise be an alien notion, and effective therapeutic intervention for the traumatized would not exist, were it not for those in your profession. I thank you again for this honor, and hope to continue to work with you in the years ahead.

2013 Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award – Ira Arthell Neighbors, DSW

The National Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW) has announced that Dr. Ira Arthell Neighbors, DSW, LCSW, has been selected to receive the organization’s Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award at the NOFSW Annual Conference, April 14th in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Neighbors is a resident of San Bernardino, California. The Gothard Award is the highest honor bestowed by the NOFSW.  It is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the forensic social work profession, public welfare, and humankind.

​Dr. Neighbors began his career serving people with developmental disabilities, working in state and community facilities as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. His work as an adult education teacher in a correctional facility gave him the impetus to pursue his postgraduate degrees. He earned his Master of Social Work (MSW) at the University of California at Los Angeles and obtained his Doctorate in Social Work (DSW) from Howard University in Washington, DC. His dissertation was titled: “Quality of Life Issues for Persons with Developmental Disabilities: The District of Columbia a Case in Point.”

​For over five years, Dr. Neighbors taught a forensic social work elective class at Cal-State University. While at Cal-State, he became a member of NOFSW.  He served NOFSW in a number of capacities: Counselor, Treasurer and President. He was the Founding Editor of the Journal of Forensic Social Work which grew from his editorial work on the book “Social Work and the Law: Proceedings of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work, published in 2000. He furthered his career in teaching forensic social work at Southern University at New Orleans where he also served as Dean of Graduate Studies.

Dr. Neighbors has participated and held offices in a variety of local, state, and national organizations and presented at international conference including the National Association of Social Work (NASW), the National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW) and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

2014 Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award – Patricia Brownell, PhD

Patricia Brownell, PhD, LMSW, received the Sol Gothard Award at the 31st Annual Conference, for her contributions to the forensic social work profession.

The award was presented by Sol Gothard, Saturday, July 26, 2014 at Fordham University in New York City.

Dr. Brownell worked at the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) for 26 years.  She served in a variety of positions at HRA including: senior planner, executive assistant, and director for many programs and projects in the fields of child welfare, domestic violence, home care, the entitlements, and public welfare.

After a successful career in public services, Dr. Brownell pursued a doctorate at Fordham University with a specialization in gerontology. Her dissertation on elder abuse involved collaboration with the NYPD and the criminal justice system to identify the type and extent of elder abuse in New York City.

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Since graduating with her doctorate, Dr. Brownell began a very successful career as a social work educator. First appointed as an assistant Professor and then promoted to the rank of Associate, As a Hartford Fellow, Dr. Brownell has been instrumental in conducting original research in the area of elder abuse, as well as educating many social work students about gerontological social work.

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In her career as a social work educator, she has continued her pioneering work in the area of elder abuse, as well as public sector social work. Her landmark dissertation on elder abuse has been published as a book, Family Crimes against the Elderly: A Study of Elder Abuse and the Criminal Justice System.  Dr. Brownell was also instrumental in founding the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) and has been very active in advancing knowledge about elder abuse and gerontology at the United Nations. Dr. Brownell has never forgotten the importance of professionalizing public sector workers and successfully applied for and serves as the Principal Investigator for the Practicum Partnership Program funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation with the New York Academy of Medicine. This program provides the opportunity for public sector employees to pursue graduate social work degrees.

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She has published two books, twelve journal articles and 21 book chapters. In this way, she has sought to disseminate her pioneering research findings and advocacy work in the areas of elder abuse and public sector social work to an even larger audience of social workers and others in the social service field.

​This is the highest award bestowed upon an individual by the NOFSW. It is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the forensic social work profession, public welfare, and humankind.

2015 Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award – Carleton Munson, PhD

Dr. Munson is Professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and Director of the Washington Area Supervision Institute at Woodstock Forest. Dr.  Throughout his professional career of more than 40 years, Dr. Munson has served as a model of excellence in the social work profession.  He has made outstanding contributions to social work practice, social work education, and social work research in health and mental health.  As a Professor in the School of Social Work, University of Maryland at Baltimore, Dr. Munson has taught social work practice at the BSW, MSW and doctoral levels.  He also served for seven years as Director of the University of Maryland School of Social Work doctoral program and chaired doctoral dissertation research on social work practice issues.

In addition to being a distinguished educator, Dr. Munson has made contributions to clinical social work practice and the social work profession in the federal and state court systems.  His participation as a clinical expert witness and consultant in two State of Maryland Court of Appeals child welfare cases established the right of clinical social workers to make DSM-IV-TR diagnoses, to testify as expert witnesses, and to testify to ultimate issues.  These are accomplishments of national historic importance for the social work profession, and the Maryland Court of Appeals’ opinion in Dr. Munson’s case affirmed and established the credentials of clinical social workers at the state and national levels.

Dr. Munson remains active in clinical practice.  He has served as clinical social worker and as clinical consultant to practitioners, mental health agencies, and departments of social services at state, county and local department levels.

The award will be presented at the NOFSW annual conference at 8:30 AM, Saturday, August 22, 2015 at the Marriott Crystal Gateway Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. This is the highest award bestowed upon an individual by the NOFSW.  It is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the forensic social work profession, public welfare, and humankind

2016 Sol Gothard Award – Susan Robbins, PhD

Susan P. Robbins, Ph.D., is a professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. She holds licenses as an advanced clinical social worker (LCSW) and licensed chemical dependency counselor (LCDC) in Texas, Diplomate in Clinical Social Work from NASW and ABSWE, certification as a Master Forensic Social Worker and a Diplomate in Forensic Social Work from the American Board of Forensic Social Workers. From 1978-1980 she coordinated a Criminal Justice program at Dominican College in New Orleans. She teaches a graduate course on mediation and has served as a mediator and mediation trainer with the Dispute Resolution Center of Harris County since 1982.   Working on a contract basis with the Texas Protective Services Training Institute from 2000-2009, she provided training for protective service workers, supervisors, lawyers and judges on false allegations and forensic interviewing and also serves as a consultant and expert witness in this area. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Social Work Education.

The award will be presented at the NOFSW annual conference at 8:30 AM, Saturday, June 18, 2016 at the Renaissance Arts Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. This is the highest award bestowed upon an individual by the NOFSW.  It is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the forensic social work profession, public welfare, and humankind.

2017 Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award – Dana Prescott, PhD

Dana E. Prescott holds an MSW from Boston College and and a PhD from Simmons College in social work and has been licensed to practice law in federal and state courts in Maine and Massachusetts since 1983. He is a trial lawyer with extensive ADR experience and is a partner at Prescott, Jamieson, & Murphy, Law Group, LLC, Saco, Maine, a member of NOFSW, a Fellow and Board Member of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and and has served on various boards and committees related to policy, court rules, training and education programs, and legislation. He is a rostered and active court-appointed guardian ad litem and currently serves as Chair of the Maine GAL Review Board. Mr. Prescott has published and presented extensively on court systems, forensic and expert roles, as well as ethics and evidence-informed practices for family lawyers, judges, social workers, guardians ad litems, and other professional groups. He serves as an adjunct faculty member in the MSW programs at Simmons College and Boston College teaching policy and advocacy courses..

The award will be presented at the NOFSW annual conference at 8:30 AM, Friday, July 28, 2017 at the Omni Parker House Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. This is the highest award bestowed upon an individual by the NOFSW.  It is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the forensic social work profession, public welfare, and humankind.

2018 Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award – Kathleen Faller, PhD

Kathleen Coulborn Faller is the Marion Elizabeth Blue Endowed Professor Emerita of Children and Families, and Professor Emerita of Social Work at the University of Michigan.  She is involved in research, clinical work, teaching, training, and writing in the area of child welfare and forensic social work. She has written nine books and approximately 90 peer reviewed articles; conducted more than 300 juried international, national, and state conference presentations; and presented more than 250 workshop addressing controversies of interviewing children about sexual abuse, the co-morbidity of child maltreatment and parental substance abuse, domestic violence, cultural competence in child welfare, and child welfare workforce issues. She also served as the founding Director of Family Assessment Clinic at the University of Michigan for more than 30 years and was the Principal Investigator on the University of Michigan site of National Child Welfare Workforce Institute.  As one of the foremost experts in forensic interviewing and forensic evaluation of children, Dr. Faller has been an expert witness in hundreds of child maltreatment cases throughout the United States.  As a member of NOFSW, she has presented many times and served on the editorial board of the Journal of Forensic Social

The 2020 Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dr. Viola Vaughan-Eden at the Virtual Forensic Social Work Certificate Program on June 17.

Viola Vaughan-Eden PhD, MJ, LCSW is Associate Professor and PhD Program Director with The Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work at Norfolk State University in Southeastern Virginia.  She is also the Chief Experience Officer (CXO) at The UP Institute, a think tank for upstream child abuse solutions.  As a clinical and forensic social worker, Dr. Vaughan-Eden serves as a consultant and expert witness in child maltreatment cases – principally sexual abuse.  She also lectures nationally and internationally on child and family welfare to multidisciplinary groups of professionals. Dr. Vaughan-Eden is Immediate Past-President of the National

Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW), President Emerita of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), and President Emerita of the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence (NPEIV).  Additionally, she is the former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal for Forensic Social Work, former Editorial Advisor for the Journal of Social Work Education, as well as serves on the editorial board and/or as a reviewer for several other national research journals.

Viola is the recipient of several honors including as a 2019 Council of Social Work Education Leadership Scholar, 2015 Family and Children’s Trust Fund of Virginia Child Welfare Award, 2014 Champions for Children Community Service Award, 2012 National Association of Social Workers Virginia Chapter Lifetime Achievement Award, and 2011 National Children's Advocacy Center's Outstanding Service Award in Mental Health. See www.violavaughaneden.com.

The 2021 Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dr. Lisa Rapp-McCall at the Virtual Forensic Social Work Certificate Program on June 16

Dr. Lisa Rapp-McCall received her MSW degree in Social Work from the University of Buffalo and worked as a Psychiatric Social Worker in the areas of Domestic Violence, Children and Adolescent psychiatric inpatient units, outpatient clinics and in the Juvenile Justice system. She earned her Ph.D in Social Welfare at the University of Buffalo and has taught at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, the University of South Florida and currently at Saint Leo University. She has taught at the Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral levels.

Dr. Rapp-McCall is currently Professor of Graduate Social Work and a Research Associate of the Maribeth Durst Applied Research Institute at Saint Leo University. She has conducted program evaluations for government agencies including Florida Department of juvenile justice, Nevada Department of Child and Family Services, Pinellas County Crossover program. In addition, she has completed evaluations for non-profit agencies and foundations like the Hilton Foundation, Sunrise, Prodigy, as well as Churches.

Dr. Rapp-McCall's research expertise includes: juvenile crime and violence, child abuse, school violence, human trafficking, and prevention, as well as program evaluation. She teaches Human Behavior, Research Methods, Clinical Evaluation, Child Abuse and Neglect, Children's Services, Human Trafficking, and Causes and Control of Anger and Aggression.

2022 Sol Gothard Award presentation Wednesday, June 15

2022 Sol Gothard Award Recipient / In Memoriam of Dr. Robert P. Butters We were saddened to learn our dear friend and colleague, Rob Butters, age 51, passed away suddenly on December 13, 2021, as the result of a heart attack. Rob served on NOFSW’s Executive Council from 2008 to 2015, including as Treasurer.  He was also the Co-founding Editor of our Journal of Forensic Social Work. As a former Assistant Professor at the University of Utah, College of Social Work he chaired the forensic social work concentration and was the Director of the university’s Utah Criminal Justice Center from 2011-2018. Rob’s commitment to forensic social work was unwavering.  His dedication to the field was only surpassed by his love for his four children.

Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award Winners In Memoriam – Jackie Gothard, MSW

NOFSW is sadden to announce the passing of Jackie Gothard on May 21, 2018 at the age of 83. She was the beloved wife of Judge Sol Gothard for 60 years and mother of their five children.  Jackie received her MSW from Western Reserve University Graduate School of Social Work, where she met fellow MSW student and the love of her life, Sol.  As a proud native of New Orleans, Jackie returned home and worked several years as a forensic social worker for New Orleans Child Protective Services.  She was devoted to numerous volunteer organizations, including Jewish Family Service (where she was active in the teen suicide prevention program) and the New Orleans post of the Jewish War Veterans. Her passion was Congregation Beth Israel, where she served as the first female president. Her term coincided with the 100th anniversary of the synagogue and then its destruction in Hurricane Katrina. Jackie was honored as a People’s Health Champion at a New Orleans Saints game in 2007 for her determination and success in rebuilding Beth Israel.

Jackie was also the strength that Sol relied on in his political campaigns for Juvenile Court judge in 1972, Appellate Court judge in 1986 and Appellate Court re-election in 1999.  In addition, Jackie was a major supporter of NOFSW, helping plan and organize several of our conferences.  In loving memory of a dear friend, we will always treasure the wonderful memories we have of Jackie Gothard

In Memoriam: Judge Sol Gothard, Former Board Member and Key Supporter of NOFSW

Sol Gothard passed away, at home, on July 5, 2020. He was 89 years old. The Judge, as he was known to all, was born and grew up in the Bronx, New York. He was the son of immigrant parents, Samuel and Lillian, and the youngest of four brothers, Jack, Jerry and Abe. After graduating from the City College of New York, Sol served in the United States Army, from which he was Honorably Discharged. He earned a Masters degree in social work from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where he met the love of his life, fellow graduate student Jacqueline Pressner Gothard. Sol and Jackie married and settled down in her hometown, New Orleans. While employed as a social worker, Sol earned his law degree from Loyola University in New Orleans. He was elected Juvenile Court Judge in Jefferson Parish in 1972, and was elected to the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal in 1986 where he served until his retirement in 2005. Judge Sol, under-privileged as a child, became a fierce advocate for the powerless in our society, particularly abused children and animals. He dedicated his professional life to the pursuit of justice for children, as a social worker, attorney, Juvenile Court Judge, and Court of Appeal Judge. His intellectual interests included the influence of Old Testament law on American law and values. A prolific writer and speaker, the Judge lectured at conferences around the world on a variety of topics, most notably child welfare and the ethical treatment of animals. His articles were published in the Journal of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, The Practicing Law Institute, The American Medical Association, the Louisiana Bar Journal, and many other books and publications. As an adjunct professor, he taught graduate and undergraduate students at Tulane and Loyola Universities. Following retirement after 33 years on the bench, the Judge, a proud Army veteran, served as Commander of the greater New Orleans Chapter of the Jewish War Veterans, the oldest active national veterans service organization in America. His numerous honors include "Citizen of the Year" by the Louisiana State Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, "Alumnus of the Year" by the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences of Case Western Reserve University, and the Alfred E. Clay award for significant contributions to children by the Children's Bureau of Greater New Orleans. He delivered commencement addresses at the Tulane University Graduate School of Social Work and the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences of Case Western Reserve University. The National Organization of Forensic Social Work established the "Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2011, which is the "highest award bestowed upon an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the forensic social work profession, public welfare, and humankind." In 2013, he was selected as a "People's Health Champion" for revitalizing the local Jewish War Veterans post. Judge Sol was a board member of numerous organizations, including The American Humane Association Children's Division, the Louisiana SPCA, the Louisiana Animal Welfare Commission, and the Jewish Welfare Federation of Greater New Orleans. The Judge loved telling jokes. He had an encyclopedic recall for the appropriate, or inappropriate, joke for every situation and occasion. He delivered thousands of punch lines in his impeccable Yiddish accent: "There once came walking down the road these two . . ." More than work or humor, Judge Sol was devoted to Jackie, his beloved bride of 62 years. Their legacy of love are five children - Yaacov and partner LouAnn, Eddie and wife Blayne, Andy and wife Julie, Shayna and husband Eric, Sander and wife Julie. Judge Sol was "Honey" to his eleven grandchildren - Aimee, Taylor, Ben, Daniel, Tara, Sidnie, Gabriel, Mikayla, Maya, Lindsay, and Jeremy; and great grandchildren August and Magnolia. Sol and Jackie were soul mates, and they loved life - travel, laughing, their many dogs, hiking, Israel, gardening, family celebrations, music, holding hands, mountains, whitewater rafting, neighbors, seders, reading, nature, television miniseries, giving charity, live theater, dancing, dessert, wildlife, the Saints and the Pelicans. They abhorred racism, violence, intolerance, cruelty and injustice. Dad/Honey, We love you eternally. We miss you terribly. We will be forever enriched by your life, your love, your inspiration, your light. Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Jackie & Sol Gothard Memorial Fund at Congregation Beth Israel (www.bethisraelnola.com) or the charity of your choice.

Stacey Hardy-Chandler

Stacey Hardy-Chandler, Ph.D., J.D., LCSW, PGDip, has served as the chief executive officer of the Association of Social Work Boards since 2022. ASWB is the nonprofit whose mission is to provide support and services to the social work regulatory community throughout the U.S. and Canada. Dr. Hardy-Chandler’s social work career spans more than 35 years and includes providing direct mental health services to diverse client populations; evolving to academia serving on faculty at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Social Work and George Mason University Department of Social Work; and then transitioning to senior management for Fairfax County and the City of Alexandria outside of Washington, D.C. Stacey Hardy-Chandler, Ph.D., J.D., LCSW, PGDip, has served as the chief executive officer of the Association of Social Work Boards since 2022. ASWB is the nonprofit whose mission is to provide support and services to the social work regulatory community throughout the U.S. and Canada. Dr. Hardy-Chandler’s social work career spans more than 35 years and includes providing direct mental health services to diverse client populations; evolving to academia serving on faculty at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Social Work and George Mason University Department of Social Work; and then transitioning to senior management for Fairfax County and the City of Alexandria outside of Washington, D.C.