Faculty and staff arrivals, departures and transitions
Personnel changes at the School of Social Work in 2020 and 2021
New arrivals
Robert Anderson, M.Ed.
Anderson joined the school as upper-level B.S.W. student success advisor in 2021.
Jill Butler, M.S.W., M.S.
Butler joined the school as online M.S.W. field coordinator and assistant professor in teaching in 2020. She began working as an adjunct instructor and faculty field liaison in 2019. She previously taught at Widener University.
Tim Chavous, M.Ed.
Chavous joined the school as lower-level B.S.W. student success advisor in 2021.
Lakeita Clarkson, (M.S.'13/HP; B.S.'04/H&S)
Clarkson, a two-time VCU alum, joined the school as online M.S.W. student success advisor in 2021. She has almost 15 years’ experience assisting students in navigating higher education, including a well rounded student services background in advising, financial aid, admissions and career coaching.
Gary S. Cuddeback, Ph.D., M.S.W., M.P.H.
Dr. Cuddeback joined the school as associate dean for research and professor in 2021. He previously worked at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was the Berg-Beach Distinguished Professor of Community Social Work at the School of Social Work, a faculty research fellow at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, and a research professor with the Department of Psychiatry.
Andrew Frazier, B.S.
Frazier joined the school as student recruitment specialist in 2020, providing support to prospective students. He previously worked in the secondary education field as an assistant dean of students.
Rebecca Gomez, Ph.D., M.S.W., LCSW
Dr. Gomez joined the school as associate dean for academic and student affairs and associate professor in 2020. She previously served as director of the social work Ph.D. program at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas. More details.
Rachel Hosig, B.S.W., B.S.
Hosig joined the school as M.S.W. Program coordinator in 2021.
Allison McLarin (B.A.’07/HP; M.Ed.’13/E)
McLarin, a two-time VCU alum, joined the school as M.S.W. online student success advisor in 2021. She previously worked at VCU for seven years as an undergraduate advisor.
Anna McLemore (B.S.’07/H&S; M.P.A.’16/GPA)
McLemore, a two-time VCU alum, joined the school as HR manager in 2021. She started at VCU in 2012 and previously worked in the Office of the President, University Relations and the School of Pharmacy.
Bennett Newman (M.B.A’21/B)
Newman, a VCU alum, joined the school as senior financial administrator in 2021. He previously served as a financial analyst with the VCU School of Medicine and has earned a Certificate of Accountancy from VCU.
Stephanie G. Odera (B.S.W.’04/SW; M.S.W.’06/SW; Ed.D.’18/E)
Dr. Odera, a three-time VCU and two-time social work alum, returned to the school as the director of field education and associate professor in teaching in 2020. She previously served as an adjunct social work faculty member, field instructor and field liaison. Before joining the school, she was associate director for Graduate RVA, a Lumina Foundation-funded partnership between VCU, John Tyler Community College, Reynolds Community College and Virginia State University. More details.
Johnnie O’Neal (Ph.D.’13/SW), M.S.W.
Dr. O’Neal joined the school as a visiting instructor in 2021. A social work doctoral alum, he previously worked at Mercy College as an assistant professor and interim social work program Bronx coordinator.
Jazmyn Porter, M.P.H., M.S.W.
Porter joined the school as online M.S.W. advisor in 2020 and was promoted to senior advisor in 2021. She has been utilizing relationships data and systems to provide student services since 2010.
Katelyn Turner (B.A.’19/H&S)
Turner, a VCU alum, joined the school as front desk assistant in 2021. Turner has an Associate in Arts degree from Reynolds Community College and was a double major in political science and homeland security at VCU.
Audrey Walls (B.A.’10/H&S; M.F.A.’13/H&S; M.Ed.’21/E)
Walls, a three-time VCU alum, joined the school as student success writing advisor for the online M.S.W. Program in 2021. Audrey previously held a variety of counseling and student services positions across VCU, including the School of Business and VCUarts, as well as communications and writing positions at VCU.
Departures
Shay Buchin, B.A.
Buchin, the school’s front desk assistant since 2019, left her position to enroll in the online M.S.W. Program in 2021.
Patrick V. Dattalo (M.S.W.’80/SW; Ph.D.’93/H&S)
Dr. Dattalo, a two-time school alum, retired as professor in 2021 after a 40-plus-year affiliation with the school. He is volunteering with a local county fire and rescue department as an ambulance driver and nationally certified emergency medical technician. More details
Basil I. Gooden, Ph.D., M.S.W.
Dr. Gooden, a two-year iCubed visiting scholar in the Sustainable Food Access Core, accepted a position in 2021 as director of state operations for rural development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Katelynn Jarrells (B.S.W.’16/SW; M.S.W.’17/SW)
Jarrells, a two-time school alum and B.S.W. advisor since 2018, accepted a position in 2021 as program head and assistant professor of human services at Brightpoint Community College (formerly John Tyler CC) in Richmond.
Shelby E. McDonald, Ph.D., M.S.W.
Dr. McDonald, an associate professor who joined the school in 2015 and directed the Children, Families & Animals Research Group, accepted a position in 2021 as director of research for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Joanna Pinto-Coelho, Ph.D.
Dr. Pinto-Coelho, who served the school as its student success writing advisor from 2019-2020, is now a copywriter with the small-business platform Hello Alice.
Christina Remmers, M.S.W.
Remmers, who started as a student success advisor in 2013 and worked most recently as field education coordinator and assistant professor in teaching, accepted a position in 2021 as senior project manager for the Community Engaged Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank.
Mary Riddick, M.P.A.
Riddick, who served as director of development at the school since 2017, accepted the position of director of development at VCU’s College of Humanities and Sciences in 2021.
Melissa L. Stewart, Ph.D.
Dr. Stewart retired in 2021 after 20 years with the school, most recently as director of the M.S.W. Program. She has been named faculty emeritus. More details
Transitions
Sarah Burton-Everette, M.Ed.
Burton-Everette was promoted from administrator of student retention initiatives to director of advising and retention in 2020.
Stevara Haley Clark (B.S.W.’09/SW; M.S.W.’10/SW; Ed.D.’21/E)
Dr. Clark, a three-time VCU and two-time social work alum, was named director of online education in 2021. She also is an assistant professor in teaching and previously served as assistant director of the online M.S.W. Program.
Kimberly S. Compton (M.S.W.’13/SW; Ph.D.’21/SW)
Dr. Compton, who defended her dissertation and graduated with her Ph.D. in 2021, was subsequently named assistant director for the M.S.W. Program and continues to serve as an instructor. She is a two-time social work alum.
Cinnamon Francis (M.Sc.’21/M)
Francis moved from M.S.W. Program assistant to field education enrollment and agreements manager in 2021. She recently earned her master's in addiction studies.
Maurice N. Gattis, Ph.D., M.S.S.W.
Dr. Gattis was promoted to associate professor in 2020 after serving one year as an iCubed visiting scholar in the Intersections in the Lives of LGBTQIA+ Communities Core. In 2021, he was named a senior advisor to VCU’s Queer Research and Advocacy Center.
Anna Givens, M.P.A.
Givens was named senior development specialist in 2021 after previously serving as development specialist.
Kimberly King
King was promoted from administrative assistant to administrative coordinator in the Office of Field Education in 2021.
Nicole L. Lee (M.S.W.’00/SW; Ph.D.’04/SW)
Dr. Lee, a two-time social work alum, was promoted to director of the M.S.W. Program in 2021 after previously serving as its assistant director for on-campus. She is also an associate professor in teaching, having started at the school in 2002 as an adjunct professor.
Nicole O-Pries (M.S.W.’04/SW)
O-Pries, a social work alum, was promoted from assistant professor in teaching to associate professor in teaching in 2020.
Dana Regusters, M.S.W.
Regusters joined the field team as interim B.S.W. field coordinator in 2021 after serving as a student success advisor for the online M.S.W. Program.
Allison K. Ryals (B.S.W.’03/SW; M.S.W.’05/SW), LCSW
Ryals, a two-time social work alum, was named assistant director for the B.S.W. Program in 2021. She is also an associate professor in teaching.
Remembering ‘The Bobs’
The school lost two of its most beloved emeriti faculty less than six months apart in 2020. Robert "Bob" Peay (M.S.W.’74/SW) retired as emeritus faculty after serving for 27 years and is remembered for his study abroad and service learning trips, commitment to students’ field experience and for mentoring Black students. Robert "Bob" Schneider spent 34 years as professor and assistant dean and was known for his expertise in macro social work and in gerontology, founding influential national organizations in both areas. Together, the Bobs conceived and helped raise funds for the school’s Social Work Administration, Planning and Policy Practice Scholarship.