Assistant Teaching Professor Charlotte Sanders (MSW ’04) was recently named the new MSW program director.
Charlotte replaces Maureen Marcenko, who had been serving as the interim MSW program director since January 2023. Before that, Val Kalei Kanuha, currently the School’s interim associate dean for academic affairs, served as MSW program director for two years.
Charlotte joined the School in 2014 as the field lead for the Northwest Leaders in Behavioral Health, a federally funded initiative to train social work students in behavioral health prevention and clinical intervention. She has taught hundreds of students in both the MSW and BASW programs and in 2017, she received a Students Choice Teaching Award.
“It’s been an honor to serve the School community for the last eight years as teaching faculty and most recently as field faculty with the Office of Field Education,” said Charlotte. “I look forward to continued service as the new MSW program director.”
Charlotte is the School’s representative with the UW Health Sciences Interprofessional Education Initiative, teaching courses and workshops to health sciences students and faculty. She is also co-advisor for the School’s La Colectiva de Latin American Social Work Students.
She has been involved in social services for more than 30 years, primarily serving youth and young adults in various settings including residential care, health clinics and shelters. Before she moved to Seattle, she provided therapy and case management services to children through the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic.
Please take the opportunity to thank Maureen for her service to the MSW program and send a warm welcome to Charlotte as she transitions to this new position.