Officers
Dr. Manohar Pawar is the president of the International Consortium for Social Development (ICSD) and is professor of social work, School of Social Work and Arts, Charles Sturt University, Australia. He was the former president of the ICSD Asia Pacific Branch, 2006 to 2016. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of a peer reviewed journal entitled the International Journal of Community and Social Development, published by SAGE. Professor Pawar has successfully conceptualised, led and implemented national and international research projects funded by the Australian Research Council and Japan Foundation Asia Centre. He has contributed to 200+ publications, including over 20 books/monographs. His publications include: Future Directions in Social development (co-edited, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017); Social and Community Development Practice (SAGE, 2014); and International Social Work (co-authored, SAGE, 2013).
Leila Patel is Distinguished Professor of Social Development at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. She is the founding director of the Centre for Social Development in Africa where she is based. She played a leading role in the development of welfare policy in South Africa.
She has published widely in social development, social welfare, social policy, social protection and social work focusing on gender and care, and on children, youth and families. Her recent book coedited with Sophie Plagerson and Isaac Chinyoka – Social Protection and Social Development in the Global South – was published by Edward Elgar in 2023. Leila has been a board member of the ICSD and was recently appointed to the board of the UN Research Institute for Social Development.
Lauren is a development sociologist deeply committed to social justice. Her academic work focuses on enhancing opportunities for people to realize their full potential. She studies how structural barriers contribute to marginalisation and identifies effective ways to empower individuals to lead lives they value.
Lauren’s research primarily targets marginalised and excluded groups, including unemployed youth, people with disabilities, vulnerable workers, and children in difficult circumstances. While she is dedicated to advancing theoretical research, she also uses evidence to create innovative policy and programmatic solutions to improve social development outcomes for excluded groups. Her work is highly relevant to policymaking and aims to ensure that research benefits the societies it serves.
She is a Professor at the University of Johannesburg and is the Director of the Centre for Social Development in Africa, a research centre focused on applied social development research.
Dr. Chathapuram Ramanathan, PhD., ACSW, LMSW, LMFT, CAC , four decades in Social Work: Practitioner, Educator, Administrator, Professor, School of Social Work, Illinois State University. His practice and scholarship focus on cross-cultural issues, social work practice, social development, corporate social responsibility; Four decades as Psychotherapist: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Clinical and Macro Social Worker. Now, Prof. Ramanathan serves ICSD as Vice President: Planning, Organizational Evaluation.
Prof. Ramanathan was a Fulbright-Nehru Visiting Scholar: National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences; Conferred Fulbright Senior Specialist award: Tata Institute of Social Sciences; served NASW’s National Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity, National Ethics Committee. Journal editorial boards; Facilitated Memorandum of Understanding between NASW and ISPSW; Commissioner, Site Visitor : Council on Social Work Education (CSWE); On agency boards; Michigan Governor recognized him as an important Asian American leader; 1999 Co-authored article was selected as the best article: National Human Rights Workers Association; Presented several key notes and plenaries, including in “Bounds of Ethics” conference: Inaugural address delivered by his holiness the Dalai Lama; 2002’s US-Speaker Series presenter: “Diversity and Inclusiveness: A Hindu American View”; Presented over 50 papers, workshops in 18 countries; published over 50 refereed articles, book chapters, and co-authored four books. Prof. Ramanathan is the founding chairman of Michigan Indo American Democratic Caucus (first statewide caucus in the history of the United States for Indo Americans); ensured Michigan legislature opened with a Hindu prayer, first time in its history.
Fr. Saju M. D
Dr Francis Ogojo Okello is a Director, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, Learning and Adaptation at Panagora Group in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. He has over 25 years of experience leading research, monitoring, evaluation and learning components of global and bilateral assistance development projects funded by the United States Agency for International Development. His prior experience includes work with multiple US-based global development consulting firms, including Abt Associates, Chemonics International, FHI 360, Population Services International and Social Impact. His country experience includes 12 sub-Saharan Africa countries, two in Asia (the Philippines and Bangladesh) and two in South America (Columbia and Surinam). He has a passion for social development, mixed-methods research, implementation science, data use and knowledge management. Dr Okello received his Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences (Sociology & Social Administration) and Master of Arts (Sociology) degrees from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, and PhD from Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, Australia.
Benjamin Lough is a Professor of Social Work and Business Administration and Director of Social Innovation at the Gies College of Business, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He also holds positions as Senior Research Associate with the Center for Social Development, University of Johannesburg, and Faculty Director of International Service at the Center for Social Development, Washington University in St. Louis. He is a Senior Researcher for the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme. Ben’s research and teaching interests include volunteerism, community development, grassroots social innovation, and non-profit management. He was the lead researcher and author of the UN State of the Worlds Volunteerism Report and is currently researching the contributions of international volunteers to gender equality from the perspectives of partner organizations. Dr. Lough earned his Ph.D. in Social Work from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis in 2010.
Dr. Bipin Jojo is Professor in the Centre for Social Justice and Governance, School of Social Work at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
He was a common wealth visiting fellow to School of Oriental and African Stuides, University of London during 2008-09. He was a visiting professor to University of Tampree, Finland in 2018 and also delivered lectures at University of Bilbao, Spain and Masaryk University, Czech Republic.
He served as the chairperson of Centre for Social Justice and Governance between 2006-2012. He also served as the chairperson of International Relation Office at Tata Institute of Social Sciences between 2009-2012. Durinfg this period he was instrumental in establishing international academic collaboration with with consortium of European Universities under Erasmus Mundus project funded by the European Union led by Lund University, Sweden.He was the co-researcher in the collaborative research project with University of Edinburgh and University of East London in United Kingdom funded by the British Council. He also worked in a collaborative research project on communities’ informal care and welfare systems with Charles Sturt University, Australia.
To be appointed
Marianna Colvin
Dr Kumar has a multidisciplinary background in Global Health and Social Work. He earned a doctoral degree in Global Health from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, which examine the delivery of mental health and non-communicable disease service at the public hospitals in India. He has taught social work courses in India and the UK and supervised many students for their field work practicum. Regarding social work practice, Dr Kumar has implemented various projects related to community health, emergency response, homelessness and livelihood for marginalised communities for the past 8 years. He has received numerous grants for his research projects and social enterprise. Dr Kumar’s research interests include health care for elderly, mental health services delivery, homelessness, education, health system strengthening. Dr Kumar is keen in working with students and colleagues to use technologies to develop models and interventions to tackle contemporary social problems at local and global level.
Gordana Berc was born in Zagreb, 1970. She graduated social work in 1999. at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law, Department of Social work and has been employed at the same faculty in 2001. as a junior research assistant. In 2005 she finished master degree in education sciences at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Philosophy. In 2009. she defended doctoral theses in the field of social sciences at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law. From 2010 she is employed as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Law and she teaches on the undergraduate and graduate program as well as on the postgraduate program.
From 2001. until today she was involved in teaching different courses at the Department of Social Work (Social Work with Families, Preventive Programs in Social Work, Family Therapy, Basics of counseling, School social work). Today she teaches Basics of counseling, School of social work, Different approaches to Counseling, and two courses on the postgraduate program.
Dr. Asok Kumar Sarkar, Chairperson of the International Consortium for Social Development Asia Pacific branch, is Professor of Social Work. Presently, he serves as Head, Department of Social Work, Visva-Bharati, India and also Principal, Institute of Rural Reconstruction, Visva-Bharati, Sriniketan, India. He is an alumnus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Formerly, he worked as Head, Department of Social Work, Assam University, Silchar, Assam. He has authored and edited books such as NGOs: The New Lexicon of Health Care (Concept), NGOs and Globalization: Developmental and Organizational Facets (Rawat), Human Development and Sustainability: Challenges and Strategies (Atlantic), and Welfare of Disadvantaged: Exploring Community Development Approach (Concept). His forthcoming co-edited books include ‘Peace Building Initiatives’ (Manak) and ‘Women’s Empowerment and Non-Governmental Public Action in South Asia’ (Palgrave Macmillan). He is the founding editor of Journal of Social Work and Social Development, a UGC-CARE listed journal (of India) and served from 2010 to 2017. His areas of research interests include maternal morbidity, reproductive health, health care, NGOs and social development.
Lauren, a development sociologist with a Doctorate in Sociology from UJ, is the Director of the Centre for Social Development in Africa at the University of Johannesburg and was elected to chair the newly launched ICSD Africa branch at the 22nd Biennial Conference of the consortium in July 2021. Previously, Lauren served as Deputy Director of the CSDA.
Her research interests are in the application and testing of social and development theories in practice, with a focus on youth, children, and people with disabilities. She has strong expertise in evaluation research and is skilled in the use of both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. She is particularly interested in the use of research methods that give a voice to vulnerable groups. She is a National Research Foundation Y-rated scholar – a rating applied to emerging academics who show strong potential to achieve higher ratings in their careers.
Alice K. Butterfield is a professor at the Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois Chicago. Her scholarship focuses on homelessness, social policy, international social work education, and community development. She is an author of Incorporating Engaged Research in Social Development: Exemplars and Guidelines for Social Work and Human Services (2021); Practicing as a Social Work Educator in International Collaboration (2017); Dynamics of Family Policy (2010); Social Development and Social Work: Learning from Africa (2013); Interdisciplinary Community Development (2007); and University-Community Partnerships (2005). She leads the Social Work Education in Ethiopia Partnership (Project SWEEP), resulting in the first-ever MSW and PhD degrees in Social Work and Social Development in Ethiopia. [http://www.aboutsweep.org]. Dr. Butterfield has served as a Fulbright Specialist with Assam Don Bosco University in Northeast India. She received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Washington University in St. Louis in 2007 and Dakota Wesleyan University in 2022. She can be reached at akj@uic.edu
Social Developement Issues
Dr Mohan, Dean Emeritus, Social of Social Work, Louisiana State University, USA, is renowned as a scholarly editor, master teacher and prolific author. His most recent books include: Development, Poverty of Culture and Social Policy (Palgrave, 2011), Climate ,Economy and Justice (Palgrave, 2015), The Future of Social Work (Sage, 2018) and Social Policy on the Cusp (Nova, 2020). He has earned numerous honors and awards including a D. Litt. from M.K. Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith and the Life-Time Achievement Award from the National Association of Professional Social Workers in India.
Prof. Philip Hong is the Dean of the University of Georgia School of Social Work. Hong’s research has been supported by more than $4.6 million in funding
from foundations and federal agencies such as the US Department of Health and Human Services. The social work intervention model that he has developed, “Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP)”, is a national model for social policies that promote self-sufficiency and family- strengthening. The TIP model is being applied and tested to support communities in the areas of employment and workforce development, health promotion, youth development and empowerment, returning citizen reentry, substance use recovery, and violence prevention. He is the author of more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and other
publications as well as 100 refereed conference presentations. Hong has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Poverty and Public Policy and of the journals Social Work Research, and Families in Society. He also has been an external reviewer for the Office of Policy Support in the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.
Vacant
Interim: Mpawar & F Okello
Vacant
Interim: Mpawar & F Okello
ICSD Members at Large
Dr David Ansong
Dr Joachim Vogt Isaksen
Assoc.Prof. Justin Francis Leon V.
Nicolas
Dr. Rong Xiang, Associate Professor at Yunnan University, China, directs the Social Work Research Institute in the School of Ethnology and Sociology. She’s actively involved in NGO development, focusing on social services in China. Dr. Xiang serves on the National Community Governance Committee and as Vice President of Yunnan Federation of Social Workers. She founded several NGOs in Yunnan, including the Heart to Heart Community Care Organization and Foundation, working with migrant and hollowed-out rural communities.
Dr. Xiang’s research focuses primarily on developmental social work and social inclusion, along with gender and development, and service learning. Since 2006, she has integrated service learning into her teaching and research, conducting workshops across South and Southeast Asia. Her publications in both English and Chinese have significantly influenced regional social work practices.
Dr. Xiang has received numerous awards, including national recognition for protecting women’s and children’s rights (2013), National Social Work Top Ten Contributor (2015), and All China Social Work Leader (2017).
Dr George Palattiyil is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Edinburgh and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK. With teaching and research experience spanning across India, Scotland, Jordan, Uganda and Bangladesh, he is passionate about internationalising the curriculum and cross-cultural learning and in 2019, won the Best Personal Tutor Award from the Edinburgh University Student Association.
He sits on the Board of Directors of Multi–Cultural Family Base, and the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services. He has served on the British Journal of Social Work editorial board and currently contributes to the Editorial Board of Practice – Social Work in Action and European Social Work Research Journal, as well as the International Committee of JUCSWEC. More info about Dr Palattiyil can be found here. ICSD is an excellent platform for a critical debate on the global challenges facing humanity and to inform future practice. I hope to contribute meaningfully to these debates and to raise ICSD’s profile globally.
Dr. Marissa Kaloga is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at University of Otago in Aotearoa New Zealand where she teaches community and organizational development. Her community-based research focuses on inclusive entrepreneurship, and how to promote social and economic justice through coordinated systems change approaches.
She has conducted mixed-methods applied research with diverse communities in Africa, Asia, North America, and Oceania. As Director of Innovation, she ran The Economic & Community Development Institute’s Business Innovation Centre and Women’s Business Centre. She was the 2018-2019 Fulbright Scholar to Guinea, leading research on connectivity in Conakry’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. My vision for the ICSD is an organization that serves as a catalyst for interdisciplinary knowledge sharing that fosters innovative ideas in support of social development.
Dr. Marissa Kaloga is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at University of Otago in Aotearoa New Zealand where she teaches community and organizational development. Her community-based research focuses on inclusive entrepreneurship, and how to promote social and economic justice through coordinated systems change approaches.
She has conducted mixed-methods applied research with diverse communities in Africa, Asia, North America, and Oceania. As Director of Innovation, she ran The Economic & Community Development Institute’s Business Innovation Centre and Women’s Business Centre. She was the 2018-2019 Fulbright Scholar to Guinea, leading research on connectivity in Conakry’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. My vision for the ICSD is an organization that serves as a catalyst for interdisciplinary knowledge sharing that fosters innovative ideas in support of social development.