Associate Professor Jean Kruzich, who began teaching at the School in 1991, is retiring at the end of the 2018–19 academic year. During the past 28 years, Dr. Kruzich made significant contributions in research, scholarship and teaching, and with her deep understanding of organizations and administration, she has been a tireless champion of School staff. 

Poonam Lata has been with CWTAP for more than 20 years. She earned her BS/BA from the University of Washington. She joined CWTAP as a program coordinator and has served in all five CWTAP Department of Children Youth and Families (DCYF) field practicum sites. She enjoys the engagement with CWTAP students in training for the field of social work as well as the social workers to support children and families.in the DCYF practicum. She is very proud of her Indo-Fijian culture and community and loves to share her knowledge and love with her CWTAP family and students.

Tanya Ranchigoda is a first generation Sri Lankan, Canadian, American. Tanya has been a faculty lecturer at the graduate School of Social Work at the University of Washington since 2010 and has also taught at the newly emerging Seattle University MSW program. In addition, she maintains a private mental health practice where she focuses on supporting individuals and families with adjustment to chronic/terminal illness, significant life transitions, grief and loss, and crisis intervention. She provides individual and group MSW supervision with a focus on BIPOC communities.

Charlotte Sanders joined the School of Social Work in Dec. 2014 as a teaching associate, serving as the field lead for the School’s newly created Northwest Leaders in Behavioral Health Program. Sanders has been involved in social services for more than 22 years, primarily serving Seattle youth and young adults in different homeless service settings and capacities, ranging from direct service, program management and advocacy. 

Aida Wells is a bilingual and bicultural clinician with interests that focus on health, mental health and a multigenerational health practice. She joined the School of Social Work in 2014 as a lecturer and Field Education faculty member. Prior to joining the School of Social Work, Aida worked for several local medical centers, including Swedish Medical Center, Virginia Mason and most recently Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Alice Ryan began her social work career more than 26 years ago and has worked for different hospitals and health care settings, including Seattle Children’s Hospital for more than 22 years, where she managed the hospital’s bereavement program for child loss. Her work has focused on loss and separation, especially,  the needs of patient and families as illness progressed towards the end of life, which eventually led her to her current work in grief and bereavement support, with special emphasis on the experience of complicated grief through the death of a child.

Dr. Maureen Marcenko holds a bachelor of science in education and a master of social work from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. In 1988, she earned a doctorate in social welfare from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Her primary research and practice commitments are to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and families, particularly those served by the child welfare and other public agencies. Dr. Marcenko retired Dec. 31, 2021.