Karina L. Walters, UW School of Social Work professor and co-director of the School’s Indigenous Welfare Research Institute, was selected to serve on the national board of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare for 2023. She has been a fellow of the Academy since 2014.
An enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Walters has more than 25 years’ experience in social epidemiological research on the historical, social and cultural determinants of health among American Indian and Alaska Native populations. In recent years, she expanded her area of study to include tribally based intervention research in substance abuse, obesity, diabetes and HIV/AIDS prevention, particularly among American Indian women.
The recipient of a prestigious Fulbright Senior Research Award, Walters served as an honorary visiting scholar at Ngā Pae o te Maramatanga National Institute for Research Excellence in Maori Development and Advancement at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She has published and presented extensively on her research and mentors numerous American Indian and Alaska Native junior faculty members, researchers, and post-doctoral, graduate and undergraduate students. Since joining the UW School of Social Work in 2001, she has been director of the School’s doctoral program and associate dean for research.
The Indigenous Wellness Research Institute is a National Institutes of Health-designated Center of Excellence. There, staff collaborate with Indigenous people in research, tribal capacity-building and knowledge-sharing. By merging community, tribal, academic and government resources, IWRI can increase its capacity to develop innovative, culture-centered and interdisciplinary social and behavioral research and education.
The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfareis an organization of distinguished scholars and practitioners dedicated to excellence in the field of social work and social welfare through high-impact scholarship and research that advances the social good.