August 5, 2025
The University of Washington School of Social Work is excited to announce that three new faculty members are joining the School this fall quarter. Kamryn Morris, Melanie Morris and Lauren White will all join the School as assistant professors. We are proud to welcome these outstanding scholars to our faculty and social work community.
Kamryn Morris
Kamryn Morris (Ph.D.) is a prevention scientist dedicated to creating environments in which young people, particularly Black youth, can thrive. Her research focuses on culturally responsive approaches to fostering school belonging, examining how racism operates across different settings and driving the equitable transformation of youth-serving systems. Before joining the University of Washington, Dr. Morris was a postdoctoral scholar in Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley, where she served as a researcher for the CalHOPE Student Support initiative.
Dr. Morris holds a B.S. in child development from San Diego State University and a Ph.D. in family and human development from Arizona State University.
Melanie Morris
Melanie Morris (Ph.D.) is a social worker, researcher and advocate for oral health equity. Using mixed methods, her research focuses on health equity and justice by examining how structural and social drivers of oral health intersect to shape service utilization and clinical outcomes for the Latino/a/e community. Her research also focuses on integrating social work practice in oral healthcare settings to improve oral healthcare delivery, policy and patient outcomes. Her work has been supported by the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.
Morris received her Ph.D. in social work from the Boston University School of Social Work. She received her MSW from Columbia University School of Social Work and a B.S. from St. John’s University.
Lauren White
Lauren White (Ph.D.) is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and her research focuses on mental health in Indigenous communities. She investigates the social and cultural determinants of mental wellness, strengths-based prevention and community-driven, evidence-based interventions for American Indians and Alaska Native communities. Dr. White is a licensed clinical social worker and a practicing therapist at the Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan.
Dr. White received an MPH from the University of Washington School of Public Health. She earned her MSW and doctoral degree from the University of Michigan Joint Program for Social Work and Psychology.