Naelys Luna, PhD, MSW

 

 

Prior to her appointment as Interim Dean on July 1, 2019 and subsequent appointment as Dean on December 23, 2020, Naelys Luna, PhD, MSW, served for three years as a professor and director of the Phyllis & Harvey Sandler School of Social Work. She earned her MSW and PhD in Social Work from Fordham University in New York and her BA from Seton Hall University in New Jersey. As a licensed Social Worker (NY and NJ), she helped develop ADHD and PTSD programs in a child and adolescent outpatient psychiatric hospital. Dr. Luna has provided clinical social work services to children, adolescents and their families in outpatient units, partial care programs and private practice. Her research interests and multiple publications in national and international journals are in the areas of substance use disorders, mood disorders, spirituality, parental roles, mental health outcomes in minorities (especially Hispanics) and psychosocial functioning. Dr. Luna is also the president of the Florida Association of Deans and Directors (FADD), a board member for the National Association of Deans and Directors (NADD), a board member for the Association of Latino/Latina Social Work Educators (ALLSWE) and an editorial board member for the Journal of Concurrent Disorders. She received one of the highly coveted spots as an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow for academic year 2023-24 and was named a 2022 South Florida Hispanic Woman of Distinction, one of the nation’s largest celebrations of Latina leaders.