Barbara Pierce

• PhD Program Director 8/25 to present
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2025 – Present
• Professor
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2023 – Present
• Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2021 – 2022
• Acting Doctoral Director
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2020
• Associate Professor, Tenured
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2013 – Present
• Watson Professor of Disability Awareness; Associate Professor, Tenured
  Northwestern State University of Louisiana — 2007 – 2013
• Assistant Professor
  Northwestern State University of Louisiana — 2000 – 2007

Professional Appointments

• Executive Director
  Family Planning Clinic, Lafayette, IN — 1998 – 1999
• Employee Assistance Program, Children and Youth Services
  Purdue University — 1995 – 1998
• Clinical Social Worker, Private Practice
  West Lafayette, IN — 1990 – 1999
• Clinical Social Worker
  Sexual Abuse Family Treatment Intervention Program, Lafayette, IN — 1988 – 1992
• Clinical Social Worker, Adoption Services
  Child and Family Services of New Hampshire — 1986 – 1988
• Head Nurse; Grief Specialist, Mothers and Infants Unit
  Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania — 1984 – 1986
• Staff Nurse, Mothers and Infants Unit
  Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania — 1980 – 1984
• Staff Nurse, School Age Unit
  Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia — 1978 – 1979
• Staff Nurse, Toddler Unit
  St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children — 1977 – 1978

• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
  State of Indiana — 1992 – Present
• National Research Mentor Trainer
  National Research Mentoring Network — 2023 – Present
• National Research Mentor Graduate
  National Research Mentoring Network — 2020 – Present

• Global Implementation Society
  Professional membership — 2019 – Present
• American Public Health Association
  Professional membership — 2019 – Present
• International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
  Professional membership — 2017 – 2020
• Society for Social Work Research
  Professional membership — 2015 – Present
• Rural Social Work Caucus
  Professional membership — 2004 – Present
• Council on Social Work Education
  Professional membership — 2000 – Present
• Baccalaureate Program Directors
  Professional membership — 2000 – 2012
• National Association of Social Workers
  Professional membership — 1982 – 2019

• IU PhD Program Jim Hall Award for Mentoring
  Indiana University — 2022
• SOGIE Award
  Council on Social Work Education — 2020
• Clinical Scholars Fellow
  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation — 2018 – 2021
• Charles R. Bantz Chancellor’s Community Fellowship
  Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis — 2018
• Trustee’s Teaching Award
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2018
• Fleming Thomas Faculty Award for Information Literacy
  Northwestern State University of Louisiana — 2011
• Watson Professor of Disability Awareness
  Northwestern State University of Louisiana — 2007 – 2012
• Ability Based Learning Fellowship
  Case Western Reserve University — 2006 – 2007

• National Research Mentor Training (NRMN)
  CIMER, University of Wisconsin–Madison — 2023
• Race and Equity Semester-Long Training
  IUPUI Mentoring Center — 2020
• Teaching and Learning Workshop
  Center for Teaching and Learning, IUPUI — 2019
• Top Hat Instructional Technology Training
  Center for Teaching and Learning, IUPUI — 2017
• Trauma Learning Collaborative
  Fordham University — 2011 – 2015

Doctoral Student Mentoring

• Jacob Ressler
  Research mentor — 2023 – Present
• Kristina Ray Bennett
  Research mentor — 2023 – Present
• Lindsay Bennett
  Qualifying exam and dissertation committee chair — 2022 – Present
• Muhammad Khan
  Qualifying exam and dissertation committee member — 2021 – 2023
• Minyoung Lim
  Dissertation committee member — 2021 – 2023
• Maryann Kaboi
  Research mentor — 2020
• Gifty Ashirifi
  Research mentor and qualifying exam chair — 2020 – 2022
• Jessica Curd
  Qualifying exam and dissertation chair — 2020 – Present
• Eprise Armstrong-Richardson
  Research mentor — 2018 – 2019
• Drew Winters
  Research mentor and dissertation committee member — 2018 – 2020
• Emily Beerbower
  Research mentor — 2017 – 2019
• Killian Kinney
  Qualifying exam chair — 2017 – 2019
• Matthew Walsh
  Qualifying and dissertation chair — 2017 – 2020
• Paige Klemme
  Research mentor; qualifying exam and dissertation chair — 2017 – 2022
• Sara Maki Alamdari
  Qualifying exam chair — 2017 – 2019
• Wafa Alhadjri
  Qualifying and dissertation committee member — 2017 – 2020
• Kim Campbell
  Qualifying and dissertation chair — 2016 – Present
• Farrah Fosse
  Research mentor (MSW) — 2016
• Richard Brandon-Friedman
  Qualifying and dissertation chair — 2015 – 2019
• Taekyung Park
  Evaluation mentor and dissertation committee member — 2013 – 2018

Faculty Mentoring

• Susana Mariscal
  Faculty mentoring — 2019 – 2020
• Victoria Wilburn, PhD, OT
  EMPOWER program mentoring — 2019 – 2022
• Angela Murillo, PhD
  EMPOWER program mentoring — 2020 – Present
• Natasha Thomas, PhD
  Faculty mentoring, Music and Arts Technology — 2021 – Present
• Olivia MacIsaac, MS
  Library science mentoring — 2023 – Present

• DSW Curriculum Design and Course Writer Committee
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2024 – 2025
• Community Engaged Research for Intervention and Evaluation
  Doctoral-level interdisciplinary course development — 2020
• Children, Youth, and Families Practice Area Curriculum Revision
  Indiana University School of Social Work; integrated trauma-responsive practice across required courses — 2015 – 2016
• BSW Trauma Core Concepts National Curriculum
  Co-author and pilot tester — 2017
• CSWE Advanced Practice in Trauma Curriculum
  National curriculum development — 2018

Teaching Grants & Fellowships

• National Child Welfare Workforce Institute
  NCWWI, University at Albany, SUNY — $735,000 — Principal Investigator — 2014 – 2019
• HRSA Transitional Aged Youth
  Health Resources and Services Administration — $1.4 million — Co-Principal Investigator — 2014 – 2017
• Child Welfare Training: National Child Welfare Workforce Initiatives Workforce Grant
  Administration for Children and Families — Evaluator — 2010 – 2015
• Title IV-E Child Welfare Education Program
  State of Louisiana — $3.8 million — Co-Principal Investigator — 2011 – 2013
• Teaching Travel Grant
  Northwestern State University — $2,335 — 2008
• Re-Professionalization of the Child Welfare Workforce (Online Education)
  Louisiana Board of Regents — $33,000 — Principal Investigator — 2003

Research Grants & Fellowships

• Mental Health Professional Services
  U.S. Department of Education — $5.7 million — Principal Investigator — 2023 – 2028
• Trauma Responsive Schools
  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation — $740,000 — Principal Investigator — 2018 – 2022
• Supplemental Study on African American Male Reactions to COVID-19
  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation — $10,000 — Principal Investigator — 2018 – 2022
• Evaluation of Kinship Navigator Program
  State of Indiana Department of Child Services — $115,000 — Principal Investigator — 2019 – 2020
• Peer Recovery Coach Randomized Controlled Trial
  Fairbanks Foundation — $350,000 — Principal Investigator — 2019 – 2022
• Martindale-Brightwood Trauma Responsive and Resilient Community Collaborative
  Indiana University School of Social Work — $50,000 — Co-Principal Investigator — 2017 – 2018
• Charles R. Bantz Chancellor’s Community Fellowship: Trauma Responsive Services for Metropolitan High School
  Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis — $50,000 — Principal Investigator — 2018 – 2019
• Title IV-E Child Welfare Partnership
  Indiana Department of Child Services — Evaluator and Consultant — 2014 – Present
• State of Indiana Title IV-E Waiver
  Indiana Department of Child Services — Co-Investigator and Principal Investigator — 2014 – 2020

Invited Presentations — Research (National)

• Supporting Students, Staff, and the Workforce in Politically Charged Times: Building Resilience and Reducing Moral Injury
  Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Denver, CO — 2025
• Strengthening Resilience in School Mental Health Social Workers: Indiana/MHSP Learning Circle Strategies
  ResilienceCon, Nashville, TN — 2025
• The Impact of Emotionally Supportive Supervision on Caseworkers and Children in Child Welfare
  Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Atlanta, GA — 2023
• Transformational Leadership in Child Welfare
  State of Florida Child Welfare Program — 2023
• Saudi Women’s Perspectives of Women’s Rights Advocacy
  Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Anaheim, CA — 2022
• Working with Trauma in Rural Child Welfare
  Supreme Court of Montana — 2022
• Secondary Traumatic Stress: Translating Trauma into Practice for Federal Child Welfare Staff
  Federal TANF Regions — 2021
• Family Case Manager Perspectives of Unmet Needs among Kinship Caregivers
  Society for Social Work Research Annual Conference — 2021
• Secondary Traumatic Stress and Intent to Stay at Child Welfare Agencies
  Society for Social Work Research Annual Conference — 2021
• Strategies for Identifying and Interrupting the Impact of Trauma
  Western U.S. Tribal TANF Region — 2020
• Sexual Identity Development and Its Impact on Sexual Well-Being
  Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting — 2020
• Organizational Justice and Secondary Traumatic Stress in Child Welfare
  Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting — 2020
• Interrupting the Impact of Traumatic Stress on the Workforce
  Western U.S. TANF Region, Nevada — 2020

Invited Presentations — Research (International)

• Engaging Minoritized Populations: Implementing Trauma Responsive Programming Using Trauma Responsive Principles
  Global Implementation Conference, Glasgow, Scotland — 2019
• Effective Strategies for Working with Involuntary Clients
  Monash University Prato Centre, Tuscany, Italy — 2018
• Using Qualitative Interviews in State-Level Child Welfare Evaluation Research
  International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry — 2016
• Competency-Based Curriculum in Child Welfare: Task Self-Efficacy and Retention
  Seoul International Social Work Conference, Seoul, Korea — 2015

Invited Presentations — State And Local

• School Social Work: Resources for Prevention and Treatment in Children’s Mental Health
  IUSSW Alumni Continuing Education Conference, Indianapolis, IN — 2024
• From Clinician to Community-Engaged Translational Scholar
  Center for Translating Research into Practice, Indiana University — 2024
• Use of Learning Circles to Improve the Education of School Social Workers
  Educating the Whole Child Conference, Indianapolis/Plainfield, IN — 2024
• Child and Family Well-being
  Indiana Department of Child Services Trainers Meeting — 2022
• When Viral and Racial Pandemics Collide
  Indiana Department of Child Services Regional Leadership — 2020
• Multidimensional Aspects of Secondary Trauma in School Personnel
  Indiana State Teachers Association Annual Conference — 2019
• Secondary Traumatic Stress and the Community Servant
  Family Service of Columbus, IN — 2019
• Gun Violence and Suicide Panel
  Indianapolis Central Library — 2019
• Trauma Responsive Organizational Intervention for Homeless Providers
  Indianapolis Homeless Coalition — 2018
• Community Engaged Participatory Action Research
  Marian University Social Work Program — 2018

National Service

• Child Welfare Track Chair
  Council on Social Work Education — 2020 – 2024

University Service — Department

• Practice Area Leader, Children, Youth, and Families
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2016 – Present
• Evaluator, Child Welfare Educational and Training Partnership Executive Leadership Academy
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2014 – 2017
• Curriculum Expert, Child Welfare Educational and Training Partnership
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2013 – Present

University Service — School

• Grants and Contracts Coordinator Search Committee Member
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2021
• Acting Doctoral Director
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2020
• Faculty Search Committee Member
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2017
• Self-Study Committee Member
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2016 – Present
• Doctoral Curriculum Committee Member and Chair
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2014 – Present
• Children, Youth, and Families Committee Member and Chair
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2013 – Present
• MSW Curriculum Committee Member
  Indiana University School of Social Work — 2013 – Present

University Service — Campus

• Mentor, EMPOWER Program
  Indiana University Indianapolis — 2018 – Present
• Faculty Council Representative
  Indiana University Indianapolis — 2015 – 2017

University Service — University

• Graduate Faculty Council Representative
  Indiana University — 2017 – 2019

Clinical Service

• Faculty Volunteer
  Indiana University Student Outreach Clinic — 2014 – Present

Teaching — Refereed

• Riebschleger, J., Norris, D., Pierce, B., Pond, D. L., & Cummings, C. (2015). Preparing social work students for rural child welfare practice: Emerging curriculum competencies. Journal of Social Work Education, 51(S2), 209–224.
• Pierce, B.*, & Daley, M. (2009). Building rural social work into the curriculum. In R. Rodenheiser (Ed.), Proceedings of the National Institute on Social Work and Human Services in Rural Areas. Boise State University Press.

Research — Refereed

• Curd, J., Pierce, B.*, Hong, M., Lee, J., & Nguyen, T. S. T. (2025). Layers of challenge: Rural hospice social workers’ lived experiences, secondary trauma, and anticipatory grief through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care.
• Klemme, P., Pierce, B.*, Turman, J. E., Brown, J. R., & Fukui, S. (2025). A systematic review of secondary traumatic stress in school personnel. Journal of School Health.
• Park, T., & Pierce, B. (2024). A mediating effect of public service motivation on retention intention among child welfare students. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 21(6), 641–653.
• Park, T., Kim, J., Pierce, B., & Lee, H. (2024). Transformational leadership, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout of child welfare workers. Social Work, 69(3), 231–239.
• Kim, J., Pierce, B., & Park, T. (2024). Secondary traumatic stress and child welfare workers’ intention to remain employed. Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance, 48(2), 136–149.
• Kim, J., Choi, M., & Pierce, B. (2023). Organizational justice and secondary traumatic stress among child welfare workers. Psychological Trauma.
• Kondrat, D. C., Jaggers, J. W., Castillo, J., Kathan, S. C., Pierce, B., & Allen, A. (2023). County-level characteristics and time in child protective services. Journal of Social Service Research.
• AlHajiri, W., & Pierce, B.* (2022). Saudi women attitudes toward advocacy for women's rights. Affilia, 38(1), 111–116.
• Pierce, B. J.*, Muzzey, F. K., Bloomquist, K. R., & Imburgia, T. M. (2022). Effectiveness of family-centered treatment on reunification and days in care. Children and Youth Services Review, 136.
• Winters, D. E., Pruitt, P. J., Gambin, M., Fukui, S., Cyders, M. A., Pierce, B. J., Lay, K., & Damoiseaux, J. S. (2021). Cognitive and affective empathy and adolescent brain network connectivity. Child Psychiatry and Human Development.
• Winters, D. E., Pruitt, P. J., Fukui, S., Cyders, M. A., Pierce, B. J., Lay, K., & Damoiseaux, J. S. (2021). Network functional connectivity and empathy in adolescence. Neuropsychologia, 156.
• Kim, J., Choi, M. J., LaBrenz, C., Harris, M., Boyd, R., & Pierce, B.* (2021). Model fidelity and child well-being in family team conferences. British Journal of Social Work.
• Kim, J., Choi, M. J., Trahan, M., Bellamy, J., & Pierce, B.* (2020). Parent engagement and children’s emotional well-being in family team conferences. Children and Youth Services Review.
• Winters, D., Pierce, B.*, & Imburgia, T. (2020). Concrete service use and child placement stability. Children and Youth Services Review, 118.
• Brandon-Friedman, R., Pierce, B.*, Wahler, E., Thigpen, J., & Fortenberry, J. (2020). Sexual identity development and sexual well-being among foster youth. Children and Youth Services Review.
• Park, T., & Pierce, B.* (2020). Transformational leadership and turnover intention. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work.
• Park, T., & Pierce, B.* (2020). Transformational leadership and turnover intention among child welfare workers. Children and Youth Services Review.
• Pierce, B.*, Carlson, J., Thruston, W., Fultz, A., Klemme, P., Oglesby, N., Studley, M., & Tate, V. (2019). Trust in participatory action community engaged partnerships. ENGAGE: Co-created Knowledge Serving the City, 1(1).
• Kim, J., Yi, G., Pierce, B.*, & Hall, J. (2019). Effective workload management in child welfare. Social Policy and Administration.
• Bloomquist, K. R., Imburgia, T. M., Danh, M., Pierce, B. J., & Hall, J. A. (2018). Process evaluation in Title IV-E waiver demonstration projects. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 13(1), 60–83.
• Imburgia, T., Hensel, D. J., Armstrong-Richardson, E., Pierce, B., & Hall, J. (2018). Strategies to improve adolescents’ status in caregiver substance abuse cases. Journal of Adolescent Medicine, 62(2).
• Hall, J., Imburgia, T., Kim, J., Jaggers, J., Pierce, B., Bloomquist, K., Richardson, E., Danh, M., & Hensel, D. (2017). Multimethod evaluation in child welfare: Title IV-E waiver demonstration program. Child Welfare, 95(5), 59–78.
• Pierce, B.*, & Park, T. (2017). Competency curriculum intervention in child welfare education. Advances in Social Work, 18(2), 490–506.
• Kim, J., Park, T., Pierce, B.*, & Hall, J. (2017). Child welfare workers’ perceptions of supervisory support. Human Service Organizations.
• Pierce, B. J.*, Jaggers, J. W., & Hall, J. A. (2017). Utilization of concrete services in child welfare. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 12(2), 153–169.
• Kim, J., Pierce, B. J.*, Jaggers, J., Imburgia, T., & Hall, J. (2017). Improving child welfare services with family team meetings. Children and Youth Services Review.
• Cummings, T., Hensel, D. J., Danh, M., Bloomquist, K. R., Pierce, B. J., Kim, J., Jaggers, J., & Hall, J. A. (2016). Caseworker perceptions of youth in the child welfare system. Journal of Adolescent Health.
• Pierce, B.*, McGuire, L., & Howes, P. (2015). Renewing academy-agency partnerships in child welfare. Journal of Social Work Education.
• Cummings, T., Hensel, D. J., Bloomquist, K. R., Danh, M., Pierce, B. J., & Hall, J. A. (2015). Concrete services in child welfare waiver expansions. Journal of Adolescent Health.

Books

• Riebschleger, J., & Pierce, B. (Eds.). (2018). Rural Child Welfare Practice: Stories from the Field. Oxford University Press.

Book Chapters

• Park, T., Pierce, B., & Fulweiler, B. Trauma-responsive ecotransformational leadership. In C. A. Simmons & E. L. Weiss (Eds.), Trauma Informed Macro Practice. Routledge (forthcoming).
• Pierce, B., & Boys, S. (2022). Social work practice in rural areas in the United States. In Social Worker’s Desk Reference (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
• Pierce, B.*, Howes, P., Patchner, M., Hawk, W., Thompson, L., Park, T., & Klemme, P. (2021). Implementation of curriculum, retention, and recruitment strategies in university–agency partnerships.
• Riebschleger, J., & Pierce, B. (2018). Rural child welfare practice. In Rural Child Welfare Practice: Stories from the Field. Oxford University Press.
• Pierce, B. (2018). Adoption social work in rural New England. In Rural Child Welfare Practice: Stories from the Field. Oxford University Press.
• Pierce, B. (2018). Theories for rural child welfare. In Rural Child Welfare Practice: Stories from the Field. Oxford University Press.
• Riebschleger, J., & Pierce, B. (2018). Secondary trauma prevention in rural child welfare. In Rural Child Welfare Practice: Stories from the Field. Oxford University Press.
• Pierce, B. (2018). Trauma-informed professional development in child welfare. In Organizational Trauma. Springer.
• Daley, M., & Pierce, B. (2011). Educating for rural competence. In Social Work in Rural Practice (5th ed.). CSWE Press.
• Pierce, B. (2006). Birthmothers. In Multicultural Adoption Encyclopedia. Praeger.
• Pierce, B. (2006). Psychological adjustment of adult adopted persons. In Multicultural Adoption Encyclopedia. Praeger.

Media

• Grant helps Indiana University give local schools a boost in mental health resources. WTHR Indianapolis interview — 2023.
• Pierce, B., & Adamek, M. Community engaged research 2.0. Social Work Advocates — 2021.
• Expert commentary on supporting children during the January 6 events. FOX59 interview — 2021.
• Coverage of teacher trauma research project. Indiana University News — 2020.
• Interview on trauma-responsive programming for educators. NPR Morning Edition and All Things Considered — 2020.