Please welcome Ariana Cantu and Tricia Sarahs to the School of Social Work faculty.
Ariana Cantu (BASW ’06; MSW ’07) is joining the faculty as an assistant teaching professor. In her previous position as a School lecturer, she twice garnered the MSW students' choice teaching award. Ariana’s 26-year career has been dedicated to issues of migration, health care, housing, mental health, and environmental and racial justice, as well as teaching, direct service and community organizing. Her community and applied-research interests focus on spatial justice, community-led efforts, and creating transformative change from an asset-versus-deficit lens. She is also an adjunct faculty member for the Honors College and the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington, where she co-instructs interdisciplinary courses on community inclusion and equity in a changing public realm.
Tricia Sarahs is joining the Child Welfare Training & Advancement Program (CWTAP) as a teaching associate. She brings close to fifteen years of experience working in the human-services field in private, state and nonprofit capacities, serving diverse and marginalized communities. Tricia has worked in a variety of roles for the Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families during the past six years in the child welfare, adoption and licensing divisions. During her time there, she engaged multiple work groups focused on creating more equitable and inclusive policy, supervised social workers, facilitated workforce development trainings, mentored CWTAP students in the field, and worked to keep children and families connected through a kin-first cultural lens.
Both Ariana and Tricia can be reached through their profile contact information.