FIFSW welcomes three new faculty members
Categories: FacultyThe Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work is pleased to welcome three new members to our Faculty:
- Dr. Amar Ghelani joins us as Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream as of August 2024;
- Dr. Carolyn Mak joins us as Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream as of January 2025; and
- Dr. Tin Vo joins us as an Assistant Professor (CLTA) as of July 2024.
Dr. Amar Ghelani (he/him), Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream is a registered social worker with 18 years of direct practice experience supporting youth, adults, families, and groups with complex mental health concerns. Amar has worked in healthcare, prison, shelter, school, mobile crisis, outpatient, and addiction treatment settings in cities across Canada, including Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga, Vancouver, and Ottawa. He has taught social work courses with the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty of Social Work and Windsor University School of Social Work. Amar completed his BSW at Carleton University, his MSW at the University of British Columbia, and his doctorate at Wilfrid Laurier University. He has specialized training in CBT, DBT, and suicide intervention, as well as a certificate in trauma counselling.
Dr. Carolyn Mak (she/her), Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, has been a practicing social worker in the Toronto community for over twenty years. She is the recipient of the 2023 OASW School Social Work Achievement Award and the 2024 International Coalition of Girls Schools H. William Christ Educator Prize. Carolyn enjoys mentoring, and has taught MSW students for a number of years at local post-secondary institutions and at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Her recent publications and presentations include topics such as social-emotional learning in girls schools, teaching and learning about anti-Black racism in social work spaces, and decolonizing social work practice. Carolyn’s past experience has included positions as a social worker in family service organizations and a community children’s mental health agency. Her professional passion, however, lies in school social work. She was a public school board social worker for several years, as well as an independent school social worker, most recently at Branksome Hall. Carolyn has had past administrative leadership experience as Director, Knowledge Mobilization and Program Development at Kids Help Phone, as well as a Director, Well-Being and School Counselling at Branksome Hall. She earned her MSW from the University of Toronto, and her doctorate (PhD) at Smith College.
Dr. Tin D. Vo (he/they), Assistant Professor (CLTA) in community-based social work practice, joined the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work in July 2024. Tin’s interdisciplinary, community-engaged research centres on social climate and exclusion as determinants of health with an emphasis on belonging, resilience/resistance, and overall wellbeing. Using a critical, equity-focused lens, their research evaluates policies and systems for diverse populations, and explores the intersectional lived experiences of historically marginalized communities to enhance their belonging and wellbeing in various contexts, including higher education, leisure spaces, and community settings. Their research program spans local, provincial, national, and international levels of engagement. They are also a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ Health Hub and the Canadian Regional Network of the International Partnership for Queer Youth Resilience. Tin has worked in the public sector and with nonprofit organizations for more than ten years as a Credentialed Evaluator, program planner, researcher, and private consultant. They completed Postdoctoral Fellowships at U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health and at Unity Health Toronto, a PhD in Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University, a Master of Public Health at the University of Alberta, and an Honours, Bachelor of Science at the University of Guelph.