Beth Farmer is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with almost two decades of experience in providing clinical services and managing programs for refugees, asylum seekers, survivors of torture, and unaccompanied children. Beth was the PI on the project that developed the Refugee Health Screener-15, the first mental health screening tool developed for use with refugee populations resettling to the U.S. Beth has won numerous awards for her work including being recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a Community Health Leader. Beth currently is the Senior Director for the Safety, Health and Education Technical Unit at the International Rescue Committee, which provides support to more than 30 programs across the U.S. and Europe.
About this Event
CCFW does not provide mental health or substance use treatment or services, nor do our mindfulness and compassion-based courses substitute for diagnosis or treatment for mental health or substance use problems such as depression, anxiety, or addiction. Find a list of mental health resources on CCFW’s resource page.
This online event will include a panel of health, mental health, and education experts sharing their experiences working with immigrant and refugee children, youth, and families. They will discuss the challenges communities are currently facing, how to support child and family well-being, and provide trauma-informed recommendations for people working with families.
About the Presenters
Beth Farmer, LICSW
Diem Nguyen, Ph.D., M.Ed., MPH
Diem Nguyen (She/her), Ph.D., M.Ed., MPH, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Global Health at the University of Washington. Dr. Nguyen’s research focuses on immigrant and refugee health and education through the lens of social determinants of health and equity. Her work is informed by a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach. CBPR is a community engagement framework that approaches research and knowledge construction in partnership with communities. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Nguyen has worked closely with community-based organizations, including the Vietnamese Health Board, Refugee Health Forum of Washington, Lutheran Family Services, and the Community Health Board Coalition (CHBC), an organization made up of different health boards that serves Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities in the King County, Washington metro area. As someone who is situated in multiple spaces – health, education, and community – her approach to teaching, research, and community engagement intersects and draws on all these rich experiences and disciplines.
Anisa Ibrahim, MD, FAAP
Anisa Ibrahim, MD, FAAP is a UW Clinic Associate Professor of Pediatrics and the medical director at Harborview Pediatrics Clinic. After graduating from the University of Washington School of Medicine, Dr. Ibrahim completed her residency at the University of Washington/ Seattle Children’s Hospital. Dr Ibrahim’s specific clinical expertise includes caring for and outreach to immigrant and refugee populations, specifically those with medical or social complexity. Dr. Ibrahim has served on national leadership committees including the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Immigrant Child and Family Health and is currently on the Refugee Review Board and Research committee for the Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers. She serves on advisory boards focused on equity and child health and well-being.
Kevin Roxas, Ph.D.
Kevin Roxas (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is the Dean of the Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University. Kevin‘s parents immigrated from the Philippines more than 60 years ago. His research is informed by their experiences as parents of children navigating school systems new to them and his own experience as a student in those same systems.
His research examines three interrelated areas of concern: a) the often inequitable nature of the social contexts of reception in school and communities for immigrant and refugee youth; b) the dynamic creation of adolescent identity for immigrant and refugee youth in response to systems of oppression and discrimination; and c) how pre-service, in-service teachers, and social service providers can and must critically examine and re-conceptualize the ways in which they respond to the needs of these students in their classrooms and in local communities.
He has published more than 25 articles in peer-reviewed journals including the Harvard Educational Review, Educational Studies, the Journal of Latinos and Education, and Educational Leadership. His research has been cited by other educational scholars in more than 1,300 manuscripts.
In 2019, the National Association of Multicultural Education (NAME) selected Roxas for the Carl A. Grant Outstanding Research Award. In 2023, Roxas was awarded the G. Pritchy Smith Multicultural Educator of the Year Award.