Melissa Singh
Associate Teaching Professor, Practicum Education
Melissa Singh is an associate teaching professor of social work and a licensed clinical social worker.
Melissa Singh
Associate Teaching Professor, Practicum Education
Melissa Singh is an associate teaching professor of social work and a licensed clinical social worker.
Biography
Melissa Singh, EdD, LCSW has over twenty years of online teaching experience at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. She is an associate teaching profession in the Virtual Academic Center at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. Dr. Singh is in the Social Change and Innovation Department and is the course lead for Design Laboratory for Social Innovation I & II. She earned her doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership from USC Rossier School of Education. She received her master’s in Health Services Administration in 2000 and her master’s in Social Work in 2006 both from the University of Central Florida. Dr. Singh’s research interests include building inclusive learning environments, trauma-informed education, environmental justice through disaster preparedness and response as well as creative disruption to induce innovation. Trained by The National SEED (seeking educational equity and diversity) Project as a SEED leader. She serves on the CSWE Council for Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Diversity as well as the NASW National Committee on Nominations & Leadership Identification, Region VII Representative. Dr. Singh is an NASW Advanced Certified Hospice, Palliative Care Social Worker, and Board-Certified Pharmacy Technician. She is trained in EMDR and Field Traumatology. She has extensive healthcare knowledge in hospice, hospital, and private settings as well as disaster response experience. Dr. Singh serves on the board of directors at Central Florida Community Health Centers. A program that she co-led won the Award for Innovative Teaching in Social Work Education from SAGE/CSWE for Educating Social Work Students for Macro Practice. Dr. Singh was awarded the Hutto Patterson Distinguished Faculty Award for excellence in teaching; service to the university, the school, and the community; and accessibility to students.
Education
USC Rossier School of Education
EdD 2017
University of Central Florida
MS 2006
University of Central Florida
MS 2000
University of South Florida
BA 1999
Valencia Community College
AA 1997
Area of Expertise
- Online Pedagogy
- Social Work
- Field Instruction
- Environmental Justice and Ecosocial Work
- Social Justice and Equal Rights
- Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace
- Hospice and Palliative Care
- Healthcare Administration
- Innovation & Creativity
- Equity
- Diversity & Inclusion
- Mental Health Recovery
- Social Work Education
Industry Experience
- Social Services
- Mental Health Care
- Health Care - Services
- Health Care - Providers
- Health and Wellness
- Corporate Leadership
- Corporate Training
- Human Resources
- Education/Learning
- Research
Affiliations
- Cornerstone Hospice
- Community Health Centers FL
- The National SEED Project
- Council on Social Work Education
- National Association of Social Work
- Association for Community Organization & Social Action
- Council on Racial, Ethnic and Cultural Diversity, Co-Chair
Accomplishments
Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine
Environmental Health and Climate Justice Leader
The Environmental Health and Climate Justice Leadership Academy (EHCJ) is designed to train policymakers and community leaders to identify the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) and Political Determinants of Health (PDoH) stressors equated with producing poor outcomes among marginalized populations.
This program is developed to close the gap between academic medicine or academic health centers and the communities of greatest need by connecting to people who are most affected by climate associated health disparities. The goal is to train and equip policymakers and community leaders with the necessary tools to motivate, mobilize, educate and lead community groups in improving climate change, environmental justice, health equity and influence policies to support positive outcomes for marginalized populations.
USC Center for Excellence in Teaching Faculty Fellow
SEED Leader
Hutto Patterson Distinguished Faculty Award for excellence in teaching; service to the university, the school, and the community; and accessibility to students
SAGE/CSWE Award for Innovative Teaching in Social Work Education
Articles & Publications
Expanding Student Learning during COVID-19 in a Virtual Environment
Singh, M.I., Doyle, K., Wobbe-Veit, L., Caliboso-Soto, S., (2022) International Journal of Continuing Social Work Education, 25(1), 34-40
Social Work Field Education: Harnessing Technology to Connect Social Work Education and Practice during COVID-19
Singh, M. I., Doyle, K., Wobbe-Viet, L. (2021). International Journal of Digital Society, 12(1). 1695-1699.
Anti-Racism and Equity-Mindedness in Social Work Field Education: A Systematic Review
Beasley, C. C., Singh, M. I., & Dreschsler, K. (2021), Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 1-13.
Trauma-Informed Interview Coaching: An Innovative Approach to Achieve Equal Opportunity and Social Justice in Field Education
Danielle E. Brown, MSW University of Southern California; Susan L. Hess, MSW University of Southern California; Melissa Indera Singh, EdD University of Southern California
Leave Me Alone: Violence Against Women in Trinidad and Tobago
Prakash, N., Singh, M. I., Prevot, J., Gopie, S., Vorster, J., & Averkiou, P., Oxford University Press
When the past is present in the classroom: Utilizing a trauma-informed approach in the virtual setting. | Cambridge Scholars Publishing: London.
The Virtual Field Practicum: Building core competencies prior to agency placement. | Journal of Social Work Education.
Training social workers to be inclusive practitioners: The role of faculty development | Proquest Dissertations Publishing
Implementing a Collaborative Support Model for Educators Reporting Child Maltreatment | Children & Schools
Virtual Academic Challenges To Real-Time Trauma | Practice Digest
Partnerships
Courses
Design Laboratory for Social Innovation I
Integrates design thinking with a norms-driven approach for social innovation. Students will diagnose social norms and apply design-thinking techniques to develop design criteria.
Design Laboratory for Social Innovation II
Continues the exploration of design thinking and norms-driven innovation. Students design and test innovative solutions through the creation of prototypes and design labs.
Integrative Learning for Social Work Practice
Integrative learning organized as a small group educational environment that incorporates field experiences, case vignettes, and dialogical inquiry through a Problem Based Learning framework.
Applied Learning in Field Education
Supervised field education where students learn and apply evidence-based interventions and clinical skills in practice labs and social work settings.
Integrative Learning for Advanced Social Work Practice
Advanced integrative learning that incorporates field experiences, evidenced-based interventions, case vignettes and dialogical inquiry through a Problem Based Learning framework.
Advanced Applied Learning in Field Education
Advanced supervised field education where students practice social work skills and apply evidence-based interventions, including some that are specific to their academic department.
Residency II
Students will showcase the innovations they have developed during the program as the capstone projects and highlight their ongoing leadership roles. They will exhibit their solutions to social work Grand Challenges through exercises, speaking engagements, workshops, and key informant meetings. Students will share their ideas, engaging possible funders, innovators, policymakers, and stakeholders. To accomplish this, students will be asked to take positions of leadership and proactively be involved in utilizing course material (learning), challenging their knowledge base (reading and synthesis), and articulating their ideas with the goal of influencing the overall profession (critical thinking).
Links
Testimonials
"You are a Great professor. I enjoy your classes. I always walk away refreshed and motivated in my journey. You provide good energy to your classes. It does NOT go unnoticed."