Graduate School of Social Work
Yolanda (Yoli) Anyon
Assistant Professor
PhD, PPSC, University of California, Berkeley
ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH INTERESTS
- positive and community youth development
- school-based prevention, early intervention and health promotion
- racial and ethnic disparities in education, health and social services
- mixed methods
PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Assistant Professor Anyon is dedicated to advancing theory, practice and policy for low-income adolescents of color through community-engaged research, teaching and service.
She has more than 10 years of experience as a research/practitioner in roles such as youth empowerment program director, community partnership manager, behavioral health counselor and welfare benefits advocate. Her current scholarship is organized around three areas of inquiry: sources of racial and ethnic disparities in youth service systems, effective youth development programs for low-income adolescents of color and contextual influences on social service delivery in urban schools.
Anyon believes that graduate programs in social work are important venues for translating interdisciplinary research for practice by training future professionals in evidence-based approaches that can improve outcomes for vulnerable populations. This view of education as a mechanism for social justice underlies her commitment to teaching and student mentoring.
Her teaching philosophy is based on anti-oppressive and social constructivist pedagogies; as an instructor, she aims to build knowledge from students’ experiences, construct meaning through student-centered dialogue, apply concepts to real-world dilemmas, and consistently address issues of privilege and marginalization.
At GSSW, Anyon teaches multicultural social work practice and social welfare policy.