School
of Social Work
PhD Candidates
on the
Job Market
Fall 2026
The School of Social Work at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is proud to introduce our PhD candidates on the academic job market. These emerging scholars bring rigorous research, thoughtful teaching, and a commitment to understanding and addressing the conditions that shape individual, family, and community well-being.
Their scholarship spans Black family mental health across generations, child welfare and economic supports, maternal and perinatal mental health, adolescent violence prevention, and the intersections of language, gentrification, and labor precarity. Across these areas, they connect research with practice, policy, and community knowledge to advance equity and inform meaningful change.
We invite you to explore their profiles, learn about their research and teaching, and consider the contributions they can bring to your institution.
Heather A. Jones
Heather's research explores how structural racism and historical trauma shape family processes and mental health across three generations of Black families, while their teaching emphasizes shared inquiry, community knowledge, and systemic approaches to social justice and wellbeing.
Yun Young Kim
Yun's research examines how poverty, geographic inequities, and economic supports shape child maltreatment and child welfare outcomes, while her scholarship and teaching connect research, policy, and practice to prevent crises and strengthen the wellbeing of children, families, and communities.
Gloria Sugg
Gloria's research explores how family systems, communities, and health policy shape maternal and perinatal mental health and parent and child wellbeing, while their teaching emphasizes applied learning, critical thinking, and connecting research, policy, and practice to improve services and systems of care.
Qihao Zhan
Qihao's community-engaged research advances health equity and the prevention of adolescent dating and sexual violence, particularly among youth from disadvantaged neighborhoods, while her teaching spans undergraduate and graduate courses in statistics and human behavior in the social environment.
Karla Sanabria Véaz
Karla's research examines how language, colonialism, and racialization shape gentrification and precarious working conditions in Puerto Rico, while their teaching emphasizes collaborative curriculum development, critical pedagogies, and practical organizing skills for advocacy and social change.
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