Katherine Lewis, LSW, MSSA

Research Associate
Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences

Since graduating with her MSSA in 2018 as a Mandel Leadership Fellow, Katherine has provided psychotherapy, therapeutic behavioral services and consultation to individuals, families, groups and service providers as a clinical social worker. She brings over ten years of experience in healthcare research and service evaluation, culminating in a national advisor role for the Care Quality Commission, England’s regulator of health and social care services. Katherine has a bachelor’s degree from Franklin & Marshall College as a John Marshall Scholar and is a member of Psi Chi, the National Psychology Honor Society.

Q: Why is your work at the Begun Center important to you, to our community, and to the world?
The Begun Center is a flagship of multi-disciplinary anti-violence experts, embedded in an internationally renowned school of social work. The intersection here is key: the MSASS community are change agents, and it's a good thing we are. The world's definition of violence is expanding from a focus on the physical to the broader damage trauma causes to ourselves, our neighbors and our communities. As a social worker, it's my duty to advocate for our most vulnerable, and my work at the Begun Center allows me to reach even more people to promote trauma-informed evidence-based practices in schools.

Q: What is a cause about which you are particularly passionate?
I feel strongly about reviving historical research within the social work discipline, as a means of fueling social policy. My clinical specialty is early intervention, and I love learning about system-wide approaches to the development of a resilient, embodied mind. I believe there is more we can do, as individuals and as a society, to protect our well-being from oppression and to promote healthy recovery from trauma.