David E. Biegel, PhD, is the Henry L. Zucker Professor Emeritus of Social Work Practice and a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Sociology at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. He served as Director of Research and Evaluation for the Ohio Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Coordinating Center of Excellence from 2000-2005, which laid the foundation for the Center for Evidence-Based Practices, and served as Consulting Faculty and Research Consultant for the center from 2005-2018. He also co-directed the Center on Substance Abuse and Mental Illness at the Mandel School from 2002-2017, and co-directed the Cuyahoga County Community Mental Health Research Institute from 1994-2002. He holds a PhD in Social Work and Community Planning from the University of Maryland.
Dr. Biegel is the author of more than 130 publications principally focused on family caregiving with frail elderly individuals, with persons with severe and persistent mental illness, and with individuals with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. One such publication is the nine-volume Evidence-Based Practice book series, synthesis of knowledge about evidence-based practices and service delivery initiatives whose effectiveness has been demonstrated by the strength of empirical evidence in various fields relevant to social work practice such as aging, child welfare, mental health, or substance abuse.
In 2016, Dr. Biegel was honored as a SSWR Fellow, for serving the social work profession with distinction to advance, disseminate, and translate research that addresses issues of social work practice and policy and promotes a diverse, equitable and just society. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare and the Gerontological Society of America.
Dr. Biegel was recently elected as a member of the Board of Trustees of The Nord Center in Lorain County in 2017. The Nord Center is a comprehensive behavioral healthcare organization and the largest such agency in Lorain County. In 2020, he received the Distinguished Career Achievement Award from the Society for Social Work and Research.