Sara Schwartz, PhD, MSW
SARA SCHWARTZ, PhD, MSW is an experienced educator, scholar and storyteller. Her projects blend methods and perspectives from social work, anthropology, social justice and the arts. As faculty in the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, Sara founded the Visual Social Work Graduate Certificate Program. She was also a founding advisor for the National AIDS Memorial Surviving Voices Program, which annually produces short documentaries to highlight communities impacted by HIV whose stories are not often told.
Melissa Essman, DSW, LCSW
MELISSA ESSMAN, DSW, LCSW has an extensive social work background in clinical practice, higher education and visual arts. She brings this to curriculum development through her creative sense of presentation and ability to inspire through profound content. Melissa has Faculty Emeritus status for 20 years at CSU Fullerton, earning a Teaching Online certification and a Microcredential in Active Learning Online. As adjunct faculty, she collaborated on developing the Visual Social Work Graduate Certificate Program at USC. She recently began applying her clinical experience to documentary filmmaking and is a member of the International Documentary Association.