Co-chairs of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee at the School of Social Work collaborate to create an inclusive, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive community.
Stephanie Foster, MS, and Samantha Fuld, DSW, MSW, are co-chairs of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEIC) at the University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW). The DEIC is a convening body composed of diverse stakeholders from across UMSSW including staff, faculty, students, and administration as well as alumni and community representatives. These stakeholders collaborate to strategize, make recommendations, and act to create a UMSSW community that is inclusive, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive, and where everyone feels a sense of belonging. The DEIC is housed under the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) and serves in a collaborative and consultive role to support UMSSW’s strategic DEI priorities.
The DEIC co-chairs collaborate with an executive board of dedicated faculty and staff who work toward meaningful action in the areas of documentation and communication; equity and accessibility; training and resources; and policy and advocacy.
Foster is a business operations specialist at UMSSW’s Institute for Innovation and Implementation (the Institute). She is an active member of the Institute’s Equity and Social Justice Committee in addition to her leadership with the DEIC, where she was previously a member and later co-chair of the Training and Resources subcommittee. Additionally, Foster worked with Neijma Celestine-Donnor, MSW ’09, LCSW-C, assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion, UMSSW, to develop a resource guide with over 70 free DEI trainings on topics including racial equity, allyship, and disability justice. During her undergraduate career at Loyola University Maryland, Foster was a student employee with the then-Office of Academic Affairs and Diversity where she was active in coordinating activities such as diversity reading groups, mentorship programs, and communication around diversity efforts.
Fuld is a clinical assistant professor in UMSSW. She is faculty advisor to the DREAM Disability Justice and the Intersectional Feminist Social Workers student groups and course coordinator for the Brief History of Oppression and Resistance Prerequisite. Her scholarship emphasizes the importance of critical disability perspectives in social work education and practice. Prior to taking on the role of DEIC co-chair, she was an active member of the Diversity and Anti-Oppression Committee (which became the DEIC) and co-chair of the Equity and Accessibility Subcommittee. Her doctorate work focused on the impact of trauma, stigma, and ableism on mental health among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She is dedicated to striving toward anti-oppressive social work education and practice.