Dr. Tasha Willis

 

Dr. Tasha Y. Willis is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at CSU, Los Angeles and the Vice President of the Social Work Abroad Program, a 501(c)(3) organization committed to providing international learning opportunities for US-based social work students and faculty.  She has led or supported education program programs to Costa Rica, Thailand, Ghana, Guatemala and Venezuela.  

 

Tasha’s dissertation research used an intersectional lens to explore racial and gender micro-aggressions experienced by female African American community college students who studied abroad.  She was inspired to conduct her project as a result of her work as a counselor and outreach specialist for Long Beach City College’s Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, the state-funded program serving first generation, low-income students.  Tasha has also worked in public education on social justice issues; with youth, communities and workplaces on human relations issues and institutional oppression; and in social work field education assisting students in applying theory in their internships. 

 

Tasha’s research agenda includes access to and quality of study abroad for underrepresented students, international social work education, intercultural competence, personal and professional identity development, and educational equity and access issues.  Her personal agenda includes raising herself and her son to be global citizens in pursuit of well-being, equity, justice and peace for all (with equal parts joy, laughter, and music!).  Tasha graduated with a bachelor’s in International Studies (Kenyon College); a master’s in Social Service Administration (University of Chicago) and her doctorate in Education and Leadership (CSU, Long Beach).