Sharma Re-elected to Board of Directors for National Association of Social Workers

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Dr. Yasoda Sharma, professor and director of the Bachelor of Social Work program at Kutztown University, has been re-elected to the board of directors for the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) (Region IV), the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world. She has also been appointed to the executive committee and currently serves as chair of the NASW National Committee on Women’s Issues.

NASW works to enhance the professional growth of its members while maintaining high standards to advance social policies that improve the lives of individuals, families, organizations and communities around the globe.

Sharma is a tenured professor at KU and earned her Ph.D. in social work from the University of Texas at Arlington, a master's degree in social work with a specialization in psychiatry and social medicine and an undergraduate degree in psychology from India. She has extensive experience working with national and international organizations, including those in India and Nepal. Her social work career focuses on domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, international social work and human trafficking, engaging both local and global communities. She is a respected scholar with numerous publications in prestigious academic journals and her work has been presented at various conferences. Additionally, she has implemented research projects related to domestic violence and served as an external research examiner for post-doctoral candidates in India. Sharma has also overseen multiple Doctor of Social Work dissertations, serves on several DSW dissertation committees and is an editorial board member of a refereed journal.

At the Domestic Violence Center for Chester County, Sharma serves as vice president of the board, chairs the Strategic Planning Committee and played a key role in the organization’s reaccreditation with the Pennsylvania Association of Non-Profit Organizations. Under her leadership, the Strategic Planning Committee recently completed the 2024-27 strategic plan. She has previously volunteered on the NASW-PA Conference Planning Committee and later chaired the committee. Currently, she is a member of the NASW-PA Awards Committee.

Sharma is highly involved at KU as she serves as a board member and the KU representative for the PASSHE Women's Consortium. She is also chair of the KU Commission on the Status of Women and under her leadership, the committee implemented the Elderly Care Workshop and revived Take Your Child to Work Day program. In addition to these roles, she also serves as treasurer of the KU-APSCUF International Faculty Caucus and was appointed to a committee to aid in developing a strategic plan to incorporate and bring greater awareness to the diversity, equity and inclusion initiative across the KU campus community.

As a board member of NASW Region IV, Sharma will represent the association within the community, maintain relationships with key organizations and contribute to policy decisions, policy implementation and the equitable allocation of financial resources in alignment with the guidelines established by the association’s membership in Delegate Assembly meetings.

More information can be found online.