Sara Casali, DSW, MSW, CSW

Dr. Sara Casali is an Associate Teaching Professor and Director of the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) program in the Department of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She joined UWM in 2026 and leads the development and implementation of the school’s Doctor of Social Work program, designed to prepare experienced social workers for advanced leadership, teaching, scholarship, and practice innovation. Dr. Casali is especially excited to help build a doctoral program that bridges research and practice while preparing the next generation of practitioner-scholars and social work leaders to address complex social challenges and advance meaningful systems change.

Dr. Casali brings nearly 30 years of experience spanning social work practice, administration and higher education. Prior to joining UWM, she held a variety of faculty and leadership positions within social work education, where she provided leadership in field education, curriculum development, accreditation, assessment, and online teaching and learning.

Before entering academia, Dr. Casali spent more than two decades working within Wisconsin’s child welfare and family court systems. Her professional experience includes child welfare case management and supervision, permanency counseling, continuous quality improvement review, and child custody and placement evaluations.

Dr. Casali’s scholarship and professional interests focus on social work education, intersectionality, practice-informed leadership, and creating safe and brave spaces for difficult conversations in educational and practice settings. She is particularly interested in preparing practitioner-scholars who can translate research into meaningful change across organizations, communities, and systems. Her work emphasizes the integration of scholarship, teaching, and professional practice to develop leaders who can effectively respond to emerging social challenges and strengthen the communities they serve.

In addition to her academic work, Dr. Casali maintains a strong interest in family court systems and child custody evaluation practice. Drawing upon decades of experience working with children and families involved in complex legal and child welfare matters, she is particularly interested in the intersection of family dynamics, child well-being, and evidence-informed decision-making within family court settings.

Dr. Casali has presented nationally and regionally on topics related to social work education, intersectionality, professional development, and workforce preparation. She has also served in leadership roles on multiple federally funded workforce development initiatives supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Education

• DSW, University of St. Thomas, 2022
• MSW, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2001
• BA, Social Work, Marquette University, 1997

Research and Teaching Interests

• Social work education and pedagogy
• Doctoral social work education
• Practice-informed leadership
• Intersectionality in social work
• Field education
• Family court systems
• Child custody and placement evaluations
• Workforce development and behavioral health training
• Safe and brave spaces in social work education and practice

Professional Affiliations

• Wisconsin Council on Social Work Education (Executive Board Member)
• Council on Social Work Education
• National Association of Social Workers
• Association of Family and Conciliation Courts

Publication

• Casali, S. (2022). MSW seminar syllabi analysis: The crossroads of intersectionality and social work field education. Applied Learning in Social Work Education, 12.2(1).