Social Worker Leaders Celebrating Excellence - March 2025

The AASW PhD Webinar Series Social Work Leaders: Celebrating Excellence Webinar Series

This exciting and dynamic webinar will take place on Thursday the 13th of March from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm AEDT

Free for members, join us to celebrate three outstanding AASW Members who have elevated the social work profession through their research. Presenters will commence the session with an introduction to their work and findings and discuss how their research intersects with real world practice, as well as exploring their own career journeys and experiences from their PhDs and beyond.

This webinar will be chaired by Associate Professor Louise Whitaker, with panel members Dr Monica Hadges, Dr Abul Khan and Dr Mary Jo McVeigh.

Register now!

Read more about your March PhD speakers below!

Chairperson:

Associate Professor Louise Whitaker

Associate Professor Louise Whitaker, Senior Lecturer, Social Work and Community Welfare, Southern Cross University teacher is a member of the AASW National Research Committee. Her research examines mental health social work practice and pedagogy. Before joining academia in 2010, she practiced in mental health, women's health, Legal Aid and cancer workforce development. Dr Whitaker is particularly interested in acknowledging and capturing practice wisdom through practice based social work research.

Panellists

Dr Monica Hadges

Dr Monica Hadges is currently a mental health clinical educator, MBS focused psychological strategies AMHSW provider, and supervisor. A current member of The Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program (AUSCEP) she is working to develop her PhD research into a digital health innovation product. With over thirty years’ experience in child, adolescent, family and youth mental health practices, Dr Hadges is a previous lecturer with The University of Melbourne, Orygen National, and led implementation of multiple Adolescent Health resources at RCH. Trained in client-directed, developmental, and relational psychotherapies, Monica’s clinical interests include ACT, CBT, DBT, creative therapies, and from her 2017-2024 PhD research Telemental Health solutions. A business owner, female entrepreneur and founder, Monica understands the challenges women face transitioning from research in today’s context of digital health change.

Dr Abul Khan

Dr. Abul Kalam Khan is an Indian-origin Australian national and a distinguished mental health professional. He is the founder of the Child and Family Therapy Clinic, where he serves as a senior mental health clinician, and recently served as an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Monash University, Melbourne. Dr. Khan’s academic journey began with a BSW (Hons.) and MSW from Visva-Bharati University, India, followed by an M.Phil. in substance abuse management at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. He spent seven years in the UK’s child and family services, receiving extensive training and credentials in therapy practices. In Australia, Dr. Khan pursued doctoral research at James Cook University, culminating in a PhD in 2018. His dissertation, "Revisioning Child Protection Embedded in Family Empowerment," has informed his development of innovative training programs for child protection practitioners. A passionate advocate for compassion in therapy, Dr. Khan is dedicated to advancing emotional well-being through research, teaching, and practice. His expertise and insights have had a profound impact on both professionals and the families he serves.

Dr Mary Jo McVeigh

Mary Jo McVeigh is the founder and CEO of Cara Consultancy. She is a proud Belfast Irish woman, radical social worker and activist, dedicated family member, and friend. She is acknowledged as a committed supporter of young citizens who have faced traumatic experiences, doing so through advocacy and rights-informed intervention. For her work, she was a finalist in the NSW Woman of the Year and Citizen of the Year awards in 2019, awarded the Order of Australia medal in 2020, and the Social Worker of the Year award in 2022. She gained her Ph.D. in 2024.