Naelys Luna, PhD, MSW

 

Prior to her 2019 appointment as Interim Dean of the College of Social Work and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University and subsequent appointment as Dean in 2020, Naelys Luna, PhD, MSW, served for three years as a professor and director of the Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work. She earned her MSW and PhD in Social Work from Fordham University in New York and her BA from Seton Hall University in New Jersey. As a licensed Social Worker (NY and NJ), Dr. Luna helped develop ADHD and PTSD programs in a child and adolescent outpatient psychiatric hospital. She has provided clinical social work services to children, adolescents, and their families in outpatient units, partial care programs, and private practice. Dr. Luna’s research interests and multiple publications in national and international journals are in the areas of substance use disorders, mood disorders, spirituality, parental roles, mental health outcomes in minorities (especially Hispanics) and psychosocial functioning. She is also the former president of the Florida Association of Deans and Directors (FADD), a board member for the National Association of Deans and Directors (NADD), a board member for the Association of Latino/Latina Social Work Educators (ALLSWE), an editorial board member for the Journal of Concurrent Disorders, and a Trustee for the Palm Health Foundation. Dr. Luna received one of the highly coveted spots as a 2023-24 American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow and was named a 2022 South Florida Hispanic Woman of Distinction, one of the nation’s largest celebrations of Latina leaders. She is also active in the international community with collaborations at the Universidad de Valparaiso in Chile, Universidad Complutense in Spain, and Universidad del Quindio in Colombia.