PhD, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
MSW, Radford University - Virginia
BSW & Social Administration, Uganda Christian University
Areas of Interest
- Mental Health
- Anti-Human Trafficking Research & Programming
- Social Work with Refugees and Immigrants
- Community Engagement and Scholarship
- Global Social Work
- Social Work Education
Dr. Nkwanzi’s research focuses on developing, implementing, and evaluating mental health interventions for vulnerable populations. Dr. Nkwanzi is particularly interested in the mental health of survivors of human trafficking, refugees, and children’s mental health programming in low-resource settings. Originally from Uganda, much of Dr. Nkwanzi’s research is centered there and in sub-Saharan African communities. Before joining East Tennessee State University, Dr. Nkwanzi was an assistant to the Executive Director of the Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship (JCES) and taught social work courses at the University of Alabama and Uganda Christian University. Prior research includes mental health programming in Ugandan schools. Currently, Dr. Nkwanzi is a co-investigator on a grant to conduct an RCT of a mental health intervention with survivors of HT in Uganda. As a social worker, she has experience with child protective services and international NGOs in areas of mental health and community engagement/ organizing.