Kris Clarke, PhD
I am Professor of Social Work in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Helsinki. I was born and raised in Fresno, California. As an immigrant to Finland over 25 years ago, my early interests were in multicultural social work because I was involved with some of the first social welfare courses with immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers and emerging organizations. I worked on the European Project AIDS & Mobility for nearly a decade. AIDS & Mobility advocated for migrants living with HIV by challenging stigmatizing xenophobic narratives and opening up dialogues about diverse sexualities and human behavior.
After returning to Fresno for twelve years, I became interested in decolonizing social work through my work with Dr. Michael Yellow Bird. We published Decolonizing Pathways towards Integrative Healing in Social Work in 2020 with Routledge (which is also available for free in open access). I currently teach courses on international and structural social work, and supervise master's theses and doctoral dissertations. I continue to research and work with themes surrounding decolonizing social work, social memory and HIV/AIDS.
This website is both a personal portfolio of my work and a site for the Social Work Routes podcast.
My goal with the podcast is to open up the richly diverse stories of people involved in social work and activism – what brought them to the field? Where does their passion in social justice work lie? What experiences have shaped their perspectives? And what hopes and dreams do they have for the future? The podcast features conversations with people around the globe highlighting inspiring stories of fortitude and change making.
Contact Kris for more info.
Priscilla Osei is the Social Work Routes podcast producer
Priscilla Osei professionally known as Pee is a Ghanaian-born freelance photographer based in Helsinki, Finland. Priscilla is a photographer with a background in regional development whose two interests have collided to give her a unique perspective on several issues affecting Black women, immigrants, and media bias. She holds a BBA and BSc in Business Administration Accounting and Natural Resource Management, respectively. Her MSc from Mendel University is in Regional Development Studies. Priscilla is a doctoral student in social work in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Helsinki.
Credits: Styled by Ama Bonney, Modelling by Rewina
Studiopeee, a studio located in the heart of Helsinki, Finland was founded by Priscilla. Her team consists of Ama Bonney, the makeup artist and fashion stylist, Samuel Boateng, the videographer, and Priscilla, herself as the photographer. After witnessing some of the struggles of people of color in Finland, the team provides a great studio experience for people of color residing in Helsinki. Their creative portfolio promotes social change through media. They are famously known for the project “Mustat Miehet”. This campaign challenges stereotypes of Black men.
Model: Metzo, Pratt & Cico
Videographer: Samuel Boateng (Boagraphy)
When Prof. Kris called on me to contribute to the Podcast as an administrator and technical person, I felt so honored to be part of a great educational and social change project. Apart from managing the podcast, editing the episodes, and other behind-the-scenes interaction, I find The Social Work Routes Podcast as a source of inspiration on my journey to social work and activism. Join us on this amazing route of collecting stories.
Smarika KC is the associate producer of the Social Work Routes podcast
I am originally from Nepal and currently a doctoral student in social work in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Helsinki. My research interests are intersectionality, migration, ageing and well-being. I have a master’s degree in Advanced Development in Social Work which is a part of a joint Erasmus Mundus Programme. I have five years of work experience in the international development sector mainly in communication, project management and research. Throughout my work, I have found stories to be so powerful which is why, I take inspiration from them in my current research too. I want to feature stories of people who are hard to reach and open up counternarratives of migrant communities.
I am thrilled to be a part of the Social Work Routes Podcast. I love the team as it provides a space to learn and grow together, which is so encouraging. As social workers and researchers, we get to learn from every conversation on the podcast with change makers from all around the world. It also makes us think more about our impact beyond academia and the implications for practice.