Kassaw Merie

Kassaw Merie, PhD, MSW is an Assistant Teaching Professor and Program Assessment and Evaluation Coordinator at Arizona State University School of Social Work. Also, he served as a Campus Coordinator for the ASU School of Social Work West Valley Campus from December 2022 to May 2025. Before joining ASU as a fulltime faculty, he was a Lecturer and Director of Field Education at the Graduate Social Work Department of Kean University in New Jersey. Before that he served as a Program Manager for the Refugee Foster Care Program in Phoenix, Arizona. He has several years of experience working with vulnerable populations as well as the refugee and immigrant communities. He coordinated federal, state, and local governments’ services to the most vulnerable ones through community outreach, grant writing, program development and management, case management, counselling, supervision, training, and many other culturally sensitive practices.  

Dr. Merie’s teaching insight is derived from his own life and experiences. He is a lifelong learner and has acquired valuable knowledge and multicultural experiences in many disciplines. He encourages students to become true agents of positive social change in their own communities and globally. He empowers students to take various initiatives so that they can practice at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. He follows a student-centered approach and gives emphasis to collaborative learning.

Dr. Merie’s research interest and background include refugees and Immigrants, diaspora communities, children in foster care, Self-Sufficiency, and social entrepreneurship.