Dr. Leah Giangrande, LSW, is the Associate Dean and MSW Program Director of the Graduate School of Social Work. She earned a Doctor of Social Work degree with a focus on Leadership and Education from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Social Work degree from Monmouth University, and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Women’s Studies from Pennsylvania State University.

Prior to working in higher education, Dr. Giangrande designed and developed a mentoring program for youth who have a parent in prison in Hudson County, NJ. In addition, she worked in the area of human trafficking through a non-profit immigration service agency. The mission was to educate service providers and coordinate care for survivors through creating New Jersey’s first Anti-Trafficking Coalition.

She began her career in social work higher education in 2006. Her first role was in field education and developing continuing education workshops. She was promoted four times at her previous institution to become their program’s first assistant dean and eventually the acting dean of the school. Dr. Giangrande has taught in several social work programs as an adjunct professor since 2006. She has taught through multiple modalities—in person, hybrid, online synchronous, and online asynchronous—and at all levels of education, BSW, MSW, and DSW.

Dr. Giangrande is a social worker first. She is committed to the social work profession’s core values as central to her philosophy as an educator and leader.