This is part of a series of Q&As introducing faculty who have joined the College of Health Sciences for the 2024–25 academic year. Meet all of our new faculty members.

Danielle Adams

Assistant professor, School of Social Work

What classes are you teaching this semester?

I am excited to teach a core social work course, Evaluative Research (SW8953), to second-year master’s students this fall!

Tell us about yourself. What is your background?

I am originally from Rapid City, South Dakota, and I am the first person in my family to finish college. I studied psychology during my undergraduate degree at Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago. From there, I worked for two years as a research coordinator with Dr. Rinad Beidas at the University of Pennsylvania, where we evaluated the effect of training therapists in evidence-based practices for mental health disorders, such as cognitive behavioral therapy. Through this role, I became captivated by the research process and aimed to understand how to improve access to effective mental health treatments, especially for low-income families enrolled in Medicaid.

I pursued my MSW and PhD in Social Work from the University of Chicago, where I conducted a “mystery shopper” study for my dissertation. In this study, we called more than 200 mental health agencies in Cook County, Illinois, and attempted to schedule a real mental health appointment for a pseudo-adolescent child. We were only able to schedule 17% of the time, indicating the extreme lack of capacity the public mental health system has to take on new clients and the variety of barriers in the way to accessing treatment. I continued this line of research during my National Institute of Mental Health-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University from 2022-24 before starting my new role this fall at Mizzou.

What brought you to Mizzou? To your field?

I chose Mizzou for a few reasons. First, Boone County has an earmarked tax for children’s mental health services — this creates a sustainable line of funding for mental health care for youth in the county, something that is very optimistic and rare in the United States. Second, the School of Social Work at Mizzou has a great culture between the students and faculty, with people who seem to genuinely support and care for each other. Finally, I wanted to come to Mizzou to grow at a public university where I could support and mentor first-generation, low-income students like myself.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I love being a social worker and feel deeply connected to my field. I believe that social change must happen not only at the individual level but also structurally if we want to fundamentally improve the lives of the folks we work with. I love teaching social work students the importance of intervening at multiple levels of a system (e.g., individually, organizationally, politically) to enact sustainable change.

What is a fun hobby or activity that you enjoy outside of work?

I love to ride my bike! Whether it be riding to campus, enjoying group rides with friends, or strolling the country on a multiday tour, you can almost always catch me on my bike.

What is your hidden talent?

I see myself as a connector. I love to bring people together, connect folks with common interests and passions and bridge worlds that may otherwise feel divided.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received, and who gave it to you?

One of my favorite quotes is “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage” by writer Anaïs Nin. It reminds me that some of the hardest or scariest parts of life can become fulfilling experiences that help you grow into the person you’re meant to be. Be brave, do the hard thing!