Genevieve Sabala

Dr. Genevieve M. Sabala is a native of Kenya, where she completed all her early schooling including a BA from Egerton University. She later earned her MSW and MPA from Grand Valley State University in Michigan and a PhD from Nova Southeastern University in Florida. She joins UMass Global as an Associate Professor and Director of Field Education in the School of Health and Behavioral Sciences, bringing over 15 years of macro level social work experience in both nonprofit and higher education. 

Macro social work practice is her area of interest. She spent years working with refugee youth and families from war-torn countries across the world as a Program Manager at Refugee Education Center and as a Senior Employment Specialist at Bethany Christian Services. Her interests in macro social work practice led her to develop several programs for a nonprofit organization, including a youth leadership program that empowered refugee kids to strive higher and achieve their academic goals; and Convergence Paths, a cultural competence annual training of public school educators that transformed how they interacted with refugee kids in their classrooms, resulting in a significant reduction in suspensions of refugee students. 
 

Dr. Sabala educates, to empower learners through skills, knowledge, practice, and critical thinking! Her career in higher education began at West Texas A & M University as the MSSW field director. She later moved to University of Wisconsin-Stout as the Director of Social Work Certificate, before taking up the role of the MSW Field Director at Augsburg University.  
 

Dr. Sabala serves on the Advisory Committee for Kenya Matters, a nonprofit organization that seeks to nurture and empower at-risk children and families in collaboration with Kenyan partners, with an active donor community in the United States and around the world.