Dr. Julie Richards has over thirty years of practice experience in educational, health
and behavioral health contexts. She holds both B.S.W. and M.S.W. degrees, as well
as a Ph.D. in International Family and Community Studies. Her research is devoted
to international development and practice, emphasizing intercultural and interprofessional
growth opportunities, and workforce wellbeing. Dr. Richards’ career spans diverse
roles, from urban child welfare practice in New York City to medical and rural school
social work in Vermont, and extends globally, encompassing community development,
human rights advocacy and direct service consultation. She has enjoyed working internationally
in public health and with organizations to identify their Theory of Change and assist
them with their program development, strategic planning, outreach, staff development,
curriculum design and monitoring and evaluation plans.
Dr. Richards teaches across all levels of B.S.W. curriculum and has also enjoyed teaching
research and field on the graduate level. In particular, she strongly values creating
collaborative partnerships that provide students with opportunities for experiential
learning that benefit the community, advance humanitarian and social care practices,
and prepare the next generation of social workers.
Amani, A., Richards, J., McCollim, E., Maxcy, T., Luebkeman, D., & Morikawa, R. (2026). From Practice to Impact:
Women Leading Watershed Restoration Efforts. Wellbeing Futures: Innovation, Policy and Research, 2, 22–35.
Acker, J., Rotondi, M., Richards, J., Simard, D. & Carabajal, B. (2026). An Origin Story: A Case Study in Blending Programs,
Building Trust, and Merging Social Work Departments In Simard, D. & Acker, J. (Eds),
Narratives of Upheaval in Higher Education, IGA Global.
Richards, J. & Weldon, T. (2025). Tenacity During Turmoil: Exploring Readiness and Capacity to
Withstand Reactive Trauma. Wellbeing Futures: Innovation, Policy and Research (1), 43–52.
Richards, J. (2024). Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way. In Schnackenberg, H. (Ed.), Narratives on Defining Moments for Women Leaders In Higher Education. IGA Global.
Richards, J. & Shrayer, G. (2023). From self-care to compassion resilience: Extending the model
of protective factors for humanitarian practitioners. International Journal of Social Welfare. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12626
Richards, J. (2022). Pandemic pivoting: Lessons learned about community-building in a remote BSW
context. Journal of Social Work Education. DOI: 10.1080/02615479.2022.2136156
Das, S. & Richards, J. (2021). Psychosocial effects and public health response to COVID-19 pandemic in India
in Origin and Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Originating from SARS-CoV-2 Infection Across
the Globe. IntechOpen Limited: London.
Richards, J. (2021). Glocal social action: Scaffolding assignments to integrate global issues
and local practice. Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work. 26(1), 45–54.
October 24, 2026. Weldon, T. & Richards, J. "Tenacity During Turmoil: Developing a Deeper Understanding of Workforce Retention
in Humanitarian Service," Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting,
Atlanta.
June 2, 2026 Richards, J. “Practitioner Wellbeing: Rapid Reflection and Control-Reset Under Stress.” Focal
Point, New York.
June 10, 2025 Richards, J. & Shrayer, G. “Bending not Breaking: Building Resilience to Navigate Trauma.” World
Jewish Relief, United Kingdom.
March 10, 2025 Richards, J. & Shrayer, G. “Managing Trauma: Tools for Building Individual Resilience.” Tata Institute
of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India.
May 29, 2024 Shrayer, G. & Richards, J. Plenary — “Managing Trauma: Tools for Building Individual Resilience.” Focal Point,
New York.
October 28, 2023 Richards, J. & Shrayer, G. “Building Protective Factors for Humanitarian Practitioners Through
Compassion Resilience.” 4th Global Virtual Summit on European Public Health & Healthcare.
November 2023 Richards, J. & Shrayer, G. Building Protective Factors for Humanitarian Practitioners Through
Compassion Resilience. International Conference on Social Work & Social Research,
Baku, Azerbaijan.
January 30, 2023 Richards, J. “Looking Toward the Future: Mental Health and an Ecological Approach to Build Resiliency.”
Presented to the School of Health Systems Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
January 9, 2023 Richards, J. “A Holistic Approach to Inclusive Social Empowerment and Development.” Presented
at the virtual, co-sponsored SUNY Plattsburgh and Tata Institute of Social Sciences
conference, Global Social Action: Innovative and Preferred Practice Models.
September 2021 Richards, J. & Das, S. Building Connections and Actions for Sustainable Development Goals. University
Global Coalition Annual Gathering, Virtual Conference.
June 2020 Richards, J. National Cataract Outreach Program: An Effective Model for Eliminating the Backlog
of Cataract Blindness in Ghana. World Ophthalmology Congress, South Africa.
June 2020 Clapp, P. & Richards, J. Strengthening Ethiopia’s Eye Care System: A Collaboration Between Himalayan Cataract
Project (HCP) and Conrad N. Hilton Foundation (CNHF). World Ophthalmology Congress,
South Africa.
Scholar in Global and Intercultural Competence, Council on Social Work Education,
Spring 2022. National designation and accompanying scholarship to support the implementation
of global and intercultural curricular resources in social work courses.
