Christopher Cotten is an assistant professor in the Division of Social Work at IU Northwest, primarily teaching HBSE and Policy. Cotten received his B.A. in Psychology from Northwestern University, his M.S.W. from New York University, and his PhD from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Most of his practice experience has been with children and adolescents in residential treatment. His areas of interest include mental health, social policy and social work history, HIV/AIDS, and sexual minority communities. He is a Senior Associate at Live Oak, a group practice on Chicago 's north side.

“M. Thandabantu Iverson received his doctorate from the Dept. of Political Science at Clark Atlanta University in 2007.  His dissertation, "Serving in the Shadows: African-American Women Health Care Workers in Gary, Indiana, 1980-2000," is an examination of workplace and union conditions and resistance strategies of African American women.  His areas of scholarly interest are Feminist Theory, African-American Political Thought, Labor Studies, Human Rights, and Comparative Politics.  Prof. Iverson has been a faculty member in Labor Studies since 1996. 

Prior to joining the Labor Studies faculty at IUN, Thandabantu worked in a number of  occupations in different industries, including: health & safety organizer on the international staff of the Service Employees' International Union (SEIU); coal miner and mine safety activist with the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA); auto worker with the United Auto Workers (UAW); and steel worker with the United Steel Workers of America (USWA).

Dr. Iverson brings to his teaching and scholarship the lessons of participation in several social movements, spanning several decades, within the United States.  These include: the Civil Rights, Black Power, African Liberation Support, Vietnam Anti-War, New Left, and Human Rights Movements.

Prof. Iverson's principal teaching and research interests are: the intersections of multiple forms of oppression and discrimination in U.S. social structures and institutions; the relationships between hierarchical social locations and power relations and identity, agency, democratic political activism and critical political theory; the development of political alliances and coalitions across boundaries of domination and difference; and the building, maintenance, and reproduction of social movements as vehicles of human rights resistance and liberation.”

Dr. Andrea Tamburro is the Director of the BSW Program in Social Work at Indiana University Northwest. She joined the faculty in 2010. Dr. Tamburro is from Indiana and is returning after teaching and coordinating a Social Work and Human Services Open Learning Program (distance education) in Canada. She completed a doctorate in Higher Education Leadership from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada.  The emphasis of her research is Social Work Accreditation and the inclusion of diverse perspectives in Social Work including Indigenous curriculum content.  She earned her MSW from the University of Iowa. Her practice experience includes social work with diverse populations in the areas of corrections, mental health, domestic violence, and child protection in urban and rural areas. She is a member of the Shawnee Piqua Tribe, a recognized tribe in the State of Alabama.

Dr. Mark Thomas, who is on the MSW committee and the MSW online committee, received his PhD in 2005 from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The title of his dissertation was the "Co-Occurrence of Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence:  A Comparison of Dual-Problem Men."  His practice background is in the substance abuse and child welfare fields. His research interests include substance abuse, domestic violence, and aging. Prior to accepting the position at Indiana University Northwest, Dr. Thomas taught at UIC and Dominican University, and served as Project Manager for a large multi-state study on assisted living for the Department of Veteran Affairs.