June Paul
Assitant Professor of Social Work
June Paul
June has a lifelong career history of working to promote social and economic justice and advocating for individuals and communities living in oppressive contexts.
Prior to returning to graduate school to obtain her Ph.D., June worked in the field of human services for nearly 17 years as a direct service practitioner, policy advisor, and statewide administrator in both public child welfare and education. Consequently, she brings a great deal of real-world knowledge and experience in practice, policy, and service-delivery to her teaching and scholarship.
As an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work, her primary objective is to provide an academically challenging curriculum that is engaging and accessible to all students, values the resources each student brings to class, and promotes strategies that aid students in advancing a more just and equitable society.
June received her MSW and PhD degrees from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. Her research examines public and community-based programs and policies for vulnerable children, youth, and families with an explicit focus on intersectionality and disproportionality among dimensions of race, class, sexual orientation and gender identity. Using a community-based approach, June investigates the origins, structures, and consequences of discrimination and social injustice in child welfare, juvenile justice, and other social service settings and uses these findings to advance strategies for providing more equitable and effective care and services to sexual and/or gender minorities.
June is particularly interested in conducting research that focuses on systems-involved youth that identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ). In line with this, she is currently investigating the health and wellbeing outcomes of LGBTQ youth with a history of child maltreatment, and writing a book that documents the experiences and perspectives of 7 transgender youth of color as they transition from foster care to young adulthood in the State of Wisconsin.