Faculty and Staff

Listed below are some of the faculty who regularly work with SWES in providing specialized license preparation courses and in preparing SWES Study Guides
FOUNDER

Stephen Antler, DSW

Received his MSW from Columbia University and a Doctorate in Social Work from Hunter College School of Social Work He has previously been a member of the faculty at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and Boston University School of Social Work, where he taught social policy and administration and chaired the Social Policy program. His publications include numerous articles in Social Work Journals and a reader on Child Abuse published by NASW Press. He formerly served as a consulting editor of Social Work and has done research on child protection with the Rand Corporation. Dr. Antler has consulted to many government and private organizations in the United States, in Europe and Israel on child welfare planning, administration, and program development. He was associated with Social Work Examination Services from 1983 until 2020.

INSTRUCTOR

Michelle Kenefick, MSW, LICSW

With over 30 years of experience in the field of Social Work, Michelle’s background includes work in non-profit and corporate environments with adults and children in a variety of settings. An adjunct professor at Fordham University in the MSW program, Michelle has taught regionally and internationally with a predominant focus on trauma, trauma-informed care, systemic / organizational change and vicarious trauma.  Michelle has worked with several universities around the country as a field supervisor for BSW, MSW and PhD programs.  She has also practiced clinical social work in four states in the Northeast. She is licensed as a Clinical Social Worker in Connecticut and Vermont as well as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. Michelle is a past President of the CT Chapter of NASW CT.

INSTRUCTOR

Laura Mutrie, MSW, LCSW

Laura is the Director of Field Education of the MSW Program at Quinnipiac University, and Clinical Assistant Professor, where she has been since 2013. As a child and family clinician interested in complex trauma and its impact on children and adolescents she is committed to the development provision of quality services for underserved populations. At Quinnipiac, her national and statewide presentations on the topic of Inter-professional education and the use of simulation in social work education have been widely regarded. She teaches advanced organizational social work practice and advanced clinical practice courses in the MSW program. As an adjunct at Southern Connecticut State University she has taught social work policy, field seminar and advanced clinical practice. And for over 15 years she was Director of Clinical Services for a child guidance clinic, and is a long-time member of NASW/CT and a current member of the Council on Social Work Education. She has been an active member of the TEAM, Inc., community action agency, Board of Directors for the past 6 years.

INSTRUCTOR

Chris McLaughlin, MSW, LCSW

Chris McLaughlin, MSW, LCSW (he/him/his) is the Executive Director of the Maine Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and owner of Inspired Consulting Group, LLC. A lifelong resident of Maine, he obtained both his BA in Psychology (1996) and his MSW (2001) from the University of Maine. Chris has spent more than 20+ years as a provider and a leader in behavioral health services for youth and families across a variety of clinical settings, including treatment foster care, residential treatment facilities, public schools, private practice, community-based programs, and psychiatric hospital-based services. Chris has a passion for teaching and is an adjunct faculty member at both the University of Maine and Husson University in Bangor. Chris and his husband live in Hermon, Maine with their four dogs, Huck, Anna, Becky, and Sawyer, and are avid fans of many types of recreation and leisure during all of Maine’s seasons.

 

CONSULTANT

Sunny Maguire, LCSW

Sunny attended Hunter College School of Social Work, MSW, 2011 and the William Alanson White Institute’s Intensive Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Program, 2014. After several years as a psychotherapist in agency, outpatient, and private practice settings, Sunny now trains students and professionals on social work ethics, clinical practice, and general professional development.

DIRECTOR

Lauren Antler

Lauren received a BA from Barnard College and an MA from Teacher’s College, Columbia University. Lauren brings two decades of experience in marketing, communications and administration in the non-profit world to her work with SWES. She is passionate supporting social workers in their path to licensure, and working to bring the most up to date study tools and technology to our students.
CONSULTANT

Leslie Bass, MSW, MBA

Leslie is an adjunct faculty member at Simmons College School of Social Work in Boston, where she teaches Clinical Assessment and Human Behavior in the Social Environment. She received her MSW from Boston University School of Social Work in l977 and an MBA from Simmons College Graduate School of Management in 1990. She has maintained a private practice for 20 years. Additionally, she has extensive experience in both inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings, as well as in medical social work, geriatric consultation and crisis management.

CONSULTANT

Deborah Cantor, MSW, Ph.D.

Deborah is a clinical social worker who has worked with adolescents, adults and couples since receiving her Masters of Social Work at Smith College School for Social Work in 1972. She earned her doctorate at Simmons College School of Social Work in 2001. Dr. Cantor taught clinical social work practice as an adjunct faculty member at both Simmons College and Boston University Schools of Social Work. She supervised MSW students and staff during her years of agency practice and served as Assistant Executive Director of Jewish Family Service of Metrowest from 1992-1997. Dr. Cantor is currently in private practice in Framingham, MA. She taught for SWES from 2002 – 2022 .

CONSULTANT

Kathleen Monahan, D.S.W.

Kathleen is an Associate Professor at the School of Social Welfare at Stony Brook University, and is the Micro Practice Sequence Chair. She founded the Family Violence Education and Research Center (FVERC) and is director of the specialization in trauma for second year graduate students. Dr. Monahan is a member of the Steering Committee of the Council on Social Work Education, Task Force on Advanced Social Work Practice with Trauma. She has taught courses on trauma, child sexual abuse, and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in the School of Social Welfare, the School of Nursing, and the School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. Her research interests include sexual abuse, bereavement, disability and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Dr. Monahan is a licensed clinical social worker, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and a certified forensic consultant. She has been in private practice since 1984.