Sessions
Morning Keynote: 25 Years of Mission Possible and Mental Health - Looking Back and Forward
9:00 AM - 10:15 AM Wed
Freddie L. Avant, Ph.D., is a Full Professor and serves as Interim Dean of the Office of Research and Graduate Studies and the Associate Dean/Director of the School of Social Work at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. He also serves as co-director of the Center for Rural Social Work Research and Development at SFA. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work from Lyon College, a Master of Social Work from the University of Missouri in Columbia, and a Ph.D. in Social Work from Jackson State University. He is a licensed master's level social worker with advanced practice recognition. He has over 35 years of experience, and his practice and research background are in mental health, cultural diversity, program evaluation, intellectual developmental disabilities, rural social work practice, medical social work, and social work education and administration. He has served in various appointed and elected leadership positions at the local, state, and national levels. He recently served as the President of the National Association of Social Workers – Texas Chapter.