Melba Butler, LCSW, PhD
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Melba Butler is committed to connecting people with opportunities. An Adjunct faculty member since 2006 who holds her Ph.D. from the CUNY Graduate Center, Dr. Butler energetically connects her Silberman students with people, networks, resources, and ideas that will expand their knowledge and empower them as social work professionals.
This passion for capacity-building grounds all of Dr. Butler’s work, from her teaching and research to her practice as a consultant. Drawing from her experiences in child welfare, organizational management, and academia, she helps a wide range of individuals and agencies develop their capabilities; enhance their leadership; and assess the needs of their communities. It is no surprise, then, that Dr. Butler’s professorial work shapes her practice and vice-versa. She brings readings from her Silberman courses to organizational clients, in order to shed light on their unique cases, and brings insights from those cases directly into her discussions with students – students who, as the next generation of social workers, ultimately make it all worthwhile, she says.
“I love the diversity of the Silberman School of Social Work in so many different ways – cultural and ethnic, experiential, and much more,” Dr. Butler says. “Currently, I teach two sections of the same course, which each bring such richness to the same subject matter. I have also known, liked, and respected many of the faculty for a long time prior to my time at Silberman. We bounce ideas, and talk about issues that impact students and the larger community… It is truly collegial.”