Faculty Profile: Carmen Foster

Carmen Reese Foster, LMSW, LSSW joined the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee as an Assistant Professor of Practice and the Online Field Coordinator for Middle and West Tennessee in 2017. This position allows her to develop and nurture relationships with social workers and community agencies across the state and to teach graduate level students in preparation for social work practice. 

Carmen is the founder and faculty advisor of the Coalition of Black Social Workers (CBSW), which connects Black social work students with professional social workers of color for the purposes of engaging, connecting, and empowering the next generation of Black social workers. The CBSW just recently became a 501c3 organization, which will allow them to reach more students and social work professionals across the state of Tennessee.  Carmen is also the founder and Chair of the TN Statewide Field Consortium, which includes representation from almost all of the colleges and universities in the state of Tennessee who offer either a BSW or MSW program. Currently, she is pursuing her DSW from the University of Alabama School of Social Work. 

Carmen’s practice experience includes minority youth and families in both a school and community context. She served as the Outreach Coordinator for HopeWell Cancer Support in Baltimore, as a school social worker with Metro Nashville Public Schools, and as the Intern Director for Preston Taylor Ministries (PTM). While at PTM, Carmen directed the Social Work Program and provided oversight for BSW and MSW students from universities across Middle Tennessee. She coordinated a range of group counseling programs for vulnerable youth while also training staff and volunteers about cultural humility and ACEs. Carmen also implemented a year of service program called “LEAP Year” for young adults who are passionate about serving vulnerable families in the heart of Nashville.

Carmen regularly presents at conferences and leads trainings and workshops on SEL, ACES/trauma, vicarious trauma for social workers and teachers, and racial inequity and cross-cultural communication. She also serves on several boards in the Nashville area. She is passionate about educational equity, racial and cultural humility, and providing professionals with tools to help combat vicarious trauma.