About INSPIRARE Global
INSPIRARE Global: The International Network of Social Work Praxis & Innovation for Research, Advancing Scholarship, Rights, and Education is an international initiative funded by the Council on Social Work Education’s Katherine A. Kendall Institute to expand global perspectives in U.S. social work education. Core project partners include faculty from Colby-Sawyer College and Springfield College in New England in the United States, and the Hellenic Mediterranean University in Crete, Greece. Through collaboration among educators, students, and practitioners, the project addresses key challenges, including migration, climate change, trauma, and threats to equity and human rights. It offers tools and opportunities to build cross-cultural skills, support international collaboration, and integrate global issues into social work teaching and practice.
INSPIRARE Global Team
Prof. Laura Krishnan-Mackie, MSW, LICSW (she/her)
Email: laura.krishnanmackie@colby-sawyer.edu I am an Assistant Professor of Social Work and Director of Online MSW Practicum Education at Colby-Sawyer College (New Hampshire) and a PhD student in Educational Leadership at Springfield College (Massachusetts). I earned my MSW from the Smith College School for Social Work (Massachusetts) and my BA in Psychology, with a minor in Philosophy, from Elon University (North Carolina). My professional focus includes educational equity, social work and practicum education, and anti-oppressive, trauma-informed practices. Born and raised in New Hampshire in the United States, my global engagement began while studying abroad in Perugia, Italy, and continued through service in the U.S. Peace Corps in Western Ukraine. I am part of a transnational family with loved ones in India and have traveled to over fifteen countries, including memorable travel with family to the Philippines, Japan, and Ireland. I was fortunate to present at the European Council on Social Work Education’s annual conference in Salzburg, Austria, in 2025, and I look forward to attending and presenting at the Joint International Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2026. These incredible experiences continue to shape my work and scholarship, with a growing focus on international social work education, in large part thanks to the Kendall Institute and the INSPIRARE Global project!
Dr. Effrosyni Kokaliari, PhD, LICSW
Email:ekokaliari@springfieldcollege.edu Dr. Effrosyni Kokaliari is a Professor of Social Work at Springfield College whose scholarship and teaching are deeply grounded in international and cross-cultural engagement. Her work spans the United States, Greece, Cyprus, Jordan, China, and across Europe, focusing on trauma, mental health, and social justice in global contexts. She has led and collaborated on numerous international research projects, presented at major global conferences, and helped develop cross-national academic initiatives, including an international summer social work program in Crete, Greece. Dr. Kokaliari’s research emphasizes comparative, cross-cultural perspectives on issues such as trauma, self-injury, ADHD, and structural inequalities, while also critically examining emerging global challenges such as AI-driven surveillance and its implications for privacy, power, and the erosion of democratic processes. She is committed to advancing international collaboration and preparing social workers to respond to an increasingly interconnected—and contested—global landscape.
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Dr. Christine Tronnier, PhD, LICSW, LADC-1
Email:ctronnier@springfieldcollege.edu Dr. Tronnier is an Associate Professor of Social Work at Springfield College. Drawing on educational, professional, and personal experiences across six continents, her work is grounded in a commitment to culturally responsive, anti-oppressive, and trauma-informed pedagogical and clinical practices. Her current research and practice interests include relational psychoanalysis, international social work, grief and bereavement, and death care. These interests build upon her previous work which focused on individuals experiencing severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI), addiction treatment, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and mindfulness-based interventions. Dr. Tronnier regularly presents at national and international conferences, including those associated with the APA Division 39 (Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology), the American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work, and the European Council on Social Work Education. She is scheduled to present at the 2026 International Conference on Social Work Education and Social Development in Nairobi, Kenya.
Dr. Kleio Koutra, PhD, MPH, BSW
Email: kkoutra@hmu.gr Associate Professor of Social Work, Hellenic Mediterranean University Dr. Kleio Koutra is an Associate Professor of Social Work at the Hellenic Mediterranean University, & Director of SoRSoW lab with over 25 years of academic and research experience. Holding a PhD in Public Health and Social Work and an MPH from the University of Crete, her work centers on adolescent health behaviors, GBV trauma recovery, social determinants of health, and intercultural competence in health and social care. Dr. Koutra has coordinated or contributed to more than 15 EU-funded research projects, including major initiatives under Horizon Europe and Erasmus+, focusing on cancer prevention, migration, and personalized care. Her research employs mixed-method and community-based approaches, with publications in high-impact journals. She is a founding member and national coordinator of the International Trauma Recovery Consortium, MiStory. She collaborates with global institutions as Rutgers University and the Trauma Recovery Institute in Tokyo. Dr. Koutra also serves as a peer reviewer for prominent journals in public health and social work and is listed in several EU evaluator registries. Her work aims to promote equity, empowerment, and culturally sensitive care, bridging academic research with applied social impact.
Jennifer Crossett, BA (she/her)
MSW Student at Colby-Sawyer College & Project Fellow Jennifer is thrilled to join the INSPIRARE Global Team as a project fellow! She is currently a second year MSW student at Colby-Sawyer College, with an anticipated graduation date of August 2026. Jennifer completed her first year internship at CREATE Counseling in Manchester, NH providing counseling services to children, adolescents and adults. While working as an intern, Jennifer will also be serving on the NASW NH Board as a student representative. Social work is a career change for Jennifer, who spent over 15 years working in marketing, including a decade long tenure on SNHU's marketing team. In her free time, Jennifer can be found wandering in the mountains, finding her inner zen on the yoga mat, immersed in a good book or planning her next adventure - she recently went on a safari in Kenya and Tanzania and got to see “The Big 5.”
Emryn Lessie, BA (they/them)
MSW Student at Colby-Sawyer College & Project Intern Emryn completed their undergraduate degree in human services from Southern New Hampshire University and is currently a first-year MSW student at Colby-Sawyer College. They have been working in the human services field for six years in child protection and with survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual violence. In their free time, they enjoy writing queer fiction, spending time with their wife, and playing with their pets: a dog, Buffy, and an orange cat, Frumpkin.