Professor of Social Work
BSW Program Director
Phone: ext. 2346
Email: Terri.Klemm@CentenaryUniversity.edu

Academic Accomplishments

• Doctorate of Social Work, University of St. Thomas
• Master of Social Work, Rutgers University
• Bachelor of Arts, University of Delaware

Professional Licensure/Certifications

• Licensed Clinical Social Worker, State of NJ
• Disaster Response Crisis Counselor, State of NJ
• Trauma Response and Crisis Intervention certificate, Rutgers, NJ
• Clinical Social Work Supervision certificate, NASW-NJ
• School Social Work certificate, State of NJ

Selected Honors

• 2016 Social Worker of the Year
  This annual award recognizes a member of NASW-NJ who “exemplifies the best of the profession’s values and achievements”.

• 2009 Distinguished Teaching Award
  This annual award, presented at Centenary’s commencement ceremony, recognizes one faculty member for “superior contributions to student learning.”

Biography

Terri Klemm, Professor of Social Work, was instrumental in establishing Centenary’s Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) Program, which has earned national accreditation from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). She originally served as the program’s Director of Field Education and is now BSW Program Director. Dr. Klemm typically teaches the Human Behavior & the Social Environment (HBSE) and Social Welfare Policy course sequences, and she genuinely loves working with BSW students.

When she joined the faculty at Centenary, Klemm brought 20 years of experience as a social work practitioner, having served children and families in a variety of settings, including many years working with pregnant and parenting teens and as a school social worker. During her years at Centenary, she also volunteered on a Family Assistance Support Team in the Emergency Department at a regional trauma center and as a mental health clinician for a human rights organization that assists immigrants seeking asylum in the United States. She currently maintains a small telehealth private practice.

Dr. Klemm has published peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of Social Work Education and the Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work and she regularly presents papers and workshops on topics related to social work education at juried national conferences. She has taught a broad array of continuing education workshops as well, both on-ground and online; recent webinars hosted by NASW-NJ include This is what democracy looks like: A civics refresher for social workers and Census 2020: Making sure every community counts.

Dr. Klemm has a long history of civic and professional engagement. At the local level, Klemm has served on myriad community advisory boards; for instance, as a member and vice chair of Warren County’s Mental Health Board for nearly a decade. She has been active in the NJ chapter of National Association of Social Workers (NASW), including as a unit chair and member of the NASW-NJ Board of Directors, and was appointed to serve on the NASW-NJ Ethics Committee from 2013-2015. On the national level, she has served on the Field Education Steering Committee for the Association of Baccalaureate Program Directors and on CSWE’s Future of Social Work Task Force.

She is also deeply concerned about issues of environmental justice and climate change and in recent years has been involved in environmental activism, including peaceful civil disobedience. She has been interviewed or featured in publications such as the national magazine Social Work Today and has given talks on this topic in a wide range of settings across the country, including a 2017 speech at the United Nations. Klemm served on the steering committee of the Environmental Justice Task Force that developed CSWE’s Curricular Guide for Environmental Justice, which was published in October 2020.

Presentations

Dr. Klemm regularly presents on social work curriculum development and pedagogy at national conferences. Selected peer-reviewed presentations include:

Hoffman, R., & Klemm, T. (2022, November). Applying WHO’s Community Social Determinants of Health Framework to Critical Conversations in Anti-Oppressive Pedagogy. Paper presented at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Anaheim, CA.

Klemm, T. (2019, October). The community as classroom: Student reflections on Project Homeless Connect learning outcomes. Paper presented at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Denver, CO.

Klemm, T. (2018, November). Social responsibility in social work: The philosophy of Marion Hathway. Paper presented at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Orlando, FL.

CSWE Futures Task Force (2018, November). Envisioning the futures of social work. Invited panelist at Board-sponsored session at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Orlando, FL.

Klemm, T. (2018, March). Climate change and social work practice. Global Student Forum, Fordham University, New York City, NY. [Invited]

Klemm, T. (2017, April). Social workers stand up for environmental justice. Speech delivered at Social Work Day at the United Nations. New York City, NY. [Invited]

Klemm, T. (2017, March). Stand up for environmental justice. Keynote speech delivered at James Madison University School of Social Work, Harrisonburg, VA. [Invited]

Klemm, T. (2017, March). What do we want? Environmental justice! When do we want it? Now! Presented at the Annual Conference of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, New Orleans, LA.

Klemm, T. (2017, March). Political self-disclosure in the social work classroom: Pedagogical considerations in decision-making. Presented at the Annual Conference of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, New Orleans, LA.

Klemm, T., & Miller, N. (2016, November). Modeling environmental justice activism in social work education: A case study. Presented at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Atlanta, GA.

Klemm, T. (2016, March). Oral history interviews? There’s an app for that! Presented at the Annual Conference of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, Dallas, TX.

Klemm, T. (2015, October). Civics 101: Learning about democracy is not a spectator sport. Presented at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Denver, CO.

Loya, M.A., & Klemm, T. (2015, March). TED Talks: Ideas worth spreading across the social work curriculum. Presented at the Annual Conference of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, Kansas City, MO.

Klemm, T. (2013, November). News literacy in social work education. Presented at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Dallas, TX.

Klemm, T. (2013, March). Confessions of a public radio junkie: NPR assignments across the BSW curriculum. Presented at the Annual Conference of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, Myrtle Beach, SC.

Ellison, M., Klemm, T., & Bradley, J. (2013, March). New field directors pre-conference workshop: Evaluating field placements. Presented at the Annual Conference of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, Myrtle Beach, SC.

Klemm, T. (2012, November). “Act locally”: Evolution of an academic service learning assignment to promote human rights. Presented at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Washington, DC.

Klemm, T. (2012, March). “News flash”: Developing students’ interest and critical thinking about current events. Presented at the Annual Conference of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, Portland, OR.

Ellison, M., Klemm, T., & Bradley, J. (2012, March). New field directors pre-conference workshop: Developing new field placements. Presented at the Annual Conference of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, Portland, OR.

She has also presented Continuing Education workshops for area social workers on a wide range of topics, including: Human rights and social work ethics; Safety in the field; Addressing spirituality and religion in fieldwork supervision; Affirmative fieldwork supervision with LGBT students and clients; Professional self-care; Mental health issues among college students: Implications for field education; Core competencies in social work practice; and, Seminars in Field Instruction (SIFI). In addition, she has facilitated professional development workshops as an invited speaker at K-12 schools and social service agencies in the local community on a variety of topics, including: Developing resiliency: The strengths perspective in work with families; “Cold violence”: Understanding the trauma of poverty; Harassment, intimidation and bullying: The impact on LGBTQ students; Creating a safe space for LGBTQ students; and, Disaster mental health.

Published Works

Council on Social Work Education. (2020). Curricular guide for environmental justice.

Klemm, T. (2018, February). Keep fighting, social workers! NASW-NJ FOCUS, 27(1), 9.

Loya, M.A., & Klemm, T. (2016). Using TED Talks in the social work classroom: Encouraging student engagement and discourse. Journal of Social Work Education, 52(4), 518-523. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1080/10437797.2016.1198291

Klemm, T. (2015). News literacy in social work education. Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work, 20(1), 63-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.18084/1084-7219-20.1.63

Klemm, T. (2014, October). The ethics of gatekeeping: What field instructors need to know. NASW-NJ FOCUS, 23(5), 10-11.