Samuel Odom, PhD, MPH, MSW, ACSW

Samuel Odom, PhD, MPH, MSW, ACSW joined the Tulane University School of Social Work as a faculty member. Dr. Odom earned his PhD in Counseling from the Capella University Harold Abel School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, an MPH from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, an MSW in Administration, Planning & Organizing/Health & Mental Health from Southern University at New Orleans and a BA in Philosophy and Religion from Dillard University. 

Dr. Odom is a veteran leader, clinician, and military social work scholar with more than two & half decades in the field of combat social work. He is the editor of Journal of Military Social Work and Behavioral Health Services: An International Journal of Theory, Practice & Research. And he is the CSWE Steering Committee Co-Chair for the CSWE Specialized Practice Guide for Military Social Work, 3rd Edition, the CSWE Track Co-Chair for the Military Personnel and Veterans, First Responders, and Their Families and Communities Track. 

Dr. Odom served one year as President & CEO of the historic Dryades YMCA New Orleans. 

Dr. Odom’s research interests are at the intersection of military social work, international military social work, US Army social work officers’ lived experiences, coping strategies, moral injury, mental health. His current research efforts are broad to include (a) the exploration of the military culture that leads to acceptance and integration of diverse groups and understanding and (b) ameliorating the effects of military trauma and stress, especially combat and deployment, on service members and family members. He is a member of the International Military Social Work Consortium Work Group and other national social work organizations designed to springboard his research interests.