Overview
Dr. Aweke Tadesse, Ph.D., MSW is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Wichita State University. His teaching and research focus on community-based economic interventions, women’s empowerment, and international social development. With more than fifteen years of combined experience in higher education, applied research, and international program leadership, Dr. Tadesse integrates global and community perspectives to inform evidence-based social work practice and policy. He earned his Ph.D. in Social Work from Saint Louis University, where his research examined the effects of financial capability interventions on women’s well-being and quality of life. He also holds an MSW from the University of Northern Iowa, a Ph.D. in Holistic Child Development from the Asian Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary, an M.A. in Management from the International Institute of Management in India, and a B.A. in Theology and Christian Education from the Evangelical Theological College in Ethiopia.
Before joining Wichita State University, Dr. Tadesse served as a Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant at Saint Louis University and as a Grant and Teaching Assistant at the University of Northern Iowa. His earlier international experience includes leadership and learning advisory roles with Food for the Hungry in Ethiopia and Mozambique, where he worked extensively on community development, poverty reduction, and child well-being programs. These experiences have deeply shaped his current research on financial inclusion, economic participation, and social work practice in low-income contexts. His research explores how financial capability and community-based interventions influence food security, intimate partner violence, and psychosocial well-being.
Dr. Tadesse has published widely in peer-reviewed journals such as Global Social Welfare, Children, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, and Journal of Poverty. His recent studies include examining women’s participation in savings groups and depression, household food scarcity and intimate partner violence in Mozambique, and the role of spirituality in caregiver well-being in Ethiopia. He also serves as a reviewer for several international journals, including BMC Women’s Health and Journal of Aging International. His scholarly productivity includes multiple manuscripts under review in journals such as Social Science & Medicine and Journal of Development Studies.
He is the Principal Investigator for the project Enhancing Economic Participation in Mozambique Through Financial Capability Training for Social Service Professionals and co-Principal Investigator on a U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia–funded initiative promoting financial capability training for educators and social service professionals. His research has also been supported by the Center for Social Development (CSD) and Wichita State University’s internal research awards.
Dr. Tadesse has received numerous honors, including the Brennan Dissertation Award from Saint Louis University (2024), Alpha Sigma Nu Honor Society Induction (2023), and the Outstanding Research Paper Award from the University of Northern Iowa (2022). His work has been recognized for its academic excellence, innovation, and community relevance. He has presented at multiple Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) annual conferences and at international academic forums, including the International Conference on Financial Capability and Asset Building for All in China and the International Conference on Social Work & Social Research in Baku, Azerbaijan. His ongoing research aims to develop a cross-national framework for understanding how financial inclusion and capability-based interventions improve psychosocial and economic well-being among women and families in both global and immigrant contexts.