Tonya Hansel

Tonya Hansel is a social worker with expertise in research, statistics, disaster mental health, trauma and maximizing outcomes for social service agencies. Her interest in research began as a United States Peace Corps volunteer, helping coordinate research addressing the social problems associated with transmission of HIV and AIDS in the Gambia, West Africa.

Following her service, she attended Tulane University, where she completed her PhD in social work and broadened her research to include terrorism and its impact on divorce rates. Hansel joined the faculty of the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Department of Psychiatry in 2007 and held the titles of clinical associate professor and director of clinical evaluation and research. Her research efforts center on evaluation of general trauma services, disaster response work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and towards a better understanding of technological disaster following the Deepwater Horizon gulf oil spill.

Hansel is currently an associate professor with the Tulane University School of Social Work, where she directs the Doctorate of Social Work. As the program director, she plans to extend research methods and data analytic techniques to the curriculum, creating a practical foundation for the future of applied researchers.