Dessalegn N. Guyo (Ph.D.) is an Associate Professor of Social Work at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. He is an adjunct professor at Bowie State University College of Professional Studies (August 2017- Present). He is a case manager at Catholic Charities, the archdiocese of Washington DC in low barrier Homeless Men’s Shelter from March 2019 to the present. He served as MSW field Liaison at Morgan State University from August 2019 to January 2020. He was an adjunct professor Coppin State University Department of Social Work (March 2016-June 2017). He has a Ph.D. in Social Work and Social Development from Addis Ababa University in July 2014, MSW from Addis Ababa University School of social work (accredited by CSWE 2016), and a BA degree in Sociology and Social Administration from Addis Ababa university department of sociology in 2001.
He was an assistant Professor Of Social Work And Social Development at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia (2007-2016). He was the coordinator of the MSW distance education unit from September 2014 to February 2016 and he was the chair of the curriculum and standardization committee of the school of social work at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia for eight (8) years. He has led and coordinated the development, revision of social work curriculums for Bachelor, MSW conventional, and MSW (evening and distance education), and revision of Ph.D. programs at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In addition, he was the coordinator of the international MSW director of the Field Education at Indira Gandhi Open National University (IGNOU) Ethiopia Regional Office from 2008 to January 2016.
Courses taught at the graduate level are Social Research Methods; Advanced Social Policy development and Analysis; Community Development, Capacity Building and Planned Change: Integrated Social Work Practice Methods I and II (generalist practices); Social Sciences for Social work; and Field education supervision. Dr. Guyo has 16 years of teaching experience Internationally and five (5) years of working in public and nonprofit organizations as a case manager, social development planning expert I, community service coordinator, and children and youth development officer. He developed the first composite degree curriculum for sociology and social work at Jimma University in Ethiopia (2007) which was later adopted by many Public universities. He then developed the BSW curriculum at Addis Ababa University in 2008 and also served as chair of curriculum and standardization for 8 years. He has developed the first Bachelor of social work curriculum for Ethiopian Catholic University Saint Thomas Aquinas (ECUSTA).
He has worked as a social worker with Sudanese refugees in southwestern Ethiopia at Pugnido refugee camp assisting unaccompanied children, women, the elderly, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and others. His research areas are on multi-sectoral and multi stakeholder’s child protection networks and practices, indigenous adoption practices of Oromo society, women roles and statuses in agro-industry, child vulnerability indicators in poor households in urban centers, context-based community development approaches, and social work practice with immigrants, advocacy for human rights.
He was the founder of two NGOs in Ethiopia: one working on Jarra Oda friends of environments Association (JOFEA) and Talent for change that works and promotes the Talents of youth through a TV show.
He has published two books and one MSW teaching module:
Dessalegn Negeri (2015?). Social problems and social policies in Ethiopia: Social work in African Context. MSW Teaching module for IGNOU in New Delhi, India (in Press).
Dessalegn Negeri (2011). Guddifachaa practice: as community-based child problem intervention in Oromo of Ada`a Liban. ISBN:978-3-639-33841-6
Dessalegn Negeri, Melese Getu, and Wassie Kebede (2011). Insights from participatory development approach in Ethiopia: analysis of testimonies and field practices, Addis Ababa University/school of social work. ISBN:978-99944-992-2-9