PhD Candidate
Widener University
Desirée Luerene Israel, PhDc, LCSW-C, LICSW, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker, educator, researcher, and strategist whose work centers reproductive mental health, workforce sustainability, and liberation-focused practice. With more than 15 years of experience across clinical, supervisory, academic, and organizational leadership roles, she has dedicated her career to advancing equity-driven mental health systems for historically marginalized communities, particularly Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) navigating perinatal and reproductive life transitions.
Desirée is the Founder and Clinical Director of MotherlandCo., LLC, a multi-state private practice specializing in perinatal mental health, race-based traumatic stress, and life transitions through anti-oppressive and abolitionist frameworks. Her work integrates clinical practice, workforce development, and community partnership, including supervision and training for emerging clinicians, consultation with nonprofit and digital health organizations, and curriculum development for reproductive wellness and clinical education programs.
She is currently pursuing a PhD in Social Work at Widener University, where her dissertation explores job satisfaction, career resilience, and joy among Black social workers in reproductive health settings. Grounded in Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and Black Feminist Ethics of Care, her research seeks to illuminate structural and relational factors that sustain practitioners in emotionally demanding fields while advancing workforce retention and collective wellbeing.
In addition to her clinical and academic roles, Desirée has served as a practicum director, field liaison, and clinical supervisor, contributing to innovative learning models that center liberation, relational accountability, and anti-racist pedagogy. Her broader professional interests include implementation science, maternal health equity, and building sustainable training pipelines for social work students and early-career professionals.
Through scholarship, practice, and leadership, Desirée’s work bridges research and lived experience, advancing community-rooted approaches that reimagine how social workers are trained, supported, and sustained across the lifespan of their careers.