IASWG 2023 International Honoree

Each year the IASWG Board of Directors honors an individual (or individuals) whom over their lifetime have made substantial contributions to IASWG and global group work. This year the IASWG Board of Directors is pleased to honor Mark Macgowan as the 2023 IASWG International Honoree.

Mark J. Macgowan, PhD, LCSW

Mark Macgowan is Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Social Work, Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA. He has been a longstanding member of IASWG and currently serves as Co-Chair of the IASWG Commission on Group Work in Social Work Education.

Mark has received multiple professional and university awards for excellence in teaching and research and has received two Fulbright Scholar awards; Senior Scholar to the Universidad de Murcia, Spain (2023), and Distinguished Chair Visiting Professor to the University of Edinburgh, Scotland (2012-2013).

Mark’s research focuses on effective group work and disaster mental health. He is the author of Guide to Evidence-Based Group Work and co-author of Group Work Research, both with Oxford University Press, and is co-editor of Evidence-Based Group Work in Community Settings and IASWG Standards for Social Work with Groups, both with Taylor & Francis. He is currently co-editor with Carol Cohen and Ron Toseland of the Routledge International Handbook on Social Work with Groups. As a citizen of three countries (Canada, USA, UK) with parents who had four citizenships (Argentina, Canada, Mexico, UK), Mark has spent a considerable amount of his professional and personal journey trying to learn, communicate, and work across geographical boundaries and cultures. 

Mark is a licensed therapist and supervisor with clinical experience and training in disaster response. As a disaster responder, he has deployed on numerous occasions helping people manage the trauma related to mass casualty events.