Nada Elias-Lambert
Associate Professor PhD, MSWPrograms and Courses Taught
SW602 - Human Behavior and the Social Environment II
SW622 - Race, Gender & Inequality in Health and Mental Health
Intimate Partner Violence and Social Work Practice
About Me
Nada Elias-Lambert, PhD, MSW, is an associate professor in the Master of Social Work (MSW) program at Samuel Merritt University. She has been a social work professor since 2013. Dr. Elias-Lambert has many years of social work practice and administrative experience in a variety of settings including rape crisis victim advocacy and community education, and medical social work. She has worked to organize Take Back the Night events at several universities. She also served in the US Peace Corps in Morocco as a Youth Development Volunteer. She brings her practice experience into the classroom and her research.
When not working, Dr. Elias-Lambert enjoys being outside, reading, cross stitching, going on bike rides with her family, yoga, hiking, and traveling.
Education
Dr. Elias-Lambert received her BS in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and her MSW and PhD in social work from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Teaching Interests
Dr. Elias-Lambert's teaching interests include graduate level social work courses in research methods, intimate partner violence, human behavior, leadership, and diversity. She also enjoys teaching study abroad courses.
Scholarly Interests
Dr. Elias-Lambert’s research, which is conducted with an intersectional and trauma-informed lens, focuses on gender-based violence prevention with a specific focus on bystander/upstander intervention programming with university faculty and staff. Recently, she has expanded her upstander intervention research to focus both on the inclusion of oppressive behaviors in upstander intervention programming and to include workplace settings as well as university faculty and staff as target populations. Dr. Elias-Lambert created, implemented, and conducted initial evaluations of the Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture (B2U) program, which is an evidence-informed upstander intervention program to address gender-based violence and other harmful and oppressive behaviors. She is an active scholar, publishing her research in peer-reviewed professional journals and presenting at national conferences.
Publications
McMahon, S., Power, M., Snyder, S., & Elias-Lambert, N. (2025). Centering intersectionality in bystander intervention: Advancing inclusive and equitable prevention strategies. Journal of Family Violence, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-025-00935-9
Chiarelli-Helminiak, C., Elias-Lambert, N., Lane, S., & Papanikolaou, M. (2024). Social work education leadership: Insights from faculty and staff. Advances in Social Work, 24(2), 481-502, doi: 10.18060/27503
Elias-Lambert, N., Leat, S. R., Bolton, K. W., Pond, R. & Grace, J.* (2024). Development of the bystander attitude and behavior scales for gender-based and oppressive violence with university faculty. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 33(5), 552-569, doi: 10.1080/10926771.2023.2248055
Elias-Lambert, N., Leat, S. R., Grace, J.* & Voth Schrag, R. (2023). Faculty bystanders: Capturing university faculty’s willingness to engage in prosocial behavior. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma,32(10), 1374-1392, doi: 10.1080/10926771.2023.2171825
Elias-Lambert, N., Robinson, S., & Grace, J.* (2022). Bystander intervention programming with faculty: Recommendations for institutions of higher education. Journal of Primary Prevention, doi: 10.1007/s10935-022-00669-0
Robinson, S.*, Elias-Lambert, N., Casiano, A.**, & Ward, L.* (2020). "Culture-bearer, culture-sharer, culture-changer”: The role of faculty in preventing sexual violence on campus. Advances in Social Work, 20(1), 45-60, doi: 10.18060/23381
Robinson, S. *, Casiano, A.**, & Elias-Lambert, N. (2020). “Is it My Responsibility?”: A Qualitative Review of University Students’ Perspectives on Bystander Behavior. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. Advance online publication, 1-5, doi: 10.1177/1524838020933829
Elias-Lambert, N. (2017). Implementation and Evaluation of a Bystander Sexual Violence Prevention Program with University Men. Sage Research Methods Cases, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781473953802
Professional Affiliations & Memberships
Council on Social Work Education
National Association of Social Workers
Society for Social Work and Research
Community Service
Dr. Elias-Lambert has served as an expert witness in intimate partner violence trials, developed and facilitated self-care workshops for domestic violence shelter residents, and facilitated student-led Take Back the Night events at several universities.
Honors & Awards
Claudia V. Camp Research and Creative Activity Award, Texas Christian University, Women and Gender Studies Program, 2024
Jean Giles-Sims Award for Feminist Teaching Nominee, Texas Christian University, Women and Gender Studies Program, 2021
Finalist for the University Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion award, Texas Christian University, 2020