Dr. Rhondda Waddell is an Associate Dean and Professor in Social Work at Saint Leo University College of Education and Social Services. She has been a member of the Saint Leo University (SLU) Community since August 2010. She received the bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida in Sociology, the Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Social Work from Florida State University. She previously worked as a medical social worker and taught an interdisciplinary family health course with Shands Hospital and the University of Florida in Gainesville for a combined 19 years of service. Her research interests include interdisciplinary collaborations on social justice topics to include community health, humane education, and human-animal bond topics of study. She enjoys her family which includes two daughters, Sarah and Maggie, two grandsons, Richard and Easton, four dogs, and two pot belly pigs.