Faculty & Staff

Ali is an educator, social work clinician, and community-engaged scholar whose work combines arts-based methods with trauma recovery and social innovation to improve collective wellbeing for youth. With over a decade of academic teaching and social work practice experience, she is an instructor who brings real-world experience into the classroom. Ali is passionate about equipping emerging professionals with the tools, critical thinking, and courage needed to build abundant futures beyond the classroom. Ali was the 2024 recipient of the Laurier Student Teaching Award of Excellence in recognition of her inclusive, engaging, and high-impact approaches for teaching.

Ali completed her PhD in Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University, where her research focused on reintegration pathways for criminalized women through social enterprise and community justice initiatives. Her dissertation offered policy and programmatic insights into humanizing reintegration outcomes through community-based economic models. She is currently the Principal Investigator on two community-based research projects titled Enhancing Access to Restorative Justice and Forging Health-Promoting Frameworks for Post-Secondary Campuses. Both projects aim to restore systems from the ground up. She is also an active author and speaker, with contributions in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and conferences.

Ali is an active member in both academic and community circles through her teaching, research, and leadership. Her ongoing engagement reflects a strong dedication to strengthening the connection between higher education and community transformation. She believes that when we align our actions with our values, we become fueled by purpose, compelling us to overcome challenges and create sustainable impact.

Areas of Instruction

• Counselling Skills
• Social Work Methods
• International Community Development
• Social Work Assessment and Documentation
• Social Work History, Philosophy, and Theory

Areas of Scholarship

• Community-led approaches to repair harm and restore wellbeing
• Trauma interventions for individuals and communities
• Social innovation and entrepreneurship in social work
• Leadership in social work practice
• Arts-based research methods
• Scholarship of teaching and learning

Selected Publications 

Diebold, A. (Accepted for manuscript preparation). Where her story meets mine: The ethics of navigating vulnerable disclosures in trauma research across shared cultures. Women’s lived experience as researchers: Situating the personal in qualitative inquiry. Routledge

Diebold, A, Chen, S., Jarvis, L. (2024). Charting the path to collective wellbeing: Key findings from Laurier's task force survey. Wilfrid Laurier University – Provost’s Office.

Dhembo, E., Akesson, B., & Diebold, A. (2024). Social service reform, education, and the professionalization of social work: The case of child protection services in Albania. In R. Baikady (Ed.), Oxford handbook of power, politics and social work. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Diebold, A., Grand, D., Berrouard, M., Pearson, S. (2021). Deconstructing the romanticization of solidarity: Reflections on social work performativity and resistance during COVID-19. Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Polity, and Practice, 9(1), 199-207.

Selected Presentations

Diebold, A. (2025, May). Adapting research pedagogy: Leveraging disruptions for positive change. [Paper Presentation]. 16th Annual University of Waterloo Teaching and Learning Conference, Waterloo, Ontario. 

Diebold, A. (2025, October). Art in action: Redefining research through community practices. [Paper Presentation]. 21st International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry. Virtual Conference.

Diebold, A. (2024, June). Inclusivity and equity in action: Transforming Ontario's economy through combining community justice and social enterprise programs. CASWE-ACFTS 2024 Conference, Montreal, Ontario.

Diebold, A. (2024, May). Creating pathways beyond conviction: An arts-based analysis integrating community justice and social enterprise initiatives to transform career wayfinding for criminalized women. [Paper Presentation]. International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, Virtual Conference.

Relevant Community Service

• Leading or participating in community-based research projects focused on restorative justice and social inclusion.
• Collaborating with organizations on crime prevention programs and support services.
• Supporting or developing social enterprises empowering community members.
• Volunteering or serving on boards for nonprofits and advocacy groups.
• Providing mentorship to students and emerging professionals.