Brandi Felderhoff, PhD, LCSW, APHSW-C

Associate Professor, MSW Program Coordinator

Student Association for Masters Social Workers (SAMSW) Advisor

Contact

Office: OMB 410N
Phone: 940-898-2072
bfelderhoff@twu.edu

Biography

Brandi Felderhoff, PhD, is a social worker, educator and leader whose career bridges direct practice, classroom teaching, scholarship and professional service. She is passionate to prepare the next generation of social workers while advancing conversations around end-of-life care, clinical supervision and advocacy in the profession. Her work is grounded in the belief that social work is at its best when it brings together practice wisdom, research and community engagement to serve the most vulnerable.

Felderhoff brings more than a decade of diverse practice experience to her role as faculty. She has worked in hospital social work, guardianship services, the Veterans Administration, inpatient mental health care, outpatient settings with children and families, and clinical therapy with older adults in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Her deepest professional passion is in hospice and end-of-life care, where she has served in multiple roles and continues to anchor her practice identity. Felderhoff also has extensive experience providing clinical supervision to emerging social workers.

At TWU, Felderhoff teaches across the MSW curriculum. Her courses include clinical practice offerings such as “Advanced Practice I: Multidimensional Assessment and Advanced Practice II: Clinical Interventions,” and the elective “Death, Dying, & Bereavement.” She also teaches field education seminars, program and practice evaluation, and courses in organizational and community practice. Her teaching emphasizes experiential learning, critical reflection and the integration of clinical practice into the classroom. She is devoted to preparing students for advanced social work practice through a pedagogy grounded in relationship, professional integrity and equity.

Felderhoff’s research spans several intersecting areas of social work. Her published work includes studies on veterans’ transitions and caregiving, political engagement and advocacy within the social work profession, feminist mentoring in academia and the role of older adult caregivers. Her scholarship explores end-of-life issues, advance care planning and death care practices; social work supervision and gatekeeping in field education; and the experiences of rural hospice social workers and women who have exited the sex trafficking industry. Her work seeks to amplify vulnerable voices and strengthen social work’s role in advancing dignity and justice.

Felderhoff has a strong record of service to the profession, community and university. She is the Region XI Director to the NASW National Board of Directors and previously served as president and vice president of the NASW Texas Board of Directors. She served in numerous leadership and committee roles within NASW-Texas, including ethics, clinical supervision, licensing, advocacy and conference planning, among others. In the community, she serves as president of the Board of the Denton Area Partnership for End of Life Care.

At TWU, Felderhoff serves on the Interprofessional Education Committee and has previously served on the Eat Well Committee (part of the university’s health and wellbeing strategic initiatives). She has served on the College of Arts & Sciences awards committee and school-level committees, including service and wellbeing. At the program level Felderhoff serves on the comprehensive exam and hooding ceremony planning committees. She serves as faculty advisor for the MSW Student Organization and has since the program’s inception.

Felderhoff is deeply committed to shaping the next generation of social workers while advancing the profession’s role in end-of-life care, clinical supervision and advocacy. She brings warmth, rigor and creativity to her teaching, scholarship and leadership. Guided by a belief that dignity, justice and human connection are at the heart of social work, she strives to create spaces, whether in the classroom, the community or the profession, where people can learn, belong and thrive.

Education

PhD in Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington
Master of Social Work, Texas A&M University-Commerce
Bachelor of Social Work, University of North Texas

Research interests

End of life issues, advance care planning, veterans, caregivers, rural social work, mental health, clinical supervision, field education, social work ethics, social work professional development.

Peer reviewed publications

Felderhoff, B., Wagner, B., & Solomon, K. (2025). The veteran community navigator program: Filling gaps for veterans in transition. Journal of Social Service Research, DOI: 10.1080/01488376.2025.2540113

Wagner, B., Felderhoff, B. J., (2022). Implementing the collective impact model as a gateway to a veterans community navigator program. Community Development, DOI: 10.1080/15575330.2021.1999999

Hoefer, R., Felderhoff, B. J., & Watson, L. (2019).  Do social workers support NASW’s political activism? Evidence from Texas. Sociology and Social Welfare, 46(1), 3-16.

Fields, N.L., Adorno, G., Felderhoff, B., Parekh, R., Miller, V., Magruder, K., Rogers, K. (2018). The social construction of “emerging elders”: Implications for age-friendly community assessments. Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine, 4, 1-7. Doi:  https://doi.org/10.1177/2333721418784844

Parekh, R., Maleku, A., Fields, N., Adorno, G., Schuman, D., & Felderhoff, B. (2018). Pathways to age-friendly communities in diverse urban neighborhoods: Do social capital and social cohesion matter? Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 61(5), 492-512.

Fields, N., Adorno, G., Magruder, K., Parekh, R., & Felderhoff, B. J. (2016).  Age-friendly cities: The role of churches. Journal of Religion, Spirituality, and Aging, 28(3), 264-278.

Smith-Osborne, A., & Felderhoff, B. J. (2016). Formal and family caregiver protective factors in systems of care: A systematic review with implications toward a resilience model for aging veterans. Traumatology, 22(1), 29-39

Felderhoff, B.J., Hoefer, R., & Watson, L. (2016).  Living up to the code’s Exhortations? Social workers’ political knowledge sources, expectations and behaviors. Social Work

Smith-Osborne, A., & Felderhoff, B. J. (2014). Veterans’ informal caregivers in the “sandwich generation”: A systematic review toward a resilience model. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57(6-7), 556-584.

Collins, L. R., Jr., Felderhoff, B. J., Kim, Y. K., Mengo, C., & Pillai, V. (2014). State-wise variation in teenage birth rates in the United States: Role of teenage birth prevention policies. International Journal of Child and Adolescent Health,7(3) 239-248. 

Book chapters

Rysdam, S., O’Connor, K., Nijdam-Jones, A., Fama, K., Smith Parker, H., & Felderhoff, B. (2023). Behind every woman: Feminist mentoring in a closed social media group.  In Pauly, J. A., Munz, S.T., & Hinojosa Hernandez, L. (Eds.), Feminist Mentoring in Academia (181-197). Lexington Books. 

Collins, L. R., Jr., Felderhoff, B. J., Kim, Y. K., Mengo, C., & Pillai, V. (2016). Teen birth rates in the United States from an Ecological Perspective. In Merrick, J., Greydanus, D.E. (Eds.), Sexuality: Some international aspects (chapter 3). Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Book reviews

Felderhoff, B.J. (2022): Elder Suicide: Durkheim’s Vision by Stephen M. Marson, Social Work, swab054, https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swab054

Felderhoff, B. J. (2018): Choose Hope (Always Choose Hope) by Elizabeth J. Clark, The New Social Worker: the social work careers magazine, 25(3), 30. 

Felderhoff, B. J. (2014): Perspectives on Coping and Resilience by Venkat Pulla, Andrew Shatte & Shane Warren (eds.), Social Development Issues, 36(1), 93-94.

Felderhoff, B. J. (2013): Ethical Issues in Rural Health Care by Craig M. Klugman and Pamela M. Dalinis (eds.), Journal of Rural Social Sciences, 28(3), 89-91.

Non-peer reviewed publications

Mbango, C., Humphrey, J. J., Felderhoff, B., & Matthews, B. (2023, August 10). Pain Management Inequity and it’s Impact on Quality of Life in Black Women with Breast Cancer. Retrieved from osf.io/rjnxd

Peer-reviewed presentations

Felderhoff, B., Mbango, C. (November 2023). Competency-Based Undergraduate Palliative Nursing Education Using an Interprofessional Teaching Approach. Poster Presentation at the 2023 Gerongological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting, Tampa, Florida

Alvarado, A., Felderhoff, B., & Barton, J. (March 2023). Rural hospice social work: Basics to contemporary post-COVID challenges. Paper presentation at the 2023 NASW LA Annual Conference, Baton Rouge, LA

Felderhoff, B., (November 2022). Nutrition Education and Resiliency Among Rural Adolescents: A Pilot Project from Texas. Poster presentation at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting 2022: Human Rights are Global Rights, Anaheim, CA

Wagner, B., & Felderhoff, B., (November 2022). Developing a veteran community navigator program using the collective impact model: a stakeholder analysis. Paper presentation at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting 2022: Human Rights are Global Rights, Anaheim, CA

Alvarado, A., & Felderhoff, B., (November 2022). Rural Hospice Social Work: Recommendations for preparing students for end-of-life work with limited resources. Poster presentation at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting 2022: Human Rights are Global Rights, Anaheim, CA

Felderhoff, B., Alvarado, A., & Alvarez, V. (November 2022). Rural hospice social work: supporting practitioners in end-of-life work with limited resources. Paper presentation Gerontological Society of America 2022 Conference: Embracing our Diversity, Enriching our Discovery, and Reimagining Aging, Indianapolis, IN

Felderhoff, B.J. & Wagner, B. (October 2022). Applying the Navigator Model to Address Complex Barriers for Veterans. Presentation (both virtual recording and live in person) at the Annual NASW/TX Hybrid State Conference: Galveston

Alvarez, V., & Felderhoff, B.J. (October 2022). End-of-life Care Without Endless Resources: Recommendations for Navigating Rural Hospice Social Work. Presentation (both virtual recording and live in person) at the Annual NASW/TX Hybrid State Conference: Galveston

Felderhoff, B., & Moore, S. (May 2022). Food Insecurity among rural adolescents in Texas: A Pilot Project. Paper presented at the Global Awareness Society International 2022: Salamanca, Spain

Wagner, B., & Felderhoff, B.J. (October 2020). Barrier Busting Services: The Impact of a Navigator Program on Veteran Community Care Coordination. Presentation at the 44th Annual NASW/TX State Conference: Galveston. Not presented due to COVID-19

Felderhoff, B.J. (October 2019). Vision Boarding and Goal Setting.  Presentation at the Texas Woman’s University’s Center for Student Development’s Fall Student Leadership Conference: To TWU and Beyond, Denton

Felderhoff, B.J., & Barton, J. (October 2019). Medicare Doesn’t Pay for Everything?! The Importance of Advance Care Planning. Presentation at the 43rd Annual NASW/TX State Conference: Elevate Social Work, Galveston

Hawley-Bernardez, A., Felderhoff, B. J. (November 2018). Stories of women who have exited the sex trafficking industry using photovoice. Paper presentation at 64th Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education, Expanding Interprofessional Education to Achieve Social Justice, Orlando, Florida.

Invited presentations

July 2025 - Tarrant Area Gerontological Society, Summer Forum; ethics co-presenter with Jenn Barton, LCSW. “The Final Chapter: Dismantling Distance, Reclaiming Presence at the End-of-Life”

October 2024 - Texas Woman’s University Title IV-E Annual Ethics Conference; ethics co-presenter with Jenn Barton, LCSW. “Ethics CEU titled End-of-Life/Death Care Practices: Legislation, Practice, and Ethical Dilemmas”

October 2022 - National Association of Social Workers, Texas Chapter; ethics committee member; panel presenter reviewing updates to the NASW Code of Ethics and related licensing regulation changes in Texas

March 2022 - Head Start of Dallas – Spring Training; ethics co-presenter with Dr. Beverly Wagner, 2021 updates to the NASW Code of Ethics and overview of social workers’ ethical obligations in practice

October 2021 - National Association of Social Workers, Texas Chapter; ethics committee member, panel presenter reviewing updates to the NASW Code of Ethics

March 2021 - Head Start of Dallas – Spring Training; ethics co-presenter with Dr. Beverly Wagner, 2018 updates to the NASW Code of Ethics and an overview of social workers’ ethical obligations

April 2020 - National Association of Social Workers/Texas Chapter – Texoma Branch April monthly meeting; ethics continuing education presenter; update to the NASW Code of Ethics for Social Workers covering the 2018 Code of Ethics updates related to technology and social work practice

September 2019 - Tarrant Area Gerontological Society Fall Ethics Forum; ethics presentation co-presenter with Elizabeth Hart, LMSW; ethics CEU covering ethical decision making in multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary teams and reviewed specific laws in Texas regarding advance care planning, guardianship and related ethical dilemmas 

July 2019 - Tarrant Area Gerontological Society – Summer Forum; ethics presentation speaker; update to the NASW Code of Ethics for Social Workers covering the 2018 Code of Ethics updates 

April 2019 - TWU Bachelor of Social Work Program awards banquet keynote speaker on theme of Elevate

Professional affiliations

National Association of Social Workers

Council on Social Work Education

Denton Area Partnership for End-of-Life Care

Association of Gerontology Education in Social Work

Funding, honors, awards

Fall 2022 – TWU, Faculty Development Grant, $662.02

2020 - Texas Health Resources, North Texas, sub-awardee through the Children’s Advocacy Center, $60,000

Fall 2019 – TWU, Center For Faculty Excellence, travel-assistance grant; awarded $418 to attend First Steps Advanced Directives Training