Critical and Creative Thinking

Debra L. Welkley received her Doctor of Education from the University of New England and her Master of Arts in sociology from Baylor University. She is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at California State University, Sacramento, and has taught sociology courses for over 30 years in four-year colleges and universities, as well as community colleges. Over the past two decades she has taught critical thinking courses in addition to other sociology courses. She has presented many professional papers and worked with various social services organizations as a direct service worker, administrator, and consultant. Professor Welkley coauthored Diversity in Family Constellations: Implications for Practice, contributed an essay to the book Palabra: The Book of Living Essays, wrote "White Ethnics," published in the text Multidimensional Contextual Practice, and coauthored several journal articles. Santos Torres, Jr. holds a doctorate from Northern Illinois University in educational psychology, counseling, and special education, a Master of Social Work, and a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and psychology. He is a professor in the Division of Social Work at California State University, Sacramento, where he teaches both graduate and undergraduate level social work courses. He is the editor of Palabra: The Book of Living Essays, coauthor of Teaching School Social Work: Model Course Outlines and Resources, a contributor to Multidimensional Contextual Practice, as well as author and coauthor of several journal articles and book chapters. He has over four decades of teaching face-to-face and online experience and work as a practitioner, administrator, and curricular consultant. Dr. Torres has presented papers at professional conferences and has been an invited keynote speaker and consultant.