Professor Monica Ascar serves as the MSW Field Director and Child Welfare University Partnership Program (UPP) Coordinator at the University of Akron’s School of Social Work and Family Sciences. With a distinguished background in healthcare and child welfare, Monica’s social work practice includes significant experience as a senior medical social worker at Dayton Children’s, where she specialized in psychosocial assessments, crisis intervention, mental health evaluations, emergency department services, and child abuse assessments and prevention. She also provided focused support for children and families coping with chronic illness at the Cystic Fibrosis Center at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital.

In the field of child welfare, Monica served as a caseworker at Montgomery County Children Services, working closely with children and families receiving ongoing services. Later, she continued her impact at Cuyahoga County Division of Health and Human Services, where she coordinated the UPP and oversaw the Graduate Field Program.

Currently, Monica teaches MSW Field Seminar II, along with Child Welfare I and II, where she actively incorporates professional well-being practices. Recently, she guided graduate students in Field Seminar II in using the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) to create personalized self-care plans, emphasizing the importance of self-care in social work practice.

Josip Markus is a transformative guide and life coach for conscious evolution, empowering individuals to transcend self-imposed limitations, embody their true potential, and live with purpose, passion, and authenticity. Rooted in Croatian heritage and enriched by experiences across more than 40 countries—from leading roles in global corporations to shamanic journeys and communal healing in the Amazon—Josip integrates diverse perspectives and hard-earned wisdom from his own path of self-actualization.

His greatest adventure has been an inward one—a profound odyssey of self-discovery and devotion as a disciple of his highest self. Emerging from the crucible of intense struggle, Josip experienced an awakening that redefined his life. Freed from self-limiting beliefs, he transmutes challenges into deep insights and enduring strength, uniquely preparing him to guide others on the journey of self-mastery and conscious leadership.

Guided by a bold vision, Josip believes we are divine architects of our reality, capable of manifesting lives beyond what we once imagined. His mission is to ignite an inner renaissance within people, catalyzing a shift in humanity's collective consciousness and guiding us toward a future of balance, harmony, and peace—aligned with Mother Earth and the rhythm of enlightened living.