Joan Hodges-Wu, MA, MSW, LGSW

Founder and Executive Director

A social worker by profession and a torture treatment specialist by training, Joan Hodges-Wu has dedicated her career to serving low-income, English limited, vulnerable immigrant populations. Joan is a nationally recognized torture treatment subject matter expert, a regular advisor to the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), and the lead author of the Survivor of Torture Psychosocial Well-being Index. A version of her tool serves as the national program evaluation measure for ORR’s $14 million Survivor of Torture program. Joan founded the AsylumWorks in 2016 to connect all persons fleeing persecution, including survivors of torture, to critical services and support. Joan holds a Masters in Refugee Care from the University of Essex in England and a Masters in Social Work from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She is also a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia.