Dr. Melba L. Manapol, UP Open University (UPOU) lecturer from the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS), was elected President of the National Association for Social Work Education, Inc (NASWEI) for 2016 to 2018 succeeding Dr. Lolita D. Pablo of Centro Escolar University. NASWEI is an organization composed of social work schools in the country which advances transformative and responsive social work education in the Philippines.

Dr. Manapol currently teaches in the Diploma in/Master of Social Work program of UPOU specifically SW 253 Supervision in the Social Services. Besides serving as lecturer, she is the Chairperson of the Social Work Department and a Professor in Ateneo de Davao University.

Before being elected as President of NASWEI, Dr. Manapol’s public service leadership includes serving as resource person for Case Management Training for CSSDO, DSWD, Child Caring Agencies in Visayas and Mindanao, offering consultancy work for Strategic Planning and Project Review for Handicap International, MONKASPED and Compostela Valley Seniors Citizen Organization, module developer and trainer for capability building of Local Social Welfare and Development Officers and paraprofessionals on Case Management for the Protection of Children in Emergencies, trainer for Community Based Psychosocial Support Healing and Recovery Program at Bai Mai Surin Refugee Camp in Mae Hong Son, Thailand. She was also a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Social Work and Human Service Practice.

Dr. Manapol finished her Bachelor of Science in Social Work in Ateneo de Davao University and her Master of Social Work degree in University of the Philippines Diliman. She earned her PhD in Educational Management also in Ateneo de Davao University.