Sontina Barnes is a professor in the NC State University School of Social Work and Coordinator of the MSW/JD Dual Degree program with Campbell University Law School. She completed her undergraduate education in sociology (BA) at North Carolina State University and her Master of Social Work (MSW) at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. While in New York, she worked in congregate care with adolescents aging out of the foster care system.  She returned to her NCSU alma mater after completing a Juris Doctor in Ann Arbor, Michigan with a concentration in public interest and child welfare. She teaches in the undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Her practice areas include direct practice, family, and child welfare. Her focus involves inspiring students to consider the perfect marriage of social work and the law.  She continuously works to use this platform to inspire students to create equitable communities through social justice and advocacy.