Dianne Oakes, MSW, JD

Dianne Oakes earned a Juris Doctor from Syracuse University, a master’s degree in Social Work from Marywood University, and a bachelor’s degree in Rhetoric/Literature and Psychology from Binghamton University, with a minor in Human Services.  She is a PhD candidate working on her dissertation on youth mentoring at the University of Albany. For over twenty (20) years, Dianne has taught and designed numerous undergraduate and graduate college courses in the areas of ethics, writing, leadership, research, health sciences, business, and social work. She has also practiced law for over a decade, focusing in the areas of estate administration, elder law, not-for-profit corporations, and guardianship. Her work has involved counseling older adults and their families regarding estate planning, healthcare decision-making, and estate administration, as well as working with charitable organizations on formation, federal and state tax exemptions, ethics and governance issues. She also works as a researcher, both as a Director and Vice President, in the behavioral health field. Dianne has received numerous  awards in her work, including Distinguished Faculty of the Year and Excellence in Process. Her interests include building supportive learning communities in asynchronous courses, developing interventions to support first-generation college students in an online learning environment, designing ethical AI, and youth mentoring.