Caroline Ban

Education

• D.S.W. Student- St. Thomas University
• M.S.W. – Washington University Brown School of Social Work, St. Louis, MO
• B.A. – Carleton College, Northfield, MN

Areas of Interest

• Government Affairs, Policy and Advocacy in Local and State Government
• Municipal Mergers, Consolidations and Collaborations
• Police and Community Relations and Court Reform
• Community Engagement
• Group Facilitation and work with Boards and Coalitions

Publications

Ban, C. C. & McNutt, J. G. (2024). Creating a data and technology enhanced approach to police social service issues: A planning model. In C. Bush & J. Matthews (Eds.) Building Trust, Effective Communication, and Transparency Between Police and Community Members (pp. 170.197). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-8569-9.ch008 

Ban, C. C. & Riordan, J. E. (2023). Re-envisioning public safety through an embedded police social worker (PSW) model: A promising approach for multidisciplinary resource delivery and diversion. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 39(4), 537– 554. https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862231189423 

McNutt, J. G. & Ban, C. C. (2023). Preparing public managers to deal with disruptive innovations through citizen partnerships. In S. Edwards, III & J. Masterson (Eds.), Government Response to Disruptive Innovation: Perspectives and Examinations (pp. 1-19). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-6429- 8.ch001 

Ban, C. & Krehmeyer, C. (2014). Facing Foreclosure: The Impact on Homeowners and Community Responses to the Ongoing Crisis, St. Louis Bar Journal. 60 (Winter), 4-7. 

Since 2016, Caroline Ban has served as Acting Director of Field Education, Visiting Assistant Professor, Program Director and Clinical Assistant Professor for the Valparaiso University Department of Social Work. At VU, she has taught a variety of classes on topics such as policing, community, policy, advocacy, human rights and field education. Ban created new senior community projects resulting in activities like the VU students’ police academy with the Valparaiso Police Department. Beginning in 2018, Ban redesigned and led the department’s spring Indianapolis Capitol trip to give students direct experience lobbying for social issues. Ban also served on the 2018 VU MLK Day Content committee.

In 2019, Ban was selected with seven statewide candidates to receive a Humanities Action Fellowship from Indiana Humanities. Over the course of 18 months, Fellows participate in a statewide cohort to design and implement humanities-based programs that respond to community needs. Ban is currently conducting a “Taking off the badge” research project focused on retiring police officers to learn more about shifts in identity and changes in police culture since 9-11.

Prior to moving to Indiana, Ban was a consultant and the Manager of Government Affairs for Beyond Housing, a nationally-recognized community development non-profit in St. Louis. Ban facilitated and staffed meetings with mayors and police chiefs from North St. Louis County, directly south of Ferguson. She helped local governments attract or save a combined total of $3 million through grant writing and/or municipal efficiencies.

Ban was the lead author of a successful $750,000 multi-jurisdictional Federal Department of Justice grant to strengthen police and youth relations. Her efforts also helped set the table for the consolidation of seven local police departments and the first successful municipal merger in St. Louis Boundary Commission history. She also worked with the board, staff and community members to set and implement the organization’s state advocacy agenda.

Ban earned her MSW from the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis where she received a Dr. Clara L. Myer’s Outstanding Student Practicum Award for her work at the City of Olivette, MO. She earned a B.A. in psychology from Carleton College in Northfield, MN and lives with her husband, Aaron, and three sons in Chesterton, Indiana.