Professor Stokes joined Northwestern’s social work department after serving as executive director of The Bridge, a transitional housing agency in Orange City. She previously spent seven years as a therapist at Northwestern, including four as co-director of student counseling services. She also worked as a program supervisor at the Council on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence and as a social worker at the Crittenton Center in Sioux City.

Professor Stokes is a Ph.D. candidate in educational psychology at the University of South Dakota. She earned a Master in Social Work degree from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and graduated from Northwestern College in 1993. She is a licensed independent social worker and a licensed master social worker, as well as a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the Christian Association of Psychology Studies.