Patricia Welch Saleeby

Headshot of a smiling woman with long dark hair, wearing a black blazer over a dark top against a grey background."

Patricia Welch Saleeby, She/her/hers

Global Health, Disability & Functioning Leader, USA

Patricia Welch Saleeby is a social work scholar, educator, and advocate whose work is transforming how disability is understood and represented in health and social systems. She advances a shift away from rigid diagnostic models toward approaches centered on human functioning, capabilities, environments, and social determinants of health. By improving how disability and functioning are represented in international data systems, Patricia works to support more equitable resource allocation and dismantle institutional barriers to care. She co-chairs the World Health Organization’s Functioning and Disability Reference Group, overseeing global health and disability classifications, and serves as an International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health content expert for a national Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services post-acute care project. Patricia is also Editor-in-Chief of the Health & Social Work journal and serves on the International Federation of Social Workers UN Commission. Her work has significant implications for how governments and institutions understand disability, design services, and allocate resources. In 2025, she was inducted into the Susan M. Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame and received the Council on Social Work Education Established Service and Leadership Award. Through research, policy, education, and leadership, Patricia is helping build more equitable systems for disabled people worldwide.