MAGAZINE
UNIVERSITY OF DENVER GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK FALL 09
Doctoral
Education
at 40:
Envisioning the
Future
page 4
Commencement ‘09
page 8
contents
scene @ gssw
features
From the Dean
4 Doctoral Education at 40
8 Commencement ‘09
9 Awards & Promotions
I am pleased to share with
you this inaugural edition of
GSSW Magazine. In 2008-09,
sections
1 scene @ gssw
making it one of the oldest social work doctorates
in the nation. So it seems fitting that we devote
12 Institute Updates
the cover story of this first issue to honoring
14 Four Corners Program
this pioneering program and to describing our
Bridge Project
efforts to envision and shape its future.
15 Development
We hope you will take the time to enjoy all the
18 Alumni News
features and sections of our new magazine,
which will be published in the fall and spring
19 Class Notes
each year. In addition to the guest lecturers
highlighted on the facing page, this issue
gssw magazine
describes a number of major events that the
Volume 1, Number 1
GSSW Magazine is published twice
each year, in fall and spring, by the
Graduate School of Social Work,
University of Denver, 2148 S. High St.,
Denver, CO 80208-7100. The University
of Denver is an Equal Opportunity
Institution.
Graduate School of Social Work hosted during
Dean
James Herbert Williams
celebrates the achievements and publications
the last academic year, including the first
national Pedagogy of Privilege conference we
co-sponsored in June and two conferences
presented this spring by our Institute for
Human-Animal Connection. This issue also
of our faculty, our most recent graduates and award-winners, and
Editor
Deborah Jones, Director of
Communications and Marketing
our 2008 Alumni Award recipients.
Design and Layout
Art Only, Inc.
personal and professional news in our expanded Class Notes. In
Photography
Wayne Armstrong
Ethan Crawford
Barry Gutierrez
Michelle Martinez
and other contact information so we can keep you up-to-date on
© 2009 by the Graduate
School of Social Work
at the University of Denver.
Admission: 303.871.2841
Alumni and Development: 303.871.7599
Communications: 303.871.3114
www.du.edu/socialwork
The 2008-09 Lecture Series brought five noted scholars to GSSW, where they shared expertise on topics as varied as adolescent suicide and African wildlife utilization.
our doctoral program marked its 40th year,
10 Faculty News
Proofreading
Catherine Newton
Stephanie Panion
Visiting Lecturers Share Knowledge
As always, we are grateful to our alumni who shared their
turn, I encourage all of our alumni to update their email addresses
Out of the Clinic and
into the Medicine
Cabinet: The Role
of Social Work in a
Psychopharmacological Environment
Prevalence of
Suicidal Behavior
Among Black
Adolescents in the
United States
Family Conflict at
the End of Life:
Contributing Factors
and Potential
Consequence
Jerry Floersch, PhD,
LISW Professor, Rutgers
University School of
Social Work
Sean Joe, PhD, LMSW
Professor, University of
Michigan School of Social
Work, Department of
Psychiatry and Institute
for Social Research
Betty J. Kramer, PhD
Professor, University
of Wisconsin-Madison
School of Social Work
Dr. Floersch used
illustrations from his
research to identify
tensions among
adolescents’ personal
medication experience
and those of significant
others in their network
to highlight policy
questions regarding the
social and psychological
effects of psychotropic
treatment.
Citing national data,
Dr. Joe argued that
clinicians should be
trained to screen for
suicidal behavior, even
among those without
DSM-IV disorders,
when treating black
adolescents. He also
urged that preventive
efforts consider ethnic
differences in suicide
risk and targeting
nonclinical settings.
A nationally recognized
gerontology researcher
and scholar, Dr. Kramer
presented her research
findings on factors that
contribute to increased
conflict in families
caring for elderly adults.
The Fallacy of
Consumptive
Utilization of Wildlife
in Africa
Josphat Ngonyo
Founder of Youth for
Conservation; Founder
and Director of Africa
Network for Animal
Welfare
Co-sponsored by GSSW
and the Institute
for Human-Animal
Connection, this
lecture addressed the
devastating impact
on Africa’s people
and animals during
the past 20 years as
the continent has lost
half of its wildlife to
trophy hunting, the pet
industry, game capture,
trafficking of animals
and snaring for the
bushmeat trade.
The Promise of
Geography in Health
Service Research:
GIS and Homeless
Adults and Street
Youth
David Pollio, PhD
Hill Crest Foundation
Endowed Chair and
Director of Research,
University of Alabama
School of Social Work
Dr. Pollio discussed
the use of Geographic
Information Systems
data to track and
remedy the frequent
disparity between the
location of available
health services and the
locations where most
homeless people live.
upcoming GSSW activities and events.
We appreciate your interest in our school and thank you for your
ongoing support. Please watch for continuous updates and news
on our Web site at www.du.edu/socialwork.
Sincerely,
James Herbert Williams, PhD, MSW
Prominent
Author
Visits
GSSW
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Ron Suskind visited
GSSW last fall to discuss and sign copies of his most recent New York Times bestseller,
The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism. Nearly 200
people attended the event. Professor Ann Petrila, GSSW’s Director of Field Education, is
prominently featured in the book, which weaves together a variety of personal stories
viewed through the lens of controversial Bush administration policies. Petrila and her
family hosted a foreign exchange student from war-torn Afghanistan in 2006, and
Suskind used their experiences to illustrate cultural divisions between the two nations.
For more news and a list of upcoming events, see “What’s Happening” at
www.du.edu/socialwork.
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scene @ gssw
scene @ gssw
Hundreds Attend
Conference on
Privilege
GSSW students had a unique opportunity to learn about their
More than 300 people attended the
Burgess and Edwards were among 15 Master Scholars nominated by their respective schools as
outstanding alumni, capable of mentoring students in their chosen career paths. Each taught
one session of an MSW course, then both spoke on “Exploring Clinical and Community Careers
in Social Work” at a luncheon in Craig Hall.
future profession from distinguished alumni mentors this spring. The annual Masters Program,
sponsored by DU’s Alumni Relations on April 6-7, brought GSSW Master Scholars David Burgess
(MSW ‘75) and Jana Edwards, LCSW (MSW ‘78) back to the classroom to share their professional
knowledge and insights with MSW students and faculty. A reception and dinner honored both
Scholars the night before.
first annual Pedagogy of Privilege conference
held at GSSW on June 1-2. The event offered
scholars, students, faculty, staff, community
members, social justice workers and activists the
opportunity to discuss various aspects of privilege
and the ways it impacts education, social justice
work, helping professions and research. Keynote
speakers included Dr. Becky Thompson, Director
Master Scholars
Share Experience
and Expertise
of Women’s and Ethnic Studies at the University
of Colorado in Colorado Springs, and Dr. Robert
Jensen, Professor of Journalism at the University
of Texas at Austin.
Conference co-sponsors included GSSW, the Gay
& Lesbian Fund for Colorado, the Colorado
Chapter of the National Association of Social
Workers, The Center: Advancing LGBT
Colorado, the Iliff School of Theology, and
DU’s Office of Graduate Studies, Morgridge
College of Education, Graduate School
of Professional Psychology, Center for
Multicultural Excellence, Student Life, Center for
Community Engagement & Service Learning and
The Women’s College.
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Edwards has enjoyed a successful private practice in the Denver metropolitan area for 25 years
specializing in couples therapy. She also acts as a consultant to other couples therapists. A
noted lecturer and trainer, Edwards has been on the State Board of Directors of the Colorado
Society for Clinical Social Work (CSCSW) for many years and currently serves as its Co-President.
Her professional honors include the 2008 GSSW Alumni Service Award and the 2007 CSCSW
Community Service Award.
When GSSW redesigned its Web site in 2008, one of the toughest challenges was the
home page. On a page where so many Web visitors begin their online exploration of our school, what photo could we use
to convey the variety and diversity of our community? And what single photo could possibly sum up the wide-ranging
nature of the social work profession?
Forty workshops and presentations allowed
participants to examine privilege based on such
diverse characteristics as gender, race, religion,
sexual orientation, gender identity, culture,
nationality, age, physical attractiveness and
ablebodiedness. Sessions also addressed privilege
in corporate America, the film industry and
commercially produced pornography.
“The number of attendees speaks volumes about
the emerging awareness of, interest in and
importance of issues of privilege,” said Professor
N. Eugene Walls, Conference Organizing
Committee Chair.
A GSSW adjunct instructor, Burgess has worked for more than 20 years with mental health
consumers in empowerment settings, including the community mental health program of the
Denver Department of Health and Hospitals and its non-profit successor, the Denver Center
for Mental Health Services. He was one of the co-founders of CHARG Resource Center and has
been its Executive Director since it opened in 1989 as a legal partnership between adult mental
health consumers and professionals.
Ultimately, the Web Redesign Committee abandoned the photo search and chose to work with nationally renowned artist
Steve Dininno to create a customized illustration for our home page instead. “An illustration allows users to better project
themselves into the school and the discipline,” explains committee member Professor N. Eugene Walls. “If I am looking
for an image of myself in a photograph, and I don’t find it, I may feel excluded. So I value the diffuseness of a good
illustration over the concreteness of most photographs we might have used on this page.”
Conference planners included (L-R) Prof. N. Eugene
Walls (Chair); Frank Coyne, Associate Director,
Center for Community Engagement & Service
Learning; Sarah Nickels, PhD student; Adjunct
Prof. Lynne Sprague; Prof. Robert Jensen (Keynote
Speaker); Becky Thompson (Keynote Speaker); Jeanie
Tischler, Center for Teaching and Learning; Kristie
Seelman (MSW ‘07), PhD student; Phil Campbell,
Director of Ministry Studies, Iliff School of Theology;
and Lisa Ingarfield, Associate Director, The Phoenix
Center at Auraria, University of Colorado at Denver.
Home Page
Designers
Opt for
Illustration
Visit the redesigned GSSW Web site at
www.du.edu/socialwork. You’ll find
many new features including expanded
resources for alumni, user-friendly
admission materials and an everchanging array of “spotlight” profiles of
our students, faculty, alumni and staff.
Artist and illustrator Steve Dininno’s
other clients include Coca Cola, EMI
Music Publishing, Bayer Pharmaceuticals,
T. Rowe Price, Jaguar, Blue Cross/ Blue
Shield, Kinney Shoes, Simon & Schuster,
Panasonic, Prudential, AT&T, Citibank
and Dupont. See more of his work at
http://stevedininno.com.
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gssw doctoral education at 40
gssw doctoral education at 40
Envisioning the
Doctorate’s Future
Anniversaries are often celebrations of things past, the way
we began and how far we’ve come since then. But when GSSW
marked the 40th anniversary of its doctoral program with an
academic seminar this spring, all eyes were focused squarely
on the future.
What will social work doctoral education look like a decade
from now? How will we create a robust, responsible and
purposeful intellectual community that integrates research
and practice with teaching? What evidence will we use to
determine if we are succeeding? And how will we ensure that
our quality is sustainable?
These were among the questions pondered by students,
faculty, administrators, staff and three nationally renowned
speakers at a day-long seminar held on May 2 at GSSW.
Entitled “Answering the Carnegie Initiative Call to Action:
Rethinking Social Work Doctoral Education,” the gathering was
the brainchild of Professor Walter LaMendola, who became
Director of the PhD Program the previous fall. The seminar
was streamed live on the Web to audiences around the world.
Social work, LaMendola noted, was not among the six
academic disciplines included in the Carnegie Foundation’s
Initiative on the Doctorate, a five-year national effort to
restructure 106 doctoral programs and better prepare their
graduates. But in the “Call to Action” issued by the Initiative
in its 2008 publication The Formation of Scholars, LaMendola
saw much that social work could use to improve its own
doctoral education.
“The Carnegie Initiative has brought forward significant
concerns and issues in the conduct and performance of
doctoral programs,” LaMendola explains. “As we continue to
grow our program, we must ensure that it reflects multiple
perspectives and fosters the development of new social work
knowledge by encouraging scholarly debate and intellectual
risk-taking.”
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Risk-taking has been a hallmark of GSSW’s doctoral program
right from the start. When the program admitted its first
five students in 1968, it was one of the few such programs
in a nation where doctoral education of all kinds was
still limited to a relatively small number of the older and
larger universities. But Denver was especially ripe for the
development of a social work doctorate for a number of
1 Keynote speaker Dr. George Walker of Florida International
University served as Project Director of the Carnegie Initiative on
the Doctorate.
2 VCU’s Dr. Ann Nichols-Casebolt chats with Philip D. and Eleanor G.
Winn Professor for Children and Youth at Risk Jeff Jenson, GSSW’s
Associate Dean for Research.
3 Dr. Virginia Richardson, University of Michigan Professor Emerita,
confers with GSSW Professor Walter LaMendola, Director of the
PhD Program.
reasons: it was the largest population center between Chicago
and the West Coast, it had the largest concentration of federal
offices outside Washington, D.C., and GSSW’s social work
program had already existed for an impressive 37 years.
After a national study determined that GSSW had one of
five MSW programs in the country whose graduates were
most likely to pursue a doctoral degree, the school founded
its own DSW program in the fall of 1968. Eleven years later,
the program converted to a research-oriented PhD. Since
then, up to a third of our doctoral graduates have been
international students who returned to their countries as
high level administrators in government, non-governmental
organizations and universities.
In his keynote address that began the May seminar, Dr.
George Walker urged those present to first develop a clear
vision of what the PhD program should be, then create a
sense of scholarly integration and intellectual community
among those acting as stewards of that vision. “Scholarship
segregated is scholarship impoverished,” noted Walker,
Florida International University’s Senior Vice President for
Research Development and Graduate Education and Dean of
the University Graduate School. Walker served as the Carnegie
Initiative’s Project Director.
Virginia Commonwealth University’s Dr. Ann Nichols-Casebolt
delivered a luncheon address on the sustainability of quality
in social work doctoral education. Nichols-Casebolt, who is
VCU’s Interim Dean, Professor and Associate Vice President
for Research Development, cited the importance of monetary
resources, stakeholder interests and abilities, and a school’s
social and political climate in creating sustainability. “Social
work is sometimes viewed by universities as a service unit
and a way of meeting its mission,” she explained. “We must
also be respected as a center of research and scholarship.”
Students themselves, she insisted, must be fully involved in
reviewing and revising a doctoral program.
Discussion break-out groups led by former doctoral directors
followed each lecture. Dr. Virginia Richardson, Professor
Emerita and former Chair of Educational Studies at the
University of Michigan School of Education, ended the
seminar with a summation of the day’s discussions.
Citing the “enormous number of issues and ideas” brought
forth during the day, Richardson nevertheless noted that the
visioning process for doctoral education has only just begun.
“By exploring collective reflection and decision-making, you
are modeling for your students what you want them to do in
their academic life,” she said. “I congratulate you for this and
hope you will continue.”
To view a video of this seminar and learn more about GSSW’s
PhD program, please visit www.du.edu/socialwork, click on
“Programs of Study” and then on “PhD.”
PhD Graduate Named GSSW’s
First “Notable Scholar”
Provost Gregg Kvistad,
Dean James Herbert Williams
and PhD Program Director
Walter LaMendola
congratulate GSSW
Notable Scholar
Marta Sotomayor.
Marta Sotomayor, PhD ‘73, was presented with GSSW’s first
Notable Scholar Award at the 40th Anniversary Doctoral
Seminar in May. The award honors doctoral graduates whose
social work scholarship and leadership represent excellence
and symbolize commitment to the school’s mission.
Other criteria include the advancement of social justice,
generation of innovation and evidence-based practices, and
enhancement of service to multicultural populations and to
underserved people and groups.
“Your leadership in advocating for vulnerable, oppressed
people throughout your career is remarkable,” said Dean
James Herbert Williams in presenting the award, noting that
Sotomayor wrote the school’s first doctoral dissertation on
Hispanic elderly. He also cited the impact of a book she later
co-authored, Elderly Latinos: Issues and Solutions for the
21st Century.
“My dissertation gave me the opportunity to look at my
assumptions, biases and stereotypes,” recalled Sotomayor,
as she accepted the award. “My education also gave me the
intellectual tools and skills that have served me well during
my career.”
Sotomayor previously served as the President and CEO of
the National Hispanic Council on Aging, where her work
increased national recognition of issues facing older Latinos.
At President Clinton’s invitation, she was a member of the
White House Conference on Aging Policy Board in 1996-97,
ensuring that the issues of elderly Latinos and their families
would be included in their discussions. Among her many
other accomplishments, Sotomayor served as senior policy
advisor to the Secretary’s Task Force on Minority Health at
the National Institutes of Health from 1984 to 1986.
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gssw doctoral education at 40
gssw doctoral education at 40
Dinner Honors
Professor Cox,
Doctoral Student Research
GSSW’s doctoral program has come a long way since the first
five students entered the program in 1968. Today’s students
represent a rich tapestry of cultural backgrounds and scholarly interests. Here’s a sampling of dissertation research by some of our current PhD students and recent graduates.
Celebrates Doctoral Milestone
During the planning for GSSW’s Doctoral 40th
Anniversary, it quickly became apparent who should
be the guest of honor at the reception and dinner set
to kick off the May 1-2 celebration. Professor Enid Cox,
faculty member since 1981 and PhD Director from 2001
to 2005, has had a profound effect on the growth and
development of GSSW doctoral education as a teacher,
scholar, researcher and mentor for hundreds of students
both here and abroad. As Director of the Institute of
Gerontology since 1983, Cox has also touched the lives
of older adults, their families and caregivers throughout
the Rocky Mountain Region.
1
Along with a crystal bowl presented at the dinner by Dean
James Herbert Williams on behalf of the school, Cox was
showered with tributes from colleagues, friends, students
and alumni. Those who could not attend the dinner sent
messages to be read aloud by Professor Lynn Parker.
“Sometimes I think Enid invented social justice,” said Alberta
Dooley, PhD ‘96, in a tribute read by Parker. “Enid calls forth a
fierce fire of energetic commitment to advocate for extinguishing
injustice, poverty and ignorance. She is, in every sense of the word,
a social worker.”
2
Satish Nair, PhD ‘94, a native of India, described how Cox made
international students feel “safe” in her office, so much so that it often
“looked like a UN meeting was in session” there. “You very quickly
felt confident that she respected your views and thoughts, especially
because they came from cultural and national backgrounds
that were different from hers,” he explained.
To the delight of the audience, Adjunct Professor June
Twinam shared her tongue-in-cheek list of “Rules for
Surviving Enid.” Among them, “NEVER attend a theatre
performance with Enid unless you’re willing to hear the
review of it DURING the performance!”
A leader in GSSW’s ongoing effort to support China’s
social work profession, Cox was also honored with a
slide show of photos and greetings from her former
students at China Youth University in Beijing.
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1 “To Enid!” Professor Jim Moran, then Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and
Research, shares a toast with Dean Williams.
2 Dean Emeritus and Professor Jack Jones laughs with the guest of honor at
the pre-dinner reception. Nearly 150 people attended the gala event.
3 Dean Emerita Catherine Alter (left) chats with staff member Debbie Jones
and Professors Nicole Nicotera and Michele Hanna.
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gssw doctoral education at 40
The evening ended with a musical performance by “The
Hats,” aka Professor Jeff Jenson, his son Nils, Mario
Ivanoff and guest singer Ginger Meyette, PhD ‘09. Their
songs included one entitled “Heart of Enid” that Jenson
composed in tribute to Cox.
GSSW’s new Enid Opal Cox Endowed Scholarship Fund
supports students pursuing a social work doctorate,
with preference given to international students. For
information, please visit www.du.edu/socialwork and
click on “Support GSSW.”
Chris Anderson,
MSW
Johny Augustine,
MPhil, PhD ‘09
Lindsey Breslin,
MSSW
Nancy Lucero, MSW
‘00, PhD ’09, LCSW
Funded by:
American Humane
Dissertation
Fellowship
Funded by:
GSSW Dissertation
Award, 2007;
Fahs-Beck Fund
for Research and
Experimentation/
New York
Community Trust
Dissertation
Fellowship, 2007-08
Funded by:
National Institute
of Nursing
Research, National
Institutes of
Health, PI Sheana
Bull, Associate
Professor, UC
Denver, Colorado
Health Outcomes
Program
Funded by:
Fahs-Beck Fund for
Research and
Experimentation/
New York Community
Trust Dissertation
Fellowship, 2007-08;
CSWE Minority Fellowship; SAMHSA
Clinical Fellowship,
2008-09; DU Office
of the Provost for
Graduate Studies
Dissertation Fellowship, 2008-09
Dissertation Title:
An exploration
of the effects of
animal attachment
on self-regulation,
empathy and
peer social skills
for 18-20 year old
community college
students
Funded by GSSW’s
first Dissertation
Fellowship from the
American Humane
Association,
this study
addresses the link
between parental
attachment and
empathy for
prosocial and
antisocial behaviors
directed at humans
and animals. The
study examines
the extent to
which companion
pet attachment
functions as a
protective factor
during key
transitions in
young adulthood,
such as happens in
college life with its
attendant demands
for academic and
social achievement.
Dissertation Title:
The effects of
individual, family,
and community
factors on adult
resilience: A study
on the tsunami
survivors of 12/26
A native of India,
Augustine studied
various factors that
shaped the posttraumatic growth
of adult survivors
of the 2004 Asian
tsunami known as
12/26. The findings
will inform social
work research in
the field of disaster
resilience.
Dissertation
Working Title:
Adolescent
MySpace users
and associated HIV
risk and protective
behaviors: A social
network analysis
Recruiting
participants from
30 social networks
of MySpace
users from 15
Metropolitan
Service Areas
with high HIV
and sexually
transmitted
disease (STD)
prevalence,
Breslin is
conducting a
social network
analysis to
explore whether
close ties within
the network are
associated with
norms of sexual
behavior.
Dissertation Title:
Creating an Indian
space in the city:
Development,
maintenance,
and evolution of
cultural identity
and cultural connectedness among
3-4 generations of
urban American
Indians
A member of the
Choctaw tribe, born
and raised in Denver,
Lucero examined
how members of
American Indian
families have developed and maintained
cultural identity
over the course of
3-4 generations of
urban residence.
The study also
identified the cognitive, behavioral,
emotional and
spiritual strategies
used by urban
American Indians
to achieve a feeling
of being connected
to their culture.
Ginger Meyette,
MSW ‘90, MDiv,
PhD ‘09
Funded by:
Fahs-Beck Fund
for Research and
Experimentation/
New York
Community Trust
Dissertation
Fellowship, 2008-09
Dissertation Title:
A grounded
theory study of
the experience of
grief in the lives of
lesbians age 60 and
older: Implications
for practice and
societal change
Through a qualitative
study of perceived
overt and covert
discrimination,
Meyette explored
the grief-related
experiences of
older self-identified
lesbians. In an
effort to develop
a grounded
theoretical model
for both clinical
and community
social work practice
with these women,
she also examined
what changes
were needed to
increase their sense
of social justice
related to their grief
experiences.
Anne Powell,
MSSW, PhD ‘09
Susan Roll, MSW
Funded by:
GSSW Dissertation
Award, 2008
Funded by:
Women’s
Foundation of
Colorado
Dissertation Title:
The relationship
between femininity
ideology and
physical and
relational
aggression and
victimization
among girls
Dissertation
Working Title:
A mixed methods
investigation of
the cliff effect for
child care benefits
among low-income
families in four
Colorado counties
Having worked with
middle school girls
during her career
as a clinical and
community social
worker, Powell used
her dissertation
research to extend
propositions from
feminist theory
to examine the
relationship
between gender
socialization,
aggression and
victimization
among girls of that
age. Specifically, she
explored whether
their engagement
in aggression and
victimization can be
partially explained
by the degree
to which they
internalized certain
feminine ideals.
Roll is studying
the effects of
public policy on
the lives of lowincome women,
examining their
coping experiences
and what, if any,
differences there
are based on race
and ethnicity.
Her study focuses
specifically on
the “cliff effect”
of Colorado Child
Care Assistance
Program eligibility
policies, created
when working
single mothers lose
benefits due to
increased earnings
and experience
an immediate and
dramatic loss of
income.
gssw doctoral education at 40
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gssw commencement ‘09
gssw awards & promotions
F A C U L T Y, S T A F F & F I E L D
COMMENCEMENT
Outstanding in the Field
Commencement
2009 by the
numbers:
GSSW’s Field Team congratulates Donna Sims, MA,
Director of Programs at Gateway Battered Women’s
Services, and Patrick Byrne MSW ‘06, MNM, and
Amanda Brown, MSW ’06, LSW, Executive Director
and Program Director, respectively, of Byrne Urban
Scholars, as the 2008-09 Field Instructors of the
Year. Nominated for the awards by the MSW
students they supervised during the year, the
three instructors were acknowledged at a Field
Appreciation Event in May.
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• MSW graduates – 210
1
• PhD graduates – 6
• Phi Alpha Honor Society
members – 63
• Interdisciplinary dual
degrees awarded – 9
• Specialized certificates
awarded – 73
• Hugs and smiles –
countless!
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Student nominations were based on their field
instructors’ demonstration of social work values,
supervision style and way the instructor served
as a role model. “Being a believer in social justice,
Donna treats everyone with dignity and values
the worth of every individual,” noted Robin Ennis,
MSW ’09, in her nomination of Sims. “Throughout
supervision, I [felt] comfortable in fully disclosing
my thoughts and concerns without any fear of
judgment.”
1
1 Dean James Herbert Williams presented the
2008-09 Kay Stevenson Faculty Citizen Award
to Associate Professor Jean East and Clinical
Associate Professor Wanda Ellingson in May.
As GSSW’s Distance Education Director, East
works closely with Ellingson on the Durangobased Four Corners MSW program, where
Ellingson serves as Site Director.
“Patrick and Amanda always treated me as an equal
within the organization, and their supervision styles
reflected a mutual partnership,” said Diane Ulmer,
MSW ’09, of Byrne and Brown. “I have learned more
[from them] than I could have imagined.”
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2 The Dean also presented the 2008-09 GSSW
Staff Award to Digital Instruction Specialist
Ethan Crawford, a key member of GSSW’s
technology team.
FACULTY
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Graduate Student Association staff award winner Araceli Repp.
Graduate Student Association faculty award winners Associate Prof. Jean East and Adjunct Prof. Katharine Hobart.
We did it! MSW grads Ashlea-Ann Thornton and Amy Salinas celebrate.
Candi Cdebaca, first graduate of DU’s Dual Undergraduate/Graduate Degree program, earned both her BA and MSW in just five years.
A feather in his cap, Four Corners MSW grad Leland Becenti joins the Commencement procession.
Students receiving awards at the June, 2009, Recognition Ceremony include (front row, L-R) Wendy Bragga–Ruth Marx Stark
Award, Danica Hemmann–Queer Equality Alliance Award, Lynne Flores–Ina Mae Denham Award runner-up/honorable
mention, Rohini Gupta–Edith M. Davis Award, Jean Peart Sinnock Award, Nora Helmus–Dorothea C. Spellman Award,
Stephanie Bell–Multicultural Social Justice Student Organization Award, Jason Sonnenschein–Tommi Frank Memorial
Award; (back row, L-R) Rebecca Gale–Ina Mae Denham Award, Kristina Wilburn and Shukri Muwwakkil–Shades of Brown
Alliance Awards, Jennifer Boggs–OMNI Research Award.
Among the GSSW faculty promotions approved by the University of Denver in June, Stacey
Freedenthal, Julie Laser and Nicole Nicotera were promoted from Assistant Professor to
Associate Professor with tenure. Additionally, Wanda Ellingson was promoted from Clinical
Assistant Professor to Clinical Associate Professor, and American Humane Endowed Chair
Frank Ascione was awarded tenure at the rank of Professor.
Associate Professor Cathryn Potter (right) has been appointed as DU’s new Associate Provost
for Research. She also will remain on the GSSW faculty, dividing her time equally between the
two appointments.
Congratulations to all!
gssw awards & promotions
fall 09
9
gssw faculty news
Highlights
FA C U LT Y
Professor
Jenson
Honored
at Three
National
Events
Philip D. and Eleanor G. Winn Professor for Children and Youth at
Risk Jeff Jenson, GSSW’s Associate
Dean for Research, was selected to
give the Aaron Rosen Lecture at the
2009 Annual Meeting of the Society
for Social Work and Research (SSWR),
held in January. Jenson’s lecture was
entitled “Advances and Challenges
in Preventing Childhood and Adolescent Problem Behavior: Lessons
from the Field.” Jenson also received
the SSWR Excellence in Research
Honorable Mention Award for his
Prevention Science journal article,
“Effects of skills-based prevention
program on bullying and bully victimization among elementary school
children.”
In April, Jenson was chosen to give the
keynote address at the 21st National
Symposium on Doctoral Research in
Social Work. His presentation was
entitled “Prevention Science and
Adolescent Problem Behavior: Advances and Opportunities.” In July,
Jenson delivered a keynote address
entitled “Using Principles of Prevention Science to Promote Healthy
Youth Development: Implications for
Child and Family Policy” at the National Research Conference on Child
and Family Programs and Policy.
Dean Williams Conducts Research, Creates New Course in Kenya
Ann Petrila
Dean and Professor James Herbert Williams (left) has made three visits to Kenya during
the past year for his research project “Human security in northern Kenya: Assessment,
capacity-building and operational tools to promote sustainable livelihoods and conflict
management.” Funded by the United Nations Centre for Regional Development
(UNCRD), the project’s other co-principal investigators are Dean Emeritus and Professor
Jack Jones and Dr. Asfaw Kumssa, UNCRD Africa Office Coordinator.
Accompanying Williams on two of the Kenya trips was David Gies (2nd from left),
Animal Assistance Foundation Executive Director, who also collaborates with the
African Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW) in Nairobi and is president of the Board
for ANAW-USA. Gies and Williams developed a new MSW course, “Social Work in
Kenya: Context, Empowerment, and Sustainability,” offered for the first time this fall
through a partnership with ANAW. The course, which includes a two-week segment
in Kenya, is co-taught by Gies and Clinical Associate Professor Phil Tedeschi, Clinical
Director of GSSW’s Institute for Human-Animal Connection.
Pictured with Williams and Gies are Omar Sheikh from Kenya’s Ewasco Ng’iro North
Development Authority and Dr. Isaac Mwangi of the UNCRD Africa Office.
In February, Clinical Assistant Professor Karen Bensen, GSSW’s Director of Student Services, won the Number One Network Nelly
Award from DU’s Center for Multicultural Excellence at the 4th Annual LGBTIQA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex,
Queer, Questioning and Ally) Gala. The award recognizes “the bridges [administrators] build and the connections they help sustain
within and across communities.”
Dean and Professor James Herbert Williams was the featured speaker at the 2009 Spring Quarter Provost’s Lecture and Luncheon,
presenting a lecture entitled “How to Best Address the Needs of African American Children as the ‘Achievement Gap’ Continues to
Widen.” His lecture addressed the effort by urban educators to identify the right combination of interventions to achieve success with
African American children.
Professors Julie Laser, Lynn Parker and Ann Petrila received 2009 DU Internationalization Grants. Laser used her Individual Grant to
develop a research site in Mexico and collect resilience data there. Parker used her Individual Grant to further her qualitative research
in Mexico and to deepen the experience and content of her MSW course “Global Relations and Poverty in Mexico,” taught partially in
the Mexican state of Cuernavaca. Petrila received an Innovation Grant that she used to teach at the University of Sarajevo School of
Social Work and to finalize a faculty/student exchange agreement with GSSW. She also attended an educational standards summit in
Ankara, Turkey, and made contact with faculty from a social work school in Albania that may lead to a future GSSW collaboration.
Professor James Moran returned to his tenured GSSW faculty position in September, after serving as DU’s Vice Provost for Graduate
Studies and Research since 2002. Moran first joined the GSSW faculty in 1987, later serving as the school’s Associate Dean for Research
and Doctoral Studies, Research Director and Director of the Doctoral Program. An enrolled member of the Little Shell Chippewa tribe,
Moran focuses his research on cultural identity among urban American Indians, and on the prevention of alcohol use and abuse
among American Indian youth and families.
James Moran
10
fall 09
gssw faculty news
Books
For a complete list of GSSW faculty research and scholarship, please visit www.du.edu/socialwork and click on “Faculty and Research.”
Chiang, K.S., Green, K.E., Cox, Enid O. (2009). Rasch Analysis of the Geriatric
Depression Scale – Short Form. The Gerontologist, March 2009.
Jones, John F. (2009). Liberty to live: Human security and development.
New York: Nova Science Publications.
Beals, J., Belcourt-Dittloff, A., Freedenthal, Stacey, Kaufman, C., Mitchell,
C., Whitesell, N. et al. (2009). Reflections on a proposed theory of
reservation-dwelling American Indian alcohol use: Comment on Spillane
and Smith (2007). Psychological Bulletin, 135, 339-343.
Kayser, John. (2009). Incorporating psychological evaluations into
effective case plans: A guide for social workers and other referring
professionals. Denver: Love Publishing.
Freedenthal, Stacey, Potter, Cathryn, & Weiss, M.G. (2008). Institutional
supports for faculty scholarship: A national survey of social work
programs. Social Work Research, 32, 220 - 230.
Potter, Cathryn & Brittain, C. (Eds.) (2009). Child welfare supervision: A
practical guide for supervisors, managers and administrators. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Peterson, J., Freedenthal, Stacey, & Coles, A. (2008). When adolescents
threaten self-harm: Distinguishing between suicidal and non-suicidal
behaviors. Current Psychiatry, 5 (11), 20 - 26.
Editorials
In March, Associate Professor Debora Ortega presented information from “The State of Latinos 2008: Defining an Agenda for the Future”
at a national forum on the upcoming 2010 Census, hosted by Fundacion Azteca America and Azteca America in Washington, D. C. In
addition to her GSSW faculty appointment, Ortega serves as Director of DU’s Latino Center for Community Engagement and Scholarship,
which produced the “State of Latinos” report. She also presented information at a southeast regional forum on the same topic held in
April at Hodges University in Fort Myers, Florida.
Debora Ortega
Scholarship
FA C U LT Y
Furman, R., Rowen, D., and Bender, Kimberly. (2008). An experimental
approach to groupwork. Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books, Inc.
Associate Professor Jiangying Li visited GSSW during winter and spring quarters, 2009, from the School of Social Work at the China
Youth University for Political Sciences in Beijing. GSSW has partnered with China Youth University since 1994 to establish China’s
social work profession through student and faculty exchanges, as well as joint faculty research.
Jiangying Li
R E C E N T
gssw faculty news
Freedenthal, Stacey. (2008). Assessing the wish to die: A 30-year review
of the Suicide Intent Scale. Archives of Suicide Research, 12, 277-298.
Jenson, Jeffrey M, Briar-Lawson, K., & Flanzer, J. (2008). Advances and
challenges in developing research capacity in social work. Social Work
Research, 32, 197-200.
Ayers-Lopez, S. J., Henney, S. M., McRoy, R.G., Hanna, Michele D. ,&
Grotevant, H. D. (2008). Openness in adoption and the impact on birth
mother plans for search and reunion. Families in Society: The Journal of
Contemporary Social Services, 89(4), 551-561.
Jenson, Jeffrey M. (2008). Accomplishments and future directions for
social work research: Reflections as editor-in-chief. Social Work Research,
32, 131-134.
Jones, John F. & Kumssa, A. (2009). Training for human security. Journal
of Social Development in Africa, 23 (2).
Jenson, Jeffrey M. (2008). Keeping pace with methodological and analytical
advances in social research. Social Work Research, 32, 67-69.
Kayser, John. (2007, delayed publication date 2008). The history of
the Bishop Tuttle School of Social Work for African American Church
Women, 1925-1941. Arête, 31(1/2), 150-174.
Hughes, R. & Potter, Cathryn. (2008). Guest editorial: Evidence based
practice. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 2(2), 139-144.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
LaMendola, Walter, Ballantyne, N., & Daly, E. (2009). Practitioner
networks: Professional learning in the Twenty-First Century. British
Journal of Social Work. 39(4), 710-724.
Anthony, E.K., Alter, Catherine F., & Jenson, Jeffrey M. (2009).
Development of a risk and resilience-based out-of-school time program
for children and youth. Social Work, 54, 45-55.
LaMendola, Walter & Krysik, J. (2008). Design imperatives to enhance
evidence-based interventions with persuasive technology: A case
scenario in preventing child maltreatment. Journal of Technology in the
Human Services, 26(2), 397-422.
Altschul, Inna, Oyserman, D., & Bybee, D. (2008). Racial-ethnic selfschemas and segmented assimilation: Identity and academic achievement
of Hispanic youth. Social Psychology Quarterly, 71(3), 302-320.
Jang, L. & LaMendola, Walter. (2008). Social work in natural disasters:
the case of spirituality and post traumatic growth, Advances in Social
Work, 8(2), 305-317.
Lee, S. J., Altschul, Inna, & Mowbray, C. T. (2008). Using a planned
adaptation approach to implement evidence-based programs with new
populations. Special edition “Illuminating a Framework for Bridging
Science and Practice: Improving Dissemination and Implementation of
Prevention Programs, Processes, and Principles” of the American Journal
of Community Psychology. 41 (1-2).
Laser, Julie & Leibowitz, G. (2009). Promoting positive outcomes for
healthy youth development: Utilizing social capital theory. Journal of
Sociology and Social Work.
DiNitto, D. M., Busch, N. B., Bender, Kimberly, Woo, H. (2008). Testing
telephone and web-based survey methods for studying men’s sexual
assault perpetration behaviors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
Heimsoth, D. & Laser, Julie. (2008). Transracial adoption inside China:
Expatriate parents living in China with their adopted Chinese children.
International Social Work. Vol 55, 5, 651-668.
Nicotera, Nicole & Kang, H. (2009). Beyond diversity courses: Strategies
for integrating critical consciousness across social work curriculum.
Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 29(1-2), 182-197.
Thompson, S. J., Bender, Kimberly, Lewis, C., & Watkins, R. (2008).
Runaway and pregnant: Factors associated with pregnancy in a national
sample of runaway/homeless females. Journal of Adolescent Health,
43(2), 125-32.
Anthony, E. & Nicotera, Nicole. (2008). Youth’s perceptions of
neighborhood hassles and resources: A mixed methods analysis.
Children and Youth Services Review, 30, 1246-1255.
Brisson, Daniel. (2009). Testing the relationship of formal bonding,
informal bonding, and formal bridging social capital on key outcomes for
families in low-income neighborhoods. Journal of Sociology and Social
Welfare, 36 (1), 167-183.
Fretz, E., Cutforth, N., Nicotera, Nicole, & Summers-Thompson, S.
(2008). A case study of institutional visioning, public good, and the
renewal of democracy: The theory and practice of public good work at
the University of Denver. Journal of Higher Education, Outreach and
Engagement 12(4).
Brisson, Daniel. & Roll, S. (2008). An adult education model of resident
participation: Building community capacity and strengthening
neighborhood-based activities in a comprehensive community initiative.
Advances in Social Work, 9(2), 157-75.
Bussey, Marian, & Wise, J. (2008). The recovery paradigm in trauma
work: Approaches to healing psychiatric disability and substance abuse
in women’s lives. Journal of Social Work in Disability and Rehabilitation,
7(3/4), 355-379.
Chambers, R., & Potter, Cathryn. (2009). A typology of family needs in
child neglect cases. Families in Society, 89(5), 18-27.
Chambers, R., & Potter, Cathryn. (2008). The match between family
needs and services for high-risk neglecting families. Journal of Public
Child Welfare, 2(2), 229-252.
Special Issues of Journals
Bussey, Marian. (2008). Trauma response and recovery certificate
program: Preparing students for effective practice. Journal of Teaching
in Social Work, 28(1/2), 117-144.
Jenson, Jeffrey M., Briar-Lawson, K., & Flanzer, J. (2009). Research
capacity and infrastructure development in social work. Social Work
Research, 32.
White, W. and Cloud, William. (2008). Recovery capital: A primer for
addictions professionals. Counselor. Sept/Oct (9), 22-27.
Potter, Cathryn & Hughes, R. (Eds.). (2008). Evidence-based practice in
child welfare. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 2(2), 139-192.
gssw faculty news
fall 09
11
gssw institute updates
gssw institute updates
Institute for
Human-Animal
Connection
Institute of Gerontology
1
Project Coordinator Jessica Haxton and Professor Colleen Reed (at left) and Dean James Herbert Williams
(far right) congratulate participants in the Colorado Health Foundation Capacity Building Project after their
capstone presentations. Agency presenters included (L-R) Tryn Smith and Vickie Mohr of the Alzheimer’s
Association, Ed Bostick of The Denver Hospice, Tisha John and David Rodgers of Longterm Care Options, LLC,
and Julie Lewis and Caroline Tysseland of the Johnson Adult Day Program.
A center of research and training for 30 years,
GSSW’s Institute of Gerontology recently
completed a two-year project to increase
evidence-based practices among Denver area
providers of services to older adults.
Funded by a grant from the Colorado
Health Foundation, the Capacity Building
Project began with a survey of 37 non-profit
organizations, gauging their knowledge of the
use of scientific information in geriatric social
work practice. Once gaps were identified, the
Institute held a training session in May 2008,
providing agency participants with basic
knowledge about accessing and evaluating
empirical information, drawing conclusions
from it and using those findings to improve
their client services.
“Organizational leaders certainly had
an appreciation for the need for service
improvement,” says Professor Colleen Reed,
the Institute’s Co-director and Primary
Investigator of the project, “but we learned
that a very broad and varied continuum
exists from the least to the most scientifically
sound evaluation practices.”
Based on need, readiness and staff capacity
to undertake a time-consuming project, the
Institute selected four of the agencies for
more intensive step-by-step training during
the project’s second year. The goal was for
each agency to create its own intervention
with an evaluation component embedded
12
fall 09
gssw institute updates
within it. Agencies were also encouraged
to seek funding for additional evaluation
projects in the future.
“This was an exciting process,” says Project
Coordinator Jessica Haxton, LCSW, a PhD
candidate and adjunct faculty member at GSSW.
“Each agency took its own journey through the
research process, but the four agencies also
built cohesion with one another.”
Representatives of each agency presented
their results at a capstone session held at
GSSW last April. The Denver Hospice used
pre- and post-intervention surveys to improve
services to veterans, who are among the most
psycho-socially vulnerable clients they serve.
The Colorado Chapter of the Alzheimer’s
Association used research and collaboration
to enhance services for their younger-onset
clients. The Johnson Adult Day Program
tested the use of Tai Chi classes to improve
seniors’ balance and prevent falls. Colorado’s
largest case management provider, Longterm
Care Options, LLC, examined the effects of
computer use on the psychosocial wellbeing
of older adults diagnosed with depression
and living alone.
“Before participating in this project, we
weren’t thinking about outcomes and how
they would influence what we’d do in the
future,” says Caroline Tysseland, RN, Director
of the Johnson Adult Day Program. “This
experience has been transformational for us.”
2
3
The
2008-09 academic year brought two
significant leadership appointments at GSSW’s
Institute for Human-Animal Connection (IHAC).
Professor Frank Ascione, formerly a visiting
professor from the Utah State University
Department of Psychology, was appointed as
GSSW’s first American Humane Endowed Chair
and named IHAC’s Executive Director.
Clinical Associate Professor Philip
Tedeschi, LCSW, was named IHAC’s
new Clinical Director.
In February, IHAC joined the Coalition
for Living Safely with Dogs in
presenting a “Changing HumanAnimal Behaviors to Create Safer
Communities: Data, Policies, and
Programs” forum at GSSW. Sponsored
by the Animal Assistance Foundation,
the forum included a report on dog-bite
data-collection, as well as discussion
of data-based solutions for maximizing
existing resources, model ordinances and programs
for gangs, at-risk youth and veterans.
In April, IHAC sponsored a conference at GSSW
entitled “The Roots of Kindness: The Role of
Animals in Child Development and Empathy
Formation,” bringing together more than 200
individuals and professionals from a variety of
fields to examine the developmental significance
of animals in the social, emotional and cognitive
development of children.
1 Keynote speaker Dr. Gail F. Melson
addresses a near-capacity audience at
“The Roots of Kindness” conference,
sponsored by the Institute for HumanAnimal Connection in April.
2 American Humane Endowed Chair Frank
Ascione, PhD, Professor and IHAC
Executive Director
3 Professor Philip Tedeschi, IHAC Clinical
Director
Keynote speakers included Prof. Ascione, whose
talk was entitled “Animal Abuse Matters,”
and Gail F. Melson, PhD, retired Professor of
Developmental Studies in the Department
of Child Development and Family Studies at
Purdue University, who spoke on “Animals in
Children’s Lives: A Biocentric Approach to Child
Development.” There was a lunch-time dogtraining demonstration by children from GSSW’s
Bridge Project who are participating in Pawsitive
Connection. This unique program pairs at-risk
children with abandoned dogs rescued by Denverbased non-profit Freedom Service Dogs.
IHAC was prominently featured in a May 2009
Cat Fancy magazine article describing how cats
are helping American veterans heal from Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder. Professor Tedeschi
was quoted extensively in the article, which was
later reprinted in Columbia magazine, a monthly
publication of the Knights of Columbus.
For additional information, visit the Institute
for Human-Animal Connection online at www.
humananimalconnection.org.
Erna and
Brad Butler
Institute
for
Families
Sheridan Green (left), Butler Institute Senior Research
Associate, confers with JCC Program Manager
Natalie Williams.
It’s well known that GSSW’s Butler
Institute trains all of Colorado’s child
welfare workers. But those who think
that’s all they do may be surprised
to learn that the Institute is also a
nationally renowned resource for
training, technical assistance, research
and evaluation.
“Each of these areas has grown over
the last year and is predicted to
continue expanding,” says Butler
Director Sandra Spears. “Through new
grants and contracts, we’re continuing
to build capacity, knowledge and
alliances with others, both locally and
nationally.”
In Colorado, Butler is leading the
evaluation of Jeffco Community
Connection (JCC). This innovative
five-year collaboration between
Jefferson County-administered TANF
and child welfare is designed to
improve outcomes for children and
families simultaneously involved in
both systems. Begun in 2007 with
funding from the U.S. Children’s
Bureau, JCC’s experimental design
randomly assigns participants to
three intervention groups, all of
which receive comprehensive family
assessment. Groups 2 and 3 also
participate in family group
conferencing, where family members
and their close friends come together
to problem-solve and make their
own decisions. Group 3 participants
additionally are assigned Parent
Partners, former child welfare clients
who help them navigate the system.
Butler’s evaluation provides for comprehensive family assessments to be
conducted at baseline, when findings
indicate a high level of stress, particularly
related to economic hardship. Further
assessments, conducted at six-month
intervals and at closure, determine
the relative effectiveness of the program
components. Assessments examine
family perceptions of social support,
family resources, parenting views,
parenting stress, perceived stress,
employment outcomes and job satisfaction. In addition, caseworker reports
of family functioning are gathered
using the North Carolina Family
Assessment Scale examining home
environment, parental capa-bilities,
family interactions, family safety,
social/community life, family health,
mental health and self-sufficiency.
Butler also collects data from child
welfare and TANF, surveys, interviews and focus groups to measure
outcomes, and participants are
surveyed about their satisfaction with
program services using the Colorado
Works Satisfaction Survey and the
Measuring Integrity of Systems of
Care Scale. The evaluation also utilizes
propensity score matching to simulate
a no-intervention control group.
“Assessing the impact of the services
we provide to families is helping
Jeffco Human Services increase its
commitment to providing integrated
services and an inclusive environment
for our customers,” says Natalie
Williams, JCC Program Manager.
gssw institute updates
fall 09
13
gssw four corners & bridge
gssw development
Saunders
Construction
Takes GSSW’s
Four Corners
Bridge Project
Dear Alumni
& Friends
to Heart
Professor Wanda
Ellingson (center)
congratulates Four
Corners MSW
graduates Leland
Becenti and Louise
Wilson at the
GSSW Recognition
Ceremony in June.
Since the Four Corners
MSW program began
in Durango, Colorado,
in 2002, 61 students
have earned their
degrees in or near their
home communities,
Four Corners MSW student
Leigh Meigs, JD ’85,
was elected Mayor of
Durango in April, following
a unanimous vote by
members of the Durango
City Council.
markedly improving human
service delivery systems in
this ethnically diverse and
underserved area of southern
Colorado, Arizona, Utah and
New Mexico. Ten additional
MSW students are currently
enrolled in the program’s
third two-year cohort, and 8
students entered the program
with advanced standing this
summer. To date, Four Corners
students and graduates include
25 Native Americans from the
Acoma, Jicarilla Apache, Navajo,
Shawnee, Southern Ute, Ute
Mountain, Choctaw and
Tlingit tribes.
Read more about the Four Corners
MSW program at www.du.edu/
socialwork under “Programs
of Study.”
14
fall 09
gssw four corners & bridge
Since GSSW’s Bridge
Project was founded in
1991, volunteer tutors and
mentors have played a vital
role in the educational
opportunities Bridge offers
to children and youth in
four of Denver’s public
housing neighborhoods. This year, Saunders
Construction, Inc., a full-service general
contractor and construction manager based
in Centennial, Colorado, has taken that
volunteerism to a whole new level.
Beginning last March, Saunders is devoting
the first year of its “Building Confidence in
Kids” community giving program to enhancing
Bridge facilities and services. Their commitment
includes $50,000 in financial contributions and an
estimated $50,000 in in-kind donations, as well as
volunteer opportunities for Saunders employees.
This spring, more than 90 Saunders employee
volunteers renovated the South Lincoln
Bridge site, including doubling the size of
the technology lab where Bridge students
hone their computer skills in after-school and
summer programs. Other Saunders employees
spent their evenings and weekends landscaping
the Columbine Bridge site, while others helped
kids at all four Bridge locations make framed
photos to give as Mother’s Day gifts.
“With today’s turbulent economy, we feel it is
more important than ever before to find new
and innovative ways of making a bigger and
more positive impact in our community,” says
Saunders Chairman Dick Saunders.
At a time when job opportunities
are shrinking in many fields,
the demand for social workers
is actually expected to rise
22% nationwide over the coming decade. This
includes marked increases in the areas of mental
health, substance abuse treatment, medicine,
public health, gerontology, children and families,
education and rural social work.
Above Saunders
volunteer landscapers
included Scott
Springstead, Caleb
Bond, Mike Eads, Mike
Baksa, Dale Schneider,
Brent Newman, Tawnya
Kilpatrick, Dan Humphries,
Alyssa Rossnagel, James
Bricker, Zach Crumal,
Ryan VanGoeye, Andrew
Ray, Graham Taylor, Bret
Arnold and Leone Schulz.
Below Bridge Project
Executive Director Mary
Krane (standing at left in
back row) joined Saunders
employees helping with
pre-renovation move-out
at the South Lincoln site.
Volunteers included Bob
Wade, Christy Wade,
Cynthia Nodich, Dale Schneider,
Caree Pyka (with son Brendan), Carrie
Skaradzinski, Greg Skaradzinski, Scott
Bonner, Bruce Bohne, Jeff Anker and
Jared Seeman (with daughter Lauren).
The Graduate School of Social Work is poised to
meet this burgeoning need, but we need your help
to do it. For many potential applicants, the cost of a
quality graduate social work education can present a
major obstacle. To ensure that our future graduates
are not only the best-prepared academically, but
also reflect the diversity of the communities they
will serve, we must increase our endowment and
the financial aid we offer our students.
Above Saunders volunteer
Pauline Donohue helps with the
Mother’s Day photo frame project
at the Columbine Bridge site.
With these priorities in mind, we’ve undertaken
the Endowed Clinical Chair Campaign described
on the following page. We also encourage you to
support our endowed scholarship funds, like the
new one named in honor of Professor Enid Opal
Cox (see page 6). Your support of the Campaign
and of our endowed scholarship funds will not
only ensure that GSSW’s education is the best it
can be, but also make that education financially
accessible to those who share your professional
ideals and commitment.
As always, we deeply appreciate your generosity,
and we welcome your questions, comments and
suggestions.
If those happy faces at the Bridge Project are
any indication, that positive impact is being felt
by Bridge families and volunteers alike!
GSSW sincerely appreciates the generous
support of Saunders Construction, Inc., and of
all Bridge Project donors and volunteers.
Read more about the Bridge Project at
www.du.edu/bridgeproject.
Regards,
Lynda Ricketson
Director of Development and Alumni Giving
For a complete list of scholarship funds and other
giving opportunities, please visit www.du.edu/
socialwork and click on “Support GSSW.”
gssw development
fall 09
15
gssw development
The
Endowed
Clinical
Chair:
A One-Time Gift that
Keeps on Giving!
gssw development
Our graduates continue to be
amazed by the variety of career options open
to social workers. Yet, whatever their chosen
field, the majority opt to enter some type
of clinical practice. Last year, for example,
84% of GSSW’s concentration year students
selected one of our clinical practice tracks:
child welfare, families, high-risk youth,
or adulthood and late life challenges.
With Jana Edwards, MSW ’78, LCSW, at the helm, a
committee of alumni and friends is hard at work
raising funds to create a new academic position
at GSSW, the Endowed Clinical Chair. This
elite faculty position will offer the opportunity
to attract a nationally acclaimed teacher and
scholar who will build one of the best clinical
social work programs in the country. This, in
turn, will attract the best and brightest students
from across the nation and around the world.
By creating additional clinical elective classes
and helping to integrate students’ classroom
learning with their field internships, the
Endowed Clinical Chair will ensure that future
GSSW graduates compete successfully in the job
market and are prepared to work in the rapidly
growing number of multidisciplinary settings.
Because the Chair is “endowed,” the funds
we raise will be invested rather than spent,
and the distinguished professor’s salary will
be paid from the annual investment income.
That means your gift will have a lasting impact
on the ultimate beneficiaries of the Endowed
Clinical Chair: the individuals, families,
groups and communities our graduates
will serve during their careers.
Other members of the Endowed Clinical
Chair Campaign Committee are Libby
Bortz, MSW ’67, LCSW; Marilyn Hellerstein,
MSW ‘71; Mickey Maroon, MSW ’75, LCSW;
Bill Milnor, Director of Business Processes at
the Mental Health Center of Denver; Natalie
Portman-Marsh, MSW, LCSW; Margaret
Roath, MSW ‘68, LCSW, Director of Social
Work at the University of Colorado Health
Sciences Center; Jim Taucher, MBA; and Rita
Temple-Trujillo, MSW, LCSW, CDE from the
Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes.
For more information, please visit www.
du.edu/socialwork and click on “Support GSSW.”
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fall 09
gssw development
Donor Spotlight
Libby Bortz, MSW ’67, LCSW
As a child, Libby Bortz took note of her parents’
generosity and compassion. She recalls that her
father, a pharmacist, would often cover the cost of
prescriptions for families unable to pay for them.
Throughout her career as a clinical social worker,
teacher and philanthropist, Bortz has continued
that family commitment to helping others.
In addition to maintaining her own private
practice since 1978, she conducts numerous
mental health workshops and seminars, and
she was an adjunct faculty member at GSSW
for four years. In 1994, Littleton’s Libby
Bortz Assisted Living Center was named in
recognition of her many years of service to the
community. Bortz was most recently honored
with the 2008 President’s Award from the
Colorado Society for Clinical Social Work.
A long-time donor and active supporter of our
school, Bortz attributes much of her professional
success to the education she received at GSSW.
Now she hopes her generous contributions to the
Endowed Clinical Chair Campaign will ensure
that same success and feeling of accomplishment
for social work clinicians of the future.
“My career has brought me enormous joy
and satisfaction,” says Bortz. “My goal is to
ensure that others have the same educational
and professional opportunities that I did.”
GSSW Donors
The Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver is grateful for the support of each of
the following donors. We strive to make this list as accurate as possible, but if your name has been
omitted or listed incorrectly, please accept our apologies and let us know so that we can correct our
records. In case of error, please notify Lynda Ricketson, Director of Development and Alumni Giving, at 303-871-7599 or [email protected].
GSSW Donors July 1, 2007–Dec. 31, 2008
Robert M. Adelstein and Carole Adelstein
Madelon S. Affeld
American Humane Association
Paul E. Anderson Jr. and Jean Anderson
Eleanor Barnett Trust
Anne Basye-Harris and Richard Harris
Patricia L. Baxter-Butler and William Butler
Mia Alpert Berlin
La Fawn Biddle
Jane Billings
Gwendolyn S. Blake
Shirley Bliss and Stewart Bliss
Karen Lynn Blumhardt and Mark Blumhardt
Carol A. Boland
Libby L. Bortz and Michael Altenberg
Lauretta Boyd Charitable Trust
Charlotte L. Brauneis and Harry Brauneis
Orman A. Buswell and Eiko Buswell
Margaret E. Cagle
William S. Calkin
Susan Carol Carabajal and Jim Carabajal
Randall S. Carpenter
Lorraine B. Chappell
Judith Himsl Choury
Barbara Lou Cohen-Schweizer
Jerry Coppel
Covenant Foundation
Charlotte Elizabeth Cowden
Linda K. Daubers
Neil E. Davidson and Roseanna Davidson
Dorothy W. Davis
Donald C. Dendinger
Ila E. Dennis
Charles R. Dunbar and Marye Dunbar
Jean F. East
Cynthia S. Eckroth
Jana Edwards and Rick Poppe
Jocelyn Ann Ehrhardt
Anne Enderby
Farhad Farzaneh
Thomas B. Faxon and Virginia Faxon
Kim Wells Fitzgerald
Alfred Fontana and Rose Fontana
Jerry R. Fowler and Sue Fowler
Diane Paris Frickey
Kathy B. Friedland
Gary Y. Funasaki and Mildred Funasaki
Maxine E. Gaddis
Gamma Phi Beta Foundation
Garrett Family Foundation
Carla B. Garrity
Gary and Teresa Yourtz Foundation
Anne C. Gibson
Paul Gillis and Joann Gillis
Kathryn Doris Glass
Anna Mae L. Godin
Regina B. Gray
Gerald Q. Greenfield
Ronni M. Haderle
Michael Jon Haley
Richard C. Hardes
Dorothy Vilma Harris and Oliver Harris
Catherine E. Hatfield and Colby Hatfield
Peggy Heine
Sumiko T. Hennessy and Richard Hennessy
Santos H. Hernandez and Carolyn Hernandez
Martha Hickerson
Laura Linkow Hill and Robert Hill
Mary B. Hoover and George Hoover
Paul C. Hsu and Sharon Hsu
Frank R. Isenhart Jr. and Myra Isenhart
Carole Fee Ivanoff and Mario Ivanoff
Constance L. Jackson
Edrick D. James Sr. and Karen James
Patricia A. Jensen and Joseph Jensen
Donna Green Jewett and Hugh Jewett
Christine T. Jorgensen and James D. Jorgensen
Barbara T. Kanyr
Risa T. Kiam
Kathryn Anna Kloberdanz
Wendra Catherine Klos
Lorie Bohm Klumb and William Klumb
Ann E. Knutson and Hillard Knutson
Richard E. Kohlman and Mary Kohlman
H. Pearce Konold and Marilyn Konold
Paul Jacob Kosempel and Meredith Wakelyn
M. Louise Krill and Donald Krill
Rose Langland and Philip Langland
Donald Lawitts and Evelyn Lawitts
L. Paul Lazok
Peggy F. Lazok
Dorcas E. Leibold
Ben Alan Leonard
Enid M. Levitt
Harry T. Lewis Jr.
May E. Lihtz
John E. Litz
Frances McAfee Loftis and Nelson Loftis
Elaine B. Long
Gayle Lucas
Celedonio F. Lucero
Judith W. Lu-Lawson and David Lawson
Christina Marie Mahoney and Robert Mahoney
Evan N. Makovsky and Evi Bachrach Makovsky
Grace R. & Alan D. Marcus Foundation
Miriam E. Mares
Bernard S. Mayer and Julie Macfarlane
Nancy W. McIntyre and John McIntyre
Jeanette Tolise McQueen and Stephen
McQueen
Mile High United Way
Christian Eric Molidor and Tracy Molidor
Mary H. Morling
Bertha Makuto Mucherera
Myra M. Munson
Ruth S. Needham and Charles Needham
New York Academy of Medicine
Marianne E. Nick
Griselda Padilla
Hannah S. Parris
Johanna Maria Perkins and Robert Perkins
Phyllis M. Putnam
Quaker Valley Counseling Service
Susan C. Rabenhorst
Lynda A. Ricketson
Margaret Roath
Frances Trott Robinson
Rose Community Foundation
Beverly K. Rosengren
Michael R. Ross and Patti Ross
Donna J. Ryan
Joan Ruth Rycraft
Joanne Z. Saccio
Jane Sage
Youlon D. Savage
Helen Margaret Schmeling
Schramm Foundation
Nancy H. Schulein and Robert Schulein
Jan Sheller
Caroline K. Sherman
David L. Silburn and Elaine Silburn
Pearl Stean Estate
Charla Ann Swift
George H. Turner and R. Turner
Kenneth R. Unruh
Katharine D. Vail (deceased) and Richard Vail
Susan Weinstein
Kathleen M. Wells
Marianne Wilkening
Lorain C. Will
Ann B. Williams
James Herbert Williams
Linda C. Wilson
Martha A. Wolfe and Donald Wolfe
Zelda A. Yoder
Gary and Teresa Yourtz Foundation
Leslee D. Zell and John Zell
Theodore R. Zerwin and Verna Zerwin
Patty A. Zetlin
gssw development
fall 09
17
gssw alumni news
gssw alumni news
Dear Alumni
& Friends:
2008 Alumni Awards
Over the past year, I’ve had
the honor of joining Dean
James Herbert Williams “on
the road,” visiting alumni
in communities throughout
Colorado. It was a pleasure
meeting so many of you and
letting you know firsthand
about the exciting things
happening at our school.
To view photos of these
gatherings, check out the
Alumni Events Photo Gallery
under Alumni Resources on
the GSSW Web site, www.
du.edu/socialwork.
I’m committed to increasing
alumni participation in our
school, and I hope to meet
as many of you as possible
during the coming year.
Meanwhile, I send a heartfelt
“thank you” to those who
submitted Class Notes for
our new GSSW Magazine,
and I encourage others to
do the same.
Sincerely,
Ben Leonard (MSW ‘06)
Alumni Association
President
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gssw alumni news
Ben Leonard
MSW ‘06
GSSW Service Award
This award is presented to
an alumnus/alumna who has
contributed to, or served, the
Graduate School of Social Work
in a noteworthy and significant
fashion, through personal effort
and/or financial contribution.
President of the GSSW Alumni Association,
Ben Leonard is an energetic and committed
GSSW advocate whose enthusiasm has
inspired many of his fellow alumni to
increase their own financial support and
involvement in alumni activities. He has
already made a bequest commitment
to GSSW, earning him a place in the
University’s Pioneer Society.
Soon after earning his MSW, Leonard
joined the Alumni Council Programming
Committee, where he was instrumental
in planning events and encouraging
alumni participation in them.
Leonard is also an adjunct professor, and
he supervised two MSW students at their
internships with the Pennock Center
in Brighton, Colorado, when he was a
staff therapist there. His professional
interests include work with couples
and families, as well as with children,
adolescents and adults.
Read the full Alumni Awards descriptions
in the “Resources for Alumni” section of
our Web site at www.du.edu/socialwork.
Jan Bezuidenhout
MSW ‘85
Community Service
Award
This award is presented to an
alumnus/alumna who has
demonstrated significant and
continuous volunteer
involvement in major community
activities and/or charitable
causes, above and beyond his/her
employed position.
Jan Bezuidenhout has a long history of
professional achievement in hospice care
and care of the terminally ill. She co-founded
Namaste Comfort Care Hospice and Palliative
Care in Denver and has served as its President
and CEO since 1998. Her outstanding business
management has ensured that Namaste never
turns away a patient because of his or her
inability to pay for services.
Bezuidenhout’s volunteer activities include
the National Association of Social Workers,
the National Hospice Organization Council
of Hospice Professionals, and the Better
Business Bureau Foundation Board, where she
has served as Chair of the Senior Outreach
Committee since 2004. She is also a member
of the Colorado Mental Health Association
speakers’ bureau and crisis response team.
In 1991, Bezuidenhout founded the Mvurwi
Care Group for hospice and palliative care in
Zimbabwe, working there for two years as a
volunteer trainer. Her many awards include
a 2006 Ethics in Business Award from the
Colorado Ethics in Business Association, and
the Torch Award from the Denver/Boulder
Better Business Bureau, which recognizes
high ethical standards in the marketplace.
Mary Carrahar
MSW ‘81
Robert L. Hawkins
Social Work
Achievement Award
This award is presented to an
alumnus/alumna who has
demonstrated professional
achievement by being named
executive director, manager,
chairperson of the board, etc.,
of a social work agency or
organization; or by reaching a
level of prominence in education,
practice or politics, etc; or by
receiving national recognition in
the field of social work.
Mary Carrahar has devoted her entire career
to social work. She has been Executive
Director of Project Self-Sufficiency in
Loveland, CO, for the past 20 years. This
non-profit organization serves low-income
single parents in their efforts to build
strong, healthy families, achieve economic
independence, and become free from
community and government assistance.
Under her capable leadership, Project SelfSufficiency has more than doubled the
number of families it serves.
In 2006, Carrahar was appointed by
the District Attorney to the Victim
Compensation Board of the Eighth
Judicial District. Over the past year, she
has also served on the Larimer County
United Way Pathways Past Poverty
Steering Committee. In 2007, Carrahar
was one of twenty Women’s Foundation
“Be Bold” recipients, recognized for their
efforts to promote the well-being of
women and children in Colorado.
‘60s
Daryl Kosloske (MSW ‘68) retired after 40 years in
the behavioral health field. Most recently he was
President and CEO of Behavioral Health Resources,
Inc., a subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North
Carolina. His prior positions include Vice President
and Executive Director of Behavioral Health Services
at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC, and
a national position as Director of Behavioral Health
Services for Aetna Health Plans, based in Hartford, CT. 2009 is a banner
year for Kosloske’s family since he turns 65, his wife turns 50, and they
celebrate 25 years of marriage. They have two daughters, 21 and 17.
Bob Lee (MSW ‘60) worked in a variety of settings (Veterans’ Hospital,
juvenile department, schools and private practice) and was a colleague of
Ed Shaw, a classmate who is now deceased. Married for 51 years to Arlene,
Lee has 2 children and 4 grandchildren. He’s retired, enjoys traveling and
lives in Tigard, OR. Contact him at [email protected].
In May, Mary Lewis (MSW ‘61), PhD, was inducted into the Alabama Social
Work Hall of Fame in Tuscaloosa. Officially retired from teaching at the
University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work in 2004, she continued
teaching 2 courses a year for 4 years and remains “on call” for other projects.
Professor Emerita Lewis says she’s still enjoying living in Houston.
Treva (Pearson) O’Neill (MSW ‘67) worked for the IL Dept. of Children
and Family Services, then taught social work at Southern Illinois
University in Carbondale. She earned a law degree in 1981 and has been
in private practice ever since in labor and family law. She’s on the IL
State Bar Association Family Law Council and now does more mediations
and consultations than trials. She and her husband are avid “Saluki”
fans (the SIU basketball team), love to bike (“mostly ‘rails to trails’ trails
because they are generally nice and flat”) and are “nuts” about their 2
granddaughters, 4 and 6. Their own 2 daughters live in the Chicago area
but took divergent career paths; one is a State Police Investigator, and the
other is in the theater. O’Neill says her social work background “has been
an invaluable asset in dealing with clients and the law.” She recalls her
time at GSSW “with great fondness.”
James W. Strickland (MSW ‘62), PhD, LCSW, reports that he’s “busy
speaking, writing and enjoying life.” He retired from the Carl Vinson
VA Medical Center and completed his Doctorate in Holistic Ministries
at the American Institute of Holistic Theology, Birmingham, AL. He
recently published a book entitled Hospice - A Holistic Journey Through
the Shadow of Death, Outskirts Press, April, 2009. Information online at
www.outskirtspress.com/hospice.
Charles W. Daily, Jr. (MSW ‘71), CISW, MChrSpr, was ordained to the
priesthood in May by The Rt. Reverend Russell E. Jacobus, Bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac, WI. Daily is the Vicar at St. John’s Episcopal
Church in Shawano and continues as chaplain of the Shawano Community
Hospice and the Shawano Medical Center. In June, Daily was installed as the
District 4 Chaplain by the incoming Grand Lodge Worshipful Master Craig
S. Campbell in Madison. Daily is a Master Mason, Trustee and Chaplain of
Masonic Lodge 170, A&FM of Shawano, and serves as Chairperson of the
Healthier Shawano Communities Steering Committee. He resides with his
wife, Pamela, on their ranch, where he enjoys working on his tractor and farm
machinery. Their hobbies include riding their horses and Harley-Davidson
motorcycles. Daily says his motto is “Eat the dessert first...life is short.”
Using skills she learned at her GSSW internship with Boulder’s National
Center for Volunteerism, Kim Dorwin (MSW ‘75) began a statewide
volunteer program for troubled youth for the Virginia Department of
Youth Services, recruiting over 500 volunteers and raising over $1M
annually in cash and in-kind contributions. Services were provided in
recreation, counseling and education in juvenile detention homes and
learning centers. After that, she earned a graduate degree in Information
Technology and managed the installation of the network for the
Department of Social Services, a network with over 6,000 drops. Says
Dorwin, “My experience at DU was life changing, and I still have some
of my best friends from the class of ‘75.”
Donna Finicle (MSW ‘72), LCSW, BCD, was recognized as the 2009
outstanding social worker of CO’s Pikes Peak Region by NASW. She has a
small nonprofit corporation, Welcome Home Warrior, and conducts free
military family weekend retreats at Golden Bell Camp and Retreat Center
in Divide. The retreats serve isolated Front Range families, offering fun
activities and providing information and support for coping with the
effects of war and multiple deployments. Finicle also established an
office in Woodland Park to provide resources, counseling and support
groups for veterans, service members and families. She has a group of
vet volunteers available to talk to veterans and soldiers.
Rexford L. Thompson (MSW ‘64) and wife Joyce are moving to Key
Biscayne, FL, this October.
Daisy Berl (MSW ‘77) continues to enjoy her private practice in Denver,
treating couples and families. In her free time, she plays tennis, hikes
and travels often to visit her 2 children and 6 grandchildren.
Robert C. Warren (PhD ‘78), who has worked for 30 years with sex
offenders and men who are sexually addicted, says he still finds the
work challenging and at times frustrating. He enjoys spending time with
his 9 grandchildren, attending OLLI classes at DU, and playing bridge
and golf with friends. He hopes to retire in 3½ years.
Richard Berman (PhD ‘74) retired as director of Lapeer County (MI)
Community Mental Health Center in 2001. Subsequently, he retired
from his second career as a full-time faculty member at the School
of Social Work and with the Dept. of Marriage and Family Therapy at
the University of Nevada/Las Vegas, only to be recruited as a part-time
instructor at UNLV’s Dept. of Counselor Education, as well as at Regis
University/Las Vegas. Grandparents of 3, Berman and his wife Rosemary
also serve as foster parents for Olive Crest, a non-profit agency contracted
with NV’s County of Clark. Together, they’ve fostered 35 infants. The
Bermans divide their time between NV and MI.
Sara Jones Cook (MSW ‘72) worked for Denver Social Services in child
protection until her son, Eric, was born in 1985. Subsequently, in
addition to homemaking, she cared for her elderly mother until her
death in 2000. Her mother lived with Cook part of the time and later
was in a nearby nursing home, where Cook now does volunteer work.
Her son got married last summer, and her husband, still working as an
accountant, takes lightrail to his job in the Denver Tech Center near their
home. She’d love to hear from other GSSW graduates!
Got News?
Please email your
personal and
professional updates to
[email protected].
Be sure to include the
degree(s) you earned at
GSSW and the year(s)
you graduated. Feel free
to attach a digital photo
if you’d like. Class Notes
may be edited or held
for a future issue due to
space limitations.
Mark W. Fraser (MSW, ‘76), PhD, published a new book, Intervention
Research: Developing Social Programs. Available from Oxford University
Press, the book describes how to design and test program manuals
and protocols. Information online at www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/
subject/SocialWork/?view=usa&ci=9780195325492.
Gilbert R. Quintana (MSW ‘75) returned to his native NM after
graduation, but has been on the DU campus a lot lately. In May, son
Salvador C. Quintana (BS, University of Colorado; MBA, NM Highlands
University) received his JD from the Sturm College of Law. Daughter
Estrella S. Quintana-Rutten received her BS in business administration
in June from the Daniels College of Business. The proud father, who says
he’s also “a proud DU alum,” reports that he’s “still involved with social
justice movements with Native-American and Hispano issues.” E-mail
him at [email protected].
‘70s
Class Notes
‘80s
In 1994, Kenn Briggs (MSW, ‘88) helped found Youth Ventures, a Colorado
Springs child placement agency, where he currently serves as Executive
Director and therapist. Information online at www.YouthVentures.net.
Briggs also enjoys rock climbing and bike riding.
Pam (Nagel) Hurley (MSW ‘85), LCSW, appreciates
the way social work has offered her the opportunity
to work in a wide range of treatment areas – private
practice, as well as a neuropsychology treatment facility,
child and family protective social services, hospice and
home health. She’s also served as an adjunct faculty
for Colorado State University and for GSSW’s Four
Corners MSW program in Durango. For the past 4 years,
she’s been employed by the Eating Disorder Center of Denver as a clinical
supervisor and family therapist for the Partial Hospital Program. “Being a
social worker is never dull!” says Hurley. “I am forever grateful to GSSW for
providing the opportunity for me to become a social worker.”
gssw alumni news
fall 09
19
gssw alumni news
Class Notes
gssw alumni news
Christian M. Itin (MSW ‘87, PhD ‘97) was recently promoted to full
professor and granted tenure at Humboldt State University in CA. He
is currently the Director of the MSW program and remains an active
scholar in adventure therapy. Contact him at [email protected].
Ginni McCann (MSW ‘88) received the Distinguished Alumnus Award for
2008-2009 from the Psychology Department at Metropolitan State College
of Denver. The award recognized her pursuit of advanced education and
her volunteerism around the world with Global Volunteers and Cure
America, and with FEMA, the Red Cross and the Disabled American
Veterans after Hurricane Katrina.
At the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services,
Julie (Hiller) Nagel (MSW ‘83) is assigned to the Older Youth Adoption
Program, working with children 9 and older who’ve been in out-of-home
care for multiple years, have lost connections with family members and
have lost hope of ever having a permanent plan or family. She says she’s
“hoping the Governator won’t take this wonderful opportunity for youth
away, along with many other state social service programs that serve the
needy.” Happily married for 22 years, Nagel reports that her daughter is
graduating from high school with honors and is off to Humboldt State
University to be a special ed teacher. Nagel says hello to all her buddies
from the class of ‘83. Contact her at [email protected].
Morri Namasté (MSW ‘87) works in Collaborative
Divorce assisting families in reaching agreements
that lead to more positive post-divorce relationships.
In his private practice, he assists individuals,
families and organizations through various crises
with a focus on peacemaking, conflict resolution and
personal growth. He’s also a singer-songwriter, plays
guitar, mountain dulcimer and African Karimba, and
is working on his 5th album. The first 4 are available through CDBaby.
com. Namasté’s tune “Don’t Mess With Marv” was recently featured on
Denver’s Channel 4 website detailing the 5th anniversary of a bulldozer
rampage incident in Granby, CO. Info at http://NamasteNdeavors.com.
Nancy Reinisch (MSW ‘80), LCSW, recently
published her breast cancer memoir: Chemosabee:
A Triathlete’s Journey Through the First Year of
Breast Cancer, Novel Road Press, ISBN-13 978-0615-22963. A National Indie Excellence Award
Finalist in May 2009, the book chronicles the ups
and downs of a cancer diagnosis and treatment and
will be inspirational and informational to anyone
coming off the ropes to fight cancer. Find it at www.
chemosabee.com or local bookstores. Reinisch, her
husband and two grown sons live and recreate in Glenwood Springs, CO.
In April, M. Kay Teel (MSW ‘80), PhD, LCSW, was appointed Assistant
Professor in the Dept. of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School
of Medicine. She works with the JFK Partners, University Center for
Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, focusing on early intervention
services for infants and toddlers with special needs and their families.
Her research interests include maternal child health and the development
of culturally appropriate interventions for mothers with infants who are
prenatally exposed to alcohol and other drugs.
‘90s
Mary Baydarian (MSW ‘91), LCSW, is Park County Department of Human
Services Director in CO.
Sue Hoenshell-Brown (MSW ‘98) enjoys her work
as a Bilingual Caseworker III in child protection
for CO’s Weld County Department of Human
Services. With co-workers, she formed a team called
“Caseworkers for a Cure” for Greeley’s Relay for Life.
Pictured is the quilt she made for a raffle benefitting
the American Cancer Society.
Elizabeth Cheroutes (MSW ‘97) has a private practice in Jackson, WY,
specializing in trauma and women’s issues. She’s eagerly awaiting the
start of Kindergarten for 5-year-old Charlie, and 3-year-old Sophie isn’t
far behind. Cheroutes says she’s enjoying all that Jackson Hole has to
offer – hiking, biking and skiing.
JeanneMarie Golden (MSW ‘99), LMSW, finds working as a child and
family therapist and Clinical Liaison for Jewish Family and Children’s
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gssw alumni news
Services-Outpatient very rewarding. She says her DU and undergrad
education prepared her well for the complex issues involved, for providing
case management and counseling services, and for coordinating with
other agencies and government entities. Previously, she enjoyed working
with children and adults in AZ in equine therapy for about 2 years. At
GSSW, she took what she believes was the initial “trial” class in animalassisted therapy. “I believe the use of animals in therapy is truly ‘magical’
in bringing about deeper engagement even of previously resistant or
reticent children or adults,” says Golden, adding that she’d “return to that
type of work in a heartbeat if the opportunity ever came up again.”
Davida B. Hoffman (MSW ‘97), LCSW, has been with Pikes Peak Mental
Health Center in Colorado Springs for 10 years and is Director of the
Child and Family Services and the Military Outpatient Program. They’ve
been seeing over 200 hundred active duty soldiers from Fort Carson. As
they continue to grow their DBT, EMDR and Incredible Years programs in
the Child and Family Center, their emphasis has been on collaborating
with schools and addressing the social and emotional needs of early
childhood populations. Hoffman would love to hear from social work
students living in her area who want to visit the program.
Katsey Long (MSW ‘90) lives in Jackson Hole, WY, where she’s in private
practice seeing adults and children.
Janis Mahan (MSW ‘91) has worked in the field of child abuse/neglect
since her 1988 GSSW internship at the then Arapahoe County Dept. of
Social Services. Having worked in CO, IL and IA, she’s now a Program
Manager for Children’s Home Society in FL, where child welfare is
privatized, and the Agency contracts with the state to provide case
management. Mahan is responsible for 4 child welfare teams, oversees
student interns, and developed, implemented and supervises her
agency’s Family Reunification Services program. She’s also an adjunct
professor at the University of South Florida School of Social Work, where
she taught a Child Maltreatment class this summer. “Mentoring is such
an essential part of what we as social workers do that I try to put that
into practice in everything I do,” she says. She hopes to return to Denver,
where her son still lives, in 3-5 years. She’s single and says she enjoys
gardening and spending time with grandchildren.
‘00s
Nancy Barraclough-Southcott (MSW ‘00) works as a manager for the
UK’s National Health Service. She’s mother to 1-year-old Hope and 18year-old Zach. She enjoys photography and traveling throughout Europe
with her family. She resides in Portishead, UK.
Brenda Brown (MSW ‘00) lives in Sturbridge, MA, with her husband and
a son born in Jan. 2009. She’s a psychotherapist specializing in working
with clients with Aspergers/Autism Spectrum at an outpatient mental
health clinic in Worcester.
Jeb Bennett (MSW ‘02) has been working since graduation on the intensive
adult outpatient team at the Mental Health Center Serving Boulder and
Broomfield Counties, is licensed and is nearing CAC II certification. He
also has a small private practice specializing in addictions treatment that
he’s planning to expand soon, possibly into Denver. He looks forward to
hearing what his old friends are up to.
Danni Bultemeier (MSW ‘06) is married, has a 2-year-old named Charlotte
and works full-time as a fee-for-service outreach clinician south of Boston,
MA. She says she’s “discovered a passion for working with the substance
abuse population, and with trauma.” She hopes to work with refugees and
victims of political persecution and trauma in the future, as well as in social
welfare policy. She says her current clinical experience will provide a good
foundation for future policy work and that GSSW prepared her well for all
of her work. The thing she misses most about Denver is “being able to hop
in the car at a moment’s notice and drive into the mountains, deserts or
canyons . . . . What a fabulous way to ground yourself and revitalize when
work has emotionally drained you, as it so often does.”
Kelly Carroll (MSW ‘07) lives in Sheridan, WY, works for Volunteers of
America WY and MT in their Women’s Substance Abuse Residential
Treatment Facility, and was recently promoted from Therapist to the
Clinical Program Director. The facility serves 33 women and their children
who struggle with both alcohol and drug issues, as well as co-occurring
disorders. Carroll and a co-worker are working with a local agency to
implement an Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy Program for the women.
Noël Regina Cassidy (MSW ‘04) is employed as a licensed clinical social
worker for Denver Health and Hospital Authority and is working on her
Doctorate in Pharmacy through Creighton University.
Jen Eichberg (MSW ‘03) conducts individual and family therapy at The
Children’s Hospital Eating Disorders Program in Denver. She has 2
children, ages 5 and 2, and lives near Cheesman Park.
Sara Garrington (MA, MSW ‘06) and Stephanie Hackett (MA, MSW ‘07)
are employed by the City of Aurora Office of Emergency Management.
Among other duties, both are members of the North Central Region Special
Needs Committee working to better educate vulnerable populations
and caregivers on how to prepare for natural and man-made disasters,
as well as working with emergency managers in their efforts to plan
for these populations. Garrington is the program specialist for Aurora’s
Metropolitan Medical Response System, working with 10 CO counties and
the Dept. of Homeland Security on disasters’ medical aspects. Hackett is
the Emergency Management Specialist, focusing on citizen outreach and
volunteer management among other local and regional efforts.
Laura Hamilton (MSW ‘06) lives and works in Bailey, CO, where she’s
helping to improve services in this rural mountain community southwest
of Denver and working closely with non-profit agencies in the mountains.
She’s employed full-time as a therapist for a local community mental
health agency providing counseling for children, families and adults.
Sarah James (MSW ‘06), LCSW, CAC II, EMDR-II, started a private practice
in 2007 and it’s very busy. See www.collaborativecarecounseling.com.
Hillary Jonas (MSW ‘06) reports that she’s finished her licensing
requirements and submitted her application so she can take the test to
“become independent.” She works for a home health agency in Olympia,
WA, where she lives with her husband and 10-month-old Cody.
Alison Hancock Macklin (MSW ‘04) has been Regional Director of
Community Education for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains since
Nov. 2008. Overseeing the agency’s efforts in the Denver metro area and in
Las Vegas, NV, she works to ensure communities receive comprehensive,
medically factual sex education. She and husband Blake live in the Stapleton
area and welcomed their first child, Ben, on Sept. 2, 2008.
SJ Purcell (MSW ‘01), LCSW, is the clinical manager at Shiloh Home,
where her duties include supervising the other clinicians at the Littleton,
CO, Campus, as well as GSSW interns. She says it’s “a lot of fun working
with up-and-coming social workers.”
LaTra Tracy Rogers (MSW ‘00), PhD, received his PhD in Educational and
Human Resource Studies: Specialization in Social
Work Interdisciplinary Studies from Colorado State
University Graduate School of Education in Fort
Collins. His dissertation was entitled “Selection of
social work as an academic major among male and
female undergraduate baccalaureate students.” This
fall, he entered his 8th year as assistant professor of
social work at Metropolitan State College of Denver
and received the Golden Key International Honor Society Full-Time
Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award for 2009.
Julianne (Mitchell) Sethness (MSW ‘02), LCSW, has been a therapist
with Knippenberg, Patterson & Associates since 2006 and a GSSW adjunct
faculty member since 2005.
Hilary Mills Swiers (MSW ‘06) works in mental health at the VA
Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Greeley, CO. Daughter Claire Julia
was born on Jan. 16, 2009.
Michael Teague (MSW ‘01) has been employed by Denver Area Youth
Services in their PATHS Program for the last 5 years as a Juvenile PreTrial Release Specialist in the 17th Judicial District. He’s also trained as
a Multi-Systemic Family Therapist and serves as a Field Supervisor for
students in the BSW program at Metropolitan State College of Denver.
Sherryl “Sherry” Weston (MSW ‘01) says she’s “working full-time as
a case management supervisor, preparing to self-publish my essays on
multicultural topics, hoping to get one into the Reflections journal and
trying to keep my fingers in all the professional pies I can, while doing
as much karaoke, salsa dancing and following my partner’s band as time
will allow!” She looks forward to returning to NJ this year to see the
progress on the restoration of historic Timbuctoo, an 1820s settlement
of free blacks, Indians and former slaves. Her mother is among the few
people still living on the property.
Jenny Woodard (MSW ‘06) and husband Brian welcomed twin boys,
Hudson and Miles, on February 9, 2009.
In Memoriam
Merton (Mert) Frederick, MSW ‘55, died on October 7, 2008, at his home in Sarasota, FL. He
was 80. Frederick was among the first social workers to have a private practice that was not
under the direction of a psychiatrist. In 1962, with another social worker and 2 psychologists,
Frederick founded the Lakewood Consulting Group. Later, he was a chief advocate for
establishing licensing for CO social workers.
Following his GSSW graduation, Frederick worked at Denver’s Veterans Administration
outpatient psychiatric clinic where he supervised MSW students’ field internships. He later
became Assistant Director at the Jefferson County Mental Health Center and helped establish
clinics in Sterling and Fort Morgan, CO. Frederick later worked for the Denver Mental Health
Center, where he retired in 1993.
Frederick is survived by his wife of 45 years, Mira Frederick, a retired social worker living in
Sarasota, and by their children Sydney Osborn and Mathew Frederick of San Francisco, CA.
Ellen Moose, MSW ‘56, died on November 19, 2008, in Arlington, VA. She was 97. Born Ellen
Amanda Lane Jones, Moose was among the first African American women to earn a college
degree, graduating from St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, NC, and attending Atlanta
University’s school of social work before earning her degree at GSSW.
In the late 1930s, Moose worked for the 125th Street YWCA in New York City. During World
War II, she provided employment training for young African American women through the
National Youth Administration in Wilberforce, OH. In the late 1940s, she worked for the YWCA
in Lynchburg, VA, and later for the YWCA in Colorado Springs. In Denver, she worked at the
Phyllis Wheatley YWCA, the city’s first such organization open to African Americans. After
earning her MSW, Moose worked as a psychiatric social worker at Denver General Hospital and
later at the Eastside Clinic. She retired in 1978.
Moose is survived by her son, George Moose, of Arlington; her daughter, Adonica Louise Walker
of Silver Spring, MD; her brother, Daniel Jones of Hollis, Long Island, NY; 4 grandchildren and 3
great-grandchildren.
Diantha Pearmain, MSW ‘64, of Cheyenne, WY, died on March 8, 2009, at age 95. Before her
retirement, she was a social worker with the WY Department of Health and Social Services. A past
president of Golden K Kiwanis, she received the George F. Hixson Fellow Award and was also an
honorary member of Boy Scouts. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lynn J. Pearmain.
Frances Elizabeth (Liz) Shoup, MSW, a GSSW doctoral student, died on December 29, 2008,
at Pikes Peak Hospice in Colorado Springs, CO. She was 44. Shoup attended Eastern Oregon
University and earned her MSW in 1992 from the University of Connecticut School of Social
Work. As a social worker in MA and CO, she focused on child advocacy, specializing in child
protection, foster care, adoption and youth leaving care.
In 1999, Shoup moved to Colorado Springs becoming a Program Manager for Court Appointed
Special Advocates, then later a Managing Social Worker in the Office of Guardian ad Litem and
MSW Field Coordinator for Colorado State University. She was an active volunteer and board
member for many community organizations.
In October 2008, Shoup was honored by GSSW faculty and doctoral students with a Certificate
of Completion of Coursework towards her doctoral degree. Shoup was preceded in death by
her mother, father and brother. She is survived by her husband, Tom Welch, her sister, brotherin-law and 3 nieces. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Casey International Student
Scholarship Fund, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, 2148 S. High St.,
Denver, CO 80208-7100 or to Safe Passage Children’s Advocacy Center, 423 S. Cascade Ave.,
Colorado Spring, CO 80903.
gssw alumni news
fall 09
21
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Denver, CO
Permit No. 321
Graduate School
of Social Work
Craig Hall
2148 South High Street
Denver, CO 80208-7100
The Last Word
When a student hurtles
across campus on two
wheels this fall, he might have GSSW graduates to
thank for getting him to class on time. Following the
Graduate Student Association’s recommendation,
GSSW’s Class of 2009 donated its $1,000 Class Gift to
the new DU Bike Share program that will place two
automated bike-lending stations on campus. Their gift
pays the cost of one specialized bike on which GSSW’s
logo will be prominently displayed.
The DU program, begun this year by the All
Undergraduate Student Association (AUSA)
Sustainability Committee, is a preliminary test of
Denver’s planned citywide Bike Share program aimed
at reducing CO2 emissions and providing a healthy
alternative to driving.
In fact, studies have shown that cycling not only makes
the air cleaner and reduces motor vehicle crashes, but
also lowers rates of heart disease, high blood pressure,
obesity and diabetes. . . some pleasant thoughts to
ponder when you’ve got a class on the other side of
campus and just five minutes to get there.
Photo above: GSA officers and 2009 MSW graduates Elizabeth
Immel, Diane Ulmer and Jennifer Viens guided the 2009 Class
Gift donation process.