BRANDEIS UNIVERSIT Y SPRING 2011
ALUMNI NEWS AND VIEWS A MAGAZINE FOR THE ALUMNI OF THE HELLER SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL POLICY AND MANAGEMENT
PUTTING PEOPLE TO WORK
ALUMNI NEWS AND VIEWS A MAGAZINE FOR THE ALUMNI OF THE HELLER SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL POLICY AND MANAGEMENT AT BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY
Contents PAGE 2
LETTER FROM THE DEAN PAGES 3–4
INSIDE YOUR SCHOOL
PAGES 5-20
PUTTING PEOPLE TO WORK
Local, Sustainable Workforce Development
Social Enterprise
National Policy, Reform and Innovation
Global Impact
PAGE 21
SOCIAL POLICY ACROSS THE LIFESPAN
A symposium in tribute to the careers of James J.
Callahan Jr., Ph.D.’68, and Lorraine Vogel Klerman
PAGES 22–26
ALUMNI MILESTONES A JFYNetWorks student learning soil and water sampling skills in the laboratory.
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY MS 035 PO Box 549110 Waltham, MA 02454-9110
LISA M. LYNCH Dean and Maurice B. Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy SAMUEL O. THIER, MD Chair, Heller Board of Overseers PAULA PARIS, M.M.H.S.’79 President, Heller Alumni Association Board
ON THE COVER: YouthBuild Trainees with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis at a press conference announcing additional dollars to support workforce development.
LESLIE GODOFF ’71 Director, Development and Alumni Relations
CLAUDIA J. JACOBS ’70 Director of Communications Initiatives
JENNIFER RAYMOND Assistant Director for Annual Giving and Alumni Relations
COURTNEY LOMBARDO Senior Program Administrator, Development and Alumni Relations
TRACEY PALMER Feature Writer
LETTER FROM THE DEAN DEAR HELLER ALUMNI, So much has happened over the course of this academic year it is hard to believe that commencement is so close at hand. On January 1, Frederick M. Lawrence became Brandeis University’s newest president. I hope you are able to meet him as he travels around the United States or on campus the next time you visit Heller. Given his academic and professional commitment to civil liberties and social justice, I am delighted that he has accepted an affiliated faculty appointment at Heller. As a new cohort of graduates joins the fabulous Heller alumni base, we decided to focus this issue of News and Views on the enormous social challenges associated with the current economic crisis. In the face of weak labor markets and persistent poverty around the world, this magazine highlights some of the work of Heller alumni dedicated to putting people into decent work with a living wage. Heller graduates, new and older, continue to be agents of change, addressing employment issues that impact us all, especially the most vulnerable sectors of the population.
I want to give a special acknowledgement and thanks to Claudia Jacobs, who edited this magazine for many years. Now wearing two hats as director of capacity building for the Sillerman Center and director of communication initiatives for the Heller School, Claudia passes the “editor baton” to Leslie Godoff ’71 in the Development and Alumni Affairs department. Claudia’s knowledge of the Heller alumni base, her creativity and her understanding of cuttingedge work in social policy have made this magazine much more than a place to catch up on whereabouts of classmates. Finally, as I conclude my third year as dean, I never cease to be amazed, energized and impressed by the commitment and achievements of our alumni. The fabric of the Heller community is truly the interweaving of the mission-driven lives of each of you together with our students, faculty and staff. Thank you to each of you for the many ways you support our future alumni.
Best wishes, Heller students, faculty members and research staff members also are focused on identifying and evaluating effective programs to address the effects of unemployment. For some sense of what is going on at Heller I encourage you to read about the activities of the Center for Youth and Communities, Heller’s Career Services and student grant-makers.
Lisa M. Lynch Dean and Maurice B. Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy
INSIDE YOUR SCHOOL: WHAT’S HAPPENING AT HELLER NEW FACULTY APPOINTMENT Heather Bullock recently joined the Heller faculty as a professor and an affiliate of the Institute on Assets and Social Policy. A social psychologist, she researches how members of different socioeconomic groups perceive economic inequality, mobility and social class. Much of her study focuses on identifying the attitudes and beliefs that predict support for antipoverty and economic policies. Bullock also studies low-income women’s experiences with the welfare system. She is particularly interested in documenting institutional and interpersonal discrimination in diverse contexts, such as housing, health care and social services.
PROFESSOR CHILINGERIAN RECOGNIZED FOR EXTRAORDINARY SERVICE
Jon Chilingerian (right) accepting the Myron D. Fottler Award.
Jon Chilingerian, associate professor of human services management, has received the Myron D. Fottler Exceptional Service Award from the health care management division (HCMD) of the Academy of Management. This award recognizes Chilingerian’s extraordinary service to the HCMD and to the profession, along with his service as a meaningful mentor to colleagues and students at Brandeis and also others in HCMD.
SYMPOSIUM HONORS LIFE AND WORK OF CALLAHAN AND KLERMAN The Heller School hosted a memorial conference to celebrate the life and work of two beloved and esteemed Heller School professors, James J. Callahan Jr., Ph.D.’68, and Lorraine Vogel Klerman. “Social Policy Across the Life Span” began with a dinner on Thursday, April 14, that featured a keynote address by Philip Johnston, former secretary of health and human services for Massachusetts. A plenary session and workshops were held the following day. (See page 21 for photos of the event and visit heller.brandeis.edu/memcon for additional conference details.)
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ALUMNI MUFFINS!
At the beginning of each semester, students (and faculty!) eagerly anticipate the morning coffee and muffin break sponsored by the Heller Alumni Association. A mouthwatering variety of muffins greets students as they arrive for classes and during break. Between bites and gulps, students offer expressions of appreciation to the alumni for sweetening the day.
MASSACHUSETTS SERVICE ALLIANCE HONORS HELLER
Dean Lisa M. Lynch (second from right) accepting an award from MSA.
The Massachusetts Service Alliance (MSA) honored the Heller School at the MSA’s 20th anniversary Celebration of Service Breakfast on March 24, 2011. Heller was selected in recognition of the school’s exceptional leadership and its collaboration with the AmeriCorps Alumni in offering the Heller School/AmeriCorps Alums National Service Scholarship Program. The program brings together idealistic and committed leaders with a high level of maturity, insight and experience working in diverse settings at the Heller School and is a model MSA hopes other institutions of higher education will emulate. Victoria Reggie Kennedy delivered the keynote address, and Dean Lisa Lynch accepted the award for the school.
HELLER CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PEACE CORPS
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As the Peace Corps turns 50, Heller is proud to announce its selection as one of the two schools in Massachusetts accepted into the Peace Corps Fellows/USA program. This is a highly competitive program of educational scholarship and support for Peace Corps returnees entering graduate school. Heller’s entering class this year includes 13 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCV), demonstrating that Heller is the school of choice for those who choose service. On March 7, events on campus to celebrate the Peace Corps’ 50th anniversary included a panel discussion with RPCVs from Heller and the larger Brandeis community.
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1. Heller alumnus and returned Peace Corps volunteer Adam M. Rosenberg, M.A.’11 (SID and COEX), is pictured in straw hat in the Kingdom of Lesotho, 2006. 2. Panel members (left to right) Adam Rosenberg; Tom Mackie, M.P.H., M.A.’08; Judith Hudson, Brandeis director of prehealth advising; Murray Frank, Ph.D.’74; and Tom Doherty, Brandeis professor of American studies.
SEGAL CITIZEN LEADERSHIP LECTURE On March 23 more than 400 guests came together to listen to Melody Barnes, President Obama’s domestic policy adviser and director of the Domestic Policy Council, speak about citizen leadership and civic engagement for the Eli J. Segal Citizen Leadership Lecture. The event was cosponsored by Brandeis University and the Eli J. Segal Citizen Leadership Program, a foundation created in honor of the late Eli J. Segal. Segal, a 1964 Brandeis graduate, served as a top aide to Bill Clinton during his presidential campaign and in Clinton’s administration, where he dedicated his life to programs like AmeriCorps and the Welfare to Work Partnership.
The Segal Program was created to inspire new generations of leaders to commit to a lifetime of contributing to the common good. It aims to elevate service and citizen leadership as central strategies critical to the health and well-being of our democracy. The program is housed at the Center for Youth and Communities at the Heller School. In addition to fellows who come from different AmeriCorps Programs, each year between five and nine students from Brandeis’ undergraduate programs and Heller’s Master of Public Policy candidates also become Segal fellows.
Phyllis Segal ’66 addressing Brandeis President Fred Lawrence and speaker Melody Barnes.
From left, Provost Marty Krauss, Ph.D.’81, Dean Lisa M. Lynch, Phyllis Segal ’66, Melody Barnes and President Fred Lawrence at the reception for the Eli J. Segal Citizen Leadership Lecture.
Eli’s wife, Phyllis Segal ’66, is a member of Heller’s Board of Overseers. To learn more about the program, please visit segal.brandeis.edu.
SPRING 2011 | HELLER ALUMNI | 4
PUTTING PEOPLE TO WORK
A JFYNetWorks graduate working at an environmental engineering firm.
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The U.S. recession that began in 2007 and was declared officially over in 2009 has been the deepest on record in terms of its impact on the labor market. Numerous records were broken, but unfortu-
nately they were not records one ever wants to break. For example, by January 2011 the official unemployment rate hovered at or above 9 percent for 21 months — the longest period of elevated unemployment since 1948, when such data were first recorded. While unemployment fell from 9.8 to 9 percent between November 2010 and January 2011, part of that decrease came from workers who left the workforce, not from workers finding new jobs. A wider measure of labor market displacement — which takes into account the number of part-time workers who would rather be working full-time and the number of people who are available for work but who have become so discouraged by their prospects that they have stopped looking — was still at 16.1 percent in January, more than 18 months after the recession supposedly ended. With weak job creation and more than four unemployed workers for every job vacancy, it is not surprising that during this recession we also set a new record for the highest fraction of workers unemployed for more than six weeks. Recent studies indicate that the economic consequences of long-term unemployment are devastating. On average, displaced workers experience a drop in wages from 15 to 20 percent even 10 years after losing a job. Unemployment is also associated with a 50 to 100 percent increase in mortality the year following job loss, and a 10 to 15 percent increase in mortality for the next 20 years. Researchers have found an increase in the number of workers on disability after a lengthy spell of unemployment, as they become increasingly discouraged
and their health worsens. There is even an intergenerational impact on children in terms of poorer schooling outcomes. In spite of some areas of hope in recent U.S. employment reports, we need about 120,000 new jobs every month just to keep pace with the growth of the working-age population. Therefore in order to make a significant dent in the pool of unemployed, we need to add more than 300,000 jobs every single month for the next four years. Additionally, once employers start hiring more robustly, we need to ensure that those out of work for long periods get the jobsearch assistance and training they need to return to the labor market. HOW HELLER SCHOOL ALUMNI ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE
The numbers are daunting, and the scale and scope of what must be done are almost overwhelming. As our nation addresses the significant displacement that occurred during the recession, we will also need to tackle the longer-term challenges of global labor markets, technological change and an aging labor force. The good news is that many bright Heller alumni are dedicated to putting people to work, especially those hit hardest by the lagging economy — the young, the poor, the disabled and the disenfranchised. Solutions are coming in many forms, from local workforce development initiatives to innovative social enterprise to federal hiring policy reform. It will take all of these approaches and more to transform labor markets for the better in the United States and around the world. Read on to learn how Heller graduates are engaged in advancing these solutions. — Lisa M. Lynch Dean and Maurice B. Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy
SPRING 2011 | HELLER ALUMNI | 6
LOCAL, SUSTAINABLE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
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As the country digs its way out of the recession and the unprecedented unemployment left in its wake, local, sustainable job development targeted at specific populations is proving successful, at least given the experience of two Heller alumnae. Workforce development, as a national policy issue, is lacking focus and momentum, says Paula Paris, M.M.H.S.’79, deputy director of JFYNetWorks (formerly Jobs for Youth) in Boston. Paris was most likely encouraged by President Obama’s State of the Union address this past January that called for renewed focus on innovation and education to secure the country’s economic future. However, she says, it’s just the beginning. PAULA PARIS, M.M.H.S.’79
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“The scale of what needs to be done is huge. There has been a lot of finger pointing about whose responsibility it is, but it’s not realistic to expect either government or the private sector alone to solve the problem.”
According to Paris, this is where JFY excels, bringing together education, government and industry to form a network that provides competency-based training and, more importantly, jobs in emerging fields. One such initiative is JFY’s Green Jobs program. Fueled by state and federal funding, the program offers intensive skill training courses that lead to employment in environmental cleanup and energy efficiency. In Massachusetts, green jobs are on the rise. However, the state’s education system hasn’t kept pace in providing people with the skills needed for this work, especially in math and science. JFY’s students are typically unemployed older youth and
PUTTING PEOPLE TO WORK
BY TRACEY PALMER
1. JFY trainees constructing an asbestos decontamination unit. 2. Weatherization bootcamp. 3. A JFY student learning soil and water sampling skills in the laboratory. 4. JFY students get trained in the proper use of personal protective gear. 5. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick learns how to conduct a test for home air leakage. 3
low-skilled adults who have been displaced from the state’s declining industries. It is a population particularly vulnerable in the current economic climate. Jobs are becoming increasingly technical, notes Paris, which makes it nearly impossible for an unskilled person to apply. “We’re experiencing a sea change,” says Paris, who is also an adjunct faculty member at Southern New Hampshire University’s School of Community Economic Development and current president of the Heller School’s alumni board. “We’re at a point in society when a lot of jobs and methods are becoming obsolete, and there aren’t a lot of jobs now that don’t require some education beyond high school.”
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Over the past 15 years, JFY’s environmental technology training program has placed more than 350 environmental technicians in well-paid, mid-skilled jobs. And despite the national jobs crisis, the trend continues. Environmental technology is a vast and growing field that spans air quality, water and wastewater, emergency response, energy conservation, safety and health, natural resources and waste management. It includes many technical jobs that require specific certifications but not necessarily a four-year college degree. “Job placement remains steady,” says Paris, who is confident that there will be enough openings for the spring graduates as well. After all, toxins and hazardous materials
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need to be removed, remediated and responsibly disposed of regardless of the state of the economy, says Paris. “The industries we work with can’t be exported, and the work must be done on site,” adds Paris. In response to local employer demand and the passage of some key state legislation, JFY added an energy efficiency techniciantraining program in 2009 that prepares candidates for jobs as energy auditors, air sealers and weatherization technicians.
SPRING 2011 | HELLER ALUMNI | 8
LOCAL, SUSTAINABLE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
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“If you want to end the cycle of poverty, this is how you do it.”
1. YouthBuild Trainees with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis at a press conference announcing additional dollars to support workforce development. 2. YouthBuild trainee.
—Cara Fuller
CARA FULLER, M.B.A.’05
In Washington, D.C., at Sasha Bruce Youthwork (SBY), Cara Fuller, M.B.A.’05, is using a workforce development model similar to JFYNetWorks’ to put people to work. As program director of the regional YouthBuild program, Fuller works with clients who are high school dropouts with low-level reading and math skills, and many have additional challenges. Some have criminal records, are homeless or are living in shelters. Many aren’t getting services of any kind and have never had a job before. Fuller says the most difficult part of serving this young population is finding them. “We need to re-engage these kids. They’ve checked out or never formally entered the workforce. And they don’t get unemployment benefits,” she notes. This is where Fuller and YouthBuild step in. Funded in part by a 2009 $10 million Department of Labor grant to parent organization YouthBuild USA, Fuller’s program in D.C. trains youth in carpentry, HVAC and electrical systems, while also offering GED courses and a much-needed social support system. As long as students do their part, YouthBuild will pay them
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a stipend while they train. The formula seems to be working. Nearly all graduates of the program either continue in higher education or obtain employment. “When folks are not employed, crime rates go up, the cost of food stamps goes up, drug use goes up, the number of small children without support goes up,” says Fuller. “If you want to end the cycle of poverty, this is how you do it.” Prior to joining SBY, Fuller worked for the Baltimore City Health Department. She credits her Heller MBA, which she earned on a full scholarship, with launching her career. “It has definitely paid off,” Fuller says. “I love the young people we serve.” Fuller’s favorite part of work is when students finally get that first job and first paycheck and then come back to visit her. “It’s the first paycheck ever for some,” Fuller says. “And what they want is no different from what we all want — to be successful, help their families and make a difference in the world.”
PUTTING PEOPLE TO WORK
BY TRACEY PALMER
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On the Other Side of the Table: Heller Students Focus Their Grant-Making on Youth Employment BY BETHANY BRYANT, M.B.A.’11 Heller’s “Practicing Philanthropy” course provided my classmates and me with the wonderful opportunity to make philanthropic grants to the local community. A donor provided the funds, but the choice of grant recipients was ours. My working group quickly determined that one of Boston’s most pressing needs was youth employment opportunities. Among all who have felt the recession’s effects, some of the hardest hit are young adults without previous work experi-
ence, particularly those without a high school diploma or GED. Our research in spring 2010 identified YouthBuild—Just a Start in Cambridge, Mass., as a potential recipient of our grant. Comprehensive evaluations of all U.S. YouthBuild programs showed that 78 percent of participants were minorities, 41 percent were adjudicated, 21 percent were parents, and 24 percent were on public assistance when they began a YouthBuild program. After completing the program, 69 percent held jobs or were furthering their education. I was privileged to have met one of YouthBuild’s alumni on a hiking trip a few years ago. Before joining YouthBuild he had dropped out of high school and could not find a job. A year later he had his GED, was certified in construction work and had a union job with a construction
company. He was earning the largest wage of his life, supporting his daughter and planing to mentor other struggling young people. The recession has cast difficulties on us all. Fortunately for our communities and hardto-employ young people, YouthBuild is a beacon of light, providing an opportunity for a successful future for those willing to commit. In our course we did extensive research into the needs of communities and the quality of organizations, and we debated the most effective ways to create social change. YouthBuild fit the bill perfectly. As graduate students we study these issues, but the grantmaking experience provided us an opportunity to make a real and tangible impact for organizations like YouthBuild doing incredible work.
SPRING 2011 | HELLER ALUMNI | 10
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
“The life-changing capacity of this work really inspires me.” SARA BONIZIO, M.B.A.’10
As assistant vice president for quality assurance at Work Inc. in Boston, Sara Bonizio, M.B.A.’10, is all about staying true to the organization’s core mission — to provide job training and placement, counseling and other services for people with disabilities. But these days she’s also focused on developing new business opportunities for the 45-year-old nonprofit. “If Work Inc. conformed to the stereotype of the stuck-in-the-mud nonprofit, we wouldn’t be here,” says Bonizio, a member of the board of the Massachusetts chapter of the Social Enterprise Alliance. Work Inc. has long partnered with federal offices to get people with disabilities jobs as custodians, landscapers, mailroom clerks, couriers and fleet management techs. The organization is New England’s leader in contracts from the federal AbilityOne program, which helps thousands of people who are blind or have other severe disabilities find employment. It also provides complete facilities management for the
—Sara Bonizio John F. Kennedy Library using a nationally recognized training and apprenticeship model. About half of Work Inc.’s budget has always come from government contracts — a precarious place to be these days, says Bonizio, which is why the organization has turned to social enterprise. “With drastic budget cuts in the past three years, we need to make our own business self-sustaining,” says Bonizio, who worked as a fundraising consultant before joining the organization last year. About six years ago, Work Inc. took over a for-profit subsidiary called Facilities Management and Maintenance (FM&M), a private custodial and “green” cleaning company open to individuals who graduate from the AbilityOne program. Any profits the company makes are reinvested in Work Inc. In 2009, FM&M became profitable. “In this tough economy, that’s saying something,” says Bonizio, who is active in new business development for FM&M and
the Work Inc. commercial business lines. “With no margins, there’s no mission.” So far, that motto is holding up. In 2009 Work Inc. purchased and moved into a new facility double the size of its old one. With about 70 percent of people with disabilities unemployed nationally, the organization hopes to broaden its reach. “Most people believe that individuals with disabilities are unable to work,” says Bonizio. “We’re fighting an antiquated mindset. It’s a huge challenge to prove that wrong.” However, awareness is on the rise. While still a student at the Heller School, Bonizio was encouraged by the creation of the new Lurie Institute for Disability Policy. She hopes the research conducted there will help educate and engage the public. “It’s an exciting time,” says Bonizio. “The life-changing capacity of this work really inspires me.” 1. Fitting solar panels at Work Inc. 2. Work Inc. staffer on the job at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
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PUTTING PEOPLE TO WORK
BY TRACEY PALMER
1 2
SPRING 2011 | HELLER ALUMNI | 12
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
“Our business model is self-sustaining and aligned with our mission.” —Sara Wall
SARA WALL, M.P.P.’10
California has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, but this hasn’t deterred Sara Wall, M.P.P.’10, and Project Access from putting people to work. As program director for the partial fee-for-service organization, Wall works with affordable housing developers to provide residents with on-site services, including job-readiness, computer classes, Internet access and after-school programs. Since 78 percent of Project Access’ $3 million operating budget comes from the developers — who get a tax credit for providing resource centers on site — the organization has managed to thrive despite
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California’s economic troubles. In fact, Project Access is expanding. Currently it runs 37 centers and serves more than 10,000 people. Wall says it opened three centers last year and is launching at least four more this year.
as-a-second-language classes, computer classes and one-on-one counseling, clients build skills and increase their earnings potential. Thanks to Project Access, they get all this in one convenient location, within walking distance of their homes.
“We take no government funding (there are too many strings attached), and we fundraise less than your average nonprofit,” says Wall. “Our business model is selfsustaining and aligned with our mission.”
“The worst is yet to come in California,” says Wall, but she’s not pessimistic. She loves the work she does and seeing how it is affecting people’s lives in a positive way.
In 2010, Project Access’ focus shifted toward helping people find and maintain employment, notes Wall. Through English-
“I feel good about working to create opportunities for the disadvantaged in our society.”
PUTTING PEOPLE TO WORK
BY TRACEY PALMER
Project Access clients receiving job preparation services.
SPRING 2011 | HELLER ALUMNI | 14
NATIONAL POLICY, REFORM AND INNOVATION
A fundamental change has taken place in the job market. Many jobs are gone forever. Companies have figured out how to do more with fewer workers, and sophisticated technology has locked out those who lack the required skills. And what’s more, the way we think about our working life has changed. These and many other factors are making this a watershed moment in employment policy and practice. Leaders like Gregg Weltz, Rob Seidner and Jennifer Swanberg are taking action.
“It’s clear that there is no one solution. It’s a global problem.” —Gregg Weltz
Unemployment rate, 16-to-24-year olds, July 1950−2010, not seasonally adjusted 25%
Series high for July
20%
Percent
15%
19.1
14.7 11.7
11.2
10.9
9.6
10%
9.6
5%
0%
GREGG WELTZ, M.M.H.S.’97
60
50
ly
Ju
19
ly
Ju
19
19
90
80
70
ly
Ju
ly
Ju
19
ly
Ju
19
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
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00
ly
Ju
20
10
ly
Ju
20
PUTTING PEOPLE TO WORK
Preparing Young People for College, Work and Life — an Update on Heller’s Center for Youth and Communities The Center for Youth and Communities (CYC) designs and evaluates effective solutions to complex problems by working in partnership with philanthropy, government, nonprofits and socially responsible businesses, knowing it will take all sectors and new systems to prepare young people for college, work and life. Two examples of large-scale policy and program initiatives from the center’s portfolio include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Postsecondary
The current jobless situation is particularly harmful to young people. Gregg Weltz, M.M.H.S.’97, director of the Division of Youth Services at the Department of Labor, says it’s the worst since the Great Depression. His work has become more important than ever. Studies show that lack of work experience early in a person’s life threatens future earnings potential. Also, if young people don’t pick up the cultures and norms of the workplace in a summer job or entry-level job, they might never learn them, which
BY TRACEY PALMER
Success Initiative (PSI) and the Skillman Foundation’s Good Neighborhoods/Good Schools initiative. In December 2009, the center began conducting a formative evaluation of the Gates PSI, an ambitious effort to build and support local partnerships between community-based youth development organizations and community colleges. The initiative aims to increase postsecondary access and academic success for low-income students at 15 locations across the country. The center is helping identify those program and policy characteristics that promote college success and that are transferable to other settings and communities. It is also examining the role of the partnership approach and the value it adds. Alan Melchior, deputy director and senior fellow at the CYC, and
could lead to lifelong challenges in the labor market. But today, those first jobs are increasingly difficult to find and qualify for. “Today’s first job is not like my father’s first job or my grandfather’s first job,” says Weltz. “A high school diploma or less is not enough. You’re not going to get a decent paying factory job for life; we’re never going to go there again.” Weltz is doing his part to give young people a chance. He administers more than $1 billion in federal grants and programs
Susan P. Curnan, director of the CYC, are the principal investigators. Since 2006, the CYC has been the evaluation and learning partner of the Detroit-based Good Neighborhoods/ Good Schools initiative supported by the Skillman Foundation. The 10-year, $500-million effort focuses on transforming six Detroit neighborhoods and schools into environments where all children are safe, healthy, well educated and prepared for adulthood. This work is the largest placebased community change initiative in the country, and it is guided by the 2016 Task Force — a results-oriented leadership team co-chaired by the foundation’s vice president and the director of the CYC. Della M. Hughes, a senior fellow at CYC, and Susan P. Curnan are the principal investigators.
for youth that reach every state and territory in the country. A self-described “kid at heart,” Weltz has always been driven to help young people. He was a camp counselor, a swim instructor, an after-school sports coach and a teacher in Africa. It was a Presidential Management Internship that introduced him to the federal government, where he has served for almost 13 years. What he learned at the Heller School helps him every day. “It’s clear that there is no one solution,” says Weltz. “It’s a global problem.”
SPRING 2011 | HELLER ALUMNI | 16
NATIONAL POLICY, REFORM AND INNOVATION
Last year, Rob Seidner, M.B.A.’03, was scheduled to speak at a government jobs event. About 500 people were expected to attend. As a seasoned federal employee, Seidner had worked at a lot of these career fairs, but his experience did not prepare him for what he saw that day. When he arrived, he noticed that the line to get in the door wrapped around the building — 3,000 people had shown up. That’s when he knew things had changed. ROB SEIDNER, M.B.A.’03
Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director Jeffrey Zients, Department of Defense Under Secretary Clifford Stanley, Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary W. Scott Gould (background) during Berry’s signing of the Hiring Reform Guidance Memo.
The U.S. government is the largest employer in the country, with 2.1 million people on the payroll. However, getting those employees hired was, for the most part, overly complicated and inefficient. It was taking up to a year to make hires, and some job announcements were 30 pages long, says Seidner, who also got his start as a presidential management intern working in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. “The hiring process was broken,” he says. But last year Seidner was given a mandate to work on fixing it by the president himself, when Barack Obama signed an executive order to address the problem. Accepting a promotion at the U.S. Department of Transportation in December 2010, Seidner is now implementing the changes. Today, the government is requiring managers to get more involved in recruiting and hiring and eliminating many obstacles for candidates, like long essays on first-round applications. Some changes have been in effect for fewer than six months, but already Seidner has seen dramatic improvements. And it isn’t a moment too soon. The average age of federal employees is 47, and
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they’ve been retiring at high rates. At one time, Seidner says, 100 percent of senior executive service members were eligible to retire at several agencies. “No one quite knows what’s going to happen,” he says. Making matters worse, many applicants are not meeting government hiring standards. “The get-your-foot-in-the-door jobs are mostly gone in government,” says Seidner. “Even the entry level is not the entry level anymore.” And, it seems, a college degree is no longer enough. “Even for college students, the game has changed,” says Seidner. “Employers are not looking at potential anymore. By the time you finish college, you already should have accomplished something.” Seidner has counseled thousands of jobseeking college students over the course of his career. He tells them that, in interviews and résumés, they should focus on what they’ve created and to quantify their results. “The bottom line is truncated. Employees need to perform right away,” he says. “Work ethic is no longer enough. Employers are less likely today to take a risk in general.” That being said, Seidner is still optimistic about career opportunities available with the government, especially for those graduating from Heller programs.
PUTTING PEOPLE TO WORK
JENNIFER SWANBERG, PH.D.’97
“To hear President Obama challenge the employer community to adopt the types of workplace policies that I have been studying since I was a Heller student was truly inspiring.” —Jennifer Swanberg
BY TRACEY PALMER
Jennifer Swanberg, Ph.D.’97, is a national expert on workplace innovation. Not only are employees less well prepared for the dwindling jobs available, she says, but also their needs and expectations have changed.
“Incorporating workplace flexibility into daily business operations requires some planning. Employers cannot expect to use a one-size-fits-all approach,” says Swanberg. But one thing is certain. “Practices like workplace flexibility are here to stay.”
First, everyone needs more flexibility. More families have two wage earners, and both parents need more family-friendly workplaces. There are more single parents, many earning the minimum wage and some holding down two jobs to make enough to live on. Families in general are more isolated and less cohesive. It’s not like the old days when you could rely on your family and friends to help out in a pinch.
Last spring, Swanberg, who also serves as the executive director of the Institute for Workplace Innovation at the University of Kentucky, was among a handful of researchers invited by President and First Lady Obama to a White House forum on the topic.
To make matters worse, Swanberg notes, we are now a 24-hour economy. Gone are the 9-to-5 workdays, uninterrupted vacations and downtime due to seasonal and cyclical workflow. Older workers, who once would have retired, are now continuing to work and want more flexible situations as they age. Employers are trying to figure out how to retain that valuable human capital. Younger employees don’t plan to be tied to one organization for life, and they want the flexibility to learn and grow. And they’re more committed to balance; they want to work, but they want a life too. “In order to move forward, we need to recognize the diversity in the workforce,” says Swanberg, an associate professor in the University of Kentucky College of Social Work, with joint appointments in the Colleges of Public Health, Medicine and Business. While the U.S. labor market and workforce have changed, organizations and businesses are still structured around the old model. A shift is taking place, but slowly.
“It was an amazing day for a policy person,” says Swanberg. “To hear President Obama challenge the employer community to adopt the types of workplace policies that I have been studying since I was a Heller student was truly inspiring.” The United States experienced its highest productivity level ever in January 2010, but at what cost? Swanberg wonders. Workloads are heavier and employees are feeling the stress. “We are really charting new territory by rethinking the way work is done,” she says. “Innovative and creative employers are changing the way they think about work as a business imperative.”
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GLOBAL IMPACT
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“Social enterprises are at the forefront of a global entrepreneurial trend.” —Neal Bermas
NEAL BERMAS, PH.D.’81
Eighteen-year-old Phuoc sweats and looks pale. She probably shouldn’t work as hard as she does. She has a bad heart. But even when she’s offered a break, Phuoc shakes her head and keeps going. She feels so fortunate. Phuoc is one of the many young people whose lives have been changed by Neal Bermas and his innovative social enterprise, Streets International, which provides sustainable hospitality and culinary training programs for homeless and disadvantaged young adults in Southeast Asia.
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It was over a decade ago that Neal Bermas, Ph.D.’81, first traveled to Vietnam and Southeast Asia. The beauty and culture enthralled him, but what made a lasting impression was the poverty, especially the street kids. They inspired him to create Streets International. “They come from the most dire backgrounds,” says Bermas of the trainees in his program. “Most have been out of school since the eighth or ninth grade. They have left school to survive, by themselves or with some semblance of family. Many poor
families can afford the small school fees for only one child in their large families, so the other children must drop out.” In Hanoi alone, an estimated 19,000 young people live on the streets. In the Philippines, that number is a staggering 1.5 million. With little hope of finishing school or finding a way to make a living, many rural kids are forced to move to the city to fend for themselves. “It’s clear that in many developing economies tourism is one of the first sectors of
PUTTING PEOPLE TO WORK
BY TRACEY PALMER
1. English class in the Streets program. 2. Streets trainees learning culinary skills. 3. Students in the Streets program.
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the economy to grow and, sometimes, lead the development,” says Bermas. “One of the challenges to this development is the need for educated and trained human resources.” Hotels and restaurants were a natural fit for Bermas. Through his consulting group, Bermas Associates, he had managed projects for the Walt Disney Company, Sheraton and Meridien Hotels, the Oneida Nation of New York State and Union Square Hospitality Group in New York City. Combined with his impressive hospitality experience, Bermas knew how to organize people and manage large projects. Before starting his own firm, Bermas was national director of planning and organization services for Ernst and Young and a director with PricewaterhouseCoopers (formerly Coopers & Lybrand). He served as an adviser to the White House Conference on Productivity and taught at New York University, the Institute of Culinary Education and the University of Southern California. When Bermas was a doctoral student at Heller, it offered one of the few programs that integrated micro and
macro factors in looking at social problems and policy, he says. “The rigors of good thought, good questions, good and careful analysis and writing … to the extent I have even a bit of those,” says Bermas, “I owe all to my years at Heller.” At Streets International, the intensive 18-month curriculum includes professional training in cooking and hospitality, English language and life skills. Trainees also get housing, food, basic financial support and medical care. In return, they study six days a week and spend time working at the Streets Restaurant Café, which opened in 2009 in Hoi An, Vietnam, a UNESCO world heritage site. Proceeds from the café go back into the organization, ultimately making it a self-sustaining operation. “Social enterprises are at the forefront of a global entrepreneurial trend,” he says, “but it’s important to distinguish genuine social enterprises — whose return on capital and other resource investment are measured
largely by improvement of or impact on some socio-political-economic challenge — from other contemporary enterprises or business that correctly maintain good employment or environmental policies, but whose return is still primarily measured on the dollar.” Streets’ first class of 16 trainees graduated this past December; they each got two or three job offers from the best hotels and restaurants in the area. A second group of 19 and a third group of 17 are already in training. Bermas is ready to expand Streets’ reach, looking to launch programs in Laos and the Philippines. Thanks to Bermas and Streets, Phuoc’s heart is better. She got the medical help she needed. And now she has skills that give her a chance at a career … and a future. And if she has children, with hope, they’ll never have to live on the street.
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From left, panelists Robert Hudson and Larry Atkins, Ph.D.’85, with moderator Stan Wallack.
SOCIAL POLICY ACROSS THE LIFESPAN Heller alumni, faculty members, colleagues and friends gathered at Brandeis on April 14–15 for the Social Policy Across the Lifespan memorial symposium, which paid tribute to the careers of James J. Callahan Jr., Ph.D.’68, and Lorraine Vogel Klerman. The agenda included keynote addresses by Phil Johnston (former secretary of human
services, Commonwealth of Massachusetts) and Jack Shonkoff, M.D. It also included a plenary session with Stuart Altman, the Sol C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy, and six panels of distinguished leaders in the fields of aging, child and family welfare, and mental health. Those in attendance had the opportunity
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to share memories of Klerman and Callahan, attesting to the impact each had as an educator, change agent, policymaker, and significant role model and mentor. The symposium agenda is available at heller.brandeis.edu/memcon.
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1. Dean Lisa Lynch, Jacob Klerman, Taletha Derrington (recipient of the Lorraine V. Klerman Grant) and Elizabeth Klerman. 2. Panelists Christine Bishop and Ann Hartstein, M.M.H.S.’83. 3. Dean Lisa Lynch introducing plenary speaker Stuart Altman. 4. Stuart Altman. 5. Amy Seeherman, Ph.D.’78, Nina Silverstein, Ph.D.’80, and Maura Jane Griffin, Ph.D.’86. Photos by Holly Blomster/Abraxis Photography.
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MILESTONES
New Jobs/Degrees/Directions Dr. Aziz Abdallah, M.S.’09, is the chief of party for the Medical Injection Safety Program and USAID Health Care Improvement Project in Namibia. (aziza@urc-sa.com) Stephane Acel-Green, M.B.A.’02, has been appointed the Boston regional director of the New Israel Fund. Before joining the New Israel Fund, Acel-Green worked with Jewish day schools nationally on financial management and fundraising matters through the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE). At PEJE, he managed several grant programs, advised funders on impactful giving and worked with Combined Jewish Philanthropies on a major day-school affordability initiative. Prior to PEJE, Acel-Green was executive director of Ameinu: Liberal Values, Progressive Israel, where he advocated for the Middle East peace process in conjunction with Israeli, Palestinian and American officials. He is a member of Temple Beth Zion in Brookline. Mass., and the Massachusetts Sierra Club. He lives in Watertown, Mass., with his wife, son and daughter. (stephane@nif.org) Panther A. Alier, M.A.’09 (SID), was married in August 2010. (pantheralier@gmail.com)
Laura Alpert ’96, M.M.H.S.’98, was named vice president of grants development for Northeast Parent & Child Society, one of Upstate New York’s largest child welfare agencies. In her new role, Alpert continues to serve as agency spokesperson while increasing grant submissions to regional and national private funders. Her efforts provide critical support for the region’s only comprehensive career center for at-risk young people ages 18–24. She previously served as the agency’s vice president of communications. She lives in Albany, N.Y., with her husband, Chris Morano. (lbalpert@yahoo.com) Joan B. Beasley, Ph.D.’00, received the 2010 Frank J. Menolascino Award for Excellence at the National Association of Dual Diagnosis Annual Conference in Seattle in November 2010. This national award is given annually in memory of Menolascino to promote excellence in the field of dual diagnosis. Beasley has worked to promote the development of effective services for people with disabilities and their families for more than 30 years. Along with the late Robert Sovner, she co-founded the Start/ Sovner Center program in Danvers, Mass., which she directed from 1989 until 2000. She currently serves as the director of the Center for Start Services, a program at the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire. (joan.beasley@unh.edu) Yifan (Emma) Deng, M.S.’10, is working as a consultant for the health care department at Frost and Sullivan in Shanghai, China. (emmadeng@brandeis.edu) Mimi Garcia, M.P.P.’10, M.A.’10 (SID), recently began working for the Texas State Employees Association as the outreach coordinator handling press, research and coalition building. She married Ken Cameron on Nov. 7, 2010. (mimi.garcia@gmail.com)
Stephen H. Gorin, Ph.D.’83, has been appointed to a second four-year term as editor in chief of Health & Social Work, one of four National Association of Social Workers journals. The journal recently published a special issue on health inequal ities. (sgorin@plymouth.edu) Karla Rubio Jovel, M.A.’10 (SID), is currently back home in El Salvador working with Save the Children on a project aimed at preventing human trafficking. (kvrubio@ gmail.com) James Kelly, Ph.D.’75, has been named president of Menlo College, an Atherton, Calif., college that specializes in business. He began serving Jan. 1, 2011. (jkelly@menlo.edu) Amy L. Klotz, M.M.’00, M.A.’01, is pleased to announce the birth of her daughter, Shayna Rachel Terry, on Jan. 12, 2011. This is the second child for Klotz, who also has a daughter named Leah. (amyklotz@earthlink.net) David Kokiashvili, M.S.’07, was appointed as programs manager in Kyrgyzstan for Project Hope’s tuberculosis prevention and treatment initiative. The program is funded by Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. (davidkhs@msn.com) Punji Leagnavar, M.A.’09 (SID), is working as a consultant for the U.N. Environment Program’s division of technology, industry and economics (energy branch) in Paris. As a member of the policy unit, she is involved in issues related to sustainable bioenergy production and consumption. She is responsible for a variety of activities within the team, including supporting ongoing work related to the development of policy guidance for decision makers, creation of innovative financing mechanisms for modern bioenergy and rural development in Africa, and development of certification and standards for sustainable resource use. (punjanit.leagnavar@unep.org)
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MILESTONES
Heather R. (Harris) Miller, M.B.A.’07, married Charles O. Miller in an intimate ceremony on Oct. 17, 2010, in Holliston, Mass. Miller continues her work at the Edinburg Center as an assistant director of residential services, providing oversight for homes for people with disabilities. (heatherrosemarie@hotmail.com) Rhonda Neuhaus, M.A.’99 (SID), has started a new position as a policy analyst for government affairs at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund. Based in Washington, D.C., she will be doing advocacy work in the area of civil rights for persons with disabilities. (rhondaneuhaus@hotmail.com)
Dr. Esosa Gladys Odigie-Okon, M.S.’06, welcomed a beautiful baby girl, Enobong Emily Okon, in October. Odigie-Okon is now a board-certified internist currently undertaking a fellowship in cardiac imaging and research at Saint Francis Hospital–The Heart Center in Roslyn, N.Y. She will begin a cardiovascular medicine fellowship at Cooper University Hospital in New Jersey in July 2011. (esosa.odigieokon@chsli.org)
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Hope Okoronkwo, M.A.’09 (SID), is now in Lusaka, Zambia, working with a social enterprise called Mobile Transactions that designs payment systems. He is enjoying the opportunity to add value to a young company with a vision of a cashless Zambia and Africa. As bulk payments manager, he is in charge of managing the existing client relationships and bringing on new clients for the payments system that allows organizations to make salary payments and microloan disbursements to employees and beneficiaries. (hope@mtzl.net) Brenna O’Rourke, M.A.’07 (SID), is a grants and partnership manager with the International Rescue Committee in Burundi. (brennaorourke@googlemail.com) Kenneth S. Peterson, Ph.D.’09, is a family nurse practitioner and primary care provider in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the Plumley Village Health Services clinic (part of the UMass Memorial Health care system), where he delivers primary health care to socially disadvantaged patients of all ages. His role also includes clinical teaching for medical students and residents at UMass Medical School. In addition, Peterson is assistant professor at the graduate school of nursing, UMass Worcester, teaching in a master’s degree program that prepares non-nurses as family nurse practitioners. He also teaches in the doctor of nursing practice program and will be teaching a health policy course for health care practitioners in the spring semester. (kenp@brandeis.edu) Heather Poehler, M.B.A.’05, is working as the director of philanthropic giving for Child Guidance Resource Centers (CGRC) in Havertown, Pa. She heads all major and individual giving and all foundation relationships. CGRC is a private, nonprofit, community behavioral health care organization dedicated to providing quality care and educational services that best meet the needs of children, youth and their families. (heather.poehler@gmail.com)
Lotay Rinchen, M.A.’08 (SID), recently became a father. His wife, Thinley, and son, Drilyon, are both well. He is currently in New York City. (info@bridgetobhutan.com) Catie Ryan, M.A.’08 (SID), is in New York City, loving her job as an environmental sustainability consultant at Terrapin Bright Green. Her office is involved in many projects, such as biomimetic innovation for improved energy performance (of batteries, for example), biophilic design for health and well-being in the built environment, and materials research for superior indoor air quality for homes. She also coordinates the sustainability efforts for a 100-story tower in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; LEED Platinum certification is the goal. She is pursuing a master’s certificate in sustainable building design and construction at Boston Architectural College. (catieryan@gmail.com) Sadie Silcott, M.B.A.’09, works at the federal agency Health Resources and Services Administration as a public health analyst, focusing on two divisions: the Division of Physician Shortage and the Division of Diversity and Interdisciplinary Education. Her primary focus will be geared toward interdisciplinary health professions’ issues and programs. She will help devise ways to increase the diversity of the health professional workforce with an emphasis on primary health care physicians, and develop strategies for improving health services and career opportunities for diverse and disadvantaged populations. (ssilcott@brandeis.edu) Shannon Taylor, M.A.’10 (SID), has accepted a position with USAID as an education and health development adviser in Afghanistan. She left for Kandahar in midDecember. (shannonjtaylor@gmail.com) Sara Alexis Wall, M.P.P.’10, has a new job: program director for Project Access. Responsibilities in this position include leading the programs for 32 family resource centers in nine counties in California and supervising 35 direct service staff members.
The focus is education programming for youth and adults, but it also includes community building and financial literacy. She is considering integrating asset building into the services as well. In addition, her position entails advocacy to create more low-income housing in California. (saraawall@gmail.com) Sarah Winawer-Wetzel, M.B.A.’09, is living in Porter Square in Somerville, Mass. When she is not working as a program manager at Public Partnerships (a subsidiary of Public Consulting Group, which employs several Heller alums), she enjoys cooking and spending time with her girlfriend and their two cats. (winwetz@gmail.com) Joseph Wronka, Ph.D.’92, a professor of social work at Springfield College, has been named a candidate for the Fulbright Specialists roster in his major discipline of social work with specialties in poverty, social justice, existential phenomenology, psychology and human rights. As a roster candidate, Wronka is eligible to be matched with requests from overseas academic programs that require an expert in his field for short-term programming during the next five years. Roster candidates are reviewed by peers in the same discipline and by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. He was also a visiting fellow at the University of Delhi, India, in January in the sociology, social work and political science departments, where he spoke on Indian social policy in comparison with international human rights standards and feminism from the perspective of the United Nation’s convention on the elimination of discrimination against women. (jwronka@spfldcol.edu)
Publications Almas Dossa, Ph.D.’07, with John Capitman (a former Heller professor) recently published the article “Community-Based Disability Prevention Programs for Elders: Predictors for Program Completion” in the Journal of Gerontological Social Work. She also published an article with Capitman in
Research in Gerontological Nursing, titled “Lay Health Mentors in Community-Based Disability Prevention Programs: Provider Perspectives.” (adossa@rcn.com) Laura Lorenz, Ph.D.’08, had an exciting year last year. Her book, “Brain Injury Survivors: Narratives of Rehabilitation and Healing,” was published, as were two peerreviewed journal articles. She progressed professionally from the Heller Executive Education Program to the Institute for Behavioral Health and was happy to remain a member of the Heller team. And, perhaps best of all, her two 3-year-old grandsons visited for a week in August from Hawaii. (llorenz@brandeis.edu) John McGuire, M.M.H.S.’79, wrote a new book, “Transforming Your Leadership Culture,” in which he provides ideas, tools and tactics for pursuing significant ideas toward sustainable organizational change. He is currently a senior leader at the Center for Creative Leadership in Colorado Springs, where he specializes in organizational leadership and building future-ready capability and capacity across the leadership culture to drive business results. Other recent publications include articles in Harvard Business Review, CEO magazine, The Washington Post and Leadership Quarterly. (mcguirej@ccl.org) Joy Morgan, Ph.D.’07, published “Psychosocial Development and Compliance in Vocational Rehabilitation: A Pilot Study” in the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. Regina Namatovu, M.A.’10 (SID), and Professor Cristina Espinosa published “Engendering the Global Financial and Economic Crisis: Unveiling the Links Between Formal and Informal Sectors in the Mining Regions in Zambia and Their Gender Implications” on the United Nations Development Program’s Teamworks website in December. This report is a reviewed version of Namatovu’s final M.A. paper. (espinosa@ brandeis.edu; reginanm@yahoo.com)
Jenna Sirkin, M.A.’09, co-authored the book “Breaking the Poverty Cycle: The Human Basis for Sustainable Development” (Oxford University Press). (jsirkin@brandeis.edu)
Awards/Honors/Boards/Grants Ruth A. Brandwein, Ph.D.’78, received the Lifetime Award for Social Justice from Suffolk Community Council. She also recently co-authored the lead article in the journal Affilia on the history of feminism in social work. After 30 years, she retired from Stony Brook University School of Social Welfare as dean and professor emeritus and moved to Sarasota, Fla. She is now teaching an adult education course at Pelican Cove University on the Progressive Era, as well as kayaking, learning tennis and getting involved in Florida politics. (rbrand24@aol.com) Miriam R. Hodesh, M.B.A.’07, is the Outreach and Recruitment Committee chair for the Heller Alumni Board. She received the Heller 2010 Alumni Service Award and sent the following message: “Thank you, Heller, for the 2010 Alumni Service Award! I feel honored to be active with the Heller Alumni Board as the Outreach and Recruitment Committee chair. Should you have any interest in helping Heller connect with potential students, partners, opportunities and so on, please connect with me. I would be thrilled to help get you involved.” (miriam@hodesh.com, 912-704-8446, @miriamhodesh on Twitter) M.C. “Terry” Hokenstad, Ph.D.’69, the Ralph S. and Dorothy P. Schmitt Professor at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, was named a distinguished university professor. Hokenstad was among just six professors university-wide who received the title of distinguished university professor. It is a permanent, honorific title that acknowledges the outstanding contributions of full-time, tenured professors with a distinguished academic record of extraordinary research, SPRING 2011 | HELLER ALUMNI | 24
MILESTONES
scholarship, teaching and service. The designation represents the highest honor the university bestows on a member of its professoriate, and it is granted to no more than 3 percent of the tenured faculty at the university. (mch2@case.edu) Ashley C. Rondini, Ph.D.’10, has been named the 2010–11 ASA Congressional Fellow by the American Sociological Association. During her tenure in Washington, D.C., Rondini will apply her past experiences and research to her fellowship with the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor. Rondini’s dissertation, titled “Negotiating Identity: Elite Institutions, Low-Income First-Generation College Students and Their Parents,” was developed from her work with diverse groups of students who are typically underrepresented at elite educational institutions. While Rondini’s efforts on Capitol Hill will encompass a broad number of education issues, she especially hopes to contribute to policy initiatives aimed at increasing access to higher education by underrepresented populations. Elspeth M. Slayter, Ph.D.’06, an assistant professor at Salem State University’s School of Social Work, teaches disability policy/ practice and research methods courses. She has received two grants from the National Institutes of Mental Health/University of Rochester Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide to receive advanced community-based participatory research training. Slayter has published four articles related to substance-abuse treatment utilization among people with intellectual disabilities in 2010 in the journals Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Journal of Disability Policy Studies, and Health and Social Work. She also sits on the Human Rights Committee of the Northeast Arc and the Task Force on Maximizing Social Worker Safety based at the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. (eslayter@salemstate.edu)
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Jeanette C. Takamura, Ph.D.’85, received the Order of the Rising Sun from the government of Japan for her outstanding contributions to the promotion of social welfare policies and programs in the United States and to the status of Japanese Americans. The Order of the Rising Sun is one of Japan’s most prestigious honors. (jctakamura@aol.com)
Faculty/Staff Notes Sarita Bhalotra, Ph.D.’99, was selected to deliver the Brandeis women’s and gender studies program’s fall 2010 Distinguished Faculty Lecture, “Mending Broken Hearts: Elder Women, Caring and Cardiac Illness.” Cathy Burack, senior fellow at the Center for Youth and Communities, is a co-editor of “Handbook of Engaged Scholarship: Contemporary Landscapes, Future Directions, Volumes 1 & 2,” published by Michigan State University Press in 2010.
(Earthscan). Kamal received the “Honoree of the Year 2010” award from the Fenway Community Development Corporation in Boston in November and delivered the keynote speech on “The Renewable Revolution” at the Fenway Civic Association Annual Meeting in December. Lorraine Klerman was honored posthumously with the Title V Lifetime Achievement Award, bestowed by the Health Resources and Service Administration/ Maternal and Child Health Bureau at the 75th anniversary celebration of Title V in October. On October 24, 2010, IASP Research Director Tatjana Meschede was interviewed by the Caring Generation of KHOW-AM radio in Denver on the economic security risks of older people.
Professor Peter Conrad (joint with sociology) is a co-author of “Handbook of Medical Sociology, Sixth Edition,” published by Vanderbilt University Press in 2010.
Susan Parish was appointed to the advisory board of the National Autism Resource and Information Center. She also guest edited a special issue of the Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities on poverty and intellectual disabilities with Eric Emerson in December.
Constance Horgan, professor, director of the Institute for Behavioral Health and associate dean for research, received the 2010 Robert E. Anderson Service Award for Distinguished Contribution in the Field of Addiction Research, Training and Evaluation from the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors.
The fall 2010 issue of Brandeis Magazine featured Heller experts Susan Parish and Marji Erickson Warfield, Ph.D.’91, in the cover article on autism. The magazine also showcased Thomas Shapiro in its coverage of the widening racial wealth gap and included Susan Curnan’s article on “The View from Val-Kill.”
Marion Howard coordinated the planning and implementation of the project that was awarded the top prize at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan. She now serves as adviser on the project.
Susan Parish’s letter to the editor was published December 23, 2010, in The Boston Globe regarding inaccuracies in the paper’s reporting about families’ need for assistance and support when they are caring for children with disabilities.
Adjunct lecturer Sajed Kamal published the book “The Renewable Revolution: How We Can Fight Climate Change, Prevent Energy Wars, Revitalize the Economy and Transition to a Sustainable Future” in October
Donald Shepard was named to the Dengue v2V Steering Committee for promoting prompt introduction of dengue vaccines into countries with the highest disease burden, organized by Interlace Global, London.
At a November conference at Kyung Hee University in South Korea on “New Horizons in the Asian Economy,” Professor Laurence Simon delivered the opening address, titled “Beyond Generosity: Ethical Dimensions of Development Assistance.”
In Memoriam Leonard M. Bloksberg, Ph.D.’66, died in February in Florida. Born in 1929 in New York City, he grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. After graduating from Brooklyn Technical High School and City College of New York, he received a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University and a doctorate from the Heller School at Brandeis. He served on the faculty of the School of Social Work at Boston University from 1962 until retiring in 2000. Bloksberg was predeceased by his daughter, Robin Bloksberg. He leaves behind his wife, Nancy R. Stone; daughters Fran Bloksberg and Susan Shillue; sister Renee Adler; five grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews and friends.
Ready to Advance Your Career? Heller Career Services Can Help Heller’s Office of Career Services prepares students and alumni to face the shifting demands of an evolving global marketplace. The heart of our work is one-on-one career counseling that focuses on meeting individualized professional and career development goals. Innovative opportunities such as our Executive in Residence program, mock interviews with human resource professionals, and an expanded schedule of employer briefings help enhance your development. Reflecting the changing times, our programming has
evolved and now offers training in social media, entrepreneurship and personal branding and marketing. As always, we utilize our strong external relationships with employers who reach out to us for high-quality job candidates and interns. No matter what the state of employment across the globe, Heller’s Office of Career Services will always be committed to ensuring that students and alumni are prepared to advance their careers and make the broadest impact possible in the pursuit of social justice. For more information, see heller. brandeis.edu/careers or email driebman@brandeis.edu.
Mary Helen Terrell, Ph.D.’90, passed away in November. She was formerly associated with the Brandeis Women’s Studies Research Center and is survived by her husband, John.
Stephane Acel-Green, M.B.A.’02 (right), at a recent meeting of the Heller Alumni Association Board, speaking with Murray Frank, Ph.D.’74.
Cecilia Casale, Ph.D.’79 (left), and Miriam Hodesh, M.B.A.’07, came to the board meeting from Washington, D.C., and Savannah, Ga., respectively.
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Brandeis University MS 035 PO Box 549110 Waltham, MA 02454-9110 Lisa M. Lynch Dean and Maurice B. Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy Samuel O. Thier, MD Chair, Heller Board of Overseers Paula Paris, M.M.H.S.’79 President, Heller Alumni Association Board Leslie Godoff ’71 Director, Development and Alumni Relations Jennifer Raymond Assistant Director for Annual Giving and Alumni Relations Tracey Palmer Feature Writer Claudia J. Jacobs ’70 Director of Communications Initiatives Courtney Lombardo Senior Program Administrator, Development and Alumni Relations
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