currents, winter 2015 by aldeia

currents Boston University School of Social Work

Winter 2015

After Ebola

Christina Bethke (â&#x20AC;&#x2122;06) on fostering long-term resilience in Liberia.

Also in this issue: Civil Rights Act Turns 50 Humanitarian Aid Workers Land on the Cape

05 F EATU R ES

D E PA RTM E N TS 01 From the Dean

05 Journey Towards Justice In honor of the Civil Rights Act’s 50th anniversary, Professor Geoff Wilkinson (’85) and Sally Johnson (’78) take a 10-day journey through the Deep South.

04 Retirements

24 What Comes After Ebola?

10 Student Experience

In a Q&A, Last Mile Health’s Christina Bethke (’06) looks beyond the recent global health crisis.

10 O N TH E COV E R A health worker in Monrovia, Liberia, on October 17, 2014. Photo by Marcus DiPaola.

02 Department News

08 In Conference

12 Faculty Highlights 18 Snapshots 20 Alumni Updates 24 Honor Roll 28 Alumni Association Message Please recycle this publication.

FROM THE DEAN

Boston University School of Social Work Winter 2015 Dean Gail Steketee, PhD Editor Rebecca Grossfield Marketing & Communications Specialist Contributing Writers

Winter 2015

Rebecca Deluca (COM’15), Leslie Friday Design Lilly Pereira Photography George “Leo” Blandford (‘15) Sara Blandford (‘13) Boston University Photography Rebecca Deluca (COM’15) Rebecca Grossfield Last Mile Health Geoff Wilkinson (‘85) Currents is produced bi-annually for the alumni and friends of Boston University School of Social Work. For more information, visit us at

www.bu.edu/ssw Comments or suggestions? Let us know! Mail correspondence to: Editor, Currents Marketing & Communications Boston University School of Social Work 264 Bay State Road Boston, MA 02215 or email rebdg@bu.edu.

FO L LOW US O N : Facebook facebook.com/bussw Twitter twitter.com/bussw Instagram instagram.com/bussw Pinterest pinterest.com/bussw Boston University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution.

Happy new year from all of us at 264 Bay State Road! I invite you to take a moment to reflect and enjoy our winter issue of Currents. As we announced in our summer 2014 issue, BUSSW is embarking on the search for a director of our new Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health—thanks to a generous $12.5 million gift. We are happy to report that this search is well underway and we look forward to fostering our commitment to the interdisciplinary study of public health and social work. To this end, I hope you will enjoy learning about Christina Bethke’s (’06) incredible work on the ground in Liberia over the last few years. In this issue you’ll also embark on a journey across the Deep South with one of our newest professors, Geoff Wilkinson (’85). Wilkinson and his wife, Sally Johnson (’78), recently commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act with a 10-day trip to many key locations in the civil rights movement. In light of recent decisions not to indict the officers who killed Eric Garner and Michael Brown, the story is an important reminder of the power of activism, hope, and our ongoing fight for racial justice. Throughout BUSSW, our faculty and students remain committed to important research across a range of disciplines—from aging to addiction. I invite you to browse our faculty highlights (where you’ll also meet our newest faculty members) and get to know our students better. On page 10, learn about the student experience at the Cape Cod campus from Sara (’13) and George “Leo” Blandford (’15)—two former humanitarian aid workers turned social workers. This is just a bit of what you’ll find in this issue. As always, connect with us anytime of year—visit us online at www.bu.edu/ssw or follow us on social media. Best wishes for a wonderful new year. Gail Steketee, PhD Dean

Boston University School of Social Work

D E PA R T M E N T N E W S

In the Field

Our Field Education internships offer students hands-on practice with individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations. Students are placed in a wide array of settings, including health and mental health, schools, mentoring programs, residential treatment programs for both children and adults, community action programs, housing, government agencies at the local and state level, and advocacy organizations. With over 450 students currently in field placements in over 37 states, we bet you have encountered a BUSSW student in the Boston-area (and beyond!) this fall.

205 71 Off-Campus (Chelmsford, Cape Cod, and Fall River) students in the field currently represent 5 states at 67 agencies under the guidance of 71 field instructors and 14 faculty advisors.

one

Boston University School of Social Work

Charles River Campus students in the field currently represent 4 states at 163 agencies under the guidance of 189 field instructors and 46 faculty advisors.

174

Online Program students in the field currently represent 37 states at 172 agencies under the guidance of 172 field instructors and 26 faculty advisors.

450 BUSSW students currently in field placements in over 37 states.

The Center for Aging & Disability Education & Research On October 23, 2014, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Special Commission on Elder Protective Services released their Report of Recommendations to the General Court to the press. Participating in the press event was Kathy Kuhn, MSW, LICSW (Director of Workforce Development, CADER), the Governor’s appointed expert in geriatric mental health. Governor Deval Patrick established the Elder Protective Services Commission, which is charged with studying and making recommendations to the Legislature on strategies to examine best practices for the prevention and detection of elder abuse. Kuhn has been serving on the planning committee for “A Summit on Older Adults: Behavioral Health Issues for the Coming Wave,” which was held in the Boston University Trustees Ballroom on October 30, 2014. This invitation only gathering of leaders, policy makers, and other stakeholders allowed for a dialogue on the challenges presented to health care, aging, and behavioral health systems. Kuhn and Dr. Scott Miyake Geron (Director, CADER) attended.

MSW@BU

This fall we celebrated the third anniversary of our Online MSW Program. Our first two cohorts graduated in May and September of 2014. We now have over 300 students (from 45 states including Alaska and Hawaii) and 39 alumni. We look forward to continuing to expand the BUSSW community. Special congratulations to our Online Program professors and community members who celebrated great honors this fall, including: KATE AUDETTE (Lecturer and Section Instructor for OLP) Elected to Second Vice President, NASW, MA PHILLIPE COPELAND (Clinical Assistant Professor) Elected to Board of Directors, NASW, MA

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ERIC FRIEDMAN (’95) Promoted to Director of Distance Education at Boston University MARK GIANINO (Clinical Associate Professor) Elected to Board of Directors, NASW, MA

JENNIFER GRAHEK (Online Program Administrator) Awarded the Outstanding Contributions to the School of Social Work award by the Alumni Association. (see page 18) DONNA MCLAUGHLIN (Clinical Associate Professor) Invited to join the Wiley Faculty Fellows Program

DEBORAH SHEEHAN (Director of Professional Education Programs & OLP Application Review) Elected to Board of Directors, NASW, MA KRISTINA WHITON-O’BRIEN (OLP Assistant Director Advising & Field Education) Elected as First Vice President, NASW, MA

D E PA R T M E N T N E W S

Q U OTA B L E

“We still have a lot to learn. There’s still a lot of injustice to fight.” PROFESSOR GEOFF WILKINSON (’85) see page 5 to learn more about his journey to several important civil rights movement sites

Gerontological Social Work

clinical and macro MSW students are participating in the 2014–15 Lowy-GEM Program in Aging, with 13 enrolled in the standard Lowy-GEM Program featuring primary field placements in one agency working with or on behalf of older adults and an enrichment experience at a second agency serving older adults in different capacities. Students participate in a monthly seminar with expert speakers on a range of topics related to gerontological social work; this fall our first online student participated remotely. Earn a Louis Lowy After completing the standard program last year, 12 Certificate in students are now participating in the Lowy-GEM Advanced Gerontological Leadership Program, which includes a field placement in a Social Work. Find out more on health or aging setting and an independent project related to www.bu.edu/ssw gerontological social work. This project is presented before a panel of senior faculty for the Frances G. Frank Prize that is awarded at graduation. Participating students receive stipends from the Louis Lowy Fund in Gerontology and Social Welfare and have the option to earn the Louis Lowy Certificate in Gerontological social Work.

Off-Campus Program This fall, we welcomed 15 new students at both the Fall River and Chelmsford Campuses. At the Cape Cod Campus 20 new students entered the program, one of our largest cohorts to date. We have 125 students enrolled in the OffCampus Program. Our students hail from central, northeastern and southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island and are in field internships in various settings, including health and mental health agencies, schools, residential programs, hospice, substance abuse facilities, hospitals, community and multi-service centers. We recently welcomed Terese Romano, as the new Director for the BU North Program. Romano served as

the Clinical Director for Volunteers of America—Casa Isla in Quincy, MA. Lynn Kegley, our previous Director of the Chelmsford Campus, will continue working at the Chelmsford campus as a faculty advisor. Deborah Shell joined the Cape Cod Campus as a faculty advisor. Shell comes to us from Provincetown and has many years of experience in the field as a Clinical Social Worker for MSPCC and Gosnold. November marks the beginning of the recruitment process for the Off-Campus 2015–2016 academic year. Visit us online at www.bu.edu/ ssw/academics/msw/part-time for the latest.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN We traveled coast-to-coast this year bringing the Boston University School of Social Work to you at 13 informal informational and networking events open to prospective graduate social work students, current online students, and alumni. Did you catch us on the road? September 23: Boulder, CO September 27: New York, NY October 5: Los Angeles, CA October 24: Tampa, FL October 29: Northampton, MA October 30: Portland, ME November 1: Washington, DC November 2: Chicago, IL November 7: Portland, OR November 9: Seattle, WA December 4: New Haven, CT December 12: Austin, TX December 14: San Francisco, CA For our latest Admissions events, visit www.bu.edu/ssw/admissions.

IN TH E COMMU N ITY

Chelmsford Campus students and 7 Fall River Campus students are participating in the “In the Community Mental Health Training for Social Workers” training grant—in its third and final year. The Health Resources and Services Administration funded grant focuses on increasing the number of non-traditional social work graduates trained in empirically supported trauma, co-morbid mental health, substance abuse disorder identification and treatment methods. The first of three trainings seminars was held in October. Session topics included “Child and Adolescent Trauma: Assessment & Treatment Strategies” and “Mental Health Issues Related to HIV Prevention & Treatment.” Visit sites.bu.edu/sswhrsaseminar/ seminars for more information.

Boston University School of Social Work

RETIREMENTS

Fond Farewells R U T H FR E E D M AN earned her MSW and PhD from the Florence Heller School for Advanced Studies in Social Welfare at Brandeis University. She joined the Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) in 1985. As a professor, Freedman focused her efforts on intellectual and developmental disabilities, health and mental health, community support, family caregiving and ethics—issues about which she is profoundly passionate. Freedman has been active and engaged around these issues within the Boston area, serving on the Advisory Board for the Stars of David Club (a program for Jewish young adults with special needs) in Newton, MA for over 20 years and with the ARC of Massachusetts since 1988. In 2009, Freedman was appointed to the Massachusetts Governor’s Commission on Intellectual Disabilities. In addition to numerous publications, presentations, book chapters, and book reviews around issues of disability, Freedman was the co-author of three books, including Progress Tests for the Developmentally Disabled and Coming Back: The Community Experiences of Deinstitutionalized Mentally Retarded People. Freedman was an Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Gerontological Social Work from 1998-2010. She has been the Consulting Editor for Mental Retardation for 20 years. Since 2003, Freedman served as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at BUSSW. She served on the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Commission on Education Policy, as well as CSWE’s Accreditation Environmental Trends and E-Learning Subcommittees from 2011-2013. Freedman continued to serve the BUSSW community, participating—over the years—on the Macro Practice Committee, the Program Assessment Committee, the Academic Support Team, and the Executive Committee. She received the Outstanding Contributions to the School of Social Work Award in 2011.

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LEE STA P LES joined the Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW) in 1977. He earned an MSW from the University of California and earned his PhD in sociology and social work from Boston University. Staples educated and inspired generations of BUSSW students as social activists and community builders. In addition to serving as a clinical professor, Staples has directed the BRIDGE (Building Refugee & Immigrant Degrees for Graduate Education) program at BUSSW—a program designed to open up access to graduate social work education for refugees and immigrants—since 2000. For over 15 years, Staples worked across southeastern Europe to help rebuild countries plagued by war, ethnic strife, and struggling economies. Staples also visited Kampala, Uganda, where he developed connections with leaders at the Makere University Department of Social Work and Social Administration, the first and largest such department in the country. Throughout his career at Boston University, Staples published articles on immigration, community engagement, and social justice. He co-wrote Youth-Led Community Organization: Theory and Action with Professor Melvin Delgado, published by Oxford University Press in 2008. He is also the author of Roots to Power: A Manual for Grassroots Organizing. Staples’s work and teaching has repeatedly been honored. In 1994, he received the BUSSW Outstanding Contributions to the School of Social Work Award. In 2002, he received the Teaching Excellence Award. The National Association of Social Workers gave Staples the Beverly Ross Fliegel Award for Social Policy and Change in 2010, and in 2011 he was honored by the Association for Community Organization and Social Administration.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ADAM CRUFT

Professor Geoff Wilkinson (’85) and his wife, Sally Johnson (’78), visited many sites important to the civil rights movement, in honor of the 50TH ANNIVERSARY of the passing of the CIVIL RIGHTS ACT.

Justıce Journey

towards

Boston University School of Social Work

Journey towards Justice By Rebecca Grossfield

rom September 27–October 6, 2013, Professor Geoff Wilkinson (’85) and his wife, Sally Johnson (’78), visited many sites important to the civil rights movement in honor of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Southern organizing that would reshape the nation. Wilkinson described the trip as a sort of pilgrimage. “The civil rights movement had a major influence on my values and the choices I’ve made in life,” he said. “I grew up in a tract housing development at the edge of cornfields in northern Illinois,” Wilkinson said. “It was a white, conservative, working class community, but my parents raised us in the Unitarian Universalist church, which was a hotbed of progressive activism in the 60s and early 70s.” Wilkinson says his memory of “our church service being packed to the rafters” after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in April of 1968 is vivid. He started attending civil rights and anti-Vietnam war rallies in his early teens and has remained an activist since. Wilkinson studied community organizing at BU and began working as an organizer after graduating from the School of Social Work in 1985. His career has focused on social justice, community empowerment, and public health. This fall, we welcomed him back to the classroom—this time as a professor. In 1970, during a visit to Boston with his mother, Wilkinson met Henry Hampton, the filmmaker behind Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years (1954–1965). Wilkinson and Johnson used the 14-hour documentary as inspiration for their 10 days of travel. In addition to visiting pivotal sites in the civil rights movement, Wilkinson and Johnson spent lots of time just conversing with people they met along the way. For example, a woman in her early 40s described growing up under defacto segregation in her small Georgia town, where many public facilities were still privately owned, decades after the elimination of Jim Crow laws. “People were really generous with their time and candor.” He said it helped to be traveling with his wife, who “really has a way of getting people to open up.” For Wilkinson, the journey through the Deep South (his first time there) has informed his teaching in several important ways. He told Currents he has always incorporated civil rights history into his classroom to provide historical context for discussions, but now he can draw on a deeper personal understanding. “It also strengthened my sense of resolve about the importance of working for racial justice,” Wilkinson said. “The trip underscored both how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go in addressing challenges that were at the heart of the civil rights movement. White privilege is alive and well.” And in light of the recent grand jury decisions not to indict the officers who killed Eric Garner and Michael Brown, Wilkinson said it’s been inspiring to see students’ activism and interest in finding ways to make sense of these issues. Recently, the School hosted an open forum for faculty and students to come together in conversation. He said the exchange provided learning opportunities for everyone. “There’s a lot going on right now,” Wilkinson said.“Perhaps we’re entering a new era of movement building that will unite issues of racial and economic justice, as Dr. King was emphasizing when he was assassinated. Hopefully, we’re contributing to that together here at BUSSW. We still have a lot to learn. There’s still a lot of injustice to fight.”

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EXPLORE SOME OF THEIR STOPS A LON G THE WAY.

GEORGIA 1 / Ebenezer Baptist Church ATLANTA, GA The historic 124-year-old church was founded during the Reconstruction Era in the South. In 1960 the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. joined his father as co-pastor of Ebenezer. Wilkinson had heard many of MLK Jr.’s speeches before, but never his sermons, one of which was playing over the church’s sound system during their visit. 2 / The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change ATLANTA, GA Established in 1968 by Coretta Scott King, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (“The King Center”) has been a global destination for over a quarter century. 3 / Oakland Cemetery ATLANTA, GA One of many civil war-era cemeteries in the South, the “Confederate section” of Oakland is home to an estimated 6,900 burials and the oldest cemetery in

Atlanta, GA. For Wilkinson, and Johnson, it was striking to learn that the remains of former slaves were moved during expansion of the for Confederate soldiers. ALABAMA 4 / Alabama State House MONTGOMERY, AL This famed state house includes memorial plaques to the Confederacy and sits just blocks from the Dexter Ave. Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was serving as pastor when he led the 1955 bus boycott following Rosa Park’s courageous refusal to move from her seat on a public bus. 5 / First Baptist Church of Montgomery MONTGOMERY, AL The location of mass meetings during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. From a basement office here in 1961, Dr. King implored then-U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy to arrange protection for hundreds of community members trapped inside the sanctuary by an angry, KKK-led mob. Wilkinson

For more information about Professor Wilkinson, go to page 8.

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and Johnson spent two hours talking with the current pastor, who maintains an active social justice ministry. 6 / Southern Poverty Law Center MONTGOMERY, AL The Center was founded in 1971 to ensure that the promises of the civil rights movement became a reality. 7 / Tuskegee Army Airfield TUSKEGEE, AL Home to the first African American military pilots, the “Tuskegee Airmen,” who fought in WWII. 8 / Tuskegee University TUSKEGEE, AL The historically black university established by Booker T. Washington counts Amelia Boynton Robinson and Ralph Ellison as notable alumni. 9 / Brown Chapel AME Church SELMA, AL This church was the starting point for the Selma-to-

Montgomery marches which ultimately led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. 10 / Gee’s Bend Quilters Collective BOYKIN, AL Wilkinson and Johnson found themselves at the house of a daughter of one of the famed quilters, whose works were shown at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 2005. The Collective, founded in 1966, carries on artistic traditions passed through generations of women, who, since slavery, have incorporated freedom themes into their designs. MISSISSIPPI 11 / The Medgar Evers House JACKSON, MS The civil rights movement leader was assassinated in his driveway on June 12, 1963.

12 / Freedom Summer PHILADELPHIA, MS In rural Neshoba County, young civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, 24, James Chaney, 21, and Andrew Goodman, 20, were killed on Rock Cut Road. Wilkinson said it was eerie to drive at twilight along the back country road, imagining being followed by the killers. 13 / Moses Wright’s Home MONEY, MS Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was staying with his great uncle, Moses Wright, in the summer of 1955. After allegedly flirting with a white woman in Bryan’s Grocery, Till was taken from this house and brutally murdered. His body was later found in the nearby Tallahatchie River and the subsequent trial shined a light on the brutal Jim Crow legal system.

TENNESSEE 14 / Lorraine Motel MEMPHIS, TN On April 4, 1968 at 6:01 PM, MLK Jr. was shot while standing on the balcony of his second floor room at the Lorraine Motel. Wilkinson and Johnson observed both the room’s interior and the lodging house apartment nearby, from which assassin James Earl Ray shot King. 15 / Fisk University NASHVILLE, TN Student leaders here including John Lewis and Diane Nash organized some of the earliest and most successful sit-ins for the desegregation of lunch counters. They went on to join the Freedom Rides, help found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and conceive the Selma voting rights campaign.

Boston University School of Social Work

IN CONFERENCE

O C T O B E R 1 5 –1 7, 2 0 1 4

Addiction Health Services Research Conference By Leslie Friday (for BU Today)

Associate Dean and Professor Lena Lundgren, who is also Director of the Center for Addictions Research & Services, became the first social worker to host the annual Addiction Health Services Research Conference (AHSR) from October 15-17 at the Hyatt Boston Harbor. The three-day conference drew 300 attendees from around the country to Boston. Richard Saitz (CAS’87, MED’87), a School of Medicine professor of medicine, a School of Public Health professor of epidemiology, and associate director of the Office of Clinical Research, and Jeffrey Samet (SPH’92), a MED professor of medicine, an SPH professor of community health sciences, and chief of the section of general internal medicine at Boston Medical Center, helped organize the conference. With its focus on integrating addiction, mental health, and medical care services, the conference also addressed a core mission of SSW’s new endowed Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health.

Associate Dean and Professor Lena Lundgren introducing Douglas Brooks (’99).

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KEYN OT E

Douglas Brooks (’99) Last March, President Barack Obama appointed Brooks Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP), which manages the US response to the AIDS epidemic. Prior to that, Brooks was a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and he spent 16 years at the Justice Resource Institute in Boston. “There could not have been a better choice” than Brooks to lead ONAP, said Lena Lundgren. Brooks’ presentation, “Addressing HIV Infection in Efforts to Coordinate Medical and Addiction Care,” tied in several themes discussed during the conference, where social workers and researchers mixed with public health and medical professionals. The president is “100 percent committed to HIV” and since taking office has established a three-pronged National HIV/AIDS Strategy, Brooks said, to decrease the number of new infections, increase access to care for those living with HIV, and reduce HIVrelated health disparities.

He said his task is to implement these goals and the HIV/AIDS Care Continuum initiative. He cited some troubling statistics in the nation’s war on AIDS. There are currently 1.1 million people living with HIV in the US, and new infections number 50,000 each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While new infections have dropped by 20 percent among women and by 22 percent among injectable drug users, young gay black men have seen an alarming 48 percent increase. While the vast majority of people living with HIV in the US have been diagnosed, an estimated 183,000 people remain unaware of their condition, he said.

“If we know they’re out there, we need to find ’em,” Brooks said. One conference attendee asked Brooks about the administration’s plans for dealing with rates of HIV infection among people in the criminal justice system. The government has “been doing a fairly good job of treating people in the system,” Brooks said. “Transition outside of prison is where we have to do a much better job.” Another attendee wanted to know if there were certain characteristics that defined this population. “I wanted to end this with some profound thing,” Brooks answered. But what he replied—“I don’t know. We don’t know.”—drew a laugh from the crowd.

Boston University School of Social Work Spring 2015 Professional Education Programs

Stay CURRENT in a Changing World Offering relevant, stimulating educational opportunities for professional social workers and other human service providers throughout New England through a variety of workshops, seminars, and certificate programs. PLUS, BUSSW ALUMNI RECEIVE 10% OFF! Check out a sampling of our Spring 2015 offerings below. For a complete list and to register, visit www.bu.edu/ssw/pep.

C E RTIF ICATE PROGRAMS

NEW!

TREATMENT OF TRAUMA Alternating Mondays, April 6–December 7, 2015 (No Class in August), 6–9 PM // 40 CECs // $2,000 Kathleen Flinton, LICSW, MAR, Part-time Faculty, BUSSW; Clinical Social Worker, Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights; Ellen DeVoe, PhD, Associate Professor and Director Doctoral Program, BUSSW The Certificate Program in the Treatment of Trauma is designed for licensed mental health professionals who are looking to deepen their knowledge of trauma and increase their skill set in the treatment of trauma.

Cognitive and Behavioral Interventions Wednesdays, February 11–April 29, 2015 6–8:30 PM // 30 CECs // $1,100 Daniel Beck, LICSW, LLC; Program Director, CBT and Social Work Training Initiative, BUSSW

POPU L AR FAVOR ITES: SEMINAR S 6CECs // $110 Mindfulness Techniques to Promote Healing in Social Work Practice with Children, Adolescents, and Adults March 6, 2015, 8:30 AM–3:30 PM Ariel Botta MSW, LICSW, Director of Group Psychotherapy, Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children’s Hospital Widen your Knowledge of Common Psychiatric Drug and their Side Effects DATE TBA, 9 AM–4 PM Stephanie Davidoff MD, PhD Learn the Successes of CBT for Substance Users DATE TBA, 9 AM–4 PM R. Kathryn McHugh, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School Associate Psychologist, Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, McLean Hospital

O NLI NE WO R KS H O P S Our award-winning faculty present one hour video lectures 1CEC // $30 Suicidality and Self-Harm Behaviors among Asian American Women Hyeouk Chris Hahm, PhD, MSW, Associate Professor, BUSSW Concrete suggestions for the development of culturally competent interventions to target suicidality, substance abuse, and mental illness among young Asian American women Current Perspectives on Child and Adolescent Obesity Daniel P. Miller, PhD, Assistant Professor, Human Behavior, BUSSW A look into the scope of the problem of child and a dolescent obesity

C H A R LE S R I V E R CA MP US WO R KS H O P 8CECs // $250 Introduction to Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Danielle Green, LICSW & Jennifer Leigh, PhD; Coordinated by Dr. Mark Gianino, Associate Clinical Faculty, BUSSW May 1, 2015, 9 AM–6 PM (a day long training)

Questions? Contact PEP via email at pepssw@bu.edu.

Boston University School of Social Work

STUDENT EXPERIENCE

Embarking on a New Adventure Back in 2008, two global humanitarian aid workers, Sara (’13) and George “Leo” Blandford (’15), were working with the Red Cross and living in Sri Lanka. Passionate and committed to humanitarian aid work, they had been living abroad full-time since 2006 when they first relocated to assist in the tsunami response. Before that, the two had also spent time in West Africa and India. They came to international disaster response work after college. Leo is a graduate of the George Mason University with a bachelor’s in international nonprofit management and Sara is a University of Michigan-Ann Arbor graduate and psychology major. “Coming from a country—a very beautiful country, but one that is reeling from the effects of a war—to Cape Cod, was like this really restful safe haven,” Sara said of their 2008 move to Wellfeet. When she and her husband decided to return to the States, they moved in with Sara’s family who had recently relocated from Michigan to Cape Cod. FINDING THE RIGHT GRADUATE PROGRAM “When we thought about furthering our education, we knew we needed to continue working,” Leo told Currents. “The part-time program through BU made it realistic for us to pursue our master’s.” “I loved the program,” Sara said. “It was very stimulating.” Sara said it also wasn’t just getting the Master of Social Work degree that appealed to them. Having witnessed many stories of adversity and resilience, Sara was inspired to further her education. “It’s a personal transformation that informs the way you see the world,” she said. The unique cohort experience in which a small group of students move collectively through the graduate program was, they felt, “precious.” Although the program is located at the Cape Cod Community College, the couple still lives a 45-minute drive from campus. But they were able to identify convenient field placements within their community. For example, Sara completed one of her field placements at the Gosnold-Thorne Counseling Centers in Provincetown and Orleans, MA. “It is a challenge to learn while integrating life, work, school, and family—but with all of the challenges that arise you can lean into the program for support,” Sara said. “My advice is to create more enjoyment out of the difficulty, to

currents winter 2015

integrate all of the subject matter into daily practice and to make it relevant to our human experience.” A N ONG OING J OUR NEY P LUS … During Sara’s third year in the program, the couple learned some exciting news—they were expecting twins! Sara said her cohort and professors made it “possible that we could manage all of this.” “From giving us baby clothes to sharing advice and tips,” Sara said the cohort became an invaluable support mechanism, especially during a difficult period when the couple’s son was hospitalized. They traveled back and forth to Boston Children’s Hospital while juggling their school and professional lives. In 2013, Sara graduated. The twins, Sofi and Isak, were just around five months old. She now works as a clinician at the Centers for Behavioral Health at Cape Cod Healthcare. Currently completing his second field placement—this one at the Community Health Center of Cape Cod—Leo graduates from the Off-Campus Program in May. NEXT STEP S These days, Sara and Leo are an incredible team, working together to juggle their busy schedules and their very active 15-month-old children. Most of their days, they said, are a blur of pick-ups and drop-offs. But Sara said their shared experience with the OffCampus Program has been much more, she explained, than a path to another degree. “As parents, especially, having a growing similar language and perspectives on how you look at situations and people is really helpful.” “Going overseas as social workers again is something we’d like to do,” Sara said. The two were inspired by Professor Lee Staples, Director of the BRIDGE (Building Refugee & Immigrant Degrees for Graduate Education) Program, and his commitment to international social work. “We really need each other and our previous experiences to keep that dream alive.” For now, this family of four loves being active and enjoying walks along the National Seashore. “Every day is something new,” Leo said. LEARN MORE! Interested in learning more about our Off-Campus Program? Visit www.bu.edu/ssw/academics/msw/part-time for more information.

STUDENT EXPERIENCE

“It is a challenge to learn while integrating life, work, school, and family—but with all of the challenges that arise you can lean into the program for support.” SARA BLANDFORD (’13)

Left: The Blandfords with Sara’s mother, Marta (Dikke) Hansen, a BUSSW faculty field advisor. Right: Sara Blandford at her BUSSW graduation in 2013. Boston University School of Social Work

FAC U LT Y H I G H L I G H T S

Faculty Scholarship and Research

JOURNAL ARTICLES Auerbach, C., Zeitlin, W., Augsberger, A., McGowan, B.G., Claiborne, N., & Lawrence, C.K. (2014). Societal factors impacting child welfare: Validating the perceptions of child welfare scale. Research on Social Work Practice, 1-8.

We’ve been busy this semester! Boston University School of Social Work faculty members are dedicated scholars at the forefront of their profession engaged in innovative research. Below are some examples of recent scholarship. For even more faculty news, visit www.bu.edu/news. (Note: Select faculty scholarship as of December 1.)

Augsberger, A. (2014). Strategies for engaging foster care youth in permanency planning family team conferences. Children and Youth Services Review, 43, 51-57.

NEW GRANTS RECEIVED IN 2014 DeVoe, E. (2014-2016). Strong Families FAST. USDA via Kansas State University. $28,443.

Basualdo-Delmonico, A., & Herrera, C. (2014). Taking care of our own: Lessons learned about engaging military families in youth mentoring. Amachi, Inc.

DeVoe, E. (2014-2018). Strong Families Strong Forces Project. US Department of Defense. $4,434,000. Geron, S. (2014). Person Centered Counseling Training Program. DHHS/Administration for Community Living. $141,200. Gonzales, E. (2014-2016). Peter Paul Career Development Professorship. Boston University. $120,000. Keefe, B. (2014). Health Care Workforce Transformation Fund Planning Grant. Commonwealth Corporation. $50,000. Keefe, B. (2014-2016). Mental Health Training Prevention Program for Councils on Aging. MA Department of Public Health. $78,022.

Sprague Martinez, L.S. (2014-2015). Transnationalism, Networks and Culture: Implications for Health and Behavior. NIH/ NINR. $78,400.

Collins, M.E., & McLaughlin, D. (2014). Potential for adolescent-focused group work in the Vietnam context. Vulnerable Children & Youth Studies: An International Interdisciplinary Journal for Research, Policy and Care.

BOOKS AND SPECIAL ISSUES Delgado, M. (2014). Baby boomers of color: Implications for social work policy and practice. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

Freeman, E.R., Seifer, S.D., Stupak, M., & Sprague Martinez, L.S. (2014). Community engagement in the CTSA Program: Stakeholder responses from a National Delphi Process. Clinical Translational Science Journal, 7(3), 191-195.

Frost, R.O., & Steketee, G. (Eds.) (2014). Handbook of hoarding and acquiring. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Hudson, R.B. (Ed.). (2014). The new politics of old age policy (3rd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Lundgren, L. (2014-2017). CITA (Comprehensive Integrated Treatment Approach) Project. DHHS/SAMHSA. $320,000.

Muroff, J., Underwood, P., & Steketee, G., (2014). Group treatment for hoarding disorder: Therapist guide. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Lundgren, L. (2014-2019). Examining the Effects of Addiction Treatment Interventions. Swedish National Institute for Health/Social/ Labor Market Research, Umea University. $700,000.

Steketee, G., & Frost, R.O. (2014a). Treatment for hoarding disorder: Therapist guide (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Paris, R. (2014). Impact of Chronic Low Back Pain on Military Veterans and their Families. NIH/NCCAM.

currents winter 2015

Byrne, T., Fargo, J., Montgomery, A.E., Munley, E., & Culhane, D.P. (2014). The relationship between community investment in permanent supportive housing and chronic homelessness. Social Service Review, 88(2), 234-263.

Sprague Martinez, L.S. (2014-2015). Transnationalism, Networks and Culture: Implications for Health and Behavior. NIMHD. $356,100.

Keefe, B. (2014). Strengthening PatientCentered Care through Health Care Workforce Training. Commonwealth Corporation. $250,000.

Lundgren, L. (2014-2017). Salud Y Susteno (Health and Wellness Project). DHHS/ SAMHSA. $314,300.

Spencer, R. (2014-2017). Developing a Model for Delivering School-Based Mentoring to Students in Military Families. Institute of Education Sciences. $322,800.

Steketee, G., & Frost, R.O. (2014b). Treatment for hoarding disorder: Workbook (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Tolin, D., Frost, R.O., & Steketee, G. (2014). Buried in treasures: Help for compulsive hoarding (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Gonyea, J.G., Hudson, R.B. (2015). Emerging models of age-friendly communities: A framework for understanding inclusion. Public Policy and Aging Report. Gonyea, J.G., López, L.M., & Velásquez, E.H. (2014). The effectiveness of a culturally sensitive cognitive behavioral group intervention for Latino Alzheimer’s caregivers. Gerontologist, 1-12. Hahm, H.C., Chang, S.T.H., Tong, H.Q., Meneses, M.A., Yuzbasioglu, R.F., & Hien, D. (2014). Intersection of suicidality and substance abuse among Asian American young women: Implica-tions for developing interventions in young adulthood. Advances in Dual Diagnosis, 7(2), 90-104. Hahm, H.C., Gonyea, J.G., *Chiao, C., & *Koritsanszky, L.A. (2014). Fractured identity: A framework for understanding young AsianAmerican women’s self-harm and suicidal behaviors. Race and Social Problems, 6(1), 56-58.

FAC U LT Y H I G H L I G H T S

Miller, D.P., Nepomnyaschy, L. Garasky, S., & Ibarra, G.L. (2014) Family structure and child Food Insecurity. The American Journal of Public Health, 104(7), e70-e76.

Gianino, M. (2014). Families with gay, lesbian, or bisexual parents. In Edward J. Mullen. (Ed.) Oxford bibliographies in social work. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Montgomery, A.E., & Byrne, T. (2014). Services utilization among recently homeless veterans: A gender-based comparison. Military Medicine, 179(3), 236-239.

Gonyea, J.G. (2014). Changing demographics: Aging in America. In L. Ganong, M. Coleman, & J. G. Golson (Eds.). Social history of the American family. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.

Muroff, J., Spencer, M. S., *Ross, A. M., Williams, D. R., Neighbors, H. W. & Jackson, J.S. (2014). Race, gender and the conceptualization of fear. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 45(3), 153-162.

Gonyea, J.G. (2014). The policy challenges of a larger and more diverse oldest old population. In R.B. Hudson (Ed.), The new politics of old age policy (3rd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Nepomnyaschy, L., Miller, D.P., Garasky, S., & Nanda, N. (2014) Nonresident fathers and child food insecurity: Evidence from longitudinal data. Social Service Review, 88(1), 92-133.

Gonyea, J.G. (2015). Housing, health and quality of life. In B. Berkman (Ed.) The handbook of aging in social work (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publication.

Rasmussen, J., Steketee, G., Frost, R.O., Tolin, D.F., & Brown, T.A. (2014). Assessing squalor in hoarding: The Home Environment Index. Community Mental Health Journal.

Himle, J., Weaver, A., Steketee, G., & Muroff, J. (2014). Cognitive and behavioral therapy. Encyclopedia of social work. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Schudrich, W., Augsberger, A., Auerbach, C. & McGowan, B.G. (2014). A mixed-methods study of the impact of organizational culture on workforce retention in child welfare. Children and Youth Services Review, 38, 36-43.

Hudson, R.B., & Gonyea, J.G. (2014). The shifting political construction of older Americans as a target population. In R.B. Hudson (Ed.) The new politics of old age policy (3rd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Storch, E.A., De Nadai, A. S., Jacob, M. L., Lewin, A.B., Muroff, J., Eisen, J., Abramowitz, J.S., Geller, D.G., & Murphy, T. K. (2014). Phenomenology and correlates of insight in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 55(3), 613-620.

Miller, D.P. & Brooks-Gunn, J. Obesity (2015). In T.P. Gullotta, M. Evans, & R. Plant (eds). The Handbook of Adolescent Behavioral Problems: Evidence-Based Approaches to Prevention and Treatment, 2nd Edition. New York, NY: Springer.

Tickle-Degnen, L., Saint-Hilaire, M., Thomas, C.A., Habermann, B., Sprague Martinez, L.S., Terrin, N., Noubary, F. & Naumova, E.N. (2014) Emergence and evolution of social self-management of Parkinson’s disease: study protocol for a 3-year prospective cohort study. BMC Neurology, 14(95). Wilhelm, S., Philips, K.A., Didie, E. Buhlmann, U., Greenberg, J.L., Fama, J.M., Keshaviah, A., Steketee, G. (2014). Modular cognitive-behavioral therapy for body dysmorphic disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Behavior Therapy, 45(3), 314-327.

CHAPTERS Collins, M.E. (2014). Promoting youth development and transitional living services for youth moving from foster care to adulthood. In G. Mallon and P. Hess (Eds.), Child welfare for the 21st century: A handbook of children, youth, and family services (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

*denotes student participation

Muroff, J. (2014). Alternative modalities for hoarding treatment. In R.O. Frost & G. Steketee (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of hoarding and acquiring. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Muroff, J., *Levis, M., & Bratiotis, C. (2014). Hoarding disorder. In D. McKay and E. Storch (Eds.), Obsessive compulsive disorder and its spectrum across the lifespan. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

DeVoe, E.R., *Ross, A.M., Bryant, S., & Maynard, E. (2014, November). Engaging military families with young children in intervention research: Process and efficacy outcomes. Paper pre-sented at the 30th International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Miami, FL. DeVoe, E.R., *Ross, A.M., *Chaplin, C., & *Curreri, A. (2014, November). An examination of Military Trauma Exposure on Parents and Children: Effectively helping children heal. Paper presented at the 30th International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Miami, FL. DeVoe, E.R., *VanAernam, C., *Hamre, C., *Ross, A.M., *Schneider, S., & Spencer, R. (2014, November). Characterizing the spousal cycle of deployment: A qualitative study. Poster presented at the 142nd Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, New Orleans, LA. Furlong, J. (2014, November). The power to name: Controversies and changes in the DSM 5. Lecture at the Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center, Boston, MA. Furlong, J. & Gianino, M. (2014, September). Toxic Secrets in blended families: Asghar Farhadi’s The Past. Film series discussant at the Massachusetts chapter of the National Associa-tion of Social Workers, Waltham, MA. Gianino, M., Geron, S., Ruth, B.J., Sheehan, D. (2014, October). Missing link: Results. Thinktank at the annual program meeting of the Council on Social Work Education, Tampa, FL. Gianino, M., Geron, S., Ruth, B.J., Sheehan, D. (2014, November). Missing link: Results. Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Delegate Assembly of the Association of Social Work Boards, Boise, ID. Gonyea, J. (2014, October). Supporting Latino elders and families impacted by Alzheimer’s: A call to action. Panel discussion at the National Hispanic and Latino ATTC Conference, Puerto Rico.

PRESENTATIONS Copeland, P. (2014, November). Social work as resistance: A black power case study. Lecture at Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work, Boston, MA.

Hahm, H.C. (2014, October). Translational research: From observational study to intervention development; The creation of AWARE. Invited speaker at Soongsil University, Seoul, South Korea.

Copeland, P. (2014, December). The inclusive city. Invited panelist at Boston University’s Initi-ative on Cities Seminar, Boston, MA. DeVoe, E.R. (2014, August). Strong Families Strong Forces. Presentation at the 121st Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.

Hahm, H.C. (2014, November). Depression, substance abuse, and suicidality among AAPIs — Uncovering disparities and promoting successful strategies for care and prevention. Invited panelist at Tufts University, Boston, MA.

Boston University School of Social Work

FAC U LT Y H I G H L I G H T S

Hahm, H.C. (2014, November). Developing an intervention to reduce mental and sexual health problems among Asian-American women: The AWARE intervention. Presentation at the 142nd Annual American Public Health Association Meeting, New Orleans, LA. Hahm, H.C. (2014, November). Invisible minority no more: Exploring stress, coping, and mental health among Asian and Asian-American students. Invited panelist at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA.

Muroff, J., *Robinson, W., Chassler, D., Lopez, L.M., Dargon-Hart, S., Stewart, E., De Jesus, D., Dineaur, S., Johnson, K., & Lundgren, L.M. (2014, October). Introducing CASA CHESS: Is it of use? Presentation at the Addiction Health Services Research Conference, Boston, MA.

Hudson, R.B. (2014, August). Old-age politics over time through the lens of Schneider and Ingramâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Typology of Target Populations. Presentation at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.

Muroff, J., & Samborski, A. M. (2014, October). Clutter image rating application. Presentation at the 17th Annual Boston University Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program Symposium, Boston, MA.

Hudson, R.B. (2014, November). Accounting for the shifting world of old-age politics. Presentation at the Gerontological Society Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.

Muroff, J., & Steketee, G. (2014, October). Hoarding intervention and tenancy preservation project. Invited panelists at the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership, Boston, MA.

Hudson, R.B. (2014, November). Disciplinary perspectives on the immediate past and future of aging studies. Convener of panel at the Gerontological Society Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.

Muroff, J., & Steketee, G. (2014, November). Hoarding behavior therapy training institute. Invited presenters at the International OCD Foundation, Boston, MA.

Hudson, R.B. (2014, November). The tenuous place of the aging network in the post-ACA world of long-term care services and supports. Presentation at the Gerontological Society Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.

Muroff, J., & Steketee, G. (2014, November). Sorting out core vulnerabilities from hoarding among young adults. Symposium paper presented at the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies annual conference, Philadelphia, PA.

Martinez, D. B., & Lopez, L.M., Rohani, M. (2014, September). Coming of age: The experience of multi-cultural youth. Invited speakers at the NASW Social Work Students of Color Reception, Brookline, MA.

Nepomnyaschy, L. & Miller, D.P. (2014). Family structure stability and transitions and house-hold food insecurity. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Albuquerque, NM.

Miller, D.P. (2014). If you build it, will they come? Accessibility of the Summer Food Service Program and the food insecurity of low income households with children. Institute for Research on Poverty, RIDGE Center for National Food and Nutrition Assistance Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.

Nepomnyaschy, L., Miller, D.P., Garasky, S., & Nanda, N. (2014). Nonresident fathers and childhood hunger: evidence from longitudinal data. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Work and Research, San Antonio, TX.

Miller, D.P. & Chang, J. (2014). Maternal and paternal nonstandard work schedules and child obesity: does family structure matter? Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Boston, MA. Miller, D.P. & Nepomnyaschy, L. (2014). Family structure, family structure transitions, and childhood food insecurity. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Boston, MA.

Moore, L. (2014, November). Race, racism, and collective oppression through a Psychodynamic lens. Invited speaker at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, Boston, MA.

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Novelle, M. (November, 2014). Social orphans in Colombian state care. Dissertation presentation at Latin American Biennial of Youth and Childhoods, Colombia. Rios, C, Clement, A, Hope, L, Wachman, M, Schultz, N, Lopez, L & Ruth, B.J. (November, 2014). Public health social work and its role in global health. Presentation at the 142nd Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, New Orleans, LA.

*Ross, A.M., *Emmert-Aronson, B.O., DeVoe, E.R. (2014, August). A mixed-methods examination of concordance between self-reported veteran mental health and spousal perceptions of symptom severity and their effects on parenting stress. Poster presented at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Washington, DC. *Ross, A.M., *Hamre, C., *VanAernam, C., *Schneider, S., & DeVoe, E.R. (2014, November). A qualitative study of social support needs of military parents of very young children: A first step in facilitating access. Poster presented at the 142nd Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, New Orleans, LA. *Schneider, S., *Ross, A., DeVoe, E.R. (2014, October). The effects of parental deployment on young children: A qualitative study. Paper presented at the Council on Social Work Education Annual Meeting, Tampa, FL. Schultz, N., Wachman, M, Orwoll, B, & Ruth B.J. (November, 2014). Health in all MSW Programs: Findings from a national analysis of MSW Programs. Presentation at the 142nd Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, New Orleans, LA. Spencer, R. (2014, November). Realizing the promise of youth mentoring. Presentation at Mentors in Schools: Research in Action, sponsored by the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland. Steketee, G. (2014, November). Community based interventions for hoarding disorder. Symposium discussant at the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies annual conference, Philadelphia, PA. Steketee, G., (2014, November). Recent advances in understanding and treating OCD: Mechanisms of change and novel treatment targets. Symposium discussant at the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies annual conference, Philadelphia, PA. Wootton, B.M., Diefenbach, G., Bragdon, L.B., Steketee, G., Frost, R., & Tolin, D. (2014, November). Contemporary psychometric evaluation of the obsessive-compulsive InventoryRevised. Poster presented at the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies annual conference, Philadelphia, PA.

*denotes student participation

FAC U LT Y H I G H L I G H T S

Meet Our New Faculty Members GEOFF WILKINSON (’85) Clinical Associate Professor Geoff Wilkinson (’85) studied psychology and political science at the University of Massachusetts before earning his master’s at the School of Social Work. “I was an activist before going into college,” Wilkinson said. In the late 60s and early 70s, Wilkinson was involved in civil rights support, anti-Vietnam War organizing, and other social and racial justice work in Northern Illinois. After college, Wilkinson continued to work in human services at Place Runaway House, an emergency shelter for teenagers. A newfound interest in “upstream” solutions solidified his macro-level focus in the organizational, community, and policy arenas. In 1996, Wilkinson became a faculty advisor at the School. Until 2006, he worked as an assistant professor. “My favorite thing about BUSSW is that it attracts people who want to change the world and make a contribution to the betterment of human society,” Wilkinson said. In 2001, the Health Action Alliance of Massachusetts named Wilkinson Executive Director. He served as Executive Director for the Massachusetts Public Health Association from 2002 to 2007 before joining the MA Department of Public Health (MDPH) as Senior Policy Advisor in 2007. Wilkinson is now MDPH’s Director of Policy and Planning. “There is a natural connection between social work and public health,” Wilkinson said. “We work with the social determinants of people’s health, such as poor education, food insecurity, and

poor living conditions, to increase the health and well-being of individuals and families.” Wilkinson has over 30 years of professional experience and an array of prestigious awards, including the 1997 Hubie Jones Urban Service Award from the Alumni Association and the 2001 Vision Action Leadership Award from the Massachusetts Association of Councils on Aging. A folk singer and poet, he also brings a unique element to his teachings. “I’m weaving songs and poetry of freedom and struggle into my teaching,” Wilkinson said. “I think it’s working pretty well, but you’d have to ask my students.” THOMAS BYRNE Assistant Professor After studying economics at Boston College, Thomas Byrne’s interest in social work-related issues grew while volunteering at the Pine Street Inn and Association Emmaus in Paris. Towards the end of his time in college, Byrne was introduced to an article discussing the ultimate cost of homelessness. “The study resonated with some of what I learned in economics, specifically the idea of opportunity cost,” Byrne said. After graduating, he earned his master’s in social work and PhD in social welfare from the University of Pennsylvania. “I found social work and social welfare were more applied work than I would have done in economics,” he said. Byrne conducted research since 2009. “Research is key, because we are the people out there working with communities and real world policies or programs,” Byrne said. “If our motivation is to drive social change, there has to be a knowledge base upon which we are driving that change.” Recently, Byrne began working with the Department of Veterans Affairs and their new homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing program. “This is an area where I can see my work making a difference on a larger scale,” Byrne said. Although Byrne has only been with the

School since September, he is enthusiastic about joining the BUSSW community. “I attended some student orientation sessions, and I was impressed by the depth of thought and eloquence of the students,” Byrne said. “It’s inspiring.” To top it off, Byrne’s a runner. “I’ve run the Boston Marathon twice,” he said. “Some students may even see me run home from work some days.” LINDA SPRAGUE MARTINEZ Assistant Professor Drawn to the School of Social Work because of her interest in urban issues and macro practice, Linda Sprague Martinez comes to BU from Tufts University. Sprague Martinez is passionate about community-driven research and currently working on several research projects, including “Transnationalism, Network and Culture: Implications for Health and Behavior.” Sprague Martinez brings a wealth of professional experience to BUSSW. She has previously worked for the Center for Community Health Education Research and Service in Boston, the City of Nashua (NH) Department of Public Health and Community Services, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Sprague Martinez completed her PhD at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management in 2009 where she concentrated in assets and inequalities as well as health. Sprague Martinez challenges “public policy to be thinking about the unintended consequences” and says “change has to happen from the bottom-up.” To this end, Sprague Martinez works extensively with community members—building partnerships and starting dialogues. With two young children, Sprague Martinez keeps very busy. She is an active member of their school communities as well. Sprague Martinez said, “My son just started Kindergarten, so I’m helping organize the coat drive.”

Boston University School of Social Work

What Comes After Ebola? By Rebecca Grossfield

Global health practitioner Christina Bethke (’06) says this is the question we should be asking. We caught up with her recently and found out why.

What are some of the challenges facing Liberians seeking care? Access is an issue, infrastructure is an issue. Many, many people in Liberia live beyond an access point and may never even see a health care worker in their lifetime. Other issues are inadequate numbers of doctors and nurses and overall health knowledge.

How did you get started in the global health field? During my time at BU, I did my social work field placement with PACT (Prevention and Access to Care and Treatment) Project in Boston. PACT was affiliated with Partners In Health, an NGO started in Haiti in the 1980s and used a similar strategy: deploying community health workers to support HIV patients in poor areas in metro Boston. After that, I worked with the Global Health Delivery Project at Harvard, which works to capture and disseminate the lessons of health care delivery via a variety of mechanisms— but I missed working with people and patients. Last Mile Health in Liberia, born of the Partners In Health model, was actually looking for a program director in the summer of 2010 so I applied and was on the ground in Liberia one month later.

How are situations like these complicated by a disease like Ebola? You have an issue like Ebola, a highly infectious disease that requires proper detection and isolation, care, and treatment at every level of the healthcare system. Not surprisingly, in places where people don’t have access to health care, an epidemic like this can get going very quickly.

What was your goal as Program Director in Liberia? Initially, we utilized a community health worker model to serve patients living with diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, epilepsy and depression. In 2012, we expanded the model to try to ensure that every single village had a well-trained, well-supplied, well-supervised community health worker. By the end of 2013, every village in Konobo, the most remote corner of Grand Gedeh County, had access to basic primary care—that’s 15,000 people previously living beyond the boundaries of health care.

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How can the global health community help solve these issues? It needs to take it a step further beyond the immediate response. What comes after Ebola? It’s difficult to treat patients, yes. But after the epidemic is over— and eventually this will end—what’s left and how do we make sure this doesn’t happen again? Has the growing healthcare system in Liberia been impacted by Ebola? President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf recently called attention to the fact that Liberia has lost almost 100 health care workers to the disease. That’s a really high number of key personnel. We need to be ensuring that we’re investing in a healthcare system that is able to grow and sustain itself. How can we develop that kind of a system? There’s the ‘brain drain’ phenomenon that people always talk about. Workers get trained and recruited by other countries, and then they leave. We need to be making sure

there are programs to train and retain nurses and doctors in the country. Plus, we should ensure healthcare facilities are properly supplied and then bolster all of that with a strong backbone of community health workers. Ensuring average Liberians are part of the solution is really vital. What might have gone differently in the case of Ebola? If there had been community health workers in place, I think Ebola would have been detected much more quickly and the response could have been more coordinated. Generally speaking, the world took a long time to wake up to the fact that ‘hey, we have a big problem here.’ Even today you don’t have that many academic institutions working on Ebola. President Obama just finally asked Congress for $6 billion.

“But after the epidemic is over— and eventually this will end— what’s left and how do we make sure this doesn’t happen again?” CHRISTINA BETHKE (’06)

How can we best put those funds to use? That money needs to be used in a way that is not just response driven, but also development driven that will build resilience for the long-term. What’s the most important takeaway here? The biggest thing is to understand that this is not a Liberia or Guinea or Sierra Leone problem—

although it is present in these countries. It’s not only an Ebola problem either—this is inequality at its very core. I think that’s something we worked on a lot at the School of Social Work and the School of Public Health. As Dr. Raj Panjabi (founder and CEO, Last Mile Health) put it, “Illness is universal but access is not.” Christina Bethke earned her MSW from the School of Social Work in 2006 and is a candidate for her MPH at the School of Public Health. From 2010–2013, Bethke worked with Last Mile Health in Zwedru (Grand Gedeh County), Liberia. Currently the Health Coordinator for International Medical Corps in Beirut, Lebanon, Bethke will rejoin Last Mile Health/Tiyatien Health as Director of Project Development in January.

Achieving health equity worldwide is a defining issue of our time. Today, the global health community works to respond to these complex issues of health, economics, population, and environment. In 1987, Partners In Health (PIH) was founded to deliver health care to the residents of Haiti’s Central Plateau region. PIH employs social justice principles to inform its strategy around creating access. The movement to provide, according to PIH, “preferential treatment for the poor in health care” has spurred other similar models around the world. One such organization, founded by survivors of Liberia’s civil war, is Last Mile Health (LMH) known asTiyatien Health in Liberia. Working in remote rainforest communities cut off from even basic life-saving health services, LMH is building a health system that reaches everyone—by bringing health care directly to villagers’ doorsteps. LMH trains, equips, and supervises community members to be health practitioners for their villages and then connects them with rural health clinics to offer every person access to the care they deserve.

A LOOK AT GLOBAL HEALTH IN 60 SECONDS

Boston University School of Social Work

S N A P S H OT S

An Evening to Remember 2 0 1 4 A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N AWA R D S

During the 2014 Boston University Alumni Weekend, the School of Social Work recognized four individuals for their commitment to the field and lasting impact in our communities. On September 20 from 4-6:30 PM, the Alumni Association Awards Ceremony took place at the BU Photonics Center. The evening reception kicked off with a welcome from Dean Gail Steketee and Alumni Association President Amanda Frank (’08, SPH’10). Faculty, family, friends, alumni, co-workers, and peers were in attendance. Each year, the Outstanding Career in Social Work Award honors an alumnus for exceptional contributions to the social work profession and the community-at-large. Dorothy Bergold (’81) presented Sally Johnson (’78) with this award. Johnson is a clinical social worker at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and co-founder of Boston Acquired Brain Injury Support Group (BABIS). BABIS provides acquired brain injury education, offers support, coping strategies, and resources, and supports socialization for those with acquired brain injury, along with their friends and families. “You can’t talk about BABIS without thinking of Sally,” Bergold said. “There is nobody more deserving of this award.” “I’m proud to be a social worker, and part of the BUSSW community,” Johnson said. Reflecting on her career as a social worker, Johnson spoke to the struggles many endure. “It can be hard, but in the end it’s so basic. It’s about respect and love.” Deborah Putnam (’92, SPH’94) and Rick Cresta (’93, SPH’94) presented the Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Social Work Award to Lisa GoldblattGrace (’96, SPH’96), co-founder and director of My Life My Choice, an organization that aims to prevent the

currents winter 2015

commercial sexual exploitation of adolescent girls. Each year, an alumnus demonstrating significant contributions to the field of social work receives this honor. “This nomination came with such ease,” Putnam said. “It was just not easy to find people to write on behalf of Lisa— it was VERY easy.” “I’m a really lucky woman to get to be a social worker,” Goldblatt-Grace said upon accepting her award. “I feel happily selfish because I love what I do.” The Hubie Jones Urban Service Award recognizes the many contributions of Dean Emeritus Hubie Jones (’57) and honors an alumnus who pursues the uniquely urban mission of the School through their practice. “I’ve never met an individual more worthy of the Hubie Jones Urban Service Award,” Professor Emeritus Lee Staples said as he presented the award to Mojdeh Rohani (’99), co-director of the BRIDGE program, and associate clinical director of the Community Legal Services and Counseling Center. Jones, who was present at the event, enthusiastically acknowledged the award recipient. “You honor me by accepting this award,” he told Rohani. Assistant Dean Mena daSilva-Clark presented the Outstanding Contributions to the School of Social Work Award to Online Program Administrator Jennifer Grahek. This award honors faculty and staff who are actively involved in social work education at the School. “I was so surprised to see that I had won an award. I had to reread it to make sure I read it correctly,” Grahek later told Currents. “Winners of this award have an incredible commitment to the Boston University School of Social Work,” daSilva-Clark said. “We certainly couldn’t do the program without Jen.”

AWARD WINNERS… Outstanding Career in Social Work SALLY JOHNSON (’78) Milton, MA Clinical Social Worker, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Co-Founder, Boston Acquired Brain Injury Support Group (BASIS) Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Social Work LISA GOLDBLATT-GRACE (’96, SPH’96) Brookline, MA Co-Founder and Executive Director, My Life, My Choice Hubie Jones Urban Service Award MOJDEH ROHANI (’99) Arlington, MA Co-Director, Building Refugee and Immigrant Degrees for Graduate Education (BRIDGE) Program, Boston University School of Social Work and Associate Clinical Director, Community Legal Services and Counseling Center Outstanding Contributions to the School of Social Work JENNIFER GRAHEK Framingham, MA Online Program Administrator, Boston University School of Social Work

S N A P S H OT S

Boston University School of Social Work

M E S S AG E F R O M T H E A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N

Highlights Another fall semester is complete. Current students—take the opportunity to rest, renew and enjoy your winter break. I am pleased to share with you some highlights of the BUSSW Alumni Association Board and Steering Committee activity from the last six months.

Annual Association Board Meeting and Alumni Awards Reception On September 20, we held our Annual Alumni Association Board meeting and that evening, presented Alumni Awards to three incredible social workers and BUSSW alums: Sally Johnson, Lisa Goldblatt-Grace, and Mojdeh Rohani. In addition, administrator Jennifer Grahek received an award for her tireless efforts contributing to the overwhelming success of the BUSSW online program. [For more information, see page 18] Welcome New Faculty During her annual State-of-theSchool report at the September board meeting, Dean Steketee shared the backgrounds and areas of research and practice of our three new faculty. The board is thrilled to welcome Geoff Wilkinson, Linda Sprague Martinez, and Tom Byrne and looks forward to future opportunities to connect and work together. [For more information, see page 15] Annual Alumni/Student Events The BUSSW Student Organization and the Alumni Association Board joined together once again to hold a Fall Alumni-Student Panel and Networking event. Students and alumni attended the networking event, which was held on November 10 in Conant Lounge. After the evening,

currents

Cate Johnston (’12), Alumni Board Steering Committee Member and attendee commented, “It was great to see students and alumni mingling and talking so candidly. Alumni from a range of graduation years and fields of practice attended, and gave honest, constructive advice. Students were eager to learn and did a great job taking advantage of networking opportunities!” The board is thrilled at the continued success of the alumni/student socials held twice a year. We look forward to planning another this spring. BUSSW on Wheels Events As Currents went to press, 13 BUSSW on Wheels events had been held around the country. These events bring together alumni, current online students, and prospective students for conversation and networking. Our Alumni Association has 17 local chapters covering 33 states, the District of Columbia, Eastern Canada, Europe, and India. Thank You I’d like to express deep gratitude to my fellow alumni who have supported BUSSW, whether by student recruitment, career consultation with graduating students, attending a networking or BUSSW on Wheels event, or by making donations. THANK YOU for staying involved with and committed to our alma mater. All my best for a healthy and happy new year! Warmly, Amanda (Horowitz) Frank (’08, SPH’10) BUSSW Alumni Association President

A LU M N I B OA R D M EM B E R S Katy Abrams (’97) Austin, TX

Lisa Cremer (’08, SPH’09) Shaker Heights, OH

Jennifer Ahlijanian (’91) Exeter, RI

Katherine Crevi (’16) Student Representative, Boston, MA

Requina Barnes (’04) Steering Committee Member, Cambridge, MA

Kelly Crowley (’03) Concord, MA

Patricia Beauchemin (’86) Warwick, RI

Sharon Cruz (’00) Rochester, MA

Loren Belforti (’15) Student Representative Brighton, MA

Nickie Diggs (’01) Laurel, MD

Betty Bernier (’97, SPH’99) Hyde Park, MA Katie Britton (’03) West Roxbury, MA Sukhi Bubbra (’97) Toronto, Ontario, Canada Pamela Charney (’91) Ft. Lauderdale, FL Yi-Chin Chen (’03) Steering Committee Member West Roxbury, MA Brett Collins (’07) San Francisco, CA

Noelle Dimitri (’00) Quincy, MA Lesley Dixon (’97) West Orange, NJ Marieka Farrenkopf (’00) Portland, OR Amanda (Horowitz) Frank (’08, SPH’10) President, Steering Committee Member, Weymouth, MA Nanci Ginty-Butler (’01) Waban, MA Mark Goodwin (’87) The Bronx, NY

Will Halpin (’03, SPH’08) Steering Committee Member, Jamaica Plain, MA Cate Johnson (’12) Steering Committee Member, Cambridge, MA Kami Kato (’98) Mililani, HI Hope Kenefick (’92) Barrington, NH Barbara Kondilis (’98, SPH’99) Glyfada, Greece

Ann McWalters (’95) Berkeley, CA

Greenfield, MA

Rebecca Mulhern (’02)

Deidra Somerville (’95)

Brooklyn, NY

South Holland, IL

Kristina Normann (’11)

Stephanie Stidham (’01)

Taffy (Smith) Ruggeri (’05)

Denver, CO

Orange, CA

Nicole Norton (‘14)

Elizabeth Stookey Sunde (’94)

Westbrook, ME

Wilder, VT

Michael Novack (’97)

Sharon Ash Tancredi (’99)

Steering Committee Member, Waltham, MA

Scarborough, ME Michelle Thesing (’92)

Nikki Pollard (’04)

Tucker, GA

Kristen Lindley (’16) Student Representative, Brighton, MA

Steering Committee Member, Cambridge, MA

Amneris Torres (’12)

Susan Lovett (’98) Jamaica Plain, MA

Southington, CT

Jamie (Wyatt) Marshall (’06) Great Falls, MT Kathy Mackenzie (’92) Steering Committee Member New Bedford, MA Pandora MacLean-Hoover (’95) Newburyport, MA

Doreen Reis (’01) Abby Ross (’08, SPH’10)

Vice President, Steering Committee Member, Boston, MA Erica Scoppetti (’05)

Steering Committee Member, Brookline, MA

Jamaica Plain, MA Erika Vargas (’10)

Aiea, HI Christina Weeter (’04)

Louisville, KY Sarah (Farver) Winn (’12)

Auburn, WA Lindsey Young (’09)

Redondo Beach, CA

Allison Srinivasan (’00)

Mumbai, India

“Counterpoint,” a sculpture by Russell JacQues in winter.

Nonprofit U.S. Postage PAID Boston, MA Permit No. 1839

Organizer and activist Steve Schnapp (â&#x20AC;&#x2122;81) pictured right speaking with a resident in front of East Bostonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Orient Heights Neighborhood Organization in 1989.