Spring 2019 InDepth

InDepth / SMITH School COLLEGE Works / SCHOOL FOR SO CIAL WORK

SPRING 2019

IN TH I S I SSU E STEWARDING ACCEPTANCE SUPPORTING STUDENTS EXPLORING DATA

/ 1 /

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

Latisha Rocke, A ’20, and Madeline Freeman, M.S.W. ’18, enjoy conversation in the SSW Dining Room during summer 2018.

Photo by Shana Sureck.

InDepth is published by the Smith College School for Social Work. Its goal is to connect our school community, celebrate recent accomplishments and capture the research and scholarship at the School for Social Work.

05

The Deepening Clinical Practice Conference on June 28 will explore healing and resilience.

MANAGING EDITOR

Laura Noel DESIGN

Lilly Pereira Maureen Scanlon Murre Creative CONTRIBUTORS

Dawn Faucher Laurie Loisel Tynan Power Faye S. Wolfe Megan Rubiner Zinn PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Shana Sureck

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR AND ALUMNI UPDATES CAN BE SENT TO:

InDepth Managing Editor Smith College School for Social Work Lilly Hall Northampton, MA 01063 413-585-7950 indepth@smith.edu ©2019

InDepth SMI TH COLLEGE SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORK

SPRING 2019

F EATU RE S

12

Inspiring Change

How a culture of acceptance was fostered at SSW

18

Hearts and Minds FO LLOW US O N:

Facebook facebook.com/ smithcollegessw Twitter twitter.com/ smithcollegessw Instagram instagram.com/ smithcollegessw YouTube bit.ly/SSWYouTube

SSW student organizations provide essential support and advocacy

22

Building Career Ladders

Assistant Professor Maria Torres is focused on workforce development for frontline workers

DE P A RT M E NTS

02 From the Dean A note from Marianne Yoshioka

03 SSWorks School News + Updates Faculty Notes

27 Alumni News Alumni Desk Alumni Lives

36 Post Script An End Note

O N T H E COV E R

Steven Cadwell, Ph.D. ’90, and Bruce Thompson, Ph.D. ’87, have established a new endowed fund for SSW. See page 17. Photo by Shana Sureck.

/ SSWorks /

M ARIAN NE R .M . Y OSH IOK A, M .S.W., PH .D .

Purposeful Planning Our School has never rested easy but has been ever tussling and challenging, and through this process modeling and inspiring.

/ 02 /

An important moment was marked this winter with the passing of Professor Emeritus Roger Miller, Ph.D. Professor Miller was influential on both the M.S.W. and Ph.D programs for more than 30 years. From 1964–1993 he served as the School’s inaugural Ph.D. program director.

In many ways, Professor Miller set the bar for the ways in which we hold theory and practice. He was a skilled clinician; a leader as an educator within this School; and astute in his clinical conceptualiza­ tions with an equal regard for research.

He was also renowned for his generosity in student mentorship. The stories of his wit and wisdom are legendary within the School and you will read more about his legacy in the pages that follow.

Professor Miller’s passing also coincides with the closing of the centennial year.

Our centennial brought great recognition and celebration of the unique and power­ ful education that we offer and of the unparallelled place that our School has held in the creation of clinical social work services in the country.

As I have written about over many issues, SSW is in a time of change. We remain committed to retaining our focus on psychodynamic theories and practice, but we are also aware that it is our respon­ sibility to ensure our graduates leave SSW with broader clinical exposure. Further, our signature block program is a struc­ ture that gives rise to a focused, in-depth learning experience; but in 2019 it brings challenges for students with families, for those who carry significant undergraduate debt, and for almost all of our students who must earn income while completing their studies.

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

We have important questions before us: How do we integrate greater atten­ tion to research and empirically derived knowledge and retain a thoughtfullysequenced theory-driven curriculum?

How do we adapt our understanding of what an anti-racism commitment is in times of great complexity and demands for accountability? How do we retain the uniqueness of Smith’s block programs and keep them accessible for students across the economic and social spectrum?

For the past 18 months, the faculty have been engaged in thoughtful discussion about these questions. Last fall they voted to accept a three to five year strategic plan for our School to make informed changes that ensure we will continue to lead the field of clinical, anti-racism social work education and research through innova­ tive, in-depth curricula and scholarship.

The plan also ensures that we are growing our resources to make our programs more financially accessible. We are investing in our teaching and learning. We will be making our plan available to you all in the coming months. These are invigorating and important times for our School. Or, perhaps more accurately said, our School continues to engage in invigorating and important change.

From my conversations with each of my predecessors—Deans Howard Parad, Katherine Gabel, Ann Hartman, Anita Lightburn and Carolyn Jacob—our School has never rested easy but has been ever tussling and challenging, and through this process modeling and inspiring. ◆

SSWorks News from Lilly Hall

IN THIS SECTION

SCHOOL NEWS FACULTY NOTES

Charla Malamed, A ’20, and Sherene Smith, M.S.W. ’18, take a break outside Seelye Hall between classes.

/ SSWorks /

The Admission Office team (from left): Assistant Director of Admission, Karissa Raynor; Senior Associate Director of Admission, Valerie Nguyễn Hooper; Assistant Director of Admission, Tobias Davis A.B. ’03; and Administrative Assistant, Sarah Duey. Not pictured: Associate Dean of Graduate Enrollment and Student Services, Irene Rodriguez-Martin.

Towards a Diverse Community Admission office expands trans, GNC outreach B Y LA UR A NO E L

In 2016 the SSW made a commitment to developing transgender and gender-nonconforming (GNC) social work leaders who could contribute to the School’s ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusiveness.

“We noticed that the number of trans and GNC students enrolled at our School was increasing and, as a queer-identified person it was important to me that we ensure that these students knew they belonged here, that there was a place for them here,” said Dean, Marianne Yoshioka, M.S.W., Ph.D., “It is an important part of creating an inclu­ sive learning environment and it’s part of our overall Anti-Racism Commitment which ultimately is about expanding equity, justice and access across all parts of the School.”

The School’s Admission Office was an essential component in achieving this goal.

“The Admission Team was excited by the prospect” said Associate Dean of Graduate Enrollment and Student Services, Irene Rodriguez-Martin. “We had several planning meetings where we identified conferences and programs with solid representation of queer, trans and GNC professionals, and I asked Assistant Director of Admission Tobias Davis to take the lead in representing the SSW in such settings.”

/ 04 /

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

Those conversations led them to attend Creating Change—one of the longest running and biggest LGBTQ conferences—for the first time in 2016, and to sponsor the Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference, one of the largest, free trans-specific conferences in the world.

Tobias Davis, A.B. ’03, sees these events as great opportunities to connect with both prospective students and alumni. Davis also meets lots of social workers—both current and former—who are so happy to see a school for social work in attendance.

“Until this year, I’ve never seen another school for social work at these events,” said Davis. “There is a desperate need for queer and trans social workers, and that is something that the School is really aware of, that students are aware of, and that people in those com­ munities are aware of.”

Attending these events has allowed Davis to connect with young members of the trans community who are interested in attending but want to know what life is really like for a trans or GNC student at SSW. “We’re seeing that in-person conversations at these events really resonate and make a differ­ ence,” said Davis.

“I’m so proud of the work we are doing,” said Senior Associate Director of Admission Valerie Nguyễn Hooper. “We have such a diverse team and the School’s extraordinary commitment to inclusion allows us to keep our personal and professional commit­ ments and identities central to our work. Realizing this in the context of the School’s commitment has been empowering.” ◆

/ SSWorks /

Deepening Clinical Practice Professional education expands offerings This June Professional Education will host the first ever Deepening Clinical Practice Conference. The conference, scheduled for June 28, 2019, will bring together practitioners and scholars to share knowledge and research about current issues in clinical practice.

“The conference will explore the vital role social workers and clinicians play in cultivating healing and resilience,” said Mary Curtin, M.S.W. ’00, and manager of Professional Education. We are excited to announce that Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis will be our keynote presenter.”

Bryant-Davis will discuss the potential effects of trauma and diverse ways of treating trauma. Attendees will learn briefly about diverse approaches to trauma recovery and the cultural context of trauma including dynamics, risk factors, barriers to care, and cultural resources. Finally, cultural modifications and culturally emergent treatments will be explored and needs for further research will be identified.

“We hope social workers will join us and learn proven ways to help those we serve to cope with loss, develop grit, foster connection and take an active role in building their own health and happiness,” said Curtin.

This fall the Office of Professional Education also conducted a survey to understand the current priorities of the professional education audience, and to explore interests in training content, modalities and pre-

senters. More than 330 people responded, about 50 percent of whom were alumni.

“We learned that there was great interest in trainings that explored how to apply theory to clinical work, emerging clinical theories and population-specific interventions,” said Curtin.

“In terms of new certificate programs, there was particular interest in psycho­ dynamic theories and practice, critical conversations, introduction to clinical supervision and affirmative care with trans individuals,” she said.

When asked about social work career trainings, the survey indicated that respondents were most interested in trainings that explored teaching clinical social work, clinical supervision, how to start a private practice, and clinical writing and publication.

The survey also asked about preferred modalities. Webinars rated most favorably, followed by trainings in the community (not at Smith) and then trainings at Smith.

“We found that most respondents still preferred all-day trainings, preferably on the weekend,” said Curtin. “About a third of respondents were also interested in book groups and service learning, and a quarter in international exchanges.”

As a result of the survey, Professional Education is developing a new series of webinars that will launch later this year and will address some of the training interests that were identified.

SPOKEN WORD

“ We go to Smith to be proud

of speaking our truth and standing up for those who don’t have a voice. We give our voice to those who are voiceless.”

—ERIN MATTHEWS, M.S.W. ’05

June 4, 7 p.m.

Smith College

Roma Narratives Advocacy through Storytelling In 2014, Open Society Foundations partnered with Academy Award® nominated filmmaker and Co-Founder of Narativ, Murray Nossel, M.S.W., Ph.D., to bring forth the rich and important narratives of the European Roma population through a storytelling initiative.

For the Roma to tell their own history and experiences would serve as a means to combat the pervasive, longstanding discrimination against them.

On June 4, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. in the Weinstein Auditorium on the Smith College Campus, Nossel and Nesime Salioska, a Roma rights advocate from Macedonia, will discuss their use of storytelling as a means to empower Roma communities in Europe, with a particular focus on health-care provision. Participants will be introduced to Narativ’s listening and storytelling method and will be encouraged to generate ideas for applications of the method in their own communities.

Nossel first developed his storytelling method in 1994 through a social service program for people diagnosed with AIDS. In the two decades since, he has worked in partnerships with the WHO and many U.S. foundations to bring his method to more than 50 countries for the purpose of healing and community empowerment. Nossel co-wrote a play with Narativ Co-Founder Paul Browde, “Two Men Talking,” using this method with running performances in NYC and London. Nossel’s film, “Why Can’t We Be a Family Again?” was nominated for a 2002 Academy Award®. Nossel is currently spearheading the World Mother Storytelling Project.—Laura Noel

S P RING 2 01 9

/ 05 /

/ SSWorks /

Roger Miller Remembered Colleagues recall Miller’s keen intellect, tireless work ethic, warmth and humility

BY LA UR I E LO IS E L

The year was 2013, and at 86, this was to be Roger Miller’s last dissertation committee, one of the hundreds he had served on during his more than three decades as a faculty member and adviser. He was asked by a medical social worker who was planning to research the near-death experiences of patients in intensive care to serve on her panel, remembers his longtime colleague Professor Kathryn Basham, M.S.W. ’90, Ph.D., LICSW. “He was fascinated with the topic,” Basham recalled, but with his health failing, he would only agree to serve if she promised to cover for him if he died before the project was finished.

Miller did not die, but toward the end of the student’s dissertation process, he fell ill with a serious health issue that landed him in the hospital and off the grid for a time.

Once out of the hospital, he reached out to the student, informing her that he’d had, if not a near-death experience, something he described as a milder version of one. He told her he had chronicled his experience in writing.

“She was so stunned,” Basham said, “that he was thinking of her and her work and then took notes on it!”

Later, Basham and the student pro­ posed celebrating the occasion, know­ ing it was Miller’s final committee.

Miller was reluctant but finally allowed them to take him out for lunch. “ ‘This is just what I do—it was a privilege for me to work with her,’ ” he told Basham later.

“His humility was remarkable,” she said.

The story is a prime example of who he was—a deep thinker, devoted to rigorous research and a passionate supporter of students making their mark as scholars and clinicians.

Miller died after a brief illness on December 14, 2018, a week before his

/ 06 /

Roger Miller, pictured here in 1972, was remembered by former students as a good and patient educator.

93rd birthday. SSW friends and former colleagues remember Miller for his out­ standing stewardship, in equal measure, of clinical social work and scholarly research. They said he was a kind and caring colleague, and an adviser who held students to high standards, but worked with them tirelessly to support them in completing their dissertations and making a mark in the field.

“He was a brilliant theoretician and researcher who linked everything to direct clinical practice,” said Basham, who had been his student and then worked with him as a colleague.

“His focus on theory and thinking in research was palpable,” said Professor James Drisko, M.S.W. ’77, Ph.D., who met Miller in 1976 when he was a second year M.S.W. student at Smith, and then went on to become a colleague when he joined the faculty.

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

Miller, he said, pushed students to produce high-quality research that highlighted complex themes. “He made sure that research was well-respected in a program that was heavily clinical,” said Drisko.

Miller served as director of the School’s doctoral program from when it started in 1964 until 1993, and for many years, he was editor of Smith Studies in Social Work. In these roles he oversaw dissertations, nurtured quality research and influenced the careers of countless social workers.

“He felt the mission of the school was to train scholar-practitioners,” said Dean Emeritus Howard Parad. “It was not a new idea, but it was an idea that was mostly treated rhetorically.”

As dean, Parad recruited Miller to join the faculty in 1960 and then appointed him to be the founding

/ SSWorks /

He was very passionate about clinical social work. He really strongly believed in clinical social work and research that was based on practice. He believed that students should do research based on cases—that was the best reflection of reality.

—PROFESSOR EMERITA JOYCE EVERETT, M.S.W., PH.D.

director of the School’s new doctoral program. And over the years, he said, Miller became a dear friend and stal­ wart colleague.

“Much of what I was able to accom­ plish was with the support and help of Roger Miller,” said Parad.

Other colleagues noted his dedication both to the School and the social work profession in general.

“He was very passionate about clinical social work. He really strongly believed in clinical social work and research that was based on practice,” said Professor Emerita Joyce Everett, M.S.W., Ph.D. “He believed that stu­ dents should do research based on cases—that was the best reflection of reality.”

Everett, who served on numerous dissertation committees alongside

Miller, said she was also moved by his kindness.

“I thought it was really reflective of him to compliment the students’ work rather than critique it,” she said.

She said the fact that he ran the doctoral program on his own for nearly three decades was testament to his work ethic as well as to his standing in the social work field.

“He had tremendous influence over doctoral students and the direction they took after leaving Smith,” said Everett. “You’ve got to respect that.”

As serious as Miller was about clinical social work and theory, friends say he was equally warm and witty, an expressive storyteller who delighted in puns and absurd jokes

Roger Miller and Carol Hiller, M.S.S. ’61, are working on her research project, as photographed for the Smith Quarterly.

and loved making his students and colleagues laugh out loud.

He could be childlike in his enjoy­ ment of life, according to Jonathan Parad, son of Howard Parad, who said the two families became close over the years and spent many hours together at a lake house in the summer.

“He knew how to play with kids of all ages,” said Jonathan Parad. “He had a joie de vivre—that was something people depended upon. Roger was not aloof. He was warm.”

Miller also had a knack for cracking jokes at just the right time during a fac­ ulty meeting, as when he deadpanned after a disagreement “all theories are wrong,” breaking the tension and bring­ ing laughter to the room.

As devoted as he was to Smith, he was also a dedicated family man who nurtured many interests outside the college, including tennis, gardening, duplicate bridge and painting. He even took up sculpting later in life and delighted in showing visitors his work.

Over the years at Smith, Miller became known for hosting annual summer mint julep parties, begun one year when he had a glut of mint in his garden.

But they became tradition, said Basham, when Miller recognized that the gatherings provided an oppor­ tunity for students from all years and faculty to connect with each other in a relaxed atmosphere, building a sense of community. Just one more example of what Basham called Miller’s “generous spirit.”

A spirit that will be missed. ◆

S P RING 2 01 9

/ 07 /

/ SSWorks /

Faculty Notes Recent news and accomplishments

Both researchers are drawn to explore questions around disparities facing understudied and underserved groups —Nakash looks at racial and ethnic disparities, while Capistrant tends to focus on the LGBTQ population.

Mining Data

Assistant Professor Benjamin Capistrant, Sc.D., looks at data sets coming out of a host of national surveys to help answer an array of questions.

This year, he teamed up with SSW colleague Ora Nakash, M.A., Ph.D., and professor and chair of the HBSE sequence, to coauthor a series of articles based on data analysis they hope will lead to even more research.

Nakash, too, sees in epidemiological data great opportunities to increase understanding of the needs of people who historically have been marginalized.

“Some of our work overlaps and we have similar interests,” said Nakash.

Like Capistrant, she joined the faculty in July of 2018.

Both researchers are drawn to explore questions around disparities facing understudied and underserved groups—Nakash looks at racial and ethnic disparities, while Capistrant

/ 08 /

tends to focus on the LGBTQ population.

Much of Capistrant’s research drills down into national data in search of a nuanced picture of the needs, in particular, of LGBTQ older adults.

“We don’t want to look at LGB adults as a monolith,” he noted.

“Within the group there’s a lot of variation.”

Already, much scholarly research has looked at the needs of LGBTQ youth in light of the increased risk for suicide that group experiences.

“Indeed, that makes sense because that’s where the risks are the highest, but we find that there are additional sets of risk factors—or we don’t know very much about the risk factors—for older LGB adults,” said Capistrant.

So far, Nakash said, an article looking at the suicide risks in older LGB adults has been accepted for publication, while an article looking at their risk for depression and another about opioid use are under review.

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

Capistrant and Nakash are also analyzing data for a fourth submission, looking at substance use among LGB adults.

Capistrant teaches research and research methods to master’s and doctoral students, and statistics and data science to Smith undergraduates.

He noted that it’s only been since about 2013 that national surveys began asking questions about sexual orientation. Even so, in order to have

/ Faculty Notes /

a meaningful statistical sample for analysis purposes, data sometimes needs to be combined from multiple years. Meanwhile, there are few questions on these national surveys about gender identity, which makes for a dearth of data about transgender people, he noted.

“In some ways it seems like there have been huge strides made and in other ways it continues to be frustrating,” he said.

Nakash has focused some of her research on mental health disparities and how to improve access and quality of care.

“In recent years, I’ve been interested in intersectional identities,” said Nakash, who will be teaching advanced psychological theories to doctoral students this summer.

Already, she’s been advising students working on doctoral and master’s writing projects.

“We’re really looking at multiple dimensions of identity, and understanding how different identities intersect in terms of mental health care,” she said.

Meanwhile, in light of the growing population of older Americans in

general, they decided to also focus on older adults in order to understand their specific needs within their other intersecting identities, including race, gender identity, sexual orientation and class.

Both Nakash and Capistrant said joining forces to work together is helpful because their strengths are complementary, given that she is a clinical psychologist and his background is rooted in public health.

Both experience limitations within existing national data sets, which don’t necessarily ask questions to bring forth the data for the groups they want to study most closely.

The data sets are especially limited, Capistrant noted, “particularly when we’re taking an intersectional approach,” looking at patterns of the convergence of race, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Still, Capistrant and Nakash are using the existing data sets to look for patterns that might shed light on the similarities as well as the differences within subgroups.

Currently, Capistrant is in year two of a five-year research project funded by the National Institutes of

Health about gay, bisexual men and trans folks with prostate cancer, in an attempt to create an intervention that will improve outcomes for social support, quality of life and sexual functioning.

As this project moves forward, he believes it will offer data that can be dissected and analyzed by master’s and doctoral students looking for answers to other questions.

Meanwhile, the paper he and Nakash submitted recently looking at data related to opioid use among LGB adults found, among other things, the rates of opioid use among younger lesbians is much higher than their heterosexual counterparts.

Such findings, he said, are the tip of the iceberg, prompting deeper research dives to answer bigger questions, top among them; “Why?” Nakash said that while they have theories about why, they need empirical evidence to support those theories. And once that bridge has been crossed, she said, they aim to look for even deeper answers, like how to develop evidence-based interventions in response.

“That’s the ultimate goal,” she said. —Laurie Loisel Smoothing Transitions for Students with Severe Mental Health Needs

As a social worker in urban public school settings for 19 years, Senior Lecturer Megan Harding, M.S.W. ’07, couldn’t help but focus on students with the most serious mental health needs—and then broaden her focus to the systems around those students.

There had to be a better way, she thought, to meet the needs of those students, who were at high-risk of dropping out.

While she knew schools were committed to helping students who had experienced acute mental health

S P RING 2 01 9

/ 09 /

/ SSWorks /

The biggest gap was how to structure mental health support in school from a tiered level for all students, as well as students who have experienced acute mental health issues.

— MEG A N H A RD I N G

crises return to school, there seemed to be a gap in support that led to many students with serious emotional issues leaving school entirely.

As an administrator and clinician in Holyoke public schools for nine years, Harding oversaw social emotional learning for the district; managed community partnerships with the schools; supervised SSW interns; and focused on the needs of students experiencing emotional distress in school.

What she found was that systems weren’t optimal for students coming back to school after an absence due to a crisis.

/ 10 /

“The biggest gap, the thing we hadn’t figured out how to do well, was how to structure mental health support in school from a tiered level for all students, as well as students who have experienced acute mental health issues,” she said.

This realization led to her affiliation with Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition, referred to as BRYT (and pronounced bright.)

The BRYT model, which began in 2004 at Brookline High School, has expanded into a network of 103 schools across Massachusetts, serving more than 113,000 students.

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

Harding has worked as a family engagement consultant for the BRYT network for more than two years.

“It’s a great model because it’s highly structured, high-touch, highly supportive and culturally responsive to individual schools,” she said.

BRYT staff help schools create a program that provides intensive intervention and support to students returning to school after a prolonged absence due to mental health issues.

The model includes a dedicated space open all day, where students receive support for emotional, as well as academic, needs. Over time, students reduce their time in the BRYT space as they re-engage with school.

The program also provides vital support to families in crisis.

Harding notes that most schools do try hard to meet the needs of students with severe mental health issues.

“It’s not that schools aren’t already tending to these kids,” she said.

“They’re doing the work, but they’re doing it inefficiently.”

Harding was appointed senior lecturer in January 2018, and teaches school social work, education policy and introduction to social welfare policy, as well as chairing the policy sequence.

/ Faculty Notes /

She believes one of the strengths of the BRYT model is that it holds students closely, providing short-term intensive support determined by their individual needs that helps them remain on track to graduate.

“If they’re in the school building, they’re much more likely to stay in school,” Harding said.

According to data from a BRYT evaluation between 2013 and 2016, 85 percent of the students in BRYT programs got back on track to graduate, while students with acute mental health experiences in general have a 50 percent dropout rate. BRYT students also experienced significant reductions in self-harming behavior, according to the study, whose results were published in Psychology in Schools.

The BRYT program provides professional development and consultation for clinicians leading the programs within the schools, helping schools tailor culturally sensitive support to families as they support their children in returning to school.

Several public schools with BRYT programs now offer placements for SSW students, and Harding sees it as an excellent training ground.

“The BRYT model is the ideal school-based placement because it has close supervision, it’s a small program, you work directly with kids and their families who have acute mental health needs,” she said. “It’s high-need, high-touch in a setting where they’re able to see the intersection of home, school and the mental health delivery system.”—Laurie Loisel

the 16th Street Baptist Church, the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail and the National Civil Rights Museum, among others. At each site participants spent time listening and learning from individuals who were part of the movement, including one of the Little Rock Nine; a 16th Street Baptist Church bombing survivor, the Rev. Dr. Carolyn McKinstry; and more.

“My role on the trip was really to contextualize what participants were seeing and help them to process it. I had regular debriefing sessions for participants as a group as well as many one-on-one conversations. Sometimes we would be sitting together sobbing as we heard first-hand accounts of the struggle,” said Miller.

“Although I knew most of what I saw, meeting with people who experienced the terrorism of racism and the sites where events occurred was visceral and highly emotional. As many people on the tour mentioned, we were revisiting sacred ground.”

Miller has been actively involved with anti-racism work for more than 40 years, both at Smith College and in his prior social work career, as well as in his personal life. In addition to his involvement with the SSW Anti-Racism Consultation Committee, Miller has taught the anti-racism course and co-written two editions

of a book on anti-racism (with Ann Marie Garran).

“The trip was life-changing. It encouraged me to rededicate myself more fully to honoring those who paved the way for so many, endured so much and inspired countless peo‑ ple to confront the many structural, institutional, cultural and interpersonal legacies of white supremacy that continue to haunt the U.S.,” said Miller. “I also am more convinced than ever about the necessity of a nationwide peace and reconciliation process, as part of the ongoing work to undermine the destructive power of racism.”—Laura Noel

Professor Josh Miller Led Trip to Understand Civil Rights Movement

Smith College School for Social Work Professor Josh Miller, M.S.W., Ph.D., led “On the Road to Freedom: Understanding the Civil Rights Movement” from March 10–17, 2019.

The trip, organized by the Smith College Alumnae Travel Program, took participants to visit important civil rights sites throughout Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama, including Little Rock High School,

The Edmund Pettus Bridge was the site of the Bloody Sunday conflict on March 7, 1965 where civil rights marchers were attacked by local police and forced to return to Selma, Alabama. Ultimately, the marchers sought court protection for the right to march and the court ruled in their favor. The bridge was one of several sites visited by Miller during his March trip.

S P RING 2 01 9

/ 11 /

INSPIRING

CHANGE How a culture of acceptance was fostered at SSW

BY TYNAN POWER PORTRAITS BY SHANA SURECK

/ 12 /

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

S P RING 2 01 9

/ 13 /

W

hen Gary Raymond, M.S.W. ’80, tried to write his personal/professional statement for his application to Smith College School for Social Work in 1978, he was quickly overwhelmed.

He had been out for years, but doubted if he would be admitted as an openly gay man.

“I was stuck because I had been living and working openly in very progressive environments,” Raymond said. “Now, I was faced with asking for admission to an institution I did not know, and my application would be judged by strangers, who might view me as ‘deviant’ and mentally ill.”

His first drafts left out his sexual orientation, but omitting this part of his identity reduced Raymond to what he called, “a very unremarkable candidate.” After a therapist helped him reframe his approach, Raymond crafted a powerful statement that not only named his gay identity, but championed it as a trait that would inform and enrich his work as a clinician.

“When I got my acceptance letter, I cried,” said Raymond. “Not just because I wanted what Smith could give me, but also because I felt I could begin this journey of the rest of my life as my most empowered self.”

Raymond’s fears of discrimination were not baseless. His application was the first known instance of an openly gay student being accepted to

/ 14 /

the School. Although the American Psychiatric Association had removed homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) in 1973, many still viewed homosexuality through the lens of pathology. The School’s heavily psychoanalytic focus also contributed a troubling perspective based on popular theories of the day.

“For gay people for whom their gayness was distressing and generally uncomfortable, there was more hope,” explained Bruce Thompson, Ph.D. ’87.

“If you were a mess and gay, that indicated a higher state of higher developmental achievement.”

Facing such attitudes, many chose not to reveal their identities in their applications, but some had little choice. Caitlin Ryan, M.S.W. ’82, had

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

worked in the LGBTQ community in the 1970s. She wrote about how her work in LGBTQ health could contribute to the field in her application to social work schools. Ryan had already been rejected by several schools of social work where she had applied as an out lesbian before she applied to Smith. Rutgers professor Hilda Hidalgo, a lesbian who also taught at Smith, introduced Ryan to SSW’s openly lesbian dean Katherine Gabel, A.B. ’59, M.S.W., Ph.D., J.D., in 1979.

With the encouragement of Gabel and Associate Dean Dorcas Bowles, Ryan applied and was accepted in 1980.

By then, other changes were taking place at the School.

Unable to find other LGBTQ students, Raymond had placed an ad in a school publication, inviting lesbian, gay and bisexual students to a meeting at his off-campus apartment.

Seven other students showed up. At that small gathering, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Alliance—now the Gender and Sexuality Alliance—was born.

David Aronstein, M.S.W. ’80, was one of the men who attended that first Alliance meeting and went on to spearhead an effort to get sexual orientation added to the School’s non-discrimination statement.

“As we talked in the Alliance, I thought, this is something that we could accomplish, something very concrete,” said Aronstein. In the summer of 1979, Aronstein sent a petition with signatures of 15 students to Dean Gabel, who agreed to bring it to the faculty. “Gabel called a few of us into a meeting in her office and said, ‘I cannot lead on this issue. I can lead from behind, but you [students] have to lead,’” Aronstein said. The attention to who should be “out front” with issues of social change was appreciated by Raymond. “Because of the nature of academic institutions, these kinds of changes really have to come from students,” Raymond said.

Despite not wanting to lead the way on this issue, Gabel played a crucial role in the eyes of the students. Ryan cited the fact that Gabel had been recruited by Smith College President Jill Ker Conway, whose acceptance of Gabel as an out lesbian dean helped to change the conversation around

Left: Gary Raymond, M.S.W. ’80, walks in the processional during his commencement ceremony.

Below: Smith College President Emerita Jill Ker Conway (left), visited campus in 2015 to celebrate Katherine Gabel, A.B. ’59, M.S.W., Ph.D., J.D. (right), when she won the Day-Garrett Award.

“ When I got my acceptance letter, I cried. Not just because I wanted what Smith could give me, but also because I felt I could begin this journey of the rest of my life as my most empowered self.”

policy,” said Thompson. “Those two things at the end of the 1970s really created a storm at the school.”

“At that point, there were no schools of social work that had sexual orientation in their statement,” Gabel recalled. “Probably now, almost all of them do. That was a big issue.” It also was a delicate issue, since the College did not have a similar policy. “We had to be very clear about that and keep it within the School for Social Work,” said Gabel.

The first time the proposed policy was considered, it was not accepted.

However, that October, the initiative passed. The backlash was swift. In the spring of 1980, a memo condemning the change in the non-discrimination policy was circulated.

“The memo basically said adding sexual orientation means that we have to accept child molesters, necrophiliacs, pyromaniacs and sadomasochists,” said Aronstein. “It was very indicative of where some of the faculty were.

It just riled us up more.”

“It created a storm at Smith and polarized the community into ‘new guard’ and ‘old guard,’” said Thompson.

“It revolved around the whole issue of the place of homosexuality within psychoanalytic theory.”

“What it showed was that some of the faculty were viewing same-sex

orientation as a pathological state and they did not make any connection to this as a civil rights issue because they did not see LGBT people as deserving any rights, basically,” said Aronstein.

“That was a real eye-opener and made me realize a lot of the psychological theory we were being taught was homophobic.”

Discrimination persisted in other forms, as well. Married students were usually granted field internships in locations near their spouses, but unmarried students—including lesbian and gay students who couldn’t legally marry their partners—did not have access to this benefit.

Changes to the curriculum came gradually. A few years after the non-discrimination policy passed, the school offered its first course on lesbian and gay treatment issues, which was developed by Thompson and Ryan.

As the HIV/AIDS crisis burst into the nation’s consciousness in the 1980s, Smith students and alumni were drawn to working with people affected by the new health crisis, about which little was known. The School responded with one of the first social work courses dealing with HIV/AIDS. “Smith was a refuge from the trauma of the AIDS epidemic,” said Steve Cadwell, Ph.D. ’90. “What I found at Smith in those years was hope and community and intelligence and perspective that I could bring back to the front line of my work with people with HIV and to my peers who were working on that front line.”

— G ARY RAY MOND

sexual orientation for students and faculty at the school.

“Smith was very high energy and intense because of the convergence of Katherine Gabel being hired as an out lesbian and the pressure on the school of social work to include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination

S P RING 2 01 9

/ 15 /

“AIDS hugely shaped me,” said Pat Giulino, M.S.W. ’81, who arrived at Smith as a heterosexually married woman with children but came out as a lesbian later. By 1984, she was a volunteer with AIDS Action in Boston, running a bereavement group under the direction of David Aronstein.

Meanwhile, Ryan had become the director of the AIDS program at Whitman-Walker Health in D.C., and invited Raymond to join the work, where he ran a support group and organized volunteers. Together, they helmed the first AIDS steering committee in D.C. “I could not foresee this,” Raymond said. “We had such great training and were able to bring that to addressing AIDS, especially in the early years. The population was growing so quickly. No one had any expertise. People who had gone through SSW were well prepared. We were able to adapt and able to handle a lot of the challenges.”

Despite the early obstacles, challenges of acceptance and the devastation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, students increasingly found Smith to be a place that gave them room to explore and define their identities. “It really helped me to explore the possibilities of who I could be and what I could do,” said Giulino.

For Lisette Lahana, M.S.W. ’97, the decision to name her identity in her application was simple. “I felt it would be a strength,” said Lahana, who identifies as bisexual. “At that point, I was identifying as a lesbian. The first time there was an Alliance meeting, I went.

There were at least 25 or 30 people there.” Despite that, Lahana recalls a common feeling of isolation. “We would walk into each class and look around wondering ‘How many of us are there? Will we have representation in that class?’” she said. “Having even one identifiably queer teacher was really important.”

Lahana became the co-president of the Alliance at around the time the organization added “transgender” to its name, but felt like bisexuals remained invisible. To counter that, she started a bisexual women’s support group and eventually wrote her thesis about bisexual women in lesbian communities.

/ 16 /

“ We’re paying attention to the questions that this current set of generations are asking about their own communities.”

—ASS I STA N T PRO F ESSO R RO RY C RAT H

Kelly Wise, M.S.W. ’05, Ph.D., who is transgender, began the application process with a sense that SSW was a place where LGBTQ identities were welcomed. “I was not concerned about revealing my identity because

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

of the idea I had of Smith: that it was a safe space for queer folks,” said Wise.

“Being around students who were out or fluid about their gender and sexuality was really empowering to me. I was living among people who thought

From left, Assistant Professor Hannah Karpman, M.S.W., Ph.D.; Assistant Professor Ben Capistrant, Sc.D.; and Assistant Professor Rory Crath, M.A., Ph.D. discuss how their insights into the communities they are part of are considered valuable.

more expansively than I did at the time, and it helped me accept myself.”

Increasingly, LGBTQ-identified faculty members have roles to play in the culture of the school. Where many LGBTQ faculty once felt compelled to keep their identities hidden, today these identities can be seen as an advantage, and their insights into communities they are part of are considered valuable.

For Assistant Professor Hannah Karpman, M.S.W., Ph.D., her own visibility is intrinsically connected to her teaching. “Part of my decision to be out in an academic environment was wanting students to know that you could be a queer woman in an academic setting, or in social work or in research. Historically, clinical practice has been seen as attainable by folks who are female-identified, but not necessarily research. It’s important to me to challenge that piece and make research feel accessible and relevant.”

LGBTQ faculty members are careful about how they frame what they offer to students.

“Teaching the methods—whether those are clinical methods, research methods, policy analysis methods, social theorizing methods—are skills that we are able to offer,” said Assistant Professor Ben Capistrant, Sc.D. “People are then able to take those forward and be in leadership positions in the decades to come with a strong skill set, because the content will always be changing. For instance, 20 years ago, we wouldn’t have been talking about marriage equality at the same scale, nor were issues of trans youth transitioning physically in youth and adolescence as common as they are today. If we can equip our students with strong methodological tools, they will be able to adapt and respond to the needs of LGBTQIA populations whatever they will be in 20 years from now.”

“We’re paying attention to the questions that this current set of generations are asking about their own

Continued Support Smith SSW announces new endowed fund for advancement of LGBTQ studies During the 2018 centennial celebration Steven Cadwell, Ph.D. ’90, and Bruce Thompson, Ph.D. ’87, were inspired by the many stories of self-discovery, empowerment and growth shared after the screening of Cadwell’s documentary film “Wild and Precious”.

“I felt such pride in that legacy that we all have. This comes from the important education we all had at Smith,” said Cadwell.

Cadwell and Thompson were moved to create an endowed fund that recognized the School’s deep commitment to the LGBTQ community as well as an understanding of the unique challenges that members of the LGBTQ community often face.

“We wanted to establish a fund that would not have our names on it, but be an inviting place for people who are in our age cohort and maybe others to leave money to Smith and to have it designated to be used for either LGBTQ students who might need scholarship assistance or for inviting guest lecturers—or even holding a small conference to focus on treatment of the LGBTQ community and policy issues,” said Thompson.

Thus, the Endowed Fund for the Advancement of LGBTQ Studies in Clinical Social Work was created. Annual income from the fund may be used to provide financial assistance to students who demonstrate financial need consistent with the financial aid policies of the college and who are dedicated to working with the LGBTQ community. Up to 50 percent of the annual income from this fund may also be used to sponsor one or more guest lecturers and/or programming for a conference(s) that address clinical or policy issues related to the LGBTQ community.

“Bruce and I felt that we had rich and important careers because of the education we received. We wanted to give back, to ensure that there’s a new generation coming forward. There’s still a frontier and we need social workers who are educated, affirmed, empowered and aware—who can go out into these zones that need more activism and are equipped and resilient,” said Cadwell.

If you would like to make a gift to the fund, please contact Director of Alumni Relations and Development, Dawn Faucher, at dfaucher@smith.edu.

LBGTQ communities,” added Assistant Professor Rory Crath, M.A., Ph.D., “And providing a type of mentorship around the different methodological tools and theoretical techniques for being able to probe those questions in really interesting, thoughtful ways— and ethically sound ways, as well.”

Crath noted that little is known about the sexual orientation and gender identities of students of color early in the School’s history. The tremendous changes that occurred for LGBTQ students took place before the development of the School’s AntiRacism Commitment and without a robust conversation about intersectionality. Today, that is an ongoing conversation that takes place among students, faculty and administrators.

“For all of us, how we identify racially intersects very specifically with how we embody gender and sexuality,” said Crath. “These intersecting social forces shape our experiences in the classroom, our teaching and our comprehension of—and investment in—what a liberatory social work practice may be. For students and faculty of color, queerness and gender identity can never be stand-alone experiences.”

Each year, the story of LGBTQ history at the School continues to unfold.

“Today, it’s visible in the fierce work of QTPOC students and faculty, who are queering approaches to our curriculum and approaches to clinical practice that center race, racism and its intersections with other social identities and forces,” said Crath. ◆

S P RING 2 01 9

/ 17 /

HEARTS & MINDS SSW student organizations provide essential support and advocacy

BY MEGAN RUBINER ZINN

/ 18 /

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

S P RING 2 01 9

/ 19 /

ILLUSTRATION: ALICE MOLLON/GETTY IMAGES

T

he Smith College School for Social Work’s M.S.W. program is, as any alum will attest, an intensive experience. Yet in the midst of this rigorous challenge, many students choose to devote their valuable time to extracurricular student organi­ zations—to groups that work to better the experience of students in SSW, better the School as a whole and better the field of social work.

There are more than a dozen student groups at SSW, serving a variety of constituencies and interests. They advocate for students, spearhead events and provide essential communities of support. They give students opportunities to meet students in other years, better understand the workings of the School and build rapport with the faculty and administration. Sometimes they work to effect significant change at the School, and sometimes they simply provide a place to hang out and unwind.

Three of the student groups with long histories at SSW are Student Org, Council for Students of Color (“Council”) and the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (“the Alliance”). Of these, Student Org is the oldest. It is an elected body that works to foster a greater sense of community among students throughout the year and to advocate for their needs. Their current priorities, according to Lea Calderon-Guthe, A ’19, a member of Student Org’s leadership team, Executive 4, include establishing a nurse on campus during the summer, pushing for greater transparency regarding financial aid and the SSW budget and ratifying a students’ “rights and responsibilities” document. They’ve also worked to combine the student- and faculty-run orientations into one collaborative session with mandatory anti-racism training.

In Calderon-Guthe’s view, being part of Student Org deeply enhances her experience as a social work student, especially “sitting with peers and hearing their structural breakdown of what they see happening at the School for Social Work and getting to share in these conversations with so many other brilliant thinkers.”

/ 20 /

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

Council began in the 1970s as the Third World Council and became the Council for Students of Color in 1990. When Yvette Colón, M.S.W. ’90, joined, there were only nine students of color in her cohort. Their priorities were to support each other and provide opportunities to address their experiences and responsibilities as people of color in the social work field.

Colón cites these conversations as deeply influential on her later work in mental-health care and as a professor of social work.

Associate Dean Irene RodriguezMartin has been the administrative liaison to Council for 19 years and has had a unique opportunity to watch it evolve. As it grew, she said, members struggled with how to define membership, given the diversity and complexity of students’ identities. In response, the group decided to broadly redefine what it means to be a person of color.

“They said, ‘it’s not for us to decide. If you identify as a student of color, you are welcome here.’”

Today, Council serves as a place where students of color can find support and mentorship. As Co-Vice President Natali Rauseo-Ricupero, A ’19, explained, “If I can have a conversation with people and try to ease that transition a little bit, or just help someone to feel heard, I think I would consider my time at Council hugely successful.”

It is also an advocacy organization, moving the School towards greater accountability and action. Council members played a key role in the student demonstrations in 2016, challenging the administration to better incorporate current understandings of racism, marginalization and the needs of students of color into the School’s Anti-Racism Commitment.

Gary Raymond, M.S.W. ’80, launched the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Alliance during his first summer in 1978. As one of the first out gay men in the program, he wasn’t able to identify any other gay and lesbian students on campus. He started a group to bring them together and had eight people at the first meeting. “Just being at that meeting changed my feeling about being at Smith immeasurably,” Raymond recalled.

In those early days, the Alliance’s priority was building community, creating safe spaces on campus and partnering with groups like the Third World Council to advocate for change.

They also provided support for each other in addressing homophobia they faced, both on campus and in their internships. David Aronstein, M.S.W. ’80, who was part of the group from the beginning, led the charge to add sexual orientation to the School’s nondiscrimination statement. Like many active in student organizations, Aronstein was deeply affected by his advocacy with the Alliance. “I’ve learned more from doing that work than I did from a lot of the courses that I took,” he noted.

“I became an organizer, and socioeconomic and social justice issues became central to my career.”

Since the late 1970s, the Alliance has significantly expanded its reach and agenda. The group welcomes people of all sexual orientations, gender expressions and their allies. The priority is to maintain a welcoming space for queer students where they can voice concerns and find support and community.

“Some of my closest friends are people I met at Alliance,” Vice President Alice Lazare, A ’19, said. “It’s also helped me understand different ways of being queer.” The tight bonds of the group proved essential last fall, as the members mourned the death of Lucy Graves, M.S.W. ’18, who had been a key member of the organization and kept it thriving during her tenure.

The Alliance also works with other groups to bring in speakers and performers and they host the Lavender Graduation to honor out­­ going students. According to Lazare and President Emma Batting, A ’19, Alliance is currently restructuring in order to provide space and share resources with allied groups, especially QTPOC (Queer and Trans People of Color) and TGNC (Trans and Gender Nonconforming), which can often provide more intimate support than the larger organizations can. “It’s felt really important to me over the past year to be more intentional about coming together and figuring out how we can support each other moving forward,” Batting explained.

While students get involved with

Left: Members of the Alliance leadership team pose for a quick selfie during summer 2018. First row, from left: Rickey Thorn, M.S.W. ’18; Lucy Graves, M.S.W. ’18; Emma Batting, A ’19. Back row, from left: Alize Lazare, A ’19; Elizabeth Southwell, A ’19; Rebecca Maston, A ’19. Photo courtesy of Emma Batting. Above: Members of the Council E-Board pose together during summer 2018. First row, from left: Tara Venkatraman, A ’19; Josh Espinoza, A ’19; Grace Beah, A ’19; Dana Joud, A ’20; Xajaah Williams-Flores, A ’19; Latisha Rocke, A ’20. Second row, from left: Natali Rauseo-Ricupero, A ’19; Naomi Johnson, A ’20; Michelle Humbert, A ’20; Xuxa Fraites, A ’19; Hala Lord, A ’19. E-Board members not pictured: Sarah Seitz, A ’19; Lucia Osman, A ’20. Photo courtesy of Natali Rauseo-Ricupero.

organizations at SSW for a variety of reasons, inevitably, the experiences thoroughly enhance their own personal growth, education and career preparation.

Being part of Council, RauseoRicupero has been privy to the experience of many individual students and has seen consistent themes that speak to the systemic issues for people of color in the field. In response, she plans to pursue research along with clinical work to help address the dispar­ities. Similarly, Erin Wolf, A ’20, affirmed that being part of Student Org’s Executive 4, “further solidified that I want to continue to do anti-racism work to meet the needs of the most marginalized in our communities.”

As the priorities of SSW student organizations evolve, the importance of their role as places of support has remained consistent. Looking back, Colón described Council’s appeal: “Just having a community and people who experienced similar things that I did —I didn’t have to explain anything to them, they already knew it.” Nearly thirty years later, Council Co-President Grace Beah, A ’19, echoed Colón’s sentiment: “I found my coalition and my accomplices. They were my cheerleaders when things were rough on campus, they were also ready to help change the environment around us for the better.” It was also, she added, “a place for me to be unapologetically myself.” ◆

“ I found my coalition and my accomplices. They were my cheerleaders when things were rough on campus, they were also ready to help change the environment around us for the better.”

—GR AC E B EA H , A ’ 1 9

S P RING 2 01 9

/ 21 /

/ 22 /

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

BUILDING CAREER LADDERS Assistant Professor Maria Torres is focused on workforce development for frontline workers

BY FAYE S. WOLFE

S P RING 2 01 9

/ 23 /

IF

the term “workforce development” sounds a little abstract, talk to SSW Assistant Professor Maria Torres, Ph.D., LHMC. To her, it represents a world ripe for investigation and rich in possibilities. Her research into the subject has delved into such fundamental questions as, what are the challenges behavioral health care workers face? And how do we support them?

After earning an M.A. and a Ph.D. in social policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, Torres served as a senior research associate at Heller’s Institute for Behavioral Health. In 2015 she joined the School for Social Work faculty. Having taught in both the research and policy sequences, this summer she will teach a foundationlevel policy course in the M.S.W. program and a dissertation design course in the Ph.D. program. She is supervising nine students on four research practicum projects related to diversity issues or marginalized populations. / 24 /

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

Torres loves research. She will tell you, “analyzing data is super-fun” and warn you that she has a tendency to “get into the weeds” talking about a study, but her mind seems to move easily from details to the big picture.

How, for example, a CPT (current procedural terminology) billing code can make a critical difference in a clinician’s work life—and a client’s progress toward addiction recovery.

Or how an intake form’s wording can discourage or encourage someone to seek treatment.

Besides an analytical mind, Torres brings heart to her work, speaking with feeling, for instance, about a rural detox center struggling to stay afloat and keep clients from sinking back into addiction. “When they lost the physician who could prescribe Suboxone for symptoms of opioid addiction and withdrawal, the nearest place to receive this vital treatment was hours away. The impact on the community was profound.”

For her dissertation, Torres studied the work environment of frontline clinicians in outpatient substance abuse programs, and its impact on quality of care. “Studies often focus on the effectiveness of a new intervention rather than who is doing the interventions or their work conditions,” she said.

Torres zeroed in on workers’ training and background, how they were paid, and what they valued about their work. She explored the pros and cons of fee-for-service payment versus salary, and how that affected clinicians’ job satisfaction and performance. She is still drawing on the findings of that research. In addition, she’s working on research into recovery support navigators in Massachusetts, funded by a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Care Innovation Award, and two projects related to substance abuse in Maine, which has one of the highest rates of fatal opioid overdoses in the country.

Fueling her interest in the subject of workforce development is the fact that the contribution of behavioral health workers, like many others providing essential services in our

Assistant Professor Maria Torres, Ph.D., LHMC, meets with Hala Lord, A ’19, and Natali RauseoRicupero, A ’19, in her office.

society, is undervalued. She talked about the rungs of “career ladders”: training, coaching, higher education, promotion. “Often there is no career ladder. They’re on the front line of an epidemic and not paid a living wage. There are treatment successes, but given the nature of addiction, there are also relapses, overdoses and deaths. It’s not work for the faint of heart, and yet they persist.”

Torres noted, “Nurses used to be viewed as the subordinates of doctors. Now nurses are viewed as

“ Often there is no career ladder. They’re on the front line of an epidemic and not paid a living wage. There are treatment successes, but given the nature of addiction, there are also relapses, overdoses and deaths. It’s not work for the faint of heart, and yet they persist.”

—M ARI A TO RRES

S P RING 2 01 9

/ 25 /

“ I want them to dip their toes into the idea.

If they show interest, I try to cultivate it, to encourage them to see themselves as future scholars. I want them to know that they have something important to contribute and, most importantly, that they can do it.”

—MARIA TORRES

essential members of a medical team, they have authority, are respected, well-paid…How do we do that for frontline workers? How do we create career ladders, get people more support, more formal training? There is no single answer. It will take a multipronged, multilevel approach.”

Another aspect of workforce development that Torres is studying is the lack of diversity in the field of social work. “Social workers are overwhelmingly cisgender females and overwhelmingly white. That doesn’t reflect the world around us,” said Torres.

At the time, she was sitting in the sunlit Campus Center Café, as students hunched over laptops, professors grabbed a slice and locals stopped in for a latte. “When I enter any space, I scan it to see how diverse the group is. Where are the people of color? Are they the servers? The customers? What are the status markers?” The social scientist was speaking, but then the woman of color added quietly, “It’s a survival skill.”

“This is especially true in a behavioral health setting,” added Torres.

“People coming in for care feel vulnerable. They wonder, ‘Is there anyone here who will understand me and my experiences?’”

It’s also true at schools for social work. You could say that Torres is on the front line at SSW, as a woman and a scholar of color whose

/ 26 /

presence, example, experience and interactions with students can be highly influential.

Torres knows firsthand the value of mentors. “I was incredibly fortunate,” she said about meeting Dr. Margarita Alegría, internationally recognized for her research on disparities in mental health treatment, several years ago. Torres has been a member of Alegría’s research team on various studies.

She also knows the exhilaration that comes from seeing people like ones self doing important work.

Torres is originally from Colombia.

“I emigrated to the United States when I was 4.” (Before the question could be asked, she said with a smile, “That’s why I don’t have an accent,” as though this was something she was used to explaining.) Her first job after earning her M.A. in psychological counseling from Lesley University was at a Boston-area domestic violence program that offered all its services in English and Spanish.

“It was my first experience working in a place where 95 percent of the people were Latino and 95 percent were women,” Torres said. “It was like, Wow!, a dive into a Latinapowered environment committed to serving the community. It was political, passionate and focused on activism and care.”

So, enthusiastic about teaching, advising and coaching SSW students

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

in general, she especially wants to support students of color. “I ask if they’ve considered going on to get a Ph.D. Do you have questions, how can I help you so that you don’t feel overwhelmed by the prospect?”

In addition, Torres likes to nudge students’ thinking about the relation­ ship between clinical practice, research and policy.

“Students may not see themselves as researchers, but I tell them that to be a clinician is to be a researcher,” said Torres. A clinician looks to research to guide treatment and operates within a policy context. Torres wants students to consider becoming the researchers whose work informs practice and policy. “I want them to dip their toes into the idea. If they show interest, I try to cultivate it, to encourage them to see themselves as future scholars. I want them to know that they have something important to contribute and, most importantly, that they can do it.”

“It’s my job and my mission to be here, at SSW, honing students’ skills, opening their eyes to possibilities,” Torres said. Then, acknowledging that the conversation had come full circle, she added, “It’s all about the workforce. Smith couldn’t be a better fit for me. I’m so honored to be here working with these students.” ◆

Alumni News I N T H I S S EC T I O N

ALUMNI DESK ALUMNI LIVES

Kat Yoas, M.S.W. ’18, Noah Cochran, M.S.W. ’18, and Inbal Rait, M.S.W. ’18, celebrate at the President’s Reception during the 2018 commencement festivities.

/ Alumni Desk /

DAWN M. FAUCHER Alumni Relations & Development Director

The Power of People Doubling down to ensure our work ahead

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

—MARGARET MEAD

/ 28 /

When I was child I was fascinated by commercials. One in particular—a shampoo commercial—stuck with me.

The commercial told the story of how a lesser-known brand that was best-inclass remained affordable because, as the spokesperson said, “I told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on.” The image of the spokesperson multiplied exponentially on the TV screen.

For me, this ad not only cemented algebraic concepts but also reinforced a lesson from my parents about Margaret Mead and the power of people mobilization, the power of social movements.

That is how I view the work of alumni relations and development here at Smith.

The Smith College School for Social Work may be small as compared to some of our peer institutions, but we are great in our reach. Our impact can be felt near and far through the collective accomplishments and commitment of our alumni, faculty, students and staff to mobilize and lead for change. This inspires me in my work in the SSW Office of Alumni Relations & Development and with the Smith community.

For 100 years alumni have been lifting up the next generation of social workers

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

through mentorship, volunteer efforts and philanthropy. As the need has grown, so has the support. The growth in recent years has been exponential as societal needs necessitate that we double down in support of current and prospective students.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.” At this point in our School’s history, we require more support from alumni than ever before—in the forms of financial contributions, volunteer recruitment and alumni-student networking.

Until we as a society address the underlying circumstances that have created disparity in educational opportunity we must work together to ensure that Smith remains an option for the best and brightest students. I feel confident that working together our thoughtful, committed Smith SSW community will continue to address educational disparities based on race, class and identity—both through philanthropy and through our continued work to dismantle systems of oppression.

As always, I thank you for your commitment to Smith and the world! ◆

/ Alumni Lives /

Alumni Lives Updates from far and near 1956 Nancy Boyd Webb writes, “After teaching in the clinical practice area at Fordham Graduate School of Social Service for 30 years, I retired and moved to Massachusetts in 2008. I continue to write scholarly books on the topics of child therapy, trauma and bereavement, and since 1991 have published 15 books, which are essential references for university courses and for agencies and clinical practitioners. In 2018 Guilford Press published the totally revised fourth edition of my best-selling text, Social Work Practice with Children, which contains extensive new content including working with immigrant and refugee children, and on helping children and families when the children are gender-nonconforming. The text also discusses the importance of therapist self-care and includes up-to-date research on brain development, trauma and attachment.

A second book, published in 2018, is a co-edited volume focused on helping adolescents in groups using various expressive methods such as drama, art, story and poetry writing.

The title of this volume, published

by Routledge, is Creative Arts-Based Group Therapy with Adolescents, the co-editor with me is Craig Haen, Ph.D., who has published previously on the topics of group therapy and methods for engaging young boys in treatment. I continue to present frequently as a keynote speaker and workshop leader at professional conferences and I also conduct staff training and consultation and individual supervision. My website has more information: nancyboydwebb.com.”

1960 Linda Howard Zonana writes, “From the 1960, now many long years ago—59 come June—only two of us attended the Centennial Celebration last June. Margot Turitz Elkins, M.S.W. ’60, and I came together, and were very glad we did, even though we’d hoped to see other classmates. We thoroughly enjoyed the activities, staying in a new dorm (with air conditioning!), and the meals we shared with other alums. Both Margot and I are lucky not to have any major health issues that limit our lives significantly. I’m 81 now, and retired two years ago, my last job having been part-time at

a local mental health facility. I’m still searching for an overriding sense of purpose in my life, but still read a lot, hike, swim, go to the Cape in August and ride the breakers, trying to avoid the scary sharks. My husband, Howard, is still working full-time as the director of the training program in forensic psychiatry at Yale. Our three children are thriving, all working in people-oriented areas, and we are thrilled to have three grandchildren, after waiting so many years for them. They are now 8, 6 and 5. What I especially enjoy about little kids are their misperceptions of how the world works and all the unintentionally funny things they say. I’d like to mention that we took a terrific trip to Egypt this fall with Road Scholar and recommend it highly.

We made the decision to go after a friend said to us, ‘It’s just as safe as Paris!’ We felt well-cared for, and there is nothing like standing before giant monuments 5,000 years old to engender a true sense of awe. I’d be delighted to hear from anybody who wants to contact me.”

1969 Evelyn Craig McNeely Edmondson writes, “I retired in 2018 after 50 years. Earning the M.S.W. at Smith was the beginning of a rewarding career.”

1970 Martha Curtis writes, “I am staying active and supervising in an output mental health facility. I would be very interested in hearing from anyone from the 1970 at courteous4@ gmail.com.”

1971 Helen Bettman Cohen writes, “Just like a nurturing social worker to have one child and three grandchildren, especially when fertility treatment has changed so much since my daughter Sarah’s miraculous birth in 1978!” ¾ David Paradise writes, “I am happy to say I have an article currently being published in the New England Family Business magazine titled, Passing the Torch Effectively—how a seasoned facilitator and coach can help taking action steps to achieve successful resolution. I earned my M.S.W. at the Jane Addams Graduate School of Social Work in 1966 and my Ph.D. at Smith College doctoral program in 1971. I did a post-doctoral research

fellowship at Harvard Medical School 1973–74, in community psychiatry that included work at Harvard Business School’s MBA program. Building on my training to diagnose and treat emotional issues, I created Family Business Resource Center (FBRC) in 1982 to help individuals, intergenerational families, and business partners communicate effectively and resolve disputes amicably. FBRC has helped hundreds of regional and national companies define and achieve their goals. I specialize in organizational culture, ownership/leadership control, succession planning and establishment of continuity. I bring calm support and clear communication to stabilize business entities and family systems to meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s challenges. I am a holder of an advanced certificate in Family Business Advising from the Family Firm Institute and I am a fellow of the organization.”

1973 Lucille Spira writes, “I am happy to announce my new co-edited anthology: Pedro Almodóvar, A Cinema of Desire, Passion and Compulsion, IPBooks.net. In this book, we discuss themes played out in his films, such as: sexuality, sexual identity, gender roles, trauma and the struggle for power. Desire, passion, compulsion and nostalgia, along with bullfights, rape, murder, Shakespeare, Cocteau, the life cycle and the struggles of contemporary society are all part of the Almodóvar mix examined.”

1974 Lisa Aronson writes, “From my current vantage point, of having been a social worker since 1974, when I graduated from Smith SSW, I can see what a suitable career I chose for myself. I have been able to use my training flexibly and creatively. I have gone from being a psychoanalytically oriented child psychotherapist, to a director of a child evaluation division of a trauma center, to a director of a small ‘think tank’ looking at the impact of trauma on societies, to a Fulbright scholarship in India learning about schoolbased mental health and orphanage care, to my current work with disadvantaged adolescents and a handful of other patients. And now, also, I am using my knowledge to take on the unknown emotional territory

Sarah Cohen Hammer (daughter of Helen Bettman Cohen ’71) and her family: Ross Hammer, Evan Hammer (8 years old), Hadley Hammer (6 years old) and Ellie Hammer (3 years old)

we all face of losing a parent and witnessing the terrible vulnerability of another.”

1976 Elliott Silverman writes, “Let me tell you about my grandchildren.

I DON’T HAVE ANY! Other than that, I’m still working 15 or so hours a week in private practice, making stained glass pieces that everyone says are really beautiful, but not beautiful enough to buy! I am eagerly awaiting Trump’s humiliation and downfall, and following the careers/passions of my two adult daughters and pinch myself that their parenting was (‘so called’) good enough that they turned out as interesting and politically conscious.

Taking in film, stage, museums, travel and all the stuff of old folks.

I am both terrified and excited to connect with, in person, or photo or Skype, etc. folks from so long ago when mid-20’s was about as ideal as anyone could get! Please contact me at elliott2ster@gmail.com. My best and love to all.”

1978 Jane Lord Andrews writes, “In March I am retiring from Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts after 40 years. I began in September 1978 right after graduation from Smith. I have been a M.S.W./LICSW in all parts of the hospital—initially medical and women’s health, then inpatient psychiatry, and then outpatient psychiatry for the past 30 years. I have loved our varied patient community and vibrant colleagues, and I have enjoyed and endorsed the changing practice towards more focused, cognitive and pragmatic approaches.

S P RING 2 01 9

/ 29 /

/ Alumni News /

ICU nurse and the other is in digital marketing and photo archiving. I am in regular contact with Michelle Champoux, Jane Salata and Holly Taylor (Young)—all M.S.W. 1979— and we get together as often as we can. Hope everyone from our class is doing well—all of us are on Facebook if anyone wants to contact us! Please send news!”

1984 classmates Susan Martin and Terry Galen

I am moving to San Diego, California, to be nearer to children and grandchildren. I hope to be engaged in some activism there.” ¾ Amy Bloom writes, “My news is not much: still writing (I think I have three more books in me), still seeing the occasional couple for therapy (I think this is probably my calling at this stage, like adolescents were for about 20 years), still married to a great guy who is himself retired (boots-on-the-ground support for Planned Parenthood, stained glass and fly fishing are his big three).

Now a grandmother to our amazing girls—all beautiful geniuses...so that’s nice for us.” ¾ Deanna Rosen writes, “I am officially retired from a 38-year clinical social work career.

No regrets! Loved it, but now love my freedom to enjoy life in a different way. I moved from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Tucson, Arizona, in March of 2017; enjoying 70-degree weather in January (for the first time in my life). Strange, but nice! I am in seven book groups and my husband, Rick, plays bridge. They seem to be our new careers. I literally ran into the (generic) Smith Alumnae Club of Tucson at a screening of “RBG.” I identified them from the “Smith College—A Century of Women on Top” T-shirt many of them were wearing. I have yet to make it to any of the activities they have invited me to attend. My new is address is 11723 North Desert Holly Drive, Oro Valley, Arizona 85737. I have a beautiful guest bedroom for those wanting out of the cold!”

1979 Marianne West writes, “I recently retired after nearly 20 years as an associate dean of students at the University of Chicago. I am looking forward to doing things I have not had much time to do, especially travel. My daughters are both in Chicago which is great—one is an

/ 30 /

1981 Martin Frumkin writes, “I am nearing completion of a manuscript entitled, Suspected Hippie in Transit; Not Necessarily Stoned, but Beautiful. The publication date is expected toward the latter part of 2019. The book encompasses backpack overland travel in Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia and the Orient—circa 1972–1977.”

1984 Terry Galen writes, “After working for more than 30 years in community mental health, I moved on to work in a rural regional hospital. I love my job, which I balance between hospice, med/surg, addiction medicine and emergency work. My daughter just graduated with her B.F.A. and is hoping to find a job in her field.

My husband is happily retired and pursues his many interests. We have a small farm with three horses, two donkeys, a geriatric mule, three dogs, three cats and chickens. Life is good.” ¾ Susan Martin writes, “I went back to school for a master’s in nursing in 2006. I’m in private practice as a psychiatric nurse practitioner. I perform psychiatric evaluations, provide medication management and psychotherapy. I have two adult children. Sarah is married and employed as an FNP and lives in Portland. My son, Brian, is living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and studying for MCATs and will apply to medical school this fall. My husband, Michael, and I went to Moab last October to hike and bike and visit Terry and her husband, Tom.” 1986 Rose-Ann Wanczyk-Karp writes, “This is huge news. I got married last summer! I am now Rose-Ann Wanczyk-Karp.”

1988 Laura Sabatini writes, “After almost 30 years of practice in Richmond, Virginia, I decided to start over in Charleston, South Carolina. I won’t go into all the sordid details.

However, I will say, that three weeks after putting the house that I raised my children in on the market, it caught on fire (a really big, bad fire).

My two youngest adult children said

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

‘WTF!!! Mom, I think even the house wants to make sure that you leave!’

So, me, my husband, our two dogs and our two private practices started over in gorgeous Charleston, South Carolina. After less than two years here, my new private practice is absolutely thriving and I am thrilled.

My kids also talked me into being on Southern Charm. For those of you, like me, who have never seen a reality TV show, it is a hugely popular reality TV show on BRAVO that takes place in Charleston. They filmed me doing two sessions with Craig, a young man on the show.

It wasn’t scripted and I certainly wasn’t acting. I didn’t want to do it as I am a pretty introverted person.

But at 55 years old, living a good, if not pretty quiet life, I never thought that I would ever be asked to do something so out of the ordinary.

Short sections of those sessions appear in three different episodes of Season 5. I have only had the nerve to watch two of them! While I am still a little embarrassed about it, I think that I did a good job in those sessions; thanks, Smith! And the overwhelming feedback from current and former clients and complete strangers who approach me around town is that they thought that the work was wonderful. As a social worker, I like to think that I did my little goofy part to help people see therapy through a more positive light. I would love to know if there are any other SSW alums here in Charleston.”

1989 Clay Van Batenburg writes, “I recently turned 60 and this year I am celebrating 30 years as a social worker, 25 years married, 15 years as a dad, 3 years as a grandpa, and my second year as clinical director of a Kaiser Permanente care coordination program in the Bay Area. Life is good!”

1990 Yvette Colón writes, “I am an M.S.W. ’90, Ph.D., and an associate professor in the School of Social Work at Eastern Michigan University, where I am also a department member in the women’s & gender studies department and faculty affiliate in the School of Health Sciences Aging Studies Program. I recently launched a healing art experience with The Pain Community (paincommunity.org), a pain support and advocacy national nonprofit organization, and am working on a grant-funded project evaluating the effects of online support for adults with chronic pain. In early 2018, I joined Amplify Colectivo, a private group therapy

practice that supports the growth of people, organizations and communities by providing culturally sensitive mental health services; I provide individual and couple psychotherapy (including EMDR) to adults ages 20+ dealing with depression, anxiety, chronic pain and LGBTQQ+ issues.

I continue my role on the Alumni Leadership Council as development representative and chair of the 1918 Fellowship Society.” ¾ Maryanne Stewart writes, “I graduated from the SSW in 1990. I live and work in Portland, Oregon. I work in an outpatient multidisciplinary mental health setting and see patients from 9 to 90 years old. My training at Smith included an ‘unrequested’ inpatient child adolescent field placement in Houston, Texas, which turned out to be great, and an outpatient field placement at Menninger in Topeka, Kansas. Both were an excellent preparation for a highly satisfying career in clinical social work. No regrets and tremendous gratitude!”

1991 Stephanie Costello writes, “I closed my private practice on October 30, 2018, and to celebrate and begin the transition to the next phase of my life—we left Oregon for a three-month road trip. We drove all through California and saw some of the terrible fires as well as enjoyed many beautiful sites and some fine wines. Then we drove across the southern U.S. and visited family and ended up in Bradenton, Florida, for December and January. I am so grateful for having had such a meaningful and satisfying career. I miss it already. But I am looking forward to discovering what’s next.”

1992 Nicole Reeher Christina writes, “I am so excited that my podcast, Zestful Aging, is now heard in 46 countries. I’ve had the chance to interview incredible women like Jean Kilbourne, Evelyn Tribole, and Ashton Applewhite. I’ll also be competing in tennis at the Senior Games in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this spring. If you are in the area, please come and say hello.” ¾ Rebecca Schachter writes, “While continuing to be honored in my long-term private practice work, I got to a place in my life (my two children are grown, finding their way in the world and both my parents are no longer aging/alive) where I was ready to expand my involvement in the world in a profound way. A few years ago I started an inquiry into working in some context that considered structural racism, classism and gender, addressing individual

/ Alumni Lives /

and intergenerational trauma and harm. This journey brought me to volunteering one day a week, where I travel a few hours east of the state, and facilitate restorative justice-informed groups for incarcerated men in a medium-security state prison through the organization Transformational Prison Project, an affiliate of the Insight Prison Project that originated out of San Quentin.

It is a privilege to facilitate these groups, to engage in and witness profound and honest discussions with and between the men. It gifts me with interconnectedness, humility, inspiration and gratitude.” ¾ Annie Weiss writes, “I will be presenting at AGPA in Los Angeles in March and in Philadelphia in April on various topics related to group therapy, IFS (internal family systems) and interpersonal neurobiology. Group therapy is my professional passion and I’ll talk about it to anyone who will listen. Otherwise I am having more fun than I expected with an empty nest.”

1993 Bob Gallo writes, “After countless stops and starts, and many lengthy breaks, I finally earned my black belt in aikido on January 5, 2019. I tremendously enjoy spending time with my 17-year-old daughter and 14-yearold son, seeing musicals/theater and jazz shows with them, and just hanging out. I continue to be inspired and passionate about my work, which consists of doing individual, couple and family therapy, supervision, and clinical/program consultation at my practice in Aptos, California. I am currently reading about Winnicott’s therapeutic contributions, the psychedelic psychotherapy elders and a meditation book by Adyashanti.”

1994 Leah Zonis Harp writes, “I now live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

When I am not volunteering at my 8- and 12-year-olds’ schools, I serve on the board of City Elementary, a therapeutic elementary school I cofounded in Chicago, Illinois.”

1995 Daniel Beck writes, “I am now a teaching fellow at Harvard Medical School, teaching CBT at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital. I am also helping to organize a 25th anniversary for the 1995 for the summer of 2020.

I hope to be in touch in the next couple months with a date and a plan.” ¾ Melissa Coco writes, “I am very happy to be teaching Smith students both at Cambridge Health Alliance as interns and fellows, and as an FFA. While social work training is changing, Smith students

continue to shine! Ben Krauss, M.S.W. ’95 recently surprised me with a call while visiting Boston, Massachusetts, from Denver, Colorado, with his ‘lovely Betsy’.

He seems happy, as usual! Last year Amy Tague, M.S.W. ’95 and Ted Lacrone, M.S.W. ’95 and I bumped into each other in a city we were all visiting. A follow-up visit with their family was amazing—like old times with two new people in the mix (their kids). California alums: Mareka Thompson, M.S.W. ’95 and Laurie Ketter Ostacher, M.S.W. ’95 and I stay in regular contact. Mareka has two wonderful daughters. Laurie just sent a son off to college and has a teenaged daughter at home.

Laurie visits Boston regularly, which is always a treat! Even when there have been years of lost contact, SCSSW friends hold a special place in my heart and we can always reconnect quickly…what a wild time of life and unique experience those 27 months offered.” ¾ Stephanie Johnson writes, “Since graduation I have worked in community health centers in the U.S. and in international schools in Switzerland and Singapore. I have recently moved to Zagreb, Croatia. I am starting a counselling and consulting business to provide support to people living internationally (stephaniejohnsonconsulting.com).”

1996 James Greenberg writes, “Hello former classmates—I’ve been at West Coast Children’s Clinic, with a number of other Smithies, in Oakland, California, for the past 14 years. I currently supervise and direct the outpatient program and have a small private practice. My son is a senior in high school and my daughter a senior in college. Whoa, how time flies! Let me know how you are doing at jgjb@comcast.net.” ¾ Rachel Louden writes, “I am in my third year of psychoanalytic training at the Denver Institute of Psychoanalysis. I will start my fourth and final year of training in September 2019. I maintain a busy full-time psychodynamic and psychoanalytic practice as well. My twin daughters are 14 years old and freshmen in high school.” ¾ Cathryn English-Straub writes, “I am very proud that my daughter, Jordan Straub, has become a Smithie! She loves Smith College and plans to graduate in 2022. I continue to have a long-standing private practice in Helena, Montana.”

1997 Gail Fries writes, “I now have two wonderful grandchildren, Jett, 3, and Kit, born November 7, 2018.

CNN Hero GenerateHope founder Susan Munsey, M.S.W. ’93, honored for work Founder and clinical director of GenerateHope, Susan Munsey, M.S.W. ’93, was named a 2018 CNN Hero for her work with sex trafficking survivors. According to CNN, CNN Heroes are “everyday people who are changing the world.” Munsey was among thousands of individuals nominated for the award.

Munsey, herself a survivor, launched GenerateHope in 2009 to address the needs of survivors of the growing epidemic of sex trafficking. Since 2009, GenerateHope has provided hope and healing for more than 105 women. It is the first and only on-site, integrated recovery program for survivors in San Diego. GenerateHope addresses the complex needs of this unique population through individual case management; education; group and individual psychotherapy; adjunct therapies, such as equine therapy, dance and art therapy and yoga; as well as community-supported medical, dental and psychiatric care; legal services; and tattoo removal.

Said Munsey of the award, “I have accepted the CNN Hero Award on behalf of my team and the women we are blessed to work with.

In truth, we are all heroes, but especially the women who show up day after day to face their trauma and march through to the other side!”

You can read more about Munsey and her work in the Spring 2018 edition of InDepth.

I’ll be leaving my job as a program director at a local social service agency in early 2019 to expand my private practice. My hope is to have more somatic experiencing clients.” ¾ Monifa Robinson Groover writes, “As owner of Within Your Reach Consulting Services, LLC, I am proud to announce we have expanded and started our recruitment and staffing division. Within Your Reach Staffing Solutions is the premier nationwide behavioral health staffing and recruitment firm that bridges the gap between employers and job seekers.

Employers—if you need help filling positions, contact us. Job seekers— if you are looking for new career opportunities, connect with us at wyrstaffing.com.” ¾ Martha Sweezy writes, “I got an M.S.W. at SSW in 1991 and a doctorate in 1997. After working for 19 years in the outpatient psychiatry department of the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA)

as a clinician and as the associate director and director of training for the OPD’s DBT program, I retired from clinical work at CHA and was promoted to assistant professor, part-time, at Harvard Medical School. I remain affiliated with CHA as a program consultant and supervisor. Currently I write; have a private therapy and consultation practice in Northampton, Massachusetts; help out with IFS research when I can; and teach about IFS nationally and internationally. In addition to two peer-reviewed articles on IFS, I have co-written and co-edited several books on IFS, including Internal Family Systems Therapy, 2nd Edition, (Guilford Press) with Richard Schwartz (in press); The IFS Skills Training Manual: Trauma-Informed Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, PTSD & Substance Abuse (PESI) with Frank Anderson and Richard Schwartz; Intimacy from the Inside Out: Courage and Compassion in

S P RING 2 01 9

/ 31 /

/ Alumni News /

Couple Therapy with Toni HerbineBlank and Donna Kerpelman (Routledge); and, finally, Innovations and Elaborations in Internal Family Systems Therapy and Internal Family Systems Therapy: New Dimensions with Ellen Ziskind (Routledge).”

IN MEMORIAM Class of 1939

Frances Jenney Ross Class of 1943

Gertrude Weissman Pollock Class of 1945

M. Elizabeth Grier Gower Class of 1946

Ruth Gordon Richards Class of 1948

Mary Cannady Class of 1950

Shirley Meyer Kirschner Class of 1956

Aida Urreta Bruns Class of 1957

M. Doris Lloyd Scalise Class of 1958

Priscilla Holliday Class of 1961

Eleanor Epstein Bromberg Jessica Seth-Smith Murdaugh Class of 1972

Thomas Lever Class of 1973

Brock Hansen Walter Miller Robert Wrchota Class of 1974

Judith Zarchan-Perlstein Class of 1980

Michael Hubner William Wechsler Class of 1982

Judith Fischbach Class of 1985

Joanne Shenk Cohen Class of 1989

Elaine Robb Class of 2011

Kimberly Winnegge Class of 2018

Lucy-Lynn Graves This listing includes alumni who passed between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018.

/ 32 /

1999 Barbara Bolibok writes, “I am a candidate at the Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis (MIP), currently in my third year of analytic training. The weekly commutes from Northampton to Cambridge, Massachusetts, are so worth it.

After years of feeling like the only psychoanalytic clinician in clinics I worked in, and after years of feeling isolated in private practice, I found a vibrant psychoanalytic community to be a part of. I love it! I recommend psychoanalytic training to any clinical social worker who feels a need to deepen their clinical skills and learn them in an intellectually rich community of analysts. A bow of gratitude to the professors at SCSSW who introduced me to psycho­ dynamic social work.” ¾ Tanita Cox Teagle writes, “In October 2018, the Carrollton city council (Georgia) appointed me as one of the commissioners for parks and recreation.

I will join a board of seven other commissioners to provide oversight for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department and the many programs offered including programs for children with disabilities.”

2000 Jessica Gifford writes, “I became a permanent Northampton, Massachusetts, resident after graduating from the social work program. My partner, Nicole, and I live around the corner from Smith and frequently walk around campus or enjoy the use of the tennis courts.

I worked for a few years in clinical settings, then moved into the field of college mental health promotion. I specialize in developing curricula for groups and large-scale online programs targeted at building resiliency and improving mental health. I also facilitate a number of groups and trainings on the topics of resiliency, protective factors and thriving. I recently published Four Weeks to Wellness: Evidence-based exercises to cultivate health and happiness in your life. This book can be used as a self-help tool, or the exercises can be incorporated into therapy work with clients. A free, detailed curriculum for a four-week resiliency skills group is available on my website growingwellness.life.”

2001 Lynn Cormier Sayarath writes, “I recently received an invitation to be a part of Hyland’s 2019 Boston Marathon team. A trusted leader in wellness and innovation since 1901, Hyland’s strives to celebrate the remarkable stories of everyday leaders in communities nationwide.

From the all-women’s team in 2017

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

to a teacher’s team in 2018, Hyland’s supports athletes of all abilities so that they can in turn inspire others.

For 2019, Hyland’s is proud to bring healers to Boston for the running of the 123rd Marathon. I will be joining Hyland’s Healer team this April in Boston and it will be my seventh marathon to date, my first Boston Marathon! I maintain a private counseling practice in Templeton, Massachusetts with a clinical specialty in treating eating disorders and self-harming behaviors, and I am also an adjunct professor of psychology at Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts. As a licensed clinical social worker, I know first-hand the benefit that exercise and physical activity can have for healing the mind and body.

I am committed to instilling a love for healthy exercise and physical activity in my community. I am the varsity field hockey coach at Gardner High School and I am one of the founders of Girls on the Run Worcester County, a nonprofit organization that inspires girls in grades three to eight to be joyful, confident and healthy through running.” ¾ Johnnie Hamilton-Mason writes, “I recently published an updated volume of Systemic Racism in the United States: Scaffolding as Social Construction, which offers a powerful overview of racism in the United States: what it is; how it works; and the social, cultural and institutional structures that have evolved to keep it in place. This book was co-authored by Robbie W.C. Tourse and Nancy J. Wewiorski. The book dissects the rise of legalized discrimination against four major racial groups (First Nations, Africans, Mexicans and Chinese) and its perpetuation as it affects these groups and new immigrants today. I have taught in the Doctoral program at Smith—Oppression and Treatment— and have been a professor at Simmons School of Social Work (since 1991) where I cofounded the Pharnal Longus Academy for Undoing Racism in 2005. I am formerly the co-chair of the Council on Social Work Education’s council on the role and status of women in higher education. I am currently on the editorial board for Health and Social Work and the Journal of Social Work Education. I am also a board of trustees member for Research Education Collaborative for Al-Quds University and the Heritage Guild.”

2002 Rachel Hulstein-Lowe writes, “A shout out to the women of the 2002. I was lucky enough to bump into Mary Kate Little M.S.W. ’02 at a November continuing education

course on chronic pain offered in Boston, Massachusetts, and also host Sara (Stites) Hansen M.S.W. ’02 for a weekend visit in early December.

Earlier in 2018, my family and I visited with Kathryn Coy M.S.W. ’02 and her family while on a trip to Northern California. Hoping 2019 brings more chances for reunions with the inspiring women of Talbot.”

2003 Janah Boccio writes, “For the past 12 years I’ve been working at the Churchill School in New York City as the middle school social worker, running groups and seeing students individually. Part of my job is teaching sex education, which reignited a passion of mine and resulted in me going back to school. I am currently working towards my M.Ed. and Ph.D. in Sexuality Education at Widener University. I also give presentations to pre-K through 12th grade educators on the importance of understanding gender and sexuality diversity; provide workshops to parents and caregivers on getting more comfortable talking to kids about sex and sexuality; and write an advice column for BrooklynBased.com about how to best answer kids’ questions about sex. In addition, I maintain a private practice in Manhattan and plan alumni events with Wendy Bassett M.S.W. ’03.” ¾ Suzanne Raucher Fix writes, “I married Robert Doucette on October 13, 2018.

I have a private practice, specializing in trauma, in Weaverville, North Carolina.” ¾ Phoebe Harris Millman writes, “Two years ago I returned to work for the children’s mental health nonprofit Lincoln in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I first started my career after graduating SSW. I joined them as the clinical director for school-based mental services, and am enjoying being back at an agency that values and promotes the importance of relationally based psychotherapy.

Outside of work, my husband and I are kept busy balancing the demands of being two working professionals and raising our daughter, now 8 years old, in Orinda, California.” ¾ Gabrielle Holder writes, “Hello Alumni! It has been good to keep in touch with many of you both near and far. I continue to keep myself busy with a number of different positions—working at an independent school, growing my private practice, and also balancing my role as an FFA for some Smith graduate students in the D.C./ Maryland area. I recently finished building my three office suite close to home (literally steps from my back door), so am eager to take on

/ Alumni Lives /

new clients and am looking forward to spring weather to increase my experiences providing running/jogging therapy (evolve therapypractice.com/). I also remain busy as a mom of three fun-loving and ‘growing like weeds’ kids and one giant 100-pound puppy.

I am grateful that I get to enjoy returning to Smith from time to time for my work with the Alumni Leadership Council. Please reach out if and when you come to D.C.!” ¾ Kian Jacobs writes, “After relocating to the northeast coast of Florida three years ago, I had a busy year involved as unit chair for NASW Volusia/Flagler County chapter. I am extremely honored to be nominated Social Worker of the Year for the chapter. My focus has been on providing continuing education credits and creating an atmosphere for the group encouraging inclusion and diversity. Outside of my private practice, I have joined with a group of local Presbyterian churches, who have a model based on clinical community counseling with independent contractors, and recycling profits matched by church funds to allow access to counseling regardless of ability to pay.

Working hard to maintain the true spirit of social work.” ¾ Angelia Washington writes, “I received my Ph.D. in 2018 from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in North Carolina. I am a councilwoman for the city of Jacksonville, North Carolina, serving my second four-year term. Also, in 2018, I was elected to the National League of Cities (NLC) board of directors. The NLC is dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities and is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans. I have served on this committee for four years and recently received my third reappointment as vice chair.”

2004 Lizzy Pappas Pendleton writes, “I am married and have two children, ages five and three. I live in Steam­ boat Springs, Colorado.” ¾ Sarah Rosenthal Sherwood writes, “My family and I moved from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Los Angeles, California, in June 2018. Since August I have been working as a program manager at the People Concern in permanent supportive housing. I received my LCSW in January 2019. I just received an offer from the Veterans Administration in their Healthcare for Homeless Veterans program fulfilling a decade-long dream of mine to work at the VA. I expect to transition to that role in March 2019.”

2005 Samara Grossman writes, “I am a clinical social worker at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and I am excited to announce that I have been selected to participate in the Clinical Scholars Program, part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s leadership development program. This program is designed to equip leaders across the country—in every sector and field—to collaborate, break down silos and use their influence to make communities healthier and more equitable. Designed for teams of clinicians from any discipline, Clinical Scholars provides fellows with intensive learning, mentoring and networking directed toward addressing the root causes of inequity in health, and offers the opportunity to collaborate with people from diverse specialties, each bringing their own focus and expertise. The Clinical Scholars team I am on will be collaborating with stakeholders across the Brigham and Women’s hospital system, including patients, to create, implement and evaluate a trauma-informed care model in the emergency department. If you would like to learn more about the Clinical Scholars leadership program visit clinicalscholarsnli.org.” ¾ William Heran writes, “I am the founder and CEO of Providence Treatment with offices in Media, Haverford and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The mission of Providence Treatment is to evaluate and treat healthcare professionals with substance-use disorders. We are a full-scale outpatient service with a day program, IOP, OP and executive-style sober living residences. Our website is providencetreatment.com.” ¾ Erin Matthews writes, “I opened my private practice doors January 1, 2019, specializing in trauma and walk and talk therapy.

I have also started an Instagram account to address shame and vulnerability from a personal and therapist’s perspective. You can follow me @erinmatthewslcsw.” ¾ Kelly Wise writes, “My private practice, Wiser Sex Therapy (wisersextherapy.com), added two new therapists in 2018, bringing the New York City offices to seven therapists. I am currently working on a documentary on love and healing after child abuse and sexual trauma, which portrays my, and my partner’s (Roseanne Malfucci, a UMASS alum), experience of my gender-affirmation bottom surgery. The surgery process has been six surgeries in two years, which has been both challenging and incredible.”

Patricia Becerra Gale ’07 and Christian Gale ’07 with their son and new baby daughter

2006 Crystal Hayes writes, “Since graduation I have worked in community-based mental health, nonprofit leadership and management, where I was the director of racial justice and maternal child wellness at the YWCA of Greater Raleigh in North Carolina. I started my Ph.D. in social work fall 2015 and in the spring of 2018 I passed my dissertation proposal. I am now officially ABD and conducting research on the birthing experiences of incarcerated Black women and WOC as a reproductive justice and racial justice issue. I’ve written for Ms. Magazine, TheGrio, Huffington Post and, most recently, I published a book chapter on reproductive justice with a colleague.”

2007 Genna Brodsky Chase writes, “I’m writing to celebrate the news that I have started a small psychotherapy private practice in Oakland, California. It’s been a long time coming and I’m feeling energized and empowered by creating a business of my own. Right now, I’m working at Kaiser Permanente in a 24-hour-a-week position and my practice will be two days a week. I look forward to the variety of work, and better quality of life. To the SSW community—thank you for the role you played in my career and self-development. Being a part of this program felt like the beginning of the rest of my life! To view my website, go to www.gennabrodskychase.com.” ¾ Patricia Becerra Gale and Christian Gale write, “We wanted to share the birth of our daughter, Mila Victoria Gale on January 15, 2019 weighing 7-pounds 5-ounces, 19 1/4 inches long. She joins big brothers Josiah (4 years old) and Sebastian (16 years old).

Christian continues to help at-risk communities in his position as the diversion specialist working to house

homeless families with the nonprofit the Whole Child, in Whittier, California. Patricia transitioned into working with college students as the crisis care manager at Azusa Pacific University Counseling Center. We fondly remember our summers at Smith and continue to do what we can to bring awareness of social justice and overcoming oppression in the work that we do.”

2008 Arden O’Donnell writes, “I am currently in a Ph.D. program at Boston University. I recently published an article: O’Donnell, A. E., Schaefer, K. G., Stevenson, L. W., DeVoe, K., Walsh, K., Mehra, M. R., & Desai, A. S. (2018). Social Worker–Aided Palliative Care Intervention in High-risk Patients with Heart Failure (SWAP-HF): a pilot randomized clinical trial. JAMA cardiology.” ¾ Sarah Crane O’Neill writes, “Twelve years later I’m still in Seattle, Washington, where I came for my first field placement for what I thought would be a short West Coast adventure, but I loved it too much to leave (other than for summers at Smith!). My husband, Kevin, and I have two kids, ages 2 and 4, and I recently went back to work part-time as a couple’s counselor and workshop facilitator.

I’m loving my work. I would love to reconnect with Smithies—sarah. crane.oneill@gmail.com.” ¾ Duncan Nichols writes, “I have been living in Thetford, Vermont, since graduating from SCSSW in 2008. I am currently 63 years old. Most recently, I have been in private practice for four years as a licensed clinical social worker doing family and individual therapy. My clients are largely teenage boys, but I see all types of clients.

Prior to that I worked in a local community mental health agency.

Recently I became a member of the Social Justice Committee of the Vermont Chapter of NASW. I have

S P RING 2 01 9

/ 33 /

/ Alumni News /

Creating a Path Levin Schwartz, M.S.W. ’11, recognized for his treatment approach Levin Schwartz, M.S.W. ’11, LICSW, has won the 2019 Greatest Contribution to Social Work Award from the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-MA). Given annually, the award recognizes “a significant contribution to practice, education or research issues within the profession.”

Schwartz was recognized for his work as assistant deputy superintendent of clinical and reentry services at Massachusetts’ Franklin County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO). In his role at FCSO, Schwartz has developed and implemented what has become a nationally recognized treatment program. This program uses mindfulness-based behavioral treatments aimed at teaching, reinforcing and generalizing clients’ skills; fostering motivation; and cultivating capacity to move in value-based directions upon reentry.

Schwartz’s approach to treatment as a means to attain public safety offers a path forward for all involved, creating a bridge between two dialectical points of view. The success of Schwartz’s work has brought national attention to FCSO. According to Schwartz, he is happy that this NASW award, as well as other accolades, offer opportunities to highlight the important need for modern evidence-based treatment for the underserved, incarcerated population.

In addition to his work at FCSO, Schwartz is an adjunct professor at Westfield State University, president of the Association for Contextual & Behavioral Science (ACBS) forensic group and secretary for the ACBS social work group.

always found my education at Smith to have been very useful and enriching, and plan to continue in my practice for as long as I can. Greetings to my former classmates!” ¾ Shannon Sennott writes, “I have a new book coming out, called Sex Therapy with Erotically Marginalized Clients: Nine Principles of Clinical Support, available on Amazon, and will be doing an all-day training, ‘Sex Therapy with Erotically Marginalized Clients: Nine Principles of Clinical Support’ at the Ackerman Institute for the Family on May 31.”

2009 Jennifer Harrison writes, “Hello! I am a suicide prevention coordinator for the VA in Seattle, Washington.

I am now going on my second year and I love it!” ¾ Cole Hooley writes, “I am graduating this year

/ 34 /

with a Ph.D. in Social Work from Washington University and have accepted a faculty position in the School of Social Work at Brigham Young University.”

2010 Kelly Chandler writes, “I am overjoyed to announce the arrival of my first baby, born in May 2018” ¾ Christy O’Brien writes, “My very exciting career news is that I have recently taken on directing all clinical services for Springfield, Massachusetts’ largest homeless shelter, CSO‘s Friends of the Homeless. With a $2 million grant from SAMHSA, we are able to create a trauma-informed and clinically responsive homelessness program aimed at healing lives and sustaining housing placements. It’s a dream job.

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

2011 John Reardon writes, “In October 2018 I was installed as vicar of St. James Episcopal Church in North Providence, Rhode Island. I am also working as social service network coordinator for the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island and teaching at Johnson & Wales University and St. George’s School. As part of my work for the diocese, I am providing clinical supervision to B.S.W. students who have placements with Episcopal social outreach programs.” ¾ Levin Sibley Schwartz writes, “I have had some interesting developments over the past year.

I had an article published in the NASW VOICE. Also, the program that I am directing has had some national news, most recently viewed on CNN where I facilitated a mindfulness group for incarcerated clients in a segment titled ‘Rehab Jail for Heroin Addicts.’ Lastly, I presented a national webinar ‘How Correctional Agencies Can Develop and Implement Collaborative Comprehensive Case Plans’ through the National Reentry Resource Center.”

2014 Sarah Beller writes, “In September 2018 some colleagues and I launched Filter (filtermag.org), a non-profit online magazine that covers drug use, drug policy and human rights from a harm-reduction perspective.

Check out Filter on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for our newsletter on our website. We’re especially interested in publishing pieces by fellow social workers!

Reach us at Editor@filtermag.org.” ¾ Linda Darrell writes, “I have achieved tenure and promotion in the spring of 2018 at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.

I am now an associate professor in the M.S.W. department of the School of Social Work at Morgan State.

I was also awarded an NIH grant through Morgan State University’s ASCEND program. The title of the research project is Mothers in Mourning—a qualitative exploration of the impact of grief on African American women who have lost loved ones to homicide. This project is a community-based partnership which began in October 2018 and will culminate in June 2019.”

2013 Thaddeus Desmond writes, “I want to give an update on some exciting changes happening for me. I started new job at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a social worker in the adolescent inpatient medical unit and I will be getting married on March 8 to Jamie Warner!” ¾ Ali Jost writes, “I am happy to share that I have just gone off on my own and started a private practice for adults in Washington, D.C., with a somatic approach to healing trauma.

I am also consulting with organizations and facilitating trainings on the impact of trauma and vicarious trauma in the workplace, and ways to create trauma-informed systems that address unconscious bias and build upon client and employee resilience. I would be thrilled to collaborate with any other Smithies that are doing this work! You can reach me at alijost.com. And on a side note, my little family is doing well: Nila (the pup) is doing well at 11, and my baby boy, Bennett, is now 4!” ¾ Audra Winn writes, “I am still serving the greater Holyoke and Springfield, Massachusetts, area now in the role of director of clinical services for the outpatient division at the Gándara Center. Having returned to work in September from my life-changing maternity leave, I see my purpose in clinical social work through new eyes.”

2015 Sonia Aldape writes, “I started a new job December 2018 with Edgewood Center for Children and Families as a community-based bilingual clinician for their Full Service Partnership (FSP) Transition Age Youth (TAY) program at their San Carlos, California, location.” ¾ Kamilah Jones writes, “In January 2019, I started a new position to become the first Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program (IPVAP) coordinator at the VA Greater Los Angeles Medical Center.

I’m excited about this position because I’ll have the opportunity to further build on my clinical, research, policy advocacy and training skills to assist with efforts to stop intimate partner violence (IPV). As a scholarly practitioner, I’ve completed qualitative and quantitative studies addressing various forms of interpersonal violence, including my M.S.W. thesis, “A Program Evaluation on the Efficacy of Stop It Now! Georgia’s Social Marketing Campaign to Promote Adult Accountability and Community Responsibility to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse,” and my dissertation research, which is entitled, “The Influence of Interpersonal Needs on Suicidal Ideation among Low Income African American Women who have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence.” Building on previous clinical, research and policy related experiences that have focused on addressing and

/ Alumni Lives /

preventing violence, I take on my new position with great tenacity to further raise awareness, provide education and training to support those who are experiencing violence while also assisting those that are using violence. Along with my position as the IPVAP coordinator, I’ve also been appointed to the National IPVAP Training and Education Committee, where I’ll have the opportunity to offer my knowledge, skills and abilities while working in collaboration with others committed to the national IPVAP national mission. The VA IPVAP program is a trauma-informed, recovery-oriented, person-centered and Veteran-centric approach to ending IPV.” 2016 Katy Cole DiSalle writes, “I recently got married and moved. I got married in Golden, Colorado, on October 6, 2018 to Coty DiSalle. My name is now Katy Cole DiSalle.” ¾ Danielle Lenhard writes, “Amber

Zinni, M.S.W. ’18, LCSW, and I presented a three-hour workshop at the Western Massachusetts EMDRIA conference at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, on March 30, 2019, on working with intergenerational trauma and structural oppression.”

2017 Martha Early writes, “I’m happy to share that I just started a new job as a psychotherapist at myTherapyNYC, a group practice in New York City that specializes in LGBT affirmative treatment, trauma work and couples therapy.

I also wrote a blog post about joining the team that can be found here: mytherapynyc.com/effectivepsychotherapy-experience. I’m excited about my first real postSmith job and happy to share the good news. I still remember SSW as the first time I applied myself to my studies and I am still grateful.” ¾ Annelies Spykman writes,

“After eight years together, my husband Matt and I were married in December 2017. In February 2018 my husband adopted my 13-year-old son, Sebastian, and in April 2018 I gave birth to our baby girl, Runa Mae. I am working at Monadnock Family Services in Keene, New Hampshire, as a therapist specializing in child parent psychotherapy, trauma focused play therapy with children under age 6 and their caregivers. I am also the coordinator of community supports for our children’s department.”

2018 Sizana Ezana writes, “I moved to Toronto, Canada, after graduation and was hired as a full-time individual and family therapist. In this role I primarily provide counseling for families at risk of having their children enter government care.

In addition, I provide cost-free, immediate walk-in counseling for youth on a weekly basis. The role

is challenging and I am loving the family-focused therapy I practice daily.” ¾ Madeline Freeman writes, “I graduated this past August 2018 and was looking for a job in the Somerville/Cambridge/ Boston, Massachusetts, area. Smith connections saved me! My past supervisor from my second-year field placement (Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program), Smithie Sarah Wettenstein, A.B. ’07, M.S.W. ’13, connected me to Nicole Charos, M.S.W. ’13, who connected me to her most recent place of work. I now work in the position Nicole had been in for five years: clinical social worker at Cambridge Health Alliance’s Elder Service Plan. I haven’t even met Nicole in person yet, but I am working with all of her previous clients and am grateful that she and Sarah brought me to my first job as an LCSW.”

Obituaries InDepth runs obituaries that are submitted by family, friends or classmates. Please submit obituaries to indepth@smith.edu or to InDepth, Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, MA 01063.

InDepth obituaries are 100-word notices for the alumni community and are not intended to repeat all of the information contained in newspaper obituaries.

Ruth Allen Gordon Richards, M.S.S. ’46

Robert Brock Hansen, M.S.W. ’73

Richards received a bachelor’s degree from Talladega College in 1944, where she met her husband, Frank O. Richards. Richards continued her education at Smith College where she was one of the first African-American women to receive a M.S.W. from the college. Richards was a strong advocate for the importance of social services, and for gender and racial equality in education and in the workplace. Richards is survived by her children, Susan R. Windham-Bannister, Ph.D., and Frank O. Richards, Jr., M.D.; their spouses, Gordon and Sherri; and two granddaughters, Alexandra and Lauren.

A social worker and psychotherapist, Hansen began his career at the Baltimore City Hospital Psych Unit before working at the Shepherd Pratt Psychiatric Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, Dominion Psychiatric Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia and in private practice. Hansen published Shame and Anger: The Criticism Connection and taught at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at American University. He sang in the Emmanuel Church Choir in Baltimore, Maryland and in Washington’s Polyhymnia Chamber Chorus.

Hansen is survived by his loving wife, Penelope Hansen, children Layne, David and Jared and grandsons Bryce and Ian.

March 10, 2018, Boston, Massachusetts

Mary Cannady, M.S.S. ’48

November 1, 2018, Oxford, North Carolina

Cannady enrolled in Howard University in 1938 and studied with prominent African-American sociologist E. Franklin Frazier, who urged her to earn her M.S.S. from Smith College School for Social Work. In 1956 she became the first African-American director of a family services agency in Philadelphia.

In the 1970s, Cannady returned to North Carolina to serve as a social worker, bought her first house and learned to drive a car. In retirement she continued to volunteer and was named North Carolina Volunteer of the Year by Governor James Hunt.

March 13, 2018, Washington, D.C.

Michael K. Hubner, A.B. ’69, M.S.W. ’80 April 6, 2018, Sudbury, Massachusetts

After majoring in French, Hubner worked as an art director in New York City. She received a master’s in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School, where she met her husband, David. For 32 years, Hubner was an oncology social worker and administrator at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and, until retirement, director of social work at Dana–Farber Cancer Institute. She was diagnosed with ALS in July 2015. Her courage, grace and compassion inspired all who knew her. David and son Ben survive her.

S P RING 2 01 9

/ 35 /

/ Post Script /

A Meaningful Lecture Professor Emerita Joan Laird hosted the first LGB Monday Night Lecture in the early 1990s.

At the time she recalls that no faculty member was “out� prior to the event (even though everyone knew who was whom, of course). The event had a huge impact on LGB students and faculty and Laird remembers hearing from students all summer how meaningful and recognizing it was for them.

/ 36 /

S M I T H COL L E G E SCHO O L FO R SO CIAL WO RK

Shop local, Eat local...

Intern local?

With our low-residency program, and internships throughout the U.S., you can!

States offering internships: California Colorado Connecticut Washington, D.C. Georgia Illinois Maine Maryland Massachusetts New York North Carolina Pennsylvania Rhode Island Texas Vermont Washington

We offer internships from coast to coast.

Combine summer classes at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, with field education (September–April) at leading clinical sites in your local area.

To view our internships across the country, visit: ssw.smith.edu/field_internships

Lilly Hall Northampton, MA 01063 smith.edu/ssw

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

June 28, 2019 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Smith College Campus Center

KEYNOTE

Healing and Resilience: Theory, Evidence and Excellence in Clinical Practice Social workers and clinicians play a vital role in cultivating healing and resilience. In a society with increased political polarization and growing rates of depression, anxiety, suicide and individual and collective trauma, this work is more important than ever.

Join social workers, psychologists, private practice therapists, psycho­ therapists, counselors and addiction professionals to learn proven ways to help those we serve cope with loss, develop grit, foster connection and take an active role in building their own health and happiness.

Cost: $170 Lunch provided

Continuing Education Credits: 5.5

Thriving in the Wake of Trauma: Cultural Considerations Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis, Associate Professor of Psychology, Pepperdine University; Licensed Psychologist; Ordained Minister; Sacred Artist

Learn more, peruse the agenda and register: ssw.smith.edu/2019conference