InDepth SPRING 2016
ALUMNI IN FOCUS
SMITH COLLEGE
School for Social Work Mindfulness in Clinical Social Work Tolerance and Conflict Resolution in Africa Brave Heart Lecture on Native American Historical Trauma
InDepth SPRING 2016
NEW FACES AT LILLY HALL Rory Crath, Ph.D.
ALUMNI IN FOCUS
Assistant Professor July 2015
Table of Contents
Maria Torres, Ph.D. 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 scholarship at the School for Social Work.
Assistant Professor July 2015
Managing Editor Tynan Power Design Jennifer Jasiorkowski
Tarek Zidan, M.S.W. 2015 Bertha Capen Reynolds Pre-Doctoral Fellow September 2015
Contributors Dawn Faucher Patricia Gilbert Dane Kuttler Tynan Power Megan Rubiner Zinn Photography Shana Sureck Jim Gipe/Pivot Media Michael Thomasson/Pivot Media
Denise Brown, B.S., M.S., CIM Ph.D. Program Coordinator March 2015
Connect with us online! SSW Buzz smith.edu/ssw/buzz Calendar smith.edu/ssw/calendar
Molly Meehan, B.A. Exectutive Assistant to the Dean January 2016
InBrief Quarterly Newsletter smith.edu/ssw/inbrief.php Facebook facebook.com/smithcollegessw Twitter twitter.com/smithcollegessw Instagram instagram.com/smithcollegessw
Laura Ramos, M.S. Registrar Specialist for Faculty Support and Systems January 2016
Plus school news and more at smith.edu/ssw/news
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 Š2016
A Word from the Dean
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Professor Joshua Miller and the Professional Fellows Program: Tolerance and Conflict Resolution in Uganda and Rwanda
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Dr. Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart Lecture
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Changing Clinical Practice Mindfully
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Faculty Retirements
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Day-Garrett Award 2015
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Clinical Research Institute
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Donors in Focus
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Alumni Lives
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In Memoriam/Obituaries
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Annual Giving Report
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Through this issue, we invite you to celebrate the many contributions and gifts of three of our faculty members as they retire. We owe a debt of gratitude to Professor Catherine Nye, not only for her significant contributions through teaching and advising M.S.W. and Ph.D. students, but for her leadership in founding and directing our Advanced Clinical Supervision Certificate. What an important contribution! On a personal level, Catherine’s wisdom and sense of humor have benefited us every day here at Lilly Hall.
As Professor Joan Berzoff retires, we will miss her passion for psychodynamic theory and the long institutional memory she contributes as a class of 1974 alumna. Joan was the driving force behind the creation of our Advanced Certificate in Palliative and End-of-Life Care, teaching hundreds of social workers the valuable skills necessary for supporting clients through life’s final passage. Joan’s plate is always full of projects—and it sounds like retirement will be no different! Adjunct Associate Professor Fred Newdom will also be leaving us after 28 years. Fred has been a key member of our social welfare policy sequence and oversees the community practice project required in the M.S.W. program. Yet, as many cohorts of students will attest, Fred is so much more than that. He’s a force, an advocate, and an organizer, whose warmth and generosity have impacted so many. Please join us on August 4, 2016, at 5:00pm, at the Smith College Conference Center for a retirement celebration thanking these extraordinary people for all that they have given our School. Dear friends;
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A WORD FROM THE DEAN
elcome to our first issue of InDepth: Alumni in Focus. Starting with this issue, InDepth will be published twice a year. The spring issue will have a greater emphasis on alumni news, while the fall issue will have a greater emphasis on current issues in clinical social work. At the same time that we are initiating this new publishing model for InDepth, we are incorporating a new look for our school—one that you will see in our publications and online. The new look captures more of the energy, power, and expertise of this great school.
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Later this year, this look will grace our new state-of-the-art website, designed in tandem with the new Smith College site. For us, the change will be akin to a communications revolution, giving us new tools to spotlight our amazing faculty and their work, share news of our industrious and illustrious alumni, and showcase our unique approach to clinical social work education. When the new website launches, we’ll let you know and invite you to check it out! In this issue, our cover story offers a look at the increasing use of mindfulness practice within clinical work. A growing body of research tells us that mindfulness practices can play a role in the treatment of everything from depression to anxiety and chronic pain. The article features the insights of our resident expert, Associate Professor Annemarie Gockel, the expertise of SSW alumni Betty Morningstar and Jay Indik, and the experiences of current students Christy Tronnier and Ben Borkin, as it examines the many ways that mindfulness practice is being applied. Also in this issue, we are pleased to share an innovative program promoting tolerance and conflict resolution in Uganda and Rwanda, which is led by Professor Josh Miller and colleagues at the Institute for Training & Development. We feature the research of Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart (Ph.D. ‘95) and how it has shaped the goals and work of the Maine-Wabanaki Reconciliation, Engagement, Advocacy, Change and Healing (REACH) collaborative.
We are pleased to announce the relaunch of our Clinical Research Institute (CRI). CRI has existed for many years at SSW, founded by the Brown Foundation to support research that informs practice. This year, under the leadership of the CRI’s inaugural director, Professor Marsha Kline Pruett, we will reorganize our research support and infrastructure for SSW faculty and doctoral students. CRI also has launched a small grants program, thanks to alumna Laurie Peter and her partner, Betsy Bernard. It’s an exciting development, enabling us to engage in the kind of clinical research that can change practice. You’ll find the story of Peter and Bernard’s gift in the following pages. Finally, in this issue we feature two alumni donors who offer their perspectives on why they give to the school. Your gifts, of all sizes, are so important to us. Your support of our Annual Fund is used for student scholarships that allow us to attract and retain promising clinical social workers, regardless of their ability to pay. Like many of our faculty, I personally give to the school because I believe deeply in the importance of our programs’ focus on excellence in clinical practice. I know that my gift and each of yours makes an actual difference in whether many of our passionate and committed students can attend. I hope you will join me in supporting the next generation of extraordinary social workers. There is so much more being done at SSW that did not make it into this issue of InDepth. There is great energy around our anti-racism commitment. Like campuses around the county, our students made their voices heard this year, pushing forward an agenda to examine our curriculum and its process and ensure they are in line with our commitment to anti-racism. This past summer, the faculty and I received a petition with over 100 student and alumni signatures detailing eleven changes they feel are important for us to make to invigorate our commitment and how it lives in the school. I have been humbled by the powerful voice of our students who embrace the challenge of anti-racism and equally by the openness and gravity with which the faculty have launched into their own work in this area. These activities will be featured in an article by the Massachusetts chapter of the NASW. We’ll be sure to send a link so you can read more when that is published. Thanks to all of you who support SSW in so many ways. The engagement of the many elements of our wonderful community—from students and faculty to alumni and benefactors—is what makes this school exceptional. Best wishes,
Marianne RM Yoshioka, Ph.D., M.S.W. Dean and Elizabeth Marting Treuhaft Professor SMITH COLLEGE SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORK
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Professor Joshua Miller and the Professional Fellows Program:
Tolerance and Conflict Resolution in Uganda and Rwanda by Megan Rubiner Zinn
Joshua Miller
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n an unseasonable chilly day in late April 2015, nine Africans took their seats in a conference room at the Smith College School for Social Work. The six men and three women from Uganda and Rwanda were excited, curious, and feeling rather cold. Their hosts, Smith professor Josh Miller and his colleagues, promised to provide sweaters and warm drinks. Then they launched into a six-week exchange program that would transform their work and their lives. This introductory session was the start of the Professional Fellows Program: Tolerance and Conflict Resolution in Uganda and Rwanda, an innovative project led by Miller and funded by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau for Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). It is part of the State Department’s Professional Fellows Program, which brings young, emerging leaders from around the world to the United States for intensive fellowships. Miller developed the project with Julie Hooks of Amherst’s Institute for Training & Development (ITD), fellow SSW professor Marsha Kline Pruett, and SSW adjuncts Adin Thayer and Leah Krieger. Miller came to this project after years of work in regions of the world devastated by natural disaster and armed conflict. His expertise is in psychosocial capacity building in the wake of disasters, and he has been involved in the response to 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Aurora, Colorado, shootings, the Indian Ocean tsunami, the Haitian earthquake, and the Sichuan province earthquake in China. Most recently, his work has brought him to Northern Uganda, where he collaborates with local leaders of communities healing from the region’s long-standing conflicts.
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The Professional Fellows grant was particularly exciting to Miller because it required the participation of two non-U.S. countries, allowing him the opportunity to work with Rwandans as well as Ugandans. He knew it would be a fruitful pairing; while the bordering countries have both survived devastating armed conflicts and disruptions, Rwandans have had nearly twenty years of peace-building and reconciliation, while Ugandans are at the start of this process. Although many institutions received the State Department grant this year, Smith is the only one working with sub-Saharan African countries, and it is one of the few focused on peace and conflict resolution. The project brought two groups of Africans to the United States; the first arrived in the spring of 2015 and the second arrived in the fall. The fellows spent one week in training and three weeks as interns at social services organizations. After their return to Africa, representatives from the organizations with which they worked will visit them to experience first-hand the fellows’ work in their communities.
The African Fellows program provides an opportunity for the School for Social Work to broaden its global impact and extend the School’s mission to train social workers who engage in community-based, collaborative, and culturally-specific clinical practice. It has the potential to have a significant impact on the work of conflict resolution and on clinical social work training in the U.S. and abroad. The fellows return home with new skills and practices in peace-building and community healing, which they can adapt to their organizations’ needs and share with colleagues. Further, the American participants in the project are able to take new professional strategies and perspectives from the African fellows and enrich their organizations’ efforts.
Following the training, the participants deepened their skills and formed close relationships with the colleagues at their internships. Agnes Umutesi, a Rwandan fellow working in domestic violence prevention, interned with Safe Passage, Northampton’s shelter for survivors of domestic violence She has extensive experience running groups for men, but this was her first time seeing strategies to protect women. While there are great cultural differences between the two countries and how they deal with gender-based violence, Safe Passage gave Umutesi a model of what is possible.
Miller and ITD worked with partner NGOs in Uganda and Rwanda to choose participants. The fellows—teachers, religious leaders, community organizers, and clinicians—are all young leaders helping their communities heal from legacies of armed conflict and trauma. Adjuncts Adin Thayer and Leah Krieger identified local organizations involved in social justice—the Pioneer Valley Project, Arise for Social Justice, the Performance Project, the Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School, Project Coach, Safe Passage, and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office—then they developed internships that dovetailed with the professional work of the fellows. The spring group of fellows began with a week of orientation and training meetings on the Smith campus, along with lectures, site visits, and cultural outings. The organizers were struck by how fully everyone embraced the training, the way they collaborated with each other, and how quickly they bonded. “They were really responsive and they didn’t just take it passively,” said Miller. “They interacted with it and helped shape it so it really met their needs.” “The participants from both countries are consulting with each other,” said Miller, after observing the first days of intercultural dialogue. “The Rwandans are thinking of questions about psychosocial needs that Ugandans will give them feedback on. The Ugandans have questions about the peace and reconciliation process that the Rwandans will give them feedback on.” The Rwandans spoke frankly of their experiences in the 1994 genocide, and the efficacy of gacaca, their community-based peace and reconciliation process, in facilitating healing. The Ugandans were skeptical that a similar process would be possible in their country, but they were convinced by the Rwandans that they must engage in such a process. “It had more resonance and power coming from them than it would from us,” said Miller.
Patrick Onguti Okello of Uganda, who worked with Arise, was inspired by the agency’s deep roots in the community and its ability to respond to needs, even with challenges and setbacks. According to Miller, Okello was deeply affected by the determination and optimism of his Arise colleagues, and it gave him hope that his country could heal, in spite of difficult odds. Evelyn Akidi, also of Uganda, worked at the Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School in Holyoke. According to Adin Thayer, Akidi found the experience very eye-opening. Coming from an educational model that is structured and hierarchical, it surprised her to see the school’s more democratic approach, in which students are able to question and disagree with their teachers and offer their own perspectives. While she would not be able to implement this model at her school in Northern Uganda, she can raise questions and incorporate some of this approach in teaching. The American social services professionals who hosted the fellows were equally inspired by their colleagues, especially by what they have accomplished under very difficult conditions. They spoke of how it expanded their thinking to see how broadly the Africans view counseling: incorporating people with training outside SPRING 2016
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“We’re trying to create a network of young professional leaders who can make a difference and transform their societies”
-Joshua Miller
of clinical work, taking a community approach to healing, and using a wide range of approaches, including music and dance. Once they completed the internships, the fellows traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in a three-day Professional Fellows Congress. Leah Krieger attended, as well, and called it “one of the best things I’ve ever done.” She found it particularly powerful to see so many young leaders—222 individuals from 43 countries—engaged in this work of transforming their countries. Everyone involved in the first phase of Miller’s African Fellows project was elated by its success. Without exception, the fellows strengthened their professional skills and learned a great deal about the work culture in the U.S. They were inspired to see how hard their American colleagues worked and how much confidence and passion they brought to their professions. Many of the fellows also spoke about the extensive cooperation they saw in the workplace and among different organizations. Throughout their internships, the fellows were extremely open to the different models they experienced and the diversity of people with whom they worked.
All of the U.S. staff members spoke of how transformative the project was for them, as well. Krieger was particularly struck by the opportunity to learn how other countries deal with their problems. Miller called it the best project of his career, and spoke of how enjoyable it was, both in hard work and moments of relaxation. “We’re talking about genocide and armed conflict and yet there was this sense of being alive and there were many joyful moments,” said Miller. “We sang and we danced. We laughed a lot together.” The second phase of the program took place this summer, when four of the fellows’ U.S. internship colleagues traveled to Rwanda and Uganda in the follow-on stage of the project. The program began again with different fellows in the fall and Miller hopes to renew the grant to continue the project. Miller also is looking for ways that this first group and future fellows can connect and communicate regularly, continuing to share ideas. “What we’re trying to do is create a network of young professional leaders in both countries who can make a difference and transform their societies,” said Miller.
“I think they all left feeling really inspired and united about possibilities of what they could do in their communities,” said Krieger. The success of the program also was evident in the fellows’ bonding and openness to listening, learning and teaching. These connections will be key as they move forward in their work. Already, the participants are Skyping with each other and with their American colleagues, and they are making plans to collaborate on projects in their home countries.
Joshua Miller, Ph.D., is a professor at the Smith College School for Social Work. His primary areas of interest are anti-racism work and psychosocial capacity building in response to disasters. Prior to teaching, Miller worked for 20 years as a community organizer, family therapist, group worker, and researcher and as the director of public and private nonprofit child and family welfare agencies.
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Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart
Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart Lecture on historical trauma among native Americans draws delegation from Maine-Wabanaki REACH by Megan Rubiner Zinn
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n July 27, Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, Ph.D. ’95, returned to Smith College School for Social Work to give the Lydia Rapoport Lecture. Brave Heart’s visit not only was an opportunity for the campus community to learn from her work, but also provided an occasion for Smith to bring together an eminent researcher with social work professionals who have significantly benefitted from her work. Among those who attended the lecture and met with Brave Heart was a delegation of Maine-based child welfare social workers, educators, and activists who have embraced Brave Heart’s theories and interventions and have implemented them in their own work with Native communities.
In her lecture, “Historical Trauma and Unresolved Grief: Implications for Clinical Research and Practice with American Indians and Alaska Natives,” Brave Heart provided an overview of her research, traced its development, and addressed her current projects. She spoke of the early spark for her research, recalling her work in clinical practice among Native communities. “I had a sense of carrying grief that was larger than myself and my own community,” said Brave Heart. “I made a conscious connection that American Indians are survivors and that we share some things in common with Jewish Holocaust communities.” Brave Heart introduced the term “historical trauma”
to describe this specific trauma that Native people experienced in the United States. She defined it as “cumulative emotional and psychological wounding across generations, including one’s own lifespan.” While historical trauma is the result of centuries of colonization and abuses, Brave Heart highlighted the effects of the separation of families and forced assimilation of the boarding school experience. The reaction to this wounding, which she calls the historical trauma response, often includes survivor guilt, depression, PTSD symptoms, physical symptoms, psychic numbing, anger, suicidal ideation, and fixation to trauma, among other features and behaviors. SPRING 2016
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Smith alumna Carol Heifetz Wishcamper was co-chair of the TRC—and among the visitors who came to Smith to hear Brave Heart’s lecture. She explained that, from the early stage of the TRC, Brave Heart’s research shaped their work, and was, in fact, quoted in the TRC mission statement.
Started in 1999, Maine-Wabanaki REACH is a cross-cultural collaborative that works to develop better welfare practices with Native families. Learn more at
“Dr. Brave Heart’s work became influential because it helped to give language to why is it that we do all these technical kinds of fixes in terms of child welfare but the problems don’t change,” said Wishcamper.
mainewabanakireach.org.
Brave Heart meets with delegation from Maine-Wabanaki REACH.
In 1992, Brave Heart founded the Takini Network (now the Takini Institute) in South Dakota. The Network was devoted to reducing the suffering of indigenous peoples through community healing from intergenerational trauma. She developed an intervention to treat historical trauma response, calling it Historical Trauma and Unresolved Grief intervention (HTUG). Her approach was to put modern psychosocial issues of Native communities in a historical context, to identify and understand historical trauma, to help people work through their grief and loss, and to ground the treatment in Native traditions and culturally-specific coping and self-soothing strategies. Brave Heart’s subsequent research has provided evidence that, with the HTUG intervention, there is a reduction in anger, sadness, guilt, and shame—and an increase in joy—among participants. It has the effect of reducing the stigma and behaviors around trauma that plague Native communities. In 2009, HTUG was selected as a Tribal Best Practice by the First Nations Behavioral Health Association and the Pacific Substance Abuse and Mental Health Collaborating Council, in conjunction with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). In 2001, it also was recognized as an exemplary model by the Center for Mental Health Services, SAMHSA, for a Lakota Regional Community Action Grant on Historical Trauma. Another graduate of Smith, Josephine Chase, Ph.D. ’11, collaborated with Brave Heart on this and ongoing projects. Such projects included the Models for Healing Indigenous Survivors of Historical Trauma: A Multicultural Dialogue among Allies conferences, also supported in part by SAMHSA, in 2001, 2003, and 2004. Brave Heart’s current research is a pilot study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, Iwankapiya 8
SMITH COLLEGE SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORK
Healing: Historical Trauma Practice and Group IPT for American Indians. The study compares the effectiveness of the HTUG intervention combined with group Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), versus the effect of IPT alone, for Native adults with depression and related disorders. At the time of the lecture, the study was still ongoing, so Brave Heart could not share final results; she reported that those participating in the study thus far reported positive changes and improvement in mood. The social workers of Maine-Wabanaki REACH who attended Brave Heart’s lecture have little doubt about the effectiveness of HTUG. Co-directors Esther Attean and Penthea Burns, and Health and Wellness Director Maria Girouard, traveled to Northampton with ten other colleagues to meet and speak with Brave Heart, whose research and approaches have deeply informed their work. Maine-Wabanaki REACH is a cross-cultural collaborative that works to develop better welfare practices with Native families. It developed in 1999, when Native and non-Native social workers came together to address issues of compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act. As they worked, they began to look at the child welfare system in a broader social context, and saw that, in order to be effective, the system needed to change. To address these issues, REACH established the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC), whose mission was to investigate and report on the Wabanaki experiences with Maine’s child welfare system. Their goals, according to their directive, were to, “Uncover and acknowledge the truth about what happened to Wabanaki children and families involved with the Maine child welfare system, to create opportunities to heal and learn from the truth, and to collaborate to operate the best child welfare system possible for Wabanaki children and families.”
“We had language and structure and scientific research to back up all of these things that we knew,” said Esther Attean, in agreement. According to Penthea Burns, the commission sought to “understand the harm that’s been done.” They spoke with individuals who had touched the system in some way and gave them opportunities to tell their stories, either privately or in a communal setting. They incorporated traditional practices, such as circle ceremonies, to facilitate the process of opening up and telling the truth. “We knew the investigation would be disruptive to our communities, so we used our own circle process to make sure that people felt supported, that people could practice being heard, that we had the communal and collective spirit of healing together as a community,” said Maria Girouard. The experience was extremely powerful for all involved, particularly in the way it gave the Native community a chance to speak of experiences they had buried. “How many times have we heard people say ‘I’ve never told anyone this before,’” Attean said. Girouard also spoke of the impact of addressing the history of trauma and its continued impact. “Educating around that has been really freeing for our communities, to realize the socio-economic distress we have experienced is not all of our making,” she said, echoing Brave Heart. “There is a long history that precedes it, and there is a reason we are the way we are. We’re really tapping into our own traditional knowledge and ways of being together.” This year, the Commission published a report, indicating their findings and providing a list of recommendations to promote best child welfare practices. “One of the major findings of the commission was we’re sitting in a system of structural racism that is part of the bureaucracy, and until that shifts,
these other things really can’t happen with any kind of vitality,” said Wishcamper. REACH is now monitoring the implementation of the recommendations, continuing the healing work of the community, and building a network of allies to change the system. They aim to better educate child welfare workers and policymakers in Wabanaki history, to increase the state’s compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act, and to nurture respectful working relationships with Native communities. A few days before the meeting, Wishcamper told Smith’s Grécourt Gate, “To this community, Brave Heart is a rock star. People are really excited about getting to meet her and maybe getting some feedback on the work they are doing.” When Brave Heart and the Maine contingent met for several hours before the Lydia Rapoport Lecture, they shared stories and compared approaches, challenges, and experiences. With the limited time they had, the meeting left the Maine visitors wanting more. “I wish we could talk to her longer,” said Attean. “We were just starting to tease and unravel things. I would have loved to talk to her about spirituality: how she integrates that, how you use that to change the clinical mental health system.” When she speaks about her work, Brave Heart explains that ultimately, she finds that the HTUG intervention is restoring hope among Native communities. “Participants are sort of lighted up and vital,” said Brave Heart. “There’s just so much hopefulness and also gratitude that someone is listening to what they’ve had to go through.” It was clear, from their conversations and their exhilaration after meeting with Brave Heart, that the practitioners from Maine see the same possibilities for hope and healing in their communities.
Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, Ph.D. ’95 Brave Heart is associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and director of Native American and disparities research in the University of New Mexico’s Division of Community Behavioral Health. Brave Heart formerly was on the faculty at Columbia University School of Social Work and was a research team member with the Hispanic Treatment Program of New York State Psychiatric Institute/ Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She also was on the faculty at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work.
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“Mindfulness training can help clinicians develop key skills that are associated with therapeutic effectiveness.”
CHANGING CLINICAL PRACTICE
Mindfully
by Megan Rubiner Zinn
Mindfulness
starts simply, with a focus on the breath as it moves in and out of the body. However, the impact of mindfulness is far from simple and its applications in clinical practice are varied and broad.
At its most fundamental, mindfulness is awareness without judgment. Many clinicians will cite the definition developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, who brought mindfulness into the mainstream: “paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally, to the unfolding of experience moment to moment.” In the last decade there has been an explosion of research on the use of mindfulness as a clinical intervention with clients struggling with pain, anxiety, depression, and addiction. A growing body of research is examining mindfulness as part of a social worker’s training, as well.
SSW’s Early Engagement in Mindfulness As the leading clinical social work school, Smith College SSW has long been part of the conversation about mindfulness in social work. SSW faculty, students, and alumni are particularly interested in understanding the ways mindfulness practice can be an effective tool in the clinical setting. Betty Morningstar (A.B. ‘74, M.S.W. ‘77, Ph.D. ‘89) taught for several years in the School’s Contemplative Clinical Practice Advanced Certificate Program and credits former Dean Carolyn Jacobs for helping to bring mindfulness and contemplation into the mainstream of social work education. Beginning in the ‘90s, Jacobs spearheaded symposia
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and panel discussions on mindfulness practice, then established the Contemplative Clinical Practice program. “Dean Emerita Jacobs has been writing and teaching about mindfulness for many years—and it is only recently that the effectiveness research has caught up with her,” said Dean Yoshioka. “She has played a significant role in helping us to understand the place of contemplative practices within clinical social work. As a result, we have been fortunate to have had a presence of contemplative practice within our curriculum for many years, now carried forward by our current faculty here at Smith and by numerous alumni who have taken it forward into the field.”
Annemarie Gockel
-Annemarie Gockel
Incorporating Mindfulness in Clinical Practice
counteract that by honing the development of attention, empathy, affect tolerance and cognitive flexibility.
Annemarie Gockel, SSW professor and the chair of the clinical practice sequence, has made important contributions in the use of mindfulness within clinical social work. Gockel’s work has focused on the applications of mindfulness in a variety of settings, particularly in education. In her article, “Mindfulness as Clinical Training” in the Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought, Gockel discussed its fundamentals and its potential outcomes.
On the other end of the continuum, the clinician may bring mindfulness practice into sessions as an intervention.
“Mindfulness training often begins by instructing the trainee to pay attention to a particular object—most often the breath—and to simply and gently redirect his or her attention back to the breath when the mind wanders. As the ability to concentrate grows, the trainee works toward becoming aware of and exploring other objects of attention, such as physical sensations, emotions, and thoughts, gradually developing the ability to observe and relate to his or her experience with greater clarity and insight, rather than simply being caught up in habitual reactions to the experience.” Gockel describes the value of mindfulness in a clinical setting as a continuum. On one end is someone who practices mindfulness to be a more effective clinician. Gockel’s research and teaching has concentrated on this application of mindfulness. “Mindfulness training can help clinicians develop key skills that are associated with therapeutic effectiveness,” said Gockel. “The clinician needs to be able to effectively facilitate a therapeutic experience for the client. Yet clinicians are also individuals—we all acquire a whole variety of conceptual filters through both our formal education and day-to-day socialization, or conditioning. These filters often drive what we see,” she said. “We start responding to the environment based on our learned assumptions, which can interfere with seeing what’s actually there. Mindfulness training helps to
“The clinician may explicitly engage the client in experimenting with mindfulness practices in the session in order to help the client become more present to their own experience, approach and develop tolerance for challenging emotions, or to learn how to disentangle themselves from an endless loop of limiting thoughts,” said Gockel.
Research on Mindfulness in Social Work Training Gockel’s research explores the use of mindfulness in training social workers and strengthening clinicians’ skills. She developed a curriculum to integrate brief periods of mindfulness training, based on Santorelli and Kabat-Zinn’s Mindful-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), with clinical practice instruction. Using this curriculum, Gockel and her colleagues introduced ten-minute periods of mindfulness practice into clinical instruction courses for beginning M.S.W. students. “It can begin as simply as having students pause during an interview exercise, and take a moment to quiet the mind and become more aware of the process,” said Gockel. “Students often comment in surprise at how such a simple intervention can impact the quality of their attention and the connection they can establish in the interview. As the practice continues, students become increasingly able to draw on mindfulness as a vehicle to work more effectively with increasingly challenging clients and situations.” “Students in the intervention group reported that the training helped them manage distractions and anxiety, facilitated their ability to attend and respond to the client, and encouraged them to be more self-aware and flexible in their thinking in the classroom and in the field,”
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Betty Morningstar, A.B. ‘74, M.S.W. ‘77, Ph.D. ‘89
“[They] felt that people in clinical practice would benefit from being aware of what they themselves brought that was deeper and beyond the rational.”
Gockel said. “Students also grew in both mindfulness and counseling self-efficacy, which has been associated with actual counseling performance for early stage trainees. Student responses to open-ended questions revealed that they drew on mindfulness to increase their ability to be present, open, and emotionally available and responsive to their clients in session. Students identified mindfulness as key to their clinical learning process.” Her writing about the curriculum and the results of this research were published in the article cited above, as well as in the journal Mindfulness,1 and the Journal of Social Work Education.2 One of the students participating in mindfulness training at SSW is Ben Borkan (A18), an M.S.W. student currently in his first field internship. Borkan works with clients in long-term treatment for schizophrenia, psychosis and extreme states, as well as individuals with traumatic brain injury and long-term illness. In this challenging environment, Borkan finds mindfulness has been essential in helping him let go of his own agenda, let the client lead, and truly engage. “I’m able to maintain more of a curious and open mind to whatever the client brings, rather than get caught up in my mind and judgments, or things that prevent me from having a true authentic exchange with the client,” said Borkan.
-Betty Morningstar
Mindfulness and Spiritual Contemplation in Clinical Settings While in the clinical context, mindfulness is generally divorced from its origins in religious contemplation, some clinicians embrace those roots. Betty Morningstar has a particular interest in the place where mindfulness practice meets spiritual or religious contemplation. Morningstar is currently a therapist in private practice where she sees many clients with spiritual and religious concerns.
shows that mindfulness meditation is more effective than placebo methods in relieving pain in study participants, and that it has a different neurological effect from other methods of pain relief.3 A 2014 study published in JAMA Psychiatry demonstrated that Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) can reduce the likelihood of relapse among those who have undergone treatment for drug and alcohol dependency, by reducing negative emotions and cravings.4 Other studies in recent years have demonstrated the effectiveness of mindfulness in cultivating psychological health and in reducing anxiety and relapses of major depression episodes,5 in improving coping skills for children with ADHD and their parents,6 and in alleviating symptoms of anxiety and depression among adult cancer patients and survivors.7
Morningstar recalls that the faculty of the Contemplative Clinical Practices program in which she taught often had participants focus on what clinicians bring into the clinical setting. “[They] felt that people in clinical practice would benefit from being aware of what they themselves brought that was deeper and beyond the rational. It might allow one to be more open to what’s not spoken in working with their clients,” said Morningstar. Clinicians might use a variety of approaches in the context of a session with a client, according to Morningstar. “Mindfulness practice may be in the form of a prayer, if that is something that connects with the client, or periods of quiet contemplation, both of which can help clients relax and let go of baggage or clear the chatter in their minds,” she said. “It can also be something that one teaches clients to do if they are open to it, giving them tools for calming their own inner lives when they’re not in the room with you.”
Much of the research on mindfulness has been focused on its value as an intervention in supporting mental health, although there are both physical and psychological effects across a broad range of conditions. A 2015 study published in the Journal of Neuroscience
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Mindfulness as Intervention with Children Mindfulness practice and various modalities developed around it have proven to be effective interventions with children and adolescents, as well. Mindfulness, as a key element of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), is central in the treatment at Northampton’s Cutchins Programs for Children and Families, a children’s mental health agency that includes clinics and residential schools. Cutchins’ executive director Jay Indik, M.S.W. ‘95, describes DBT as “a skill-based treatment that integrates Zen mindfulness with behaviorism,” and explains that mindfulness is currently integrated into the school, the residences, and every one of the children’s school plans. Indik describes mindfulness as the ability to control your mind, which leads to the ability to control your behavior.
SSW doctoral student Christy Tronnier has been actively engaged in this research. For several years, she has been involved with testing an innovative mindfulness application called MORE (Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement) in group settings, in order to gauge its effectiveness with various populations. MORE is a modality developed by Eric Garland, associate professor at the University of Utah and author of the handbook Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement for Addiction, Stress, and Pain.8 The protocol combines mindfulness training, “Third Wave” cognitive-behavior therapy, and positive psychology
Gockel, Annemarie et al. “Introducing Mindfulness as a Self-Care and Clinical Training Strategy for Beginning Social Work Students.” Mindfulness, December 2013.
1
Gockel, Annemarie. “Teaching Note-Practicing Presence: A Curriculum for Integrating Mindfulness Training Into Direct Practice Instruction.” Journal of Social Work Education, October 2015. 3 Zeidan, Fadel et al. “Mindfulness meditation-based pain relief employs different neural mechanisms than placebo and sham mindfulness meditation-induced analgesia.” Journal of Neuroscience, 18 November 2015. 2
Mindfulness as Mental Health Intervention
principals to address physical and emotional pain, stress, and addictive behavior. Tronnier has been part of studies indicating that individuals engaged in mindfulness practice in the form of MORE may be less susceptible to addictive urges, and show improvements in substance craving, post-traumatic stress, and negative affect. In her dissertation, Tronnier is testing whether an adaptation of MORE can be used in the treatment of Internet Gaming Disorder.
Bowan, Sarah et al. “Relative efficacy of mindfulness-based relapse prevention, standard relapse prevention, and treatment as usual for substance use disorders: a randomized clinical trial.” JAMA Psychiatry, 2014. 4
“It’s the awareness to be able to notice things, notice that you can have feelings and they pass if you just stay with them, notice that you have the urge to do something and you don’t do it,” said Indik. This awareness is key for the children Cutchins treats. “For kids who have experienced extreme trauma, who are their emotions, for them to be able to separate themselves from their impulses, mindfulness is necessary,” said Indik.
Chiesa, Alberto and Serretti, Alessandro. “Mindfulness based cognitive therapy for psychiatric disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Psychiatry Research, May 2011. Khoury, Bassam et al. “Mindfulness-based therapy: a comprehensive meta-analysis.” Clinical Psychology Review, August 2013. 6 Van der Oord, Saskia et al. “The effectiveness of mindfulness training for children with ADHD and mindful parenting for their parents.” Journal of Child and Family Studies, February 2012.
Piet, Jacob et al. “The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on symptoms of anxiety and depression in adult cancer patients and survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2012.
7
5 Keng, Shian-Ling et al. “Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: a review of empirical studies.” Clinical Psychology Review, 2011.
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FACULTY RETIREMENTS
Catherine Nye: Keeping what means the most “Following her nose” to an illustrious career at Smith and abroad by Dane Kuttler
C
ATHERINE NYE will be the first to say that her upcoming retirement is more of a priorities shift than a departure. While the venerated professor has directed the Advanced Clinical Supervision Certificate Program since its inception in 2004, she is ready to hand off the administrative reigns—but plans to maintain her strong involvement with the program. “I feel like I’m leaving the program in good hands,” said Nye. “I’m going to keep teaching my course after I retire. Smith is a perfect place to retire from, because you can keep certain parts of the job—so I am going to keep doing field advising and teaching in the certificate program, and leave behind that administrative part. I get to keep what means the most to me.”
Jay Indik
“For kids who have experienced extreme trauma, who are their emotions, for them to be able to separate themselves from their impulses, mindfulness is necessary.”
-Jay Indik
Indik sees mindfulness as a muscle that you need to train, which they do at Cutchins in a variety of ways. They teach a focus on the breath and play mindfulness games. They lead role-plays to teach children to recognize judgment. They pretend to be scientists from another planet inspecting something like a raisin and, in doing so, the children learn to notice details that they might not otherwise see. With mindfulness training, children can develop a sense of self, a sense of control over their emotions and their impulses, an ability to reduce unsafe behavior, and a greater capacity to accomplish goals.
Looking Forward: What We Need to Know Even with the extensive impact that mindfulness has had on clinical practice, Annemarie Gockel notes that there is still far more research ahead. Future work on mindfulness will explore its strength and limits, as well as which individuals benefit most from it and why. Gockel also points to a number of key areas for research, including neurobiological measures of mindfulness practice, its effectiveness at promoting prosocial behavior, emotional regulation and executive functioning in children, and the development of online programs. “It’s still very much a growing field,” said Gockel. “Now that we know that mindfulness is beneficial to both physical and emotional health and well-being, the next questions are how much, at what times, for whom, and which specific short and longer term impacts can we hope to target for the average client?”
Annemarie Gockel, Ph.D., is an associate professor at the Smith College School for Social Work and chairs the Social Work Practice sequence. Her work centers on the ways that people draw on spirituality to heal physically and mentally. Her research explores consumer contributions to the provision of health and mental health services, with a special focus on spiritual coping and mindfulness-based interventions.
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Nye’s career at Smith has spanned twenty-five years, but her relationship with the School goes back even further. After she finished her undergraduate studies at Middlebury College, Nye did one summer in the master’s program at SSW, which she loved. After her young family’s move to Virginia—and a lengthy commute to her first term’s internship—she left the program to finish her M.S.W. at Virginia Commonwealth University. She went on to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in an interdisciplinary program in psychology and anthropology. Nye was working in the mental health center at the University of Chicago when she spotted the job posting on a bulletin board that would lead her back to Smith. “I’m the kind of person who really follows my nose, and pursues things that feel interesting and exciting,” Nye said. “I’d always felt bad about leaving Smith, so I decided to go interview—and I had a wonderful time just interviewing and realized how much I wanted to come back.” Following her nose led Nye to teach supervisory classes in Cyprus with a friend on a Fulbright, which motivated her to apply for—and receive—two Fulbright Senior Scholar Awards to pursue work in Thailand and Vietnam. Teaching at Smith gave Nye the opportunity to use sabbatical time to pursue her interests in working abroad. “It would have never occurred to me to go to southeast Asia, but my son got a job in Bangkok and stayed there for five years and I loved visiting him. When he took a job elsewhere, I realized I didn’t want to stop going to Thailand!”
Catherine Nye
The work in southeast Asia allowed Nye to pursue her research interests in anthropology and clinical practice, and led to a number of scholarly articles published about her work there. She spent much of her time shadowing leading Thai clinical social workers, learning about the structures of Thai social work, such as how local monasteries provided basic social work services, foster care, and other social safety net needs. The cultural differences she observed extended to clinical supervision, Nye’s primary academic focus. “There’s a sense of closeness and holding in Thai culture that really differs from American culture of independence and individualism,” she said. Nye’s work expanded to include a School for Social Work internship program. Three students per year made the trip to Thailand, to do their field internships in Thai social work agencies. The Thailand internship has been dormant for several years due to political unrest, but Nye’s work there has had a lasting impact. “In American social work, autonomy is a goal,” said Nye. “Introspection and self-reflection are important things to do—your sense of self is very important. In a Buddhist influenced culture, ‘no-self’ is what’s valued. I have found that enormously helpful for me.” SPRING 2016
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Nye’s published work spans a broad range of topics, a reflection of the variety of positions she has held and countries where she has worked. Over the course of her career, she has written about clinical practice with individuals; supervision and field-based learning; anthropology and clinical practice, including problems of representation; and cultural relativism and universalism.
When she considers the current professional social work landscape, Nye admits that social workers face more challenges today. On the other hand, social workers are rising to those challenges. “People are still finding ways to do interesting, good work in the field and people are being very creative about the ways they’re putting things together and finding funding. You have to find ways to live in the cracks. Social work as a field is finding ways to do that creatively.”
Joan Berzoff
Joan Berzoff: A Career of “Cerebral Artistry and Psychodynamic Alchemy” by Megan Rubiner Zinn
J
OAN BERZOFF began her social justice work as a child, marching against apartheid when she was ten and registering voters in Mississippi when she was barely old enough to drive. Given that start, it should come as no surprise that her retirement from SSW won’t be an end to her work. “I don’t really intend to stop at all,” Berzoff said. “I want to have a third chapter in my life.” Berzoff has had an enviable career in academia, engaging her passions at an institution that provided consistent support for her work. In turn, SSW has benefitted enormously from her scholarship and mentoring. Berzoff is unafraid to dive into uncharted waters, introducing new areas of study and training, and embracing new theories and practices. “She uses her broad knowledge of theory and research, years of clinical experience, personal life, sense of humor, and deep commitment to social justice to inspire her students to make a positive difference in the world,” said Josh Altman, a doctoral student and adjunct instructor.
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“I was profoundly interested in why people did what they did,” said Berzoff. “English was a way to understand character.”
For 13 years, Berzoff co-chaired the doctoral program at SSW. Today, she calls her work in doctoral education the part that she will treasure the most.
“I had seen myself as a social activist, but once I got exposed to clinical theory and practice in depth, I had found my calling,” said Berzoff.
“When I came to the School, there were supervisor training programs in lots of large institutions where we placed students. As things have gotten thinner on the ground, and people are expected to do more work for less money and with less training, we haven’t had that stable of wonderful supervisor support. We have a lot of supervisors—including our alums! —who are very capable, but end up being promoted to supervisory positions long before they would have 20 years ago.”
“I learned a great deal and felt increasingly more comfortable as the week progressed,” reported one student in the program. “I have formalized action plans regarding supervision over the course of my next year and feel [Nye’s] expertise and spirit have been so generous that I feel very supported in stepping up to the plate.”
Inside Out and Outside In, now in its fourth edition, which has been used extensively in social work and psychology programs.
She entered the Smith M.S.W. program shortly after finishing college and she immediately saw that she had found her place.
After fourteen years of teaching at Smith, Nye began the journey that would span the rest of her career: leading the Advanced Clinical Supervision Certificate Program.
To respond to the growing need for supervisory training outside an agency, Nye’s team created a program that was both rigorous and flexible, with an emphasis on connecting the participants’ real experiences and cases with high levels of theory. She notes that the program ended up addressing an increasing institutional gap in the social work world, as much as it was a response to participants’ professional needs. Nye, in turn, has provided guidance that participants describe as “warm” and “nurturing.”
Berzoff began her academic career at Washington University in St. Louis, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1971.
After completing her M.S.W. in 1974, Berzoff taught at Tufts New England Medical Center. She maintained her relationship with Smith, serving as a clinical supervisor and a field advisor before she was offered a teaching position in 1980. She began teaching at SSW on a part-time basis, commuting from Boston where she had a private practice and was enrolled in Boston University’s doctoral program in human development. She completed her Ed.D. in 1985, moved to Northampton and began teaching full time. Initially, Berzoff’s scholarly focus was women’s psychological development. She enjoyed exploring the intersections of psychoanalytic theory and practice, postmodernism, and gender theory. She also became chair of the human behavior in the social environment (HBSE) sequence, which, she says, “united my old passions for social justice with my total passion for psychodynamic theory and practice.” In the mid-90s, a tragedy shifted Berzoff’s academic focus significantly. Her sister suffered through a long battle with a blood disease that eventually killed her. Berzoff was appalled at the terrible psychosocial care her sister received. “I thought, I don’t know what I’m going to do about this, but I know I have to do something,” she said. This led to work around grief, loss, death, dying, and bereavement—the areas of expertise that would come to define Berzoff’s career. Her research informed the development of the SSW postgraduate Advanced Certificate Program in Palliative and End-of-Life Care. Since its inception, the program has trained almost 300 practitioners who have gone on to be leaders, researchers, and teachers in the field of hospice and palliative care.
“Doctoral education has been an extraordinary piece in terms, not only of teaching and curriculum development, but most of all mentoring,” she said. “Having a role in shaping our country’s future practitioner scholars—that’s been enormous.” Throughout her demanding career, Berzoff has maintained a private practice. “I feel that to be a legitimate teacher of practice and theory, you have to be doing it,” she said. “Having a rich and varied caseload allowed me to practice what I’m thinking, but I also learn from my clients, which then helps me to write and teach.” It’s not hyperbole to say that Berzoff loves SSW, its students, faculty, and administration. “They’ve had such a profound impact,” she said. “Whether it was queer studies, gender studies, marginalized groups, or race and racism, I was prodded from the moment I arrived to try to figure out how to expand psychodynamic theory and practice toward inclusivity and toward an integrative biopsychosocial framework.” Despite her retirement from Smith, Berzoff still plans to teach, consult and supervise, and will maintain her private practice. She’ll also continue her research on palliative care and is beginning a book on suffering. She anticipates that retirement will give her more flexibility in her work and more opportunities to travel. She also plans to spend more time with her grown sons who are, not surprisingly, social justice activists themselves. An outpouring of good wishes in response to Berzoff’s retirement announcement has demonstrated how deeply SSW will feel her loss. “As my professor, I could not get enough of her cerebral artistry and psychodynamic alchemy,” said doctoral student Vicki Hallas. “I always dreamt of taking her courses again and again. I will miss her terribly.”
Along with colleagues, Berzoff also taught a course in psychodynamic theories and psychopathologies in their social contexts. They found very few sources for the class, so they decided to create a textbook of their own. The result was
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Identification, serving on NASW’s national Government Relations Committee, chairing the New York State chapter of the same committee and the state’s Political Action Committee, spending a decade as the national chair of the Social Welfare Action Alliance–and serving on its steering committee today. “My self-described place is on the lunatic fringe of the profession. I’ve been kind of ‘out there’ but also recognizing the limitations of what social work can and can’t do, and pushing the boundaries around that,” says Newdom. After he left NASW, Newdom wasn’t sure of his next steps. “I decided I’d had enough of working with boards and people who had power over me, so I decided to go into consulting,” he said. “I got a call from Smith that same year, and started teaching in ‘88. It coincided with my taking that big leap.” Fred Newdom
Fred Newdom: Passing the torch Social justice, leadership and teaching as a way to create change by Dane Kuttler
When asked about his upcoming retirement, Fred Newdom kicked his feet up onto a nearby chair, folded his hands behind his head and chuckled. “It’s a sobering thought to be at a career retrospective stage of life!” he said. “I’ve had this career that’s felt blessed and I’ve always found meaningful work, but this job [at the School] has allowed me to think more outside the box, to be more creative. I’ve gotten to live my own dream.” After receiving his M.S.W. from Columbia University, Newdom’s work began in a settlement house on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in the mid-1960s. The convergence of different social movements created Newdom’s bedrock commitment to a life of activism and social justice work. “It was in the beginning of the war on poverty, the height of civil rights, welfare rights, Vietnam,” said Newdom. “To be in a place both physically and temporally when all that was going on was just amazing.” Newdom’s mid-career work included a ten-year stint as the Executive Director of the New York NASW chapter and enough volunteer pursuits to constitute a full-time job: chairing NASW’s Committee on Peace and Social Justice and the National Committee on Nominations and Leadership 18
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“[The course] really came out of students who came here with very clear politics and history of action, who were being asked to leave their politics at the door. It was a chance for them to reclaim their politics as they were leaving the program.” “I’ve worked hard to help folks understand the implications of the power that they have in clinical settings, as well as using the privilege they do have to undermine systems of privilege that exist.”
PLEASE JOIN US,
After Sachs’ death, Newdom wasn’t sure how the course would continue without his colleague’s essential clinical perspective.
for a retirement celebration thanking these extraordinary people for all that they have given our School.
The big leap paid off. Newdom describes the teaching position as “the job in my career with the fewest contradictions between my work and my values.”
“There was a two-year period when Edith Fraser (Ph.D. ‘94) co-taught the course with me. Then Rani Varghese (M.S.W. ‘99), who took the class when it was in its first years, agreed to join me in the classroom and has taught it with me for the past ten years. We’ve changed the syllabus, modernized it, brought a perspective I didn’t come by naturally, but the goal was to have more than one perspective in the room.”
“They said to me ‘We need people like you here,’ and there is nothing that mobilizes me more than someone saying that exact phrase.”
Seeing former students like Varghese, now an assistant professor at Adelphi University and an adjunct professor and advisor for SSW, come back to teach is one of Newdom’s greatest rewards.
For students like Danielle Frank, M.S.W. ‘14, Newdom became an important link between direct community work and the School’s intense academic environment.
“When I think about the things I’m most proud of in this place, it’s how many of my former students are teaching here,” said Newdom. “There’s something about it that feels like passing the torch from one generation to the next. To hang out with faculty colleagues who were once sitting in the classroom with me—it’s a trip.”
“I arrived at Smith with a lot of anxiety about how I, someone with more of a community organizing background and no academic training at all, would fit into the culture,” Frank said. “I was fortunate to meet Fred early on in my first summer. He really provided me with a sense of home.”
August 4, 2016 5:00pm Smith College Conference Center 51 College Lane
Indeed, Newdom spent much of his Smith career as a clinical adjunct associate professor creating a sense of home for both students and faculty. He spent ten years as the chair of the Social Welfare Action Alliance, an organization founded in honor of Bertha Capen Reynolds, a former Smith professor famous— or infamous—for her Communist Party affiliation and who eventually was fired by Smith because of her radical politics Newdom’s first contact with SSW was at the Reynolds’ centennial in 1985. “That was the first gathering of social workers I’d ever been to where I could be fully ‘out’ about my politics. A bunch of us got together and decided there ought to be a place for us to gather.” That led to the founding of the Bertha Reynolds Society. Together with Jerry Sachs, Newdom developed the course “Clinical Work and Social Action: Bridging the False Dichotomy” to address a perceived need.
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DAY-GARRETT AWARD 2015
Day-Garrett Award 2015 For distinguished service to the School for Social Work and the social work profession
The Day-Garrett Award
was established in 1978 to honor Florence Day and Annette Garrett, exceptional educators who personified, in their personal lives and their service to their communities, the high purpose of professional service for which the Smith College School for Social Work is renowned. The award is presented annually to one or more individuals who have been outstanding contributors to professional social work and significant members of the SSW educational community. Their contributions may include publication, teaching, administration, direct service, innovative programming, or creation of policy. Recipients are chosen by a committee, consisting of a member of the Smith College board of trustees, the dean of the School for Social Work, the director of alumni relations, faculty, and a field faculty representative. For 2015, the School for Social Work chose to bestow its most prestigious Day-Garrett Award upon Katherine Gabel, Smith College class of 1959 and dean of the School for Social Work from 1976 to 1985, and to Marian Harris, Ph.D., class of 1997.
Smith College alumna Katherine Gabel served as dean of the School for Social Work from 1976 to 1985, and the School was extraordinarily lucky to have her as a leader during those years. She came in at a time of transition for the School. It was with her leadership and vision that very important changes were made to the School enabling it to maintain its reputation as a leader in clinical social work education and to thrive.
“Katherine opened the School to contemporary critical practice at a time that was essential to the health of the School.”
Smith is only one of the institutions that has benefitted from Gabel’s talents. Throughout her career, she has brought her skills to a variety of institutions and organization. She left Smith in 1985 to become the president of Pacific Oaks College, which specializes in early childhood education and human development. From there she spent four years as West Region Director of Casey Family Programs, an operating foundation established by UPS founder, Jim Casey, with the mission to benefit and support youth in foster care. In 2004, she became the West Regional Director of Lambda Legal, working to protect the rights of the LGBTQ community. In every one of her leadership positions, Gabel has dedicated herself to system changes. “Her gift is as a system administrator and her ability to move between policy and practice,” said Caitlin Ryan, Gabel’s friend and former student. “She’s one of the few people who’s always had a broad vision of change.” “Katherine Gabel has done all of this work in an unassuming, graceful, committed way,” Ryan added. In addition to her administrative work, Dr. Gabel maintains a passion for supporting the children of incarcerated parents. In 1989, Gabel and Denise Johnson founded California’s Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents, dedicated to preventing
-Caitlin Ryan, M.S.W. ‘82, Ph.D.
intergenerational crime and incarceration. In 1985, they edited Children of Incarcerated Parents, a guide for practitioners in meeting the needs of these children. After graduating from Smith, Gabel earned an M.S.W., a Ph.D. in social science, and a law degree. She then was appointed to the newly established position of Superintendent of the Arizona Girl’s School, an institution for juvenile detention and rehabilitation, which within three years became Adobe Mountain School, a coeducational facility. Her work at the school earned her the Smith College Medal in 1976. When she returned to campus to receive the award, President Jill Ker Conway asked her to help choose the new dean for the School for Social Work, and then appointed Gabel herself. Gabel credits much of her success to Ker Conway’s mentorship and calls the former president the finest and most beloved boss in her career. With Ker Conway’s support, Gabel enacted significant change at the School. She broadened the curriculum to include a greater focus on social policy and a range of modalities of clinical practice. “What she did for the School and the profession was to find a way to integrate clinical practice with social policy,” said Gerry Schamess, SSW Professor Emertis and Gabel’s colleague.
The awards were presented in August 2015 at Commencement.
Top: Katherine Gabel, A.B. ‘59, M.S.W., Ph.D. Bottom: Marian Harris, M.S.W., Ph.D. ‘97 Left to right: Smith College School for Social Work Dean Marianne Yoshioka, Smith College President Emerita Jill Ker Conway, Dean Emerita Katherine Gabel, Smith College President Kathleen McCartney, and former Provost and Dean of the Faculty Susan Bourque
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DAY-GARRETT AWARD 2015
her work. Her highly regarded book, Racial Disproportionality in Child Welfare is a key text in the field, providing not only a clear statement of the issues and synthesis of the research, but also curricula for courses to be taught in schools of social work.
“Social workers had talked for a very long time about trying to understand and work with people in the larger contexts of their lives. I think she gave real life to that throughout the curriculum, both in the initiatives she supported and pursued and in the adjunct faculty that she recruited and supported on campus.”
Harris maintained a private practice until recently and she is active in her community, where she works with women at the Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women.
“Katherine opened the School to contemporary critical practice at a time that was essential to the health of the School,” said Caitlin Ryan. Gabel also made the school more welcoming to a diversity of students. Under her leadership, students formed the SSW first gay/lesbian alliance and she worked to have sexual orientation added to the mission statement of the School, making Smith the first social work school to do so. She was a strong supporter of the needs of students and faculty of color, increasing their numbers in the M.S.W. and Ph.D. programs. It was also under her leadership that the School’s anti-racism initiative was launched. Gabel’s Smith colleagues remember her as a generous mentor to both students and faculty. “Her smile and warmth were contagious,” said Dorcas Bowles, who served as Gabel’s associate dean. According to Bowles, Gabel drew students in, listened, encouraged, and addressed their concerns. She also pushed students and faculty to pursue doctoral degrees and hone their clinical and administrative skills. Both Ryan and Bowles credit much of their success to her support and guidance. “I’ve had an interest in mentoring students with special interests and potential,” said Gabel. “You know you have succeeded when the student achieves professionally.” Gabel’s advice to students who have benefitted from her legacy is much the same as the counsel she gave to her students when she was dean: “Follow your dreams and take risks. Interesting new challenges will arise throughout your career.” Although Gabel left Smith in 1985, she continues to serve the College as a dedicated alumna and supports the School for Social Work in an advisory capacity. “I’ve always loved Smith,” said Gabel. “It’s been a major part of my life and always will be.” At the School for Social Work, we are delighted to have presented the 2015 Day-Garrett Award to Katherine Gabel, a leader and scholar who has had an immeasurable impact on our School for Social Work and on social work organizations across the country.
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“When our students graduate, we hope they will go on to impact the field, advocate for individuals, and nurture students as much as Marian Harris has.”
Fortunately for Smith, Harris continues to serve as a clinical supervisor for our doctoral students. Joyce Everett, SSW professor and former co‐director of the doctoral program, describes Harris as “devoted to her students,” and able to support them through to graduation. SSW Professor Kathryn Basham, co‐directs the doctoral program, agreed.
Dean Marianne Yoshioka and Marian Harris
Marian Harris is a Smith College School for Social Work doctoral program alumna, whose work has focused on child welfare and how it responds to the needs of children and birth parents in the system. She has a particular interest in the disproportionate number of children of color who remain stuck in the child welfare system. Before coming to Smith, Harris received her bachelor’s degree from Florida A&M University in 1964 and her M.S.W. from Florida State University in 1977. Harris chose Smith’s doctoral program for its focus on clinical training, knowing it would enrich her research. While here, she distinguished herself by earning a Bertha Capen Reynolds Fellowship and the Roger R. Miller Dissertation Grant.
“She demonstrates a unique capacity to combine academic rigor with high standards of excellence and a distinctive skill in facilitating the students’ academic and professional development,” said Basham. Harris’ gift is not only in inspiring her students, but in influencing and inspiring her mentors and colleagues as well. “My research on reunification of children in foster care with their families has benefitted from Marian’s clinical insights,” said Mark Courtney, a professor at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration and an affiliated scholar at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. “I have always valued Marian’s insights about the contributors to racial disparities in the provision of child welfare services.” “She’s taken issues that we’ve struggled with and she’s brought in new theoretical models and conceptual frameworks,” said Steven Schinke, the D’Elbert and Selma Keenan professor of
- Dean Yoshioka.
social work at Columbia University. “She has synthesized the data and brought to bear original data, and helped make a coherent whole where before we had fragmentation.” Harris was deeply touched when she learned she would receive the Day-Garrett Award. “It means the world to me as a scholar,” she said. “This means a lot because Smith means a lot.” She returned our praise with praise of her own. “Smith has played an instrumental role in my career,” Harris said “If you want the best clinical education in the country, you need to go to Smith.” “When our students graduate, we hope they will go on to impact the field, advocate for individuals, and nurture students as much as Marian Harris has,” said Dean Yoshioka. We are delighted to have presented the Day-Garrett Award to an educator, scholar, and alumna, who has contributed so much to the field of social work and has given back so much through her numerous roles at the School for Social Work.
After completing her Ph.D., Harris’s work took her to the University of Wisconsin for postdoctoral training and to a position at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She currently teaches at the University of Washington, Tacoma, and has held associate positions at the University of Washington, Seattle, the University of Chicago, and Chapin Hall Center for Children, as well as Smith College. In 2007, Harris and a colleague launched a family reunification group at Mission Creek, providing psychotherapy and advocacy for mothers still involved in the child welfare system, and she co-chaired the Washington State Racial Disproportionality Advisory Committee from 2007 until 2013. Harris is widely respected by her colleagues for her commitment, diligence, and resilience, as well as for her sharp understanding of the process of research and the stamina to stay the course of Katherine Gabel (right) with her spouse, Eunice Shatz
A toast to the Day-Garrett winners
Marian Harris and Katherine Gabel share a moment.
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CLINICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Bernard brings to the couples’ giving strategies an in-depth knowledge of corporations, operations, and finances. She spent three decades in the telecommunications industry, most notably as the first woman president of AT&T. Since leaving that work, she served on several public company boards, and is currently on the boards of the Principal Financial Group, Zimmer Biomet, and SITO Mobile. In addition, she chairs the board of Drew University’s Center for Religion, Culture & Conflict, whose mission is interfaith understanding and peace.
Great admiration for Smith College SSW Peter and Bernard’s support of SSW was inspired first and foremost by their respect for the program. Peter deeply appreciates the social work foundation her Smith education gave her. The base in psychodynamic theory, the thorough understanding of family dynamics, and the team-based approach and collaborative environment all helped her navigate a challenging career.
Dr. Marsha Kline Pruett, Maconda Brown O’Conner Professor and Clinical Research Institute (CRI) Director
Laurie Peter and Betsy Bernard: Collaborating on innovative SSW research In the fall of 2015, SSW expanded its Clinical Research Institute (CRI) with the goal of generating new investigations among researchers from SSW and the broader social work academic community. The newly constituted CRI announced its first project: a grant provided by Laurie Peter, M.S.W. ‘91, and her Betsy Bernard and Laurie Peter partner, Betsy Bernard, to support research on interpersonal violence among same-sex couples. As long-time supporters of the School, Peter and Bernard donate to fund specific projects and research and to contribute to training the next generation of social workers.
Approaching philanthropy as a team Peter and Bernard have made it a practice to approach their philanthropy as a team, making careful decisions together on how to use their resources. They target a wide range of 24 SMITH COLLEGE SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORK
organizations, supporting animal rescues, LGBT groups, mental health facilities, education, and interfaith peace and understanding efforts. While Peter and Bernard’s passions often direct their giving, they also donate to organizations because they admire the dedication, charisma, and abilities of the leadership and the integrity of its operations.
Drawing on careers in human services and finance to support non-profit organizations Peter’s commitment to human services organizations comes from her experience working as an M.S.W. in the health care system. After finishing her degree at Smith, Peter worked at Oregon Health Science University and Denver Health and Hospitals, where she specialized in trauma, death, and dying. In recent years, Peter has channeled her social work and leadership experience into serving on the boards of non-profit organizations. For many years, she was on the board of Jersey Battered Women’s Services (JBWS), which is based near their home in Morris County, NJ, and she continues to work closely with the organization. Currently, Peter is on the board of SAGE (Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Elders).
“I had a tremendous experience at Smith,” Peter said. “The school provides amazing training to students who really want to serve. We continue to give because I believe in what Smith is doing to train the next generation of social workers.”
Funding research in interpersonal violence within the LGBT community
Through her work with JBWS, Peter became knowledgeable about the complexities of addressing interpersonal violence in the LGBT community. She and Bernard are concerned with silence around interpersonal violence among same sex couples, as well as the limitations of services that usually are created for heterosexual victims of domestic violence. “If it’s hard for someone to say I’m a victim in a heterosexual relationship, then it’s really hard for someone in the LGBT community to raise their hand and say ‘I’m a victim. It’s a small community and I’m not going to go to an institution that’s not designed to serve me,’” said Bernard. Being able to use their financial resources to address this issue and improve services, not only on the level of practice but to support scholarly research on interpersonal violence, was very exciting for Peter and Bernard. “Not a lot of non-profits would be in a position or actually let you influence the program that happens with your donation,” said Bernard. “And Smith has done that twice now. I think that’s distinct and unique.” “One of the great things about this School is that our faculty, alumni, and students are united in our goal to advance clinical social work education, practice, and research,” said Dean Yoshioka. “That gives us so many exciting opportunities for collaboration—like the one this generous gift has made possible.”
Peter and Bernard also give to Smith because they are excited about its leadership and its future. “I am very appreciative of Marianne [Yoshioka’s] leadership and passion and the way that she’s helping Smith evolve,” Peter said. They’ve been especially pleased with the School’s willingness to involve them in the decisions about how their gifts are used. With their first significant contribution, they were able to help develop an on-campus workshop and seminar on aging in the LGBT community. They also have funded thesis research by SSW students whose work focused on LGBT issues. With the CRI grant, Dean Yoshioka suggested they focus their funding on studies with a broader reach.
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DONORS IN FOCUS
Elizabeth Castrellón: Modeling Philanthropy
Geoffrey Locke: Making a Statement
M.S.W. ‘10
Ph.D. ‘11, M.S.W. ‘98
At each stage of her career, Elizabeth Castrellón, M.S.W. ‘10, has benefitted from role models who have guided her. Today, Castrellón serves as a role model herself, demonstrating how even recent graduates can support Smith College School for Social Work financially.
I was inspired by social work mentors. Castrellón began her career working at a women’s center, after graduating from Rice University. Her key mentors at the center were all social workers, which inspired her to continue her education in an M.S.W. program. One of these mentors recommended Smith College SSW, which proved to be an excellent fit.
“Can I set aside an hour of work?” As a young professional, Castrellón takes a novel approach to giving.
As Geoffrey Locke sees it, when he gives to the School’s Annual Fund, he makes a statement about his values —and the value of the school itself.
“I think about it this way: Can I set aside [income from] an hour of work at my private practice?”
“Giving to the school sends the message that what you provided me was life-changing and that I want to support you in continuing to provide that to students now and in the future.”
Castrellón hopes she inspires young alumni to take a similar approach, so that their combined contributions can help another student finish the program.
I’m an alum, practitioner, and faculty member.
“It’s a way of making sure that other people have the opportunity to go to Smith. It was such a wonderful experience; I want other people to be able to have it.”
The support of Smith’s vital alumni network is priceless.
Currently in private practice in Amherst, Massachusetts, Locke specializes in the long-term treatment of adults with complex mental health and addiction-related disorders. He is also an adjunct professor at SSW. For the last several years, he has taught “Knowing, Not Knowing, and Muddling Through,” an advanced clinical practice course for students in their third summer. Smith is training many of the best clinical social workers.
The value of Castrellón’s SSW education became particularly clear after graduation. Her Smith credentials helped her land a competitive fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine, and Houston’s network of SSW alumni was crucial in helping her establish herself as a clinician. Castrellón currently works in a psychiatric hospital, but is also building a private practice. She credits Smith alumni for encouraging her to take this leap.
As a practitioner, Locke admires the program’s clinical and psychodynamic focus. “Smith College SSW has a long history of training many of the best clinical social workers in the country, and beyond. Its psychodynamic focus provides an exceptional base for understanding and relating to the whole person, both past and present, and both inside and outside.”
“If it wasn’t for the support, I wouldn’t be in private practice. When you have other alums who are giving you that guidance —it’s priceless.”
My contribution helps other students obtain a Smith College SSW education.
Geoffrey Locke
Giving is a pleasure. Locke has been making donations to SSW since 2005, even before he finished his education. He donates, and encourages his fellow alumni to give, in order to guarantee that that the school can continue to train superlative social workers, and to ensure that the most promising students can study here, regardless of their financial need. “The world needs clinical social workers, so I see giving to Smith as giving to the bigger society that does and will continue to need us.”
As an instructor, he admires the students.
This effort isn’t an obligation or a burden—it’s a pleasure.
“They’re bright, engaged, curious, and sensitive, and they really challenge me. I’m always astounded by the insights and intuitive knowing they bring to the class.”
“Smith is like an extended family that has shaped who I am, both personally and professionally, and I enjoy giving every year.”
Living in Houston and seeing her friends give to Rice, Castrellón began to think about how much more the social work students at Smith needed her donations. “I had a lot of scholarships, so it’s really important to me to give back. I don’t think I would have the career that I have in social work if it hadn’t been for Smith.”
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Elizabeth Castrellón Hundreds of Smith College School for Social Work alumni and friends make the School a philanthropic priority each and every year. This report celebrates the generosity of donors like you. Your support is an investment in the students who share your passion for making the world a better place. With your continued help an exceptional clinical social work education is within their reach. For more info on how you can make a difference contact dfaucher@smith.edu.
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ALUMNI LIVES
2015 ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENTS The SSW Alumni Association is pleased to announce the 2015 Alumni Association Thesis Awards and Roger Miller Dissertation Grant recipients
Alumni Association Thesis Award Shannon Mackey, M.S.W. ‘15 “The Roots and Implications of Rape Myth Acceptance in Public Disclosure: The Steubenville Ohio Rape Case”
Alumni Association Thesis Award for Students of Color Maya Hochberger-Vigsittaboot, M.S.W. ‘15 “What are you? Understanding the Contexual Influence on the Racial Categorization of Multiracial Adults and the Impact on their Sense of Belonging”
Roger Miller Dissertation Grant Johanna Creswell Baez, doctoral post-resident student “Testing and Explaining a Social Emotional Learning Program and the Intersection of Trauma in Urban, Low-Income Students: A Mixed-Methods Study”
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Class of 1946 Alice Ladas writes, “One of my exciting adventures this year was a week in Rangeley, Maine, attending a conference at Orgonon about the work of Wilhelm Reich. Rangeley still has abundant water and clean air. James Strich, a professor of the history of science, has written Wilhelm Reich: Biologist, published by Harvard University Press. I intend to help get Reich’s work better known. The biggest non-personal tragedy I have been a part of, is the burning of Reich’s books in the 1950s, the confiscation and destruction of his experimental materials, and his dying in prison. Reich is the only person I know of to have his books burned both by the Nazis and the USA. I still have his original books and an orgone energy accumulator which I did not return to be burned and chopped up by the FDA. Kevin Hinchey interviewed me for his movie about Reich and I helped his kick start for that project. My professional career was devoted to things Reich considered important: early bonding through educated childbirth, breastfeeding, sane attitudes towards human sexuality, opposing fascism and UFOs. I frequently use an orgone energy accumulator blanket at night to boost the waning energy of this elder. Still working as a licensed somatic psychologist in New Mexico. I am the first author of the NY Times best-seller, The G Spot and Other Discoveries about Human Sexuality (1982).”
Class of 1956 Nancy Boyd Webb writes, “I just published the 4th edition of my bestselling book, Play Therapy with Children and Adolescents in Crisis (published by Guilford Press).
This book is used as a text in university courses in social work, counseling, and other mental health fields as well as by professionals helping young people in various settings such as schools and community agencies. I received my D.S.W. from Columbia University in 1979 and taught at Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service for 30 years before my retirement. I continue to provide consultation, supervision and training to mental health agencies and often give keynote presentations and workshops at professional meetings.”
Class of 1960 Beth Choi writes, “I have been well aware, since my grandson was born over nineteen years ago, of the pleasures of being a grandma. Increasingly, though, I see how fortunate I am to have, too, a gaggle of grand-nieces, tiny to teenage, whose lives I can be a part of.”
Class of 1973 Lucille Spira writes, “I co-edited with Dr. Arlene Kramer Richards a book: Myths of Mighty Women: Their Application in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (Karnac Books, 2015). It is the premise of our book that the Oedipus myth, which was all-important to Freudian psychoanalysts in the 20th century, is only one among many myths that shape women›s minds, hearts and behavior. In our work our contributors explore aspects of ancient myths, biblical and folk stories that have implications for contemporary women›s lives and treatment. Our anthology presents myths from both Eastern and Western cultures. Themes of love, aggression, sexuality, revenge, justice, maternity, and mourning are addressed. How todays women identify with aspects of mythic figures is made explicit, and ways to resolve the intrapsychic and interpersonal conflicts dramatically
portrayed in myths and witnessed in psychotherapy are considered and suggested. I also co-edited: Encounters with Loneliness: Only the Lonely, edited by Arlene Kramer Richards, Lucille Spira and Arthur A. Lynch (IP Books, 2013) (Gradiva Award Winner for Best Anthology, 2014), which was recently in the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association December, 2015 vol. 63 by Julia Matthews-Bellinger.”
Class of 1976 Robert Scialabba writes, “I am now almost fully retired from my second position as an L.C.S.W. in the emergency room of a community hospital in Norwich, Connecticut. I also retired from the State of Connecticut Department of Mental Health. I have enjoyed a varied and rewarding social work career thanks to Smith. I now keep active as an EMT in my town in Ledyard, Connecticut, and visiting our two children and four grandchildren throughout the country, as both families are involved with the Coast Guard.”
Class of 1977 Amy Yatzkan Trachtenberg writes, “This is my first time sending in a class note. In true social work fashion, one must ask ‘”why now?’” With 20 years of agency work plus another 20 years of private practice, I am now NOT retiring!! Indeed, I am moving in April from a suburban NJ single family home to a high rise in Center City Philly. In doing so, I get to take the L.S.W. and then the L.C.S.W. test in order to receive licensure in PA. How strange is that? In the meantime, I will commute to my practice in NJ. Would love to hear from alum in the Philly area. E-mail me at trachtenbergamy@gmail.com.”
Class of 1979 Janna Smith writes, “In 1978, for my second placement, I had the good fortune to be the first Smith intern sent to the Cambridge Hospital Department of Psychiatry. I’ve been there since, and my participation—inpatient care, supervision,
teaching and training, has been a central, sustaining pleasure of my adulthood. Thirty-seven years’ worth; and now I’m about to retire. In some ways, it’s not a huge transition since in recent years I’ve worked there only a little. In other ways, it seems momentous—like I’ve arrived at a far station.”
on my SSW education and fellowship experiences to guide my interventions. I know their stories, provide pastoral care, and encourage them to care for themselves and for each other. I also work to change social structures that exacerbate their situations.”
Otherwise, I’m still seeing my private patients and writing. Our children are grown and deep into their own interesting, full lives. My husband is lately retired and we look forward to a little more travel and a kinder, gentler pace. Carpe diem.”
Class of 1982
Class of 1980 Pamela Raab writes, “Greetings from New York City—I continue to enjoy practicing in Greenwich Village, seeing individuals and couples and recently have expanded my practice with more teaching, consultation, and supervision. I’m on the faculty of three Manhattanbased psychoanalytic institutes, teaching relational psychoanalysis, and human development courses. Last year, I took the plunge as an amateur Shakespeare scholar and presented a paper at a conference in Madrid, which was a Kleinian view on Shakespeare’s ‘Winter’s Tale.’ Great fun!
Deborah Sosin writes, “I published a mindfulness-themed picture book, Charlotte and the Quiet Place (Parallax Press, 2015), illustrated by New York artist Sara Woolley. The book was named a 2015 Bronze Winner by the National Parenting Publications Awards. I have been busy doing school visits and author events in New England and beyond. In addition to working part-time at Sameem Associates and in private practice in Newton, Massachusetts, I teach writing at Grub Street in Boston and offer private manuscript consultations. I graduated from Lesley University’s M.F.A. in Creative Writing program in 2015. Please visit charlotteandthequietplace. com for the latest news.”
Class of 1983
I had the opportunity to be on the Smith campus in October, and was struck by how gorgeous it is. For old times’ sake, I had a burger at Fitzwilly’s.”
Class of 1981 J. Robin Robb writes, “On January 11, 2014, I was ordained into the Sacred Order of Deacons of the Episcopal Church. I serve in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Our small borough is the third most violent municipality in the commonwealth, and its poverty statistics equal those of inner city Philadelphia. My ministry is ‘being present in the midst’ of Pottstown’s faith-based efforts to sustain a workable infrastructure to care for both housed and un-housed poor. Most are on Social Security Disability due to psychiatric problems. No longer licensed as a psychotherapist, every day I draw
Claudia Rosen writes, “This last year, my husband Steve Rosen and my daughter Naomi Rosen both graduated from the University of Chicago’s SSA program and are joining me in the profession of social work. It has been and continues to be
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invigorating to have them as colleagues. Naomi and I are working on a project related to mothers and daughters and their conversations regarding sexuality. We have just written our first article together. Steve is in a group practice and focuses on parenting concerns. My private practice continues to thrive in Evanston, Illinois, where I treat young adults, couples and families. I am increasingly doing more supervision and consultation, including related to the treatment of eating disorders, emerging adulthood and couples work.”
Class of 1988 Michael Williams writes, “I continue to love living in Cambridge. I recently returned to the Cambridge Health Alliance (Cambridge Hospital), where I did my internship back in ‘87/’88, in the role of Director Ambulatory Psychiatry Operations. I feel incredibly fortunate to be back with colleagues who I respect and admire, and for the opportunity to shape an intellectually vibrant department. I continue to do a small amount of private practice work, and I am in a supervision group I love that includes fellow class of 1988 classmates Robin Kaplan and Jayme Shorin. I’m also in regular contact with B class mate Yana Vishnitsky in Denver.”
Class of 1990 Yvette Colón writes, “I’ve been an assistant professor at Eastern Michigan University School of Social Work where I am the M.S.W. program director. I earned a graduate certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies in 2015 and have become a Women’s and Gender Studies department member at EMU. Recently, I published the following book chapters: ‘Aging: The Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/ Transgender Experience’ (in E. Krajewski-Jaime, Ed., Aging: Ethnicity and Gender Issues, Common Ground Publishing) and ‘Working with Sociocultural and Economic Diversity’ (in G. Christ, C. Messner, & L. Behar, Eds., Handbook of Oncology Social Work, Oxford University Press). I continue as a member of the awesome Alumni 30
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Association Executive Committee as Chair of Development. I’d love to hear about the rest of the class of 1990!”
Class of 1991 Martha Sweezy (M.S.W. ‘91, Ph.D. ‘97) writes, “After 18 years, I recently retired from the Cambridge Health Alliance, where I was the Associate Director of the DBT program, though I continue to supervise and consult at Cambridge Health Alliance through an appointment at Harvard Medical School. I now have a private practice in Northampton. And over the last two years I’ve published a couple of books on internal family systems therapy (IFS) and intimacy from the inside out (IFIO), a related couple therapy, with two more in the pipeline.”
Class of 1992
administrative positions. For the past 15 years, He has split his work between private practice in Northampton and consulting to independent schools, as well as adjunct teaching at the SCSSW and the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. Duncan and I have three wonderful teenagers who keep us on our toes—the eldest in college, and the next about to leave home.” Annie Weiss writes, “I am enjoying a new position as the group consultant at the Brookline Community Mental Health Center. I am still co-leading the Observed Therapy Group with Scott Rutan at the Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, and I am a program assistant for an Internal Family Systems Level 1 training in Boston. In addition to these teaching roles, I currently run two consultation groups in my private practice and would be delighted to welcome more Smith alums!”
Class of 1993
Meg Laird writes, “Greetings classmates! Duncan Laird, M.S.W.’93, and I never left after meeting at Smith in 1991. This past fall, we celebrated 22 years of marriage. I still laugh remembering the chutzpah it took to call the home of my professor, Joan Laird, and my dean, Ann Hartman, to ask their son out on a first date. And Joan still takes all the credit for introducing us. I am halfway through my 24th year at the Smith College Counseling Service. I have supported thousands of Smith students through their college years and have enjoyed supervising a number of SCSSW interns. Having undergone treatment for breast cancer in 2005, I am approaching 11 years cancer-free. Duncan spent the 1990s in a series of clinical and
Duncan Laird writes, “Greetings classmates! Meg (Behr) Laird, M.S.W.’92 and I never left after meeting at Smith in 1991. This past fall we celebrated 22 years of marriage. Meg still laughs remembering the chutzpah it took to call the home of her professor, Joan Laird, and her dean, Ann Hartman, to ask their son out on a first date. And Joan still takes all he credit for introducing us. Meg is halfway through her 24th year at the Smith College Counseling Service. She has supported thousands of Smith students through their college years and has enjoyed supervising a number of SCSSW interns. Having undergone treatment for breast cancer in 2005, Meg is approaching 11 years cancer-free. I spent the 1990s in a series of clinical and administrative positions. For the past 15 years, I have split my work between private practice in Northampton and consulting to independent schools, as well as adjunct teaching at the SCSSW and the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. Meg and I have three
wonderful teenagers who keep us on our toes—the eldest in college, and the next about to leave home.” Mary Scollan writes, “Twenty-two years have gone by quickly. From 1994-2006 I worked in hospital behavioral health programs, which included being full-time in primary care doctor’s offices seeing their patients for psychotherapy. Then in 2006, I opened a private practice with a strong referral base from the doctors with whom I worked in their offices. In these last ten years I studied trauma, dissociation and the treatments for this. I married Barbara Skornia in 2011 in Northampton, Massachusetts! We have been together for almost 34 years. All is well!”
Class of 1994 Rebecca Brewer writes, “I am happily raising two children, 11-year-old Isabelle and 15-year-old Nick, and attending many concerts and sports events for them! I got my Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 2006 and work as a psychologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.” Liz Gregg writes, “I am living in Washington, DC. I am working on a new initiative to help elders and adults living with a disability ‘age in place’ by offering grants for home modifications and equipment, as well as referrals to wraparound services. The work is challenging and gratifying!” Mara Stein writes, “Life has taken many twists and turns since graduating from SSW. Through mediation, psychotherapy, program/agency directing to managing early childhood research projects. Life has traveled through marriage, children, divorce, and into bright sunshine. I’ve returned to my roots in East Lansing, Michigan—living happily.”
Class of 1997 Wendy Radding writes, “I earned a Registered Play Therapist distinction from the Association for Play Therapy and have a private practice, Harmony Psychotherapy Center, in Woodbridge, Virginia.”
Class of 1998 Amanda Hosmer writes, “I’m working as a school adjustment counselor at Lowell High School in Lowell, Massachusetts. My most recent work has been to advocate for the rights of transgender students, as well as pushing for adequate training for the staff. It’s exciting to watch as progress is being made!”
Class of 1999 Manfred Melcher writes, “My family and I are relocating to Carmel, California, the summer of 2016. My plans include continuing a full-time private practice, along with consultation services, clinical supervision, and teaching. My book, Becoming a Social Worker, which follows my course work and clinical internships while a SSW master’s student, will be re-published in 2016 as an eBook and will be available on my practice website: www.manfredmelcher.com.”
psychoanalysis, psychotherapy and counseling to adults, adolescents and children. I am married and have a 6-year-old son.”
Class of 2001 Lynn Cormier-Sayarath writes “I continue to manage my private practice and specialize in the treatment of eating disorders. I was recently featured in Healthy You magazine, published by Heywood Hospital, on ‘Breast is Best: Important Benefits for Mom and Baby’ (http://www.heywood.org/files/ dmfile/HWD006_NLTvol07_web1.pdf). I am the varsity field hockey coach at Gardner High School. I was also recently appointed as Executive Board Chair of Girls on the Run Worcester County. Girls on the Run is a non-profit, positive youth development program for girls grades 3-8 that teaches them to be joyful, confident, and healthy through running as an activity. I have been an adjunct professor of psychology at Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts, for the last ten years teaching in both the traditional and accelerated learning departments. In the summer of 2015, the college launched its first master’s program, a master’s in Mental Health Counseling, with specialized training in DBT. I will be teaching human growth and development and social and cultural diversity issues in counseling in the program.”
Class of 2000 Elena Papathanasopoulou writes, “I live and work in Greece. After graduation, I taught at the Greek Social Work School. I also worked three years with refugees and asylum seekers as head of the Social Work Department of the Greek Council for Refugees, and then I worked for another three years as a clinician in a day center for adolescents with psychosis. I have been employed by the Greek state to conduct parenting groups in schools. I was the first social worker accepted by the Hellenic Psychoanalytical Society and I was trained as a psychoanalyst. Additionally, I obtained a Diploma in Psychology from the Open University in England. Now, I work in my private practice offering
Do you have news you would like to share with your cohort and other alumni? Send it to us at indepth@smith.edu or to InDepth, Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, MA, 01063.
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Mara Acel-Green writes, “After practicing in the Boston area as a psychotherapist since 2001, I was thrilled to open my new group practice, Strong Roots Counseling, in Watertown, Massachusetts, in March 2015. My specialty, pregnancy and postpartum mental health, is a core component of this new venture. Offering specialty and new treatment approaches, I have also been writing about the topic in the Huffington Post, as well as training therapists at a range of universities and agency settings.”
Class of 2002 Melissa Slegona writes, “After 13 years working in settings such as psychiatric inpatient, child/ adolescent residential, and employee assistance, I am ecstatic to have opened my own practice south of Boston, Massachusetts. I am deeply grateful for my education at SCSSW; it has made a true difference in what I can offer the people I serve.”
Class of 2003
Class of 2006
Fanny Gutierrez-Meyers writes, “Beginning in January, I will be a visiting clinical instructor for NYU Silver School of Social Work in Shanghai, China.”
Angie Arce O’Hagan writes, “Since graduating, I have worked my way through the same community mental health facility in Cape May County, New Jersey. I am currently the program manager for their Intensive Outpatient Program. In the same year that I became manager (2013), I married my boyfriend whom I met while on internship in Philadelphia. This year, we had a little girl, Charlotte.”
Sydney Spears (Ph.D.) writes, “I am the director of Social Welfare Programs at the University of Kansas-Edwards Campus. Also, I am teaching traumasensitive yoga classes at the Kansas City VA for Veterans who have been diagnosed with PTS as well as group/private mindful yoga for stress and pain reduction. I am currently, working on developing a community program to provide traumasensitive yoga and mindfulness training to at-risk children and adults.” Angelia Washington writes, “I am the Health Sciences educator/program coordinator for the Department of Defense Education Activity at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Recently, I was re-elected to a second term on the Jacksonville City Council. Currently, I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Higher Education at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. In addition, I was recently appointed as vice-chair of the National League of Cities (NLC) Human Development Federal Advocacy Committee located in Washington, DC. This committee has the lead responsibility for developing NLC federal policy positions and advising Congress on issues involving social services, children and learning, poverty and income support, employment and workforce development, equal opportunity, social security and seniors, individuals with disabilities, public health care, mental health parity and immigration reform.”
Class of 2014
Leadership Pioneer Valley’s 2015-2016 Class Cohort
Class of 2008
Class of 2010
Class of 2011
Sara Wiener writes, “In December, I moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to begin a pediatric gender clinic at the University of Michigan Health System. I am also administratively overseeing transgender health for the health system, a new and very exciting challenge for me. I am enjoying working with wonderful colleagues doing work that I’m passionate about! I hope everyone is well!”
Christy O’Brien writes, “The past year has brought about many careerbased changes. I was recruited to a major Western Massachusetts mental health agency, where I was hired as a clinical supervisor. Just one year later, I was promoted to clinic director for the Greenfield and Orange, Massachusetts, clinics. Additionally, I was accepted into Leadership Pioneer Valley’s 2015-2016 Class Cohort. (See here for great article and class picture—I’m front row: http://www.masslive.com/business-news/ index.ssf/2015/09/leadership_pioneer_ valley_announces_clas.html)”
John Reardon writes, “I am currently working as a staff therapist with South Bay Mental Health in Attleboro, Massachusetts. I began there in June after several years as a family counselor with Solutions CEDARR in Providence, Rhode Island. I continue to serve on the adjunct faculty at Johnson and Wales University, and to engage in pastoral work through the Church of the Holy Paraclete in Providence. Recently, I was honored to officiate at the wedding of Jamie Wright (M.S.W. ‘11) to Hsaio-Wei Alice Liao in Michigan and to get a chance to meet up with former classmate Shil Sengupta there.”
Class of 2009 Andrea Harbeck writes, “I was promoted in 2015 to program manager for the PLAY program at the Mental Health Center of Denver. I provide clinical supervision and program administration for the Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation team. The team provides mental health consultation to early learning centers in Denver, Colorado, as well as child and family therapy. I also work with the early childhood community in Denver to promote and increase access to early childhood mental health consultation and infant mental health services.”
Class of 2013 Audra Winn writes, “I am now a clinical supervisor at the Gándara Mental Health Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. This is a Latino centered clinic serving the Spanish speaking/bilingual English-Spanish community of Western Massachusetts. I have worked primarily with Puerto Rican children and families since my time at Smith.”
Shanta Paloma Cortez-Greig writes, “I just finished an indie national tour The Guerrilla Gigs Tour across the USA, all of which is documented in a rockumentary series on www.Youtube. com/ShantaPaloma. I drove from Massachusetts to Seattle, down California and back to the east coast, via Texas and Nashville, performing my original music. Now I am finishing up those rockumentary videos and am continuing my career as a social worker.”
Class of 2015 Maia Nikitovich writes, “I graduated with a master’s degree from the Smith College School for Social Work in 2015. I currently live in Vermont with my partner and I work at a residential home for children.”
Our alumni are involved with some of today’s most intriguing, ground-breaking and life-changing projects —and we want to know all about them! Tell us about your successes and any time-sensitive professional news by emailing the School at sswalum@smith.edu.
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IN MEMORIAM
IN MEMORIAM
Class of 1954
Class of 1977 Susan R. Shapiro
Class of 1936 Harriet Naylor Preston
Joan Louise Israel Nancy Stevens Relyea Jean Chapin Smith
Class of 1943
Class of 1957
Ruth Riaboy Utevsky
Maureen Napier Rosenfield
Class of 1944
Class of 1962
Charles Kearney
Marcia P. Holden Marcia Barrows Wood
Shirley Larson Drayton Beverly Minker Schydlowsky
Class of 1992
Class of 1945
Class of 1973
Jane McCormick Tolmach
Charlotte Tsoi Goodluck
Class of 1951
Class of 1974
Lyle Lobel Warner
Diana Withington Mobley
Class of 1952
Class of 1975
Viola Virginia Young
Lois Alex Judith H. Arons W. Leonard Hill, Jr.
Class of 1980 Susan Jacobs Reidy Deborah Zelitch
Class of 1983
Linda Williams
Class of 2009 Sally D. Comer
Friends Doris A. Bachman Charlotte MacLaughlin Jonathan F. Weisbard
JOAN LOUISE ISRAEL, CLASS OF 1954
Joan Louise Israel, of Franklin, Michigan, died on December 30, 2014, at the age of 84, after a brief illness. She was born Joan Louise Lifschutz on July 24, 1930, in Brooklyn, New York, to Charlotte “Lottie” and Abraham “Al” Lifschutz. She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister Annette Rosenbaum. She was survived by her husband of 45 years, Kenneth Israel (d. Jan. 18, 2015), her sister Deanne Alex (Nicholas), son David Torgoff (Jill Seaman), daughter Rachel Torgoff, stepsons Mark Israel (Elaine Michener-Israel), Richard Israel (Armilito Pangilinan), and Tom Israel (Cindy). She is also survived by grandchildren Ari Hausler (Maggie Meyers), Hannah Israel (Kevin Uhl), Ben Israel, Alex Seaman, Noah Israel, Aaron Israel, and Asher Israel, and great grandchildren, Clio Radewan and Julian Uhl.
JEAN CHAPIN SMITH, CLASS OF 1954
OBITUARIES JANE McCORMICK TOLMACH, CLASS OF 1945
Jane McCormick Tolmach, a community activist and the first woman to serve as mayor of Oxnard, California, has died. Tolmach, 93, died Sunday at her home in the city, family members said. She was the first woman elected to the Oxnard City Council in 1970, mayor in 1973 and 1974, and a well-known figure in Democratic Party politics. She was a leader who stood up for up the common man, officials and friends said. “She got people to follow her because of her unassuming nature,” said John Flynn, who represented Oxnard for decades on the Ventura County Board ofSupervisors. “She didn’t think she was better than anyone else, but she understood the issues better than most people and was able to communicate them.” “She’s a legend,” said Oxnard Councilwoman Carmen Ramirez.
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Tolmach was born in Havre, Montana, but moved to Ventura County at age 2 after her parents vacationed in California with their young family and decided to stay. They settled in Santa Paula and later moved to Ventura, where she graduated from Ventura High School. Tolmach, a graduate of UCLA and Smith College, became a social worker. She was employed by the American Red Cross in Baltimore and at Corona Naval Hospital where she met her future husband, Dr. Daniel Tolmach. The couple married in Ventura and in 1948 settled in Oxnard, where he practiced pediatrics and she balanced the demands of raising five children with community work. Tolmach was active in politics at the state and federal level, becoming friends with high-ranking politicians and winning a delegate’s spot at the Democratic
National Convention in 1960. After the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy in 1968, she questioned whether progress at the federal level was possible and began working more intensely on local causes, family members said. Tolmach sought to ease tensions between police and minority communities in Oxnard, successfully fought the placement of a liquefied natural gas port in the area, and battled for causes she considered critical to the community throughout her life. She is survived by sons James, of Atlanta; Richard, who lives in France; Adam, of Oak View; Jonathan, of Oak View; daughter Eve, of Oakland; and four grandchildren. Her husband died in 2003. Wilson, Kathleen. “Oxnard leader Joan Tolmach dies at 93.” Ventura County Star, August 28, 2015. Reprinted with permission of the Ventura County Star.
Jean Chapin Smith of Cambridge, Massachusetts, died on March 21, 2015, at age 84. She was surrounded by her children and friends, music and flowers. Jean was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Beatrice Jones Hunter and Louis Clare Hunter. She grew up in Washington, DC, and Thetford, Vermont. She graduated with a B.A. from Oberlin College in 1952, and earned her master’s degree from the Smith College School of Social Work in 1954. In college Jean was an enthusiastic member of the Musical Union, performing major choral works and initiating a lifelong love of music. She was a founding member of the student housing cooperative movement at Oberlin. Meeting Eleanor Roosevelt was a high point of her college years. Jean moved to Cambridge with former husband Duncan Smith in 1957 and, with the exception of a decade in Lincoln, Massachusetts, lived there until her death. Her career in social work spanned six decades. Early decades were spent as a caseworker in various agency and
educational settings around Boston and as a supervisor for graduate casework students in the social work programs at Smith and Boston University, among others. She began her private practice in 1982, receiving further training with Associates for Human Resources and the Kantor Family Institute. Her professional focus shifted towards family systems and work with the LGBT community. She loved her work and only reluctantly retired from practice in her early 80’s. She was a member of the NASW, BDC, ACSW, and AAMFT. Her commitment to racial and social justice was a constant thread through her life. She worked with the NAACP Education Committee, Community Change, Inc., AIDS Action, PFLAG, and was on the boards of METCO and the Cambridge YWCA. Later in her life, she was an active participant in her Agassiz-Baldwin neighborhood community, and an enthusiastic supporter of Maud Morgan Arts. Jean leaves her three daughters, Pi Smith, Cary Smith Mondschean, and Alexandra Smith Trusty; four granddaughters, Julia Mondschean, Anna Mondschean, Zia Smith, and Fiona Trusty; former husband Duncan Smith; sons-in-law Thomas Mondschean and Ryan Trusty; nieces Jennifer Chapin and Elizabeth Duffett; nephews Carl Bauer, Adam Bauer, and Maxwell Steinhardt. Her beloved sister, Grenelle Hunter Scott, died in August 2014.
MAUREEN NAPIER ROSENFIELD, CLASS OF 1957
Maureen Rosenfield, born June 16, 1923, in Epsom, England, to William and Katherine Margaret (Keightley) Napier died in Woburn, Massachusetts, after a brief illness. She leaves her brother Max Napier of Swaffham Prior, England, son Charles of Woodstock, daughter Katherine of Winchester, Massachusetts, and two grandchildren. She survived the 1945 German V-2 bombing in London, which killed her father and sister Deirdre.
Maureen came to the United States in 1952 on a Fulbright travel grant and later received a master’s degree in social work from Smith College. She was working in Boston as a social worker when she met Raymond Rosenfield to whom she was married forty years until his death in 1998. Maureen and Raymond lived in Woodstock, Connecticut,from 1959 until 1989, when they moved to Longboat Key, Florida. She was a founder of the Information and Referral Service in Putnam, Connecticut, predecessor to United Services, and volunteered in the community. Her interests and skills were varied, from cooking and caning chairs to poetry and raising beef cattle, but her primary focus was caring for her family.
BEVERLY MINKER SCHYDLOWSKY, CLASS OF 1962
Distinguished therapist, coach, educator and consultant. Beverly Schydlowsky’s 40-plus years in clinical practice enabled her to become a generalist as well as a specialist in the areas of mindful aging, hypnosis, trauma, and relationship dynamics. Both a clinical social worker (M.S.W.) and a Ph.D. clinical psychologist, she always continued to learn new skills and techniques which made her more and more professionally effective. Constantly learning, she pursued additional training in techniques dealing with children, adults, seniors, couples and groups, which combined powerfully with her many years of clinical training in direct and indirect hypnosis, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), health psychology, and community psychiatry. She began her graduate work on the East Coast at Smith College School for Social Work. After many years of both training and working within the Harvard Medical System and running her own private practice in Boston, she expanded her work to the West Coast where she attained her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the Fielding Graduate
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IN MEMORIAM
University in Santa Barbara, California. In 1990, she made Santa Barbara her new home. She traveled and worked extensively in foreign countries, studied trans-cultural psychiatry at the Harvard School of Public Health and helped to set up a child psychiatry clinic in Indonesia as part of a partnership between an Indonesian Medical School and the University of Hawaii Medical School. She also participated in the well-known Framingham Heart Study research project and was on staff at the Stone Center for Women and Research at Wellesley College.
in the master’s program. Her professional activities have also included consulting engagements with various non-profits and businesses in the Santa Barbara area, as well as serving as guest speaker for many symposiums, classes and special events in Santa Barbara.
In 1999, she received the Top Administrator of the Year in Santa Barbara Award from the NASW (National Association of Social Workers); in 2010, she was proclaimed Senior Citizen of the Year by the Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens; and in 2011, she received an award for Lifetime Achievement from the California Association of Social Workers.
The daughter of Alex and Mae Minker, she was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania. She is survived by her son Andrew Schydlowsky and her former husband Daniel Schydlowsky.
In Santa Barbara, she was the clinical director of the Santa Barbara Counseling Center for nine years. While there she improved the clinical training program, supervised interns and staff, conducted trainings and initiated a new program called Senior Peer Counseling. This program in later years evolved to become the freestanding Center for Successful Aging, which she led as clinical director for nearly ten years. During these years, in addition to having a small private practice, she supervised Ph.D. candidates at Hosford Clinic and at Antioch University where, as adjunct faculty, she also taught courses
Shirley Drayton, age 79, passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, on February 21, 2015, at Oakwood Village in Madison, Wisconsin. Shirley was born on February 19, 1936, in New Britain, Connecticut, to Bertha and Sten Larson. Shirley earned a bachelor of arts degree from Uppsala College and a master’s degree in social work from Smith College. Shirley was married in 1965 to Dr. Robert Michael Drayton. They had two children, Robert and Jessica.
Her last venture was to bring to Santa Barbara the concept of a virtual retirement community providing services to enable seniors to remain in their own homes: theSanta Barbara Village. She served on the board of directors until shortly before her death.
SHIRLEY LARSON DRAYTON, CLASS OF 1962
Shirley pursued two careers, one in social work and one in real estate. She worked
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.
first in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later in Madison, Wisconsin, where she settled to be closer to her daughter’s family. Shirley was an active Unitarian Universalist both in Philadelphia and Madison and served on many committees. She volunteered for many organizations that supported the arts and social justice issues. She loved to travel and was a devoted mother and grandmother. Her warm and gentle personality won her many friends and she was an integral part of a tightly knit women’s group that took annual trips to Nantucket for many years. Shirley is survived by her daughter, Jessica Drayton Cioci, of Belleville; son-in-law, John Cioci; grandsons, Jack Cioci (age 18) and William Cioci (age 15); also, her son, Robert Dreyfus, who is living in Newport Beach, California, with Shirley Avila, where they are raising her children, Abel Gonzalez (age 19) and Skylynn Gonzalez (age 12); also, her two nieces, Lindsay (Smith) and Sarah (Peet); and her sister, Linda (Peet).
Charlotte began her career as a social worker at Jewish Family Services in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1973 and was the project director of a program which placed Native children with Native families before the enactment of the Indian Child Welfare Act. She was a social work educator from 1987 to 2014, beginning her academic career at Northern Arizona University, where she worked for more than 20 years, and concluded her appointment there as a full professor emeritus. Following this, she was instrumental in starting the B.S.W. Program at Portland State University, Portland, OR, and during the last seven years served as full professor and its founding program director, successfully navigating the program through its CSWE accreditation processes. She was a board member for the Council on Social Work Education and several Native American organizations. She conducted national training on the Indian Child Welfare Act and other areas of Native American child and family services. Dr. Goodluck was a researcher on many topics: Native children’s well-being indicators, Native strengths perspectives, sustainability, Native cancer, adoption, foster care, lifelong learning in social work, and many other topics. She was a member of the NASW, B.S.W. Program Directors Association, CSWE and the American Indian Social Work Educators Association.
CHARLOTTE TSOI GOODLUCK, CLASS OF 1973
Charlotte Tsoi Goodluck, M.S.W., Ph.D., was born October 14, 1946, in Ft. Defiance, AZ, into the Bilagaana (Anglo), born for Dibe Lizhini (Blacksheep Clan). She passed away on Wednesday, December 3, 2014, from natural causes. Charlotte earned a B.A. in Anthropology from Prescott College in Prescott, AZ, an M.S.W. from Smith College in Northampton, MA, and a Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Denver in Denver, CO, in 1998.
Charlotte exemplified a lifetime dedication to social justice, healing, and the wellbeing of all communities—especially indigenous people. She was a strong promoter of alternative ways of knowing, indigenous pedagogy and theory. She was an enthusiastic and determined “opener of doors” of encouragement and opportunity for both her students and her colleagues. Her gentleness, sense of humor and steadiness in the face of challenges was especially admired and appreciated. Her greatest legacy will remain the 1000s of students that she taught in her lifetime and their continuing efforts to practice ethical, culturallyresponsible and impactful social work.
She is preceded in death by her parents Charles Tsoi Goodluck of Lupton, Arizona, and Leslie Elizabeth Snow Goodluck, originally of Wyoming. Charlotte is survived by her sister, Lesley N. Goodluck; niece Natalie P. Locust of Lakewood, Colorado, and numerous cousins and relatives on the Navajo Reservation.
W. LEONARD HILL, JR., CLASS OF 1975
W. Leonard Hill, Jr., of North Haven, Connecticut, died suddenly at home on Wednesday, February 18, 2015, at age 68. Mr. Hill retired in 2014 from a long career in social work and psychiatry as a clinician, administrator, teacher, and mentor at Yale University, Smith College School for Social Work, and Yale-New Haven Hospital. Throughout his career, he had a small private practice in individual, marital, and family therapy and was a frequent clinical and healthcare consultant. The son of Walter L. and Eleanor Hill, he was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in Towson, Maryland. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Susan G. Hill of North Haven; his daughter Amy Hill of Washington, DC; his sister Jeanne Kangas (Donald) of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his son Philip Hill, his parents, and his stepmother, Ruth Iglehart Hill.
Mr. Hill earned a B.A., summa cum laude, from Western Maryland College in 1968, an M. Div. from Yale Divinity School in 1972, and an M.S.W. from Smith College School for Social Work in 1975. He was an assistant clinical professor of Psychiatry (Social Work), Yale School of Medicine, from 1977 until the present and was clinical professor, School for Social Work, Smith College, from 1989 onward. In his academic and clinical capacities, he gave a myriad of lectures and seminars on marital and family treatment and supervised trainees from all the disciplines of mental health. He loved to teach and was honored with an “Outstanding Teaching Award” from students at Yale University. In accord with his great commitment to the quality of mental health professional training and accreditation, he served nationally on the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work from 2004-2011, and as their Vice President from 2006-2011. For the first twenty-five years of his career, Mr. Hill worked at the Yale Psychiatric Institute, serving at various times as director of admissions, coordinator of family therapy, director of social work, director of training (staff development and graduate/professional training in all mental health disciplines), director of the community services division, and director of specialty clinics. After the Institute merged with Yale-New Haven Hospital, he served as social work manager (2000-2009) and most recently as adult outpatient service manager, Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital. Leonard Hill was a kind and loving husband and father; an intelligent, witty, and engaging friend; a resourceful and loyal colleague; a committed and compassionate mentor; and a fierce advocate for quality mental health care.
InDepth obituaries are notices for the alumni community and not intended to repeat all of the information contained in newspaper obituaries. Newspaper obituaries cannot be reprinted.
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SMITH COLLEGE SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORK
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ANNUAL GIVING REPORT
LEADERSHIP GIFTS:
Gwen Morgan-White, MSW’76
Frances Camper, MSW’82
ANNUAL FUND
Jan S. Cehn, MSW’79
Alida Elizabeth Fischer, MSW’92
Gifts & bequests of $10,000 or more
Tracye Polson, PhD’14
Steven Cadwell, PhD’90
Emily R. Fischer, MSW’08
Elizabeth Castrellón, MSW’10
Gifts of $1 - $299
Janet Bintzler Cerella, MSW’69
Isabel MacLeod Walker
Marian Kornbluth Flagg, MSW’62
Anonymous
Samuel Weisbard
Jennifer Charney, MSW’98
Laurie Chamlin, MSW’87 and Gregory Spears Alice Chornesky, MSW’78, PhD’90
Jacqueline Marie Flynn, MSS’61
Anonymous† Estate of Eleanor Mary Price Granville
Gloria T. Chevers, MSS’55
SPONSORS:
Janet Cleghorn, MSS’60
Hon. Francisco Torres
Gifts of $500 - $999
Yvette Colón, MSW’90
James A. and Elizabeth K. Fletcher Fund
Claire Asarnow, MSW’72 and Elliot Asarnow
James Drisko, MSW’77
Katherine Gabel, AB’59
William A. Behr, MSW’76
Andrea Torres Mahone, AB’73
Reginald Bridges
Betty I. Morningstar, AB’74, MSW’77, PhD’89 and Jeannette Kruger
Rosietta Sanders Brown, MSW’63
John A. Dolven, MSW’72 Goldie Eder, MSW’80
Nancy Gerrity Achilles, MSW’82 Joseph Alexander, MSW’88 John Alterman, MSW’81 Jean Louise Aniebona, MSW’73 Lynn Marie Anderson, MSW’04 Donna Dickson Arling, MSW’69 Alice Aronow, MSW’67
Abigail B. Erdmann, AB’69 and Lucas Aalmans
Floyd H. Ashlaw, Jr., MSW’70
Carol W. Fizer, MSW’72
Merrilee R. Atkins, MSW’64
Judith Burbank Fradin, MSW’78
Ellen Stewart Ayres, MSW’00
Richard B. Granahan, MSW’79
Betty J. Ball, MSW’64
Roberta Graziano, MSW’68
Bachman Enterprises, Inc.
Phoebe Katherine Harris Millman, AB’92, MSW’03
Harriet Janney Ball, AB’57, MSW’88
Michael Elizabeth Hubner, AB’69, MSW’80 and David Hubner
Gwendolyn Anne Bassett, AB’98, MSW’03
Alexandra Alston Jost, MSW’13
Marcia Jane Baylin
Richard Granahan, MSW’79
Diane Klein Judem, MSW’78 and Robert Judem
Edward A. Becker, MSW’83
Velma M. Anderson, MSS’60
Jan Clark Jekel, MSS’58
Ellen Thompson Luepker, MSW’66
Dorothy A. Brier, MSS’54
Liz Beth Johnston, MSW’84, PhD’13
Elizabeth Habach McCollum, MSW’65
Katherine Bennett, MSW’82
Bok-Lim Kim, CRT’64
Maria McCoy, MSW’07
Rebeca Beatty Lohr, MSW’63
Dennis Miehls, PhD’89
Jamie Loveland, MSW’07 Barbara French Meiners, MSW’79 and David J. Meiners
Laurie Peter, MSW’91 and Betsy J. Bernard Jean Sanville Foundation
BENEFACTORS: Gifts of $1,500 - $4,999 Elaine Joseph Abramson, MSS’59
Hyon Kyong Chong, MSW’98 William Strickler Etnyre, PhD’05 William Foulds Trust Shirley Issel, MSW’70 Geoffrey Walker Locke, MSW’98, PhD’11 Elizabeth Anne Norris, MSW’96 Ann L. Overbeck, MSS’57, PhD’72 Roland S. Philip
Clare Teresa Casademont, MSW’05 Betsey Edwards, MSW’84 Elizabeth J. Fleming, MSS’57 Elinor Klein Forland, MSS’61 Lynn Johnson Frohnmayer, MSW’69 Clara M. Genetos, MSS’54 Irene Georgantas, MSW’76
Donna A. Miller, MSW’73
Catherine L. Atchison, MSW’84
Marsha R.B. Beller, MSW’81 MaryJane Carter Bertolini, MSW’91 Aline Bier, MSS’54
Treon M. Christine, AB’55, MSS’58 Lorna G. Christensen, MSW’79 Dorothy Ann Clift, AB’71 Melissa G. Coco, AB’89, MSW’95 Louise Dine Cohen, MSS’54 Samantha Gorton Coit Becker, MSW’02 Karolynn Coleman, MSW’68 Julia Fraley Coles, MSW’11 Joanne Corbin Sandra Miller Condon, MSW’67 Judith Cressy Crosley, MSW’70 and Carl J. Crosley Maria Theresa Curtin-McKenna, MSW’13 Ellen C. Daly, MSW’10 Juanita Dalton-Robinson, MSS’51 Joel Dansky, MSW’85 Kathryn Davis, MSW’02, PhD’13 Carol Radov Deanow, MSW’71 Brandin G. Dear, MSW’06
Amy J. Fleischer, MSW’95 Betty France Mary V. France, MSS’50 Jerome Friedman, MSW’81 Martha Julia Freimuth, MSW’98 Jackie Frey, MSW’73 Eleanor Panysh Fusaro, AB’52, MSS’54 Terry Galen, MSW’84 D. Michael Geller, MSW’72 Susan Ross Gibbons, MSW’76, PhD’12 Robin M. Gilmartin, MSW’95 Corrina Indigo Gitterman, MSW’00 Paul Douglas Gitterman, MSW’94
Avigail Ruth Hurvitz-Prinz, MSW’14
Amy Love, MSW’90
Holly V. Humphreys, PhD’89
Carolyn M. Lowman, MSW’62
Alice Mary Michael Hymel, MSW’66 Angeline Cecile Hynes, MSW’01 Carol Bunnell Ilvonen, MSW’71 Yen Bui Izanec, MSW’70 Christine H. Jackson, MSW’65 Connie Janssen, MSW’74 Jennifer Wood Jencks, MSW’95, PhD’12 Carol Jensen, PhD’90 Mary Curley Jensen, MSW’76 Judith Jhirad-Reich, MSS’61 Robert E. Jolley, PhD’83 Laurie Smeerin Kabb, MSW’76 Joel S. Kanter, MSW’74 Elizabeth King Keenan, PhD’01
Patricia U. Giulino, MSW’81
Hillary Eden Keller, MSW’98
J. Treasa Kownacky Glinnwater, MSW’81
Constance D. K. Kellogg, MSW’65 Deborah A. Kelly, MSW’85
Annemarie Gockel
Kathleen Kelly, MSW’00 and Bernard Ohanian
Jason Gottlieb Ross Goodwin-Brown, MSW’85 Diane T. Gordon, MSW’71
Elisabeth Galvin Kirsch, AB’62, MSW’64
Gaetana M. Manuele, MSW’67 Marilyn Marks, MSW’02 Irene Rodriquez Martin Susan May, MSW’70 Kathleen Sullivan Maxwell, MSW’88 Sally Mazur, MSW’90 Janice McDowell Alva Ayers McGovern, MSW’87 Joan Miller McKelvey, MSW’88 Connie Anne McVey, MSW’95 Anastasia McRae, MSW’08 Dorothy H. Meacham, MSW’75 Eileen B. Medow Deborah Rudnick Menashi, MSS’58 Barbara Skelskie Mer, MSW’74 Sharon Mesle-Morain, MSW’95
Phyllis S. Kosky, MSS’46
Tova Schwartz Green, MSW’67
Elizabeth Knight
Davina M. Miller, MSW’83 and Joshua L. Miller
Christopher Greene, MSW’84
Madeleine L. Krebs, MSW’71
Lynne G. Greenwald, MSW’76
Barbara Krementz, MSW’01
Lucy A. Grosvenor, MSW’72
Carolyn Rae Krol, MSW’82
Judith K. Guthrie, MSW’66
Brian C. Kugel, MSW’78
Fanny Gutierrez-Meyers, MSW’03 Jackson K. Haberman, MSW’78
Susan Weil Kunz, MSS’59 and Werner Kunz
Linda C. Blanco, MSW’74
Ashley M. Diaz-Keefe, MSW’10
Katherine Bloomfield Oberholtzer, MSW’83
Roberta M. Boam, MSW’68
Carolyn Ives Dingman, MSW’04
Sophie Helen Borowski, MSW’94
Agnes Connelly Dolan, MSW’91
Sarah Wells Bowen, MSW’71
Carolyn Selby du Bois, MSW’76
Lilli Bradin, MSW’73
Linda S. Dugas, MSW’91
Thomas E. Brauner, PhD’03 Frederick R. Brown, MSW’74
Janice N. Dumond-Neiman, MSW’81 Sally R. Edelstein, MSW’53
Michael-Lynn Hale, MSW’74
Frances Krohn
Pearl Elias, MSW’77
Caroline Hall, MSW’91
Thomas Stanley Larson
Nora Rado, MSS’57
Kathleen Manges-Bell, MSW’87
Elta Green, MSS’52
Carole M. Mucha, PhD’95
Winifred Berry Simmons, MSW’11
Barbara Mandell, MSW’75
Carol Meyerson, AB’55
Margaret Moore, MSW’81
Linda Plaut, MSW’88
Joan E. Mandel
Margaret Vaughn Komives, MSW’92
Marie Holmes Desloge, MSW’13
Daniel Orton Sapoznick, MSW’03
Julie Colety Maisch, MSS’54
Janet Gottler, MSW’84
Marcy Ann Rose Bilberry, MSW’99
Swaran Dhawan, MSW’63
Ronald Lovett, MSW’77
Alexandra Milgram, MSW’64
Jill Blum Millis, MSW’77 Dorian Mintzer, PhD’79 Louise Mitchell Fay J. Mittlemann, MSW’69 Sarah Bard Moore, AB’59, MSW’84
Lawrence B. Smith, MSW’82
Jessica A. Reed, MSW’86
Carol Weisbein Spero, MSW’62
J. Robin Robb, PhD’81
Jeanne Suzanne Seidler, MSW’00
Marilyn Voigt, MSS’56
Michael James Rogers, CRT’09
Marianne R. M. Yoshioka and Ernst Vanbergeijk
Janice Wagner, MSW’82
Judith Roth, MSW’79
Richard Peter Brunswick, MSW’03
Audrey Thayer Walker, MSS’59
Anne Spaulding Rose, MSW’98
Daniel L. Buccino, MSW’89
Linda A. Engel, MSW’73
Megan E. Hall, MSW’84
Patricia Lay-Dorsey, MSW’66
Laura Hampton Wallis, MSW’99
Grace Mee Han, AB’95
Joan S. Lenzner, MSW’62
Katherine Loudon Wilson,
Mary J. Royer, MSW’76
Margaret Waller Burhoe, MSW’76, PhD’90
Marian Capen Engstrom, MSW’66
PATRONS:
Lynn Rosenfield, MSW’76
Lois Ann Hartman, MSS’54
John W. Levenson, MSW’78
Gifts of $1,000 - $1,499
MSW’94 and David L. Breault
Karis E. Say, MSS’59
Judy Byck, MSW’90
Michael Epstein Phyllis Epstein
Gillian Harvey, MSW’14
Christopher Lewis, MSW’94
Martha G. Munger, MSW’80
Margaret S. Wool, PhD’86
Sybil Cohen Schreiber, MSW’63
Margaret Robinson Espinola, MSW’64
Alice Henry, MSW’63
Jaclyn Lichtenstein and Paul Haley
Janis C. Nadler, MSW’95 Peggy Brickson Nash, MSW’71
James D. Estin, MSW’81
Meg C. Hertz, MSW’82
Jeanne Marie Liechty, MSW’94
Rebecca Reetz Neal, MSW’67
Maureen Fallon-Cyr, MSW’90
Elizabeth Himes, MSW’94
Holly Grace Light, MSW’09
Susan S. Needles, MSW’63
Dawn M. Faucher
Irene L. Hoffman
Alice Sedler Linder, MSW’68
Janet S. Neer, MSW’66
Emy Fehmi, MSW’09
Carol W. Holladay and Mark W. Holladay
Bonnie G. Lipe
Barbara Jean Nelson, MSW’91
Elizabeth Lochte, MSW’67
Shelly Ogden Sage, MSW’91 and John Sage
Estate of Doris Bachman Capt. Amy Claire Barkin, MSW’71 Lynn Frohnmayer, MSW’69 Linda J. Green, MSW’77 and William Green Al Getz, Jr., MSW’74 Carolyn Jacobs Emily Koplik, MSW’93 Alton R. Mayo
Anne Page Shields, MSW’71
FELLOWS:
Caroline S. Strout, MSS’56
Gifts of $300 - $499
Renee Warshofsky-Altholz, MSW’70
Karen F. Bellows, PhD’99
Nicholes Weingarten, MSW’70
Alistair Blake, MSW’99 Mary Ellen Bloniarz, MSW’75 John A. Bogardus, MSW’80
Natalie J. Woodman, MSS’59
Ellen Libby Cannel, AB’62 Dorothy Cusson Cameron, MSW’96 Eugene Espejo Canotal, MSW’09 Deborah L. Cantor, MSW’72 Renee J. Cardone, MSW’82 Andrea Benevento Carlin, MSW’85 Kathleen Noble Carroll, MSW’78 Audrey J. Cecil, MSW’78
Catherine Myers Feldman, MSW’80 Elizabeth Cleveland Fenzel, MSW’10
Patricia E. Hertz, MSW’82
Cathleen Marie Morey, MSW’00 Marie J. Morris, MSW’84 Anne Moser, MSS’53 Sara Jane Moss, MSW’82 Cynthia Irene Mulder, MSW’99
Lynne Ellen Hoxie, AB’71
Kathleen Nathan Lowe, MSW’75
Ellen Emerson Nigrosh, AB’74, MSW’80, PhD’94
John Hubbell, MSW’81
Pamela Lotenberg, MSW’92, PhD’03
Sarah T. O’Connor, MSW’87
Amelia Hube, MSW’07
Leila O’Connell, MSW’89
† deceased
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SMITH COLLEGE SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORK
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39
ANNUAL GIVING REPORT
Margaret M. O’Neill
Rachel L. Segal, MSW’95 and James Hurley
Toula Christaki Tomescu, MSW’66
Adele Swing Oppenheim, MSW’79
Janis Otis Semine, MSW’75
Alma Torres-Warner
Joan E. Shapiro, MSW’79
Amy Trachtenberg, MSW’77
Marvin Packer
Melanie Freedberg Shapiro, MSW’11
Richard Trachtman, PhD’78
Elizabeth Plantz Sharp, MSW’00
Margaret Corbett Unsell, MSW’70
Mariko Ono, MSW’06
Betty B. Parham, MSW’71 Ingrid Kohn Paymar, MSW’78 Carol K. Peckins, MSW’78 Judith Perlstein, MSW’74 Heidi Peterson, MSW’89 Steven F. Pflaum Mary Lou Pier Neal Pilzer
Merri Lea Shaw, MSW’77 Phyllis Shepard-Spiro, PhD’83 Earnestine Williams Simpson, MSW’71 Marla Siskind, MSW’73 and Alan Siskind, MSW’72
Jeanne B. Turner, MSW’65 Clay Van Batenburg, MSW’89 Becky A. Varner, MSW’80 Sharon L. Vary, MSW’73 Kathleen E. Venter, MSW’74 Kincal Veznedaroglu
Claire Denise Siverson, MSW’91
Howard Vidaver, MSW’85
Elliott Silverman, MSW’76
Chester Villalba, MSW’68
Jan Iris Smith, MSW’83
Lynn Goode Vintage, MSW’70
Janna M. Smith, MSW’79
Peggy Lynn Vogt, MSW’91
Joan C. Smith, MSW’83
Constance N. Walker, MSS’50
Margaret Dunham Smith, MSW’62 and Robert G. Smith
Katharine F. Y. Chang Wang, MSS’52 Charlotte Watkins, MSS’54
Mark Radosta, MSW’78
Deborah Smith-Blackmer, MSW’74
Estelle Rauch, MSS’60
Lynn Sobel
James S. Wayne, MSW’78
Nancy Ellen Reder, MSW’93
Cheryl Harris Sober, MSW’73
Caroline Wolfe Resari, MSW’05
Joan Thurston Spear, MSS’50
Roberta Laurie Weber-Taft, MSW’98
Deborah A. Resnikoff, MSW’78
Ruth E. Spencer
Wenda Marion Loach Restall, MSW’93
Lucille Y. Spira, MSW’73
Julia Gleason Rhoads, MSW’64 and Jonathan Rhoads
Jacqueline R. Stackhouse, MSS’58
Gertrude Weissman Pollock, MSS’43 Judith Forsythe Powell, MSW’62 Elizabeth Prete, MSW’81 Terry Jay Price, MSW’91 Hazel Puyet, MSS’59 Joy B. Rabinowitz, MSS’58
Beryle Rich Aleda M. Richter-West, MSW’72 Carlton Rosenzweig, PhD’68 Ilse W. Ross, MSS’51 Sheila G. Rossbach, MSW’65 Karen Rowe, MSW’86 Helen R. Rupkey, MSS’51 Jacqueline M. Salmon, MSW’78 Elizabeth Salomon, CRT’82 Laura C. Sadtler, MSW’77 Melinda Salzman, MSW’79 M. Doris Scalise, MSS’57 Brenda Hirsch Schimmel, MSW’65 Esther Schleifer, AB’55, MSS’57 Christian Schmidt, MSW’88 Katherine Hobson Schneider, MSW’83 and Thomas Schneider Alan Schroffel, PhD’98 Caryn Schuman Amy Scott, MSW’84 Margaret L. Seiler, MSW’84
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Susan E. Sprung, MSW’77 Caroline H. Stanhope, MSW’72 Sarah S. Stanhope, MSW’62 Filomina Steady, AB’65 Sylvia A. Stevens, MSS’53 Glenn G. Stevenson, MSW’93 Maryann Stewart, MSW’90 Judith Stiefel, MSW’89 Reyn Stifler, MSW’15 Jack Stone Ana Dulay Stransky, MSW’70 Heidi Griffin Street, MSW’08 Sarah S. Stanhope, MSW’62 G. Mace Summers, PhD’70 Ilga Svechs
Karen L. Watson-Etsell, MSW’68
Cecily Weintraub, PhD’90, MSW’68
GIFTS TO INDIVIDUAL FUNDS Note: All gifts to the Annual Fund have been directed to the School’s General Alumni Scholarship Fund unless the donor has designated that the gift should be directed to one of the named funds listed below.
Mark Weisbard Kaethe Weingarten, AB’69 Simon Zechariah Weismantel, AB’99, MSW’14 Wendy Weisbard Daniel O. Wheelan, MSW’73 Ruth White William Foulds Trust Emily W. Williams, MSW’87Jay Williams, MSW’72, PhD’91 Virginia A. Williams, MSW’73
Marilyn Marks Trust
Betsy J. Bernard Giving Fund
Otter Island Foundation
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Pier and Associates, Ltd.
Black Rock Matching Gift Program
Pilzer Family Foundation
Counseling on Burnside, Inc.
Pride Foundation
Donald and Susan Wilson Fund
Principal Life Insurance Company
Eugene Espejo Canotal, MSW’09
Dr. J.E. Roth, LCSW, A Professional Corporation
Proctor and Gamble Fund
Juanita Dalton-Robinson, MSS’51
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Brandin Dear, MSW’06 Carolyn Jacobs
Fidelity Foundation Matching Gifts to Education Program
Alexandra Alston Jost, MSW’13
Ford Family Foundation
Sidney H. Rabinowitz Family Foundation
Irene Rodriguez Martin Sally Mazur, MSW’90
Gary N. Spero Community Mental Health Foundation
Society for Social Work Leadership in Health Care
GE Foundation
Vanguard Group Foundation
Steven F. Pflaum
Davina M. Miller, MSW’83 and Joshua Miller
Ilga B. Svechs Trust
Mary Lou Pier
Heidi Peterson, MSW’89
Issel/Zuckerman Trust
Werner and Susan Kunz Charitable Fund
Beryle Rich
Reyn Stifler, MSW’15
Caryn Schuman
Kaethe Weingarten, AB’69
James A. and Elizabeth K. Fletcher Fund
William and Linda J. Green Charitable Fund
Jean Sanville Foundation
William Foulds Trust
Ruth Pfeifer Weisbard Fund Bachman Enterprises, Inc.
Mark W. and Carol W. Holladay
Phyllis Epstein Betty France
Claire Elkon Philip MSW’65 Memorial Scholarship Endowment
Jason G. Gottlieb
Roland Philip
Joan E. Mandel
Sheila G. Rossbach, MSW’65 Filomina Steady, AB’65 Jingping Zhang, AB’09 Doctoral Program Endowment – School for Social Work Tracye Ann Polson, PhD’14 J. Robin Robb, PhD’81 Dennis Miehls, PhD’89 Michael James Rogers, CRT’09 Elaine Rappaport Barkin 1935 SSW Fund
Bonnie G. Lipe Marilyn Marks, MSW’02 Eileen B. Medow Louise Mitchell
Eve Geissinger Memorial Endowment Fund John A. Bogardus, MSW’80 Wenda Marion Loach Restall, MSW’93
Matthew Winick
Claire Denise Siverson, MSW’91
Gloria Lee Wong, MSS’53
Lawrence J. Zeger, MSW’72
Ann L. Overbeck, MSS’57, PhD’72
Jingping Zhang, AB’09
Glenn G. Stevenson, MSW’93
Stephanie Temshiv, MSW’89
Sherry M. Zitter, MSW’83
Mary Simpson Thompson, MSW’12
Linda Howard Zonana, MSS’60
Joan Untermyer Erdmann Fund
Deborah W. Tiedrich
Julie Jenks Zorach, MSW’81 James E. Zorn
Abigail B. Erdmann, AB’69 and Lucas Aalmans Amy Scott, MSW’84
Daniel L. Buccino, MSW’89
Samuel Weisbard
Jean Sanville Foundation
Esther C. Cook, Class of 1918,
Nora Rado, MSS’57
Jean Louise Aniebona, MSW’73
Mark Weisbard
Cynthia Weisbard
Mark Yeager
Judith E. Roth, MSW’79
Velma Anderson, MSS’60
School for Social Work – Jean Bovard Sanville Endowed Fund for the School for Social Work
Deborah W. Tiedrich
Capt. Amy Claire Barkin, MSW’71
Fellowship Fund
School for Social Work Class of 1989 Scholarship Fund for Students of Color
Jack Stone
Wendy Weisbard
Renee Russian Taketomo, MSW’74
SMITH COLLEGE SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORK
Bachman Enterprises, Inc.
Clara M. Genetos, MSS’54
Ann L. Overbeck, MSS’57, PhD’72
Holly Taylor Young, MSW’79
Dianne M. Thomason
Macy’s Foundation
Marcia Jane Baylin
Harriot West Overbeck Scholarship Fund
Carol Swenson, MSW’67 and David F. Hoover
AFH Counseling PLLC
Betty I. Morningstar, AB’74, MSW’77, PhD’89 and Jeannette Kruger
Christine B. Burke MSW 1958 Memorial Scholarship Fund
Rebecca Winborn, MSW’82
Mark Yeager
Carol Meyerson, AB’55
Eleanor Fusaro, AB’52, MSS’54
Estate of Doris A. Bachman
Catherine L. Weisbrod, MSW’71 Cynthia Weisbard
Lewis Koplik Trust
Julie Maisch, MSS’54
FOUNDATIONS, ORGANIZATIONS AND CORPORATIONS
Morningstar Family Scholarship Fund
Matthew Winick James E. Zorn Salinger Fellowship Endowment Ellinor S. Forland, MSS’61 School for Social Work – Lesbian and Gay Revolving Student Loan Fund Amy Love, MSW’90 Natalie J. Woodman, MSS’59
School for Social Work – Clara M. Genetos MSS Class of 1954 Scholarship Fund Clara M. Genetos, MSS’54 Roberta Graziano, MSW’68 School for Social Work – Eleanor Clark Fund
School for Social Work Mabel Foulds Development Fund William Foulds Trust
Yvette Colón, MSW’90
Yolanda Torres AB 1950 School for Social Work Memorial Scholarship Fund
Jackson K. Haberman, MSW’78 School for Social Work Class of 1954 Scholarship Louise G. Cohen, MSS’54
Lynn Goode Vintage, LLC
Psychotherapy Practice Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving
Jennifer W. Jencks Properties
1918 FELLOWSHIP SOCIETY COMMITTEE Development Representative Yvette Colón, M.S.W. ‘90, Ph.D.
James W. Drisko, MSW’77
School for Social Work Augustine/Gabel Fund Katherine Gabel, AB’59
Lohr Family Foundation
Reginald J. Bridges
Solicitors Betsey Edwards, M.S.W. ‘84 Clara M. Genetos, M.S.S. ‘54 Ann L. Overbeck, M.S.S. ‘57, Ph.D. ‘72 Linda Plaut, M.S.W. ‘88 Anne Spaulding Rose, M.S.W. ‘98 Sybil Cohen Schreiber, M.S.W. ‘63
Andrea Torres Mahone, AB’73 Hon. Francisco Torres Alma Torres-Warner
Yvette Colón, MSW’90
SPRING 2016
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Lilly Hall Northampton, MA 01063 www.smith.edu/ssw
Change Service Requested
LEARNING DOESN’T END WHEN YOU RECEIVE YOUR DIPLOMA. SSW continuing education opportunities include online courses, seminars, certificate programs, and our annual Public Lecture Series in Social Work, which is open to the public. To learn more about continuing your education with SSW, visit: www.smith.edu/ssw/ced.
JOIN US THIS SUMMER! PUBLIC LECTURE SERIES IN SOCIAL WORK June 13 - Abbie E. Goldberg, Ph.D. A Decade of Research on Adoptive Families Headed by Same-Sex and Heterosexual Couples: Findings, Reflections, and Applications BROWN FOUNDATION RESEARCH LECTURE June 27 - John L. Jackson, Jr., Ph.D. Love, Race, and Invisibility in a World of ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ ANNUAL ANTI-RACISM LECTURE July 22 - Charles R. Swenson, M.D. Dialectical Behavior Therapy Principles in Action E. DIANE DAVIS LECTURE
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION SEMINARS Weekend A June 16-18
Weekend B June 23-25
Weekend C July 21-23
Earn up to 6 CECs per day! Don’t delay—early registration for seminars begins in May!
Learn more at www.smith.edu/ssw/ced.
August 1 - Leopoldo J. Cabassa, M.S.W., Ph.D. Bridges to Better Health and Wellness: A Culturally-Adapted Health Care Manager Intervention for Latinos with Serious Mental Illness LYDIA RAPOPORT LECTURE Lectures are free, open to the public, and wheelchair accessible. Earn 1.5 CECs per lecture (see website for details)! 42
SMITH COLLEGE SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORK