Connect Magazine, Winter 2020 by University of Georgia School of Social Work

Winter 2020

Connect the

CONNECT MAGAZINE

WINTER 2020

School of Social Work Dean

Anna Scheyett Associate Dean

Shari Miller

Director of Research

Orion Mowbray

PhD Program Director

Y. Joon Choi

MSW Program Director

Javier Boyas

BSW Program Director

Leon Banks

Director of MA MNL Program and Institute for Nonprofit Organizations

Tony Mallon

Director of the Center for Social Justice, Human and Civil Rights

Llewellyn Cornelius

Director of Field Education

Zoe Johnson

Director of Global Engagement

Jane McPherson

Connect Magazine Staff Editor

Laurie Anderson Writers

Jennifer Abbott, Laurie Anderson, Leigh Beeson, Adelia Henderson, Chris Starrs, DeVin Taylor Graphic Design and Layout

Kat Farlowe, School of Social Work Brandon Duncan, Bulldog Print + Design Griffin McNamara, Grady College Photography

Laurie Anderson, Stephen Bridges, Cindy M Brown, Melissa Bugg, Wingate Downs, Kat Farlowe, Peter Frey, Dorothy Kozlowski, Robert Newcomb, Rick O’Quinn, Chad Osburn, Andrew Davis Tucker, Harold Waters and submitted photos Connect Magazine is published annually for students, alumni, friends, and supporters of the University of Georgia School of Social Work. For reprint permissions, address changes, or additional copies, email sswpr@uga.edu. Copyright © 2020 by the University of Georgia. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way without permission from the editor. The University of Georgia is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action.

Postmaster | Send address changes to: UGA Connect Magazine 279 Williams Rd. Athens, GA 30602

The work that happens at the School of Social Work never ceases to amaze me. Every day, as I enter the building, I see students engaged in deep study or animated discussions about the issues of our time. I see faculty members coaching students, meeting with community members, and pushing the boundaries of our knowledge through their research. I see staff advising students, supporting faculty, serving as the scaffolding that holds the School together. It is a dynamic place.

Anna Scheyett

As we move into a new decade, I’ve been thinking a great deal about this swirl of activity. What are we actually doing here at the School of Social Work? What does it mean? Reading this issue of Connect made the answer clear. We are building the future, building a better future, building the future we all want to see. We do this by building our students into a workforce of effective and committed social workers, through programs like Workforce Excellence and the Be Ahead Fellowships, who can make justice and healing happen. Our new online MSW program ensures that we can have these strong social workers in every corner of Georgia. Through our research, such as the APRIES initiative to combat human trafficking, the faculty members at the School build new solutions to some of the toughest challenges of our world. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our community partners and our alumni such as Extriara Gates, Carrol Shannon, and Andrew Hunt, building programs and making change a reality. Thinking about the energy at the School, all committed to building a better future, fills me with hope. As you read this issue of Connect, I hope you feel the same way. Better yet, I hope you’ll join us, in every way you can, to keep building a better future together. Peace,

Anna Scheyett, MSW, PhD Dean and Professor

6 4 TEACHING 2 Getting Ahead of a Public Health Crisis 4 New Online MSW

RESEARCH 6 Out of the Shadows 10 Faculty Kudos

PA RT N E R S H I P S 12 C enter for Social Justice, Human and Civil Rights 13 Institute for Nonprofit Organizations 14 BSW Students Learn the Importance of Interprofessional Collaboration

PA S S A G E S 16 Welcome 18 Farewell

22 ST U D E N T S 20 U niversity Innovation Fellows 22 Within Reach: Child Welfare Workforce Program

A LU M N I 24 25 27 30

Gateway to Opportunity Carrol Shannon: The Road Less Travelled Class Notes Nonprofit Alum Selected for Bulldog 100

FUNDING SPOTLIGHT 31 Office of Research builds on success

GIVING 32 Commit to Georgia Find us online at ssw.uga.edu or on social media @UGASocialWork

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Getting Ahead of a

Public Health Crisis Training the next generation of substance use and mental health experts By Leigh Beeson

ou can’t solve a public health crisis if you don’t have the workforce to tackle it. And the U.S.— Georgia, in particular— has a massive shortage of health care professionals trained to address substance use disorders. The University of Georgia’s School of Social Work is aiming to close that gap, by partnering with local

130+

people die every day from opioid-related drug overdoses*

behavioral health agencies and a federal grant designed to help students get the hands-on training they need to hit the ground running after they graduate. More than 1,000 Georgians died from opioid overdoses in 2017, a 245% increase from 2010, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. Orion

67.8%

of all drug overdose deaths involved opioids*

Mowbray, an associate professor of social work, partnered with Advantage Behavioral Health Systems, a local mental and behavioral health center, to gauge the extent of the provider shortage in Georgia’s Public Health District 10, which includes Clarke, Oglethorpe and Elbert counties, among others. The findings were bleak.

9.9 million people misused prescription pain relievers*

808,000

people used heroin*

All numbers are approximate for 2017 and 2018. Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bit.ly/38AB0bf.

Key substance use and mental health indicators in the US. Results from the 2018 Survey on Drug Use and Health, bit.ly/2EmrcDS.

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Some counties had one or two treatment centers; many had none.

themselves to intense scrutiny by the Drug Enforcement Agency.

That means many rural Georgians have to secure transportation and time off work, not to mention childcare, to access treatment centers a county or more away.

“It’s a highly regulated process to distribute medication,” Mowbray said. “And that creates a disincentive to provide it.”

“That takes time, money and effort. Some people don’t have that,” Mowbray said. “One thing that we know from research is that if treatment services are far away, there’s a higher likelihood that people aren’t going to access them.” Facilities that offer medication-assisted treatment (MAT) are also hard to come by. These facilities substitute a safer substance, like methadone or buprenorphine, for opioids, which helps ease the pains of withdrawal from hard-core narcotics or offers a long-term, safer substitute from opioids. The ultimate goal is to safely wean patients off the opioid-substitute as well. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration supports MAT, along with counseling and behavioral therapies, but many insurers, including Medicaid, aren’t keen to cover it. Plus, providers subject

Along with College of Education professor Bernadette Heckman, Mowbray secured a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration to train about 100 graduate students to help address the mental and behavioral health services shortage. Through the grant’s Be Ahead Fellowships, graduate students will serve in treatment facilities across District 10. The grant will also enable the students to receive advanced training in everything from screening for substance use problems to medicationassisted treatment for opioid addiction. “We can teach students all they want in the classroom,” Mowbray said, “But that direct experience, that experiential learning, is critical.”

For more information about the Be Ahead Fellowships, contact Orion Mowbray at omowbray@uga.edu

TEACHING

New Online MSW Reduces Barriers to Professional Advancement By Laurie Anderson

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Kat Farlowe

The School of Social Work now offers the first fully online Master of Social Work degree in Georgia. All coursework, with the exception of a required field internship, can be taken online. Applications are being accepted for the inaugural cohort, scheduled to begin Fall 2020. “This fully online program should provide access and flexibility to earn an advanced degree in social work and eliminate barriers such as travel time to get to campus or not being able to access a campus because of distance,” said Javier F. Boyas, the director of the university’s social work master’s degree program. “The reality is that a lot of people in various parts of the state don’t currently have that option, and until now there was not a fully online program for social work at any public university in Georgia.” The program addresses the clear demand for rural communities and medically underserved areas (MUAs) that lack services – including areas where there are not a lot of outlets to address everyday behavioral health concerns. Of the 159 counties in Georgia, 146 are classified as MUAs, but a recent state of Georgia workforce report indicated that only 10% of social workers are practicing in such areas. “We hope this program that trains behavioral health, in micro practice in particular, will attract applicants from those areas and will benefit these medically underserved rural communities,” said Boyas. The degree also develops skills that are transferable to any setting where relationship-building and improving well-being are important. “Since it

is a terminal practice degree in our field, it is a tough degree to outgrow professionally, and can provide individuals with the upward mobility of an MBA,” said Boyas. The degree also can provide professional development for spouses of military personnel who may be interested in working within military units or with veterans. About one-fourth of veterans live in rural areas. The MSW faculty have been working closely with UGA’s Office of Online Learning to ensure that the online delivery of content is high quality and engaging. The faculty will implement virtual office hours, similar to face-toface office hours, to make sure they are available to their students throughout the program. Students enrolled in the online program don’t have to be Georgia residents, but must be able to serve their field education practica in a Georgia agency. Program Director Boyas explained that “the MSW online faculty intend to engage with students in a way that captures the relationship that is experienced face-to-face.”

The application deadline for admission is February 15, 2020. For more information, call (706) 418-2604 or email online@uga.edu.

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RESEARCH

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OUT OF THE

S H A D OW S David Okech is shining a spotlight on the hidden world of trafficking By Leigh Beeson

ometimes it happens like it does on TV.

Women and children kidnapped, transported across international borders in trucks, and sold to the highest bidder. Women brought to the U.S. under the pretense of getting a job only to end up shackled in someone’s basement. More frequently, human trafficking is more complex, said David Okech, associate professor of social work at the University of Georgia. It’s orphaned children who disappeared in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, picked up by child traffickers who took advantage of the chaos and the fact that no one would notice the children missing until it was too late. It’s ISIS fighters taking Yazidi women and children captive as they conquered land in the Middle East. It’s the extreme poverty

of Eastern Europe that drives poor citizens to foreign countries where they are sold as maids and housekeepers but expected to work longer hours than any employee should. It’s children being forced out onto the streets of African cities, keeping them out of school and jeopardizing their future. It’s hard—if not impossible—to pin down the numbers. Experts estimate there are tens of millions of people trapped in what they call modern slavery. The U.S. Department of State defines trafficking as an umbrella term that encompasses both sex trafficking and forced labor. Women and girls are disproportionately affected, comprising almost three of every four victims. About 10 million trafficked persons are children.

But these figures are really just informed guesses. That’s something Okech wants to change. Okech, along with the UGA-founded international consortium African Programming and Research Initiative to End Slavery (APRIES), recently received a $15.75 million grant from the U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, to study how, why and how frequently trafficking occurs in West Africa. The grant scales up a $4 million grant Okech previously received to collect data on the prevalence of human trafficking in parts of Sierra Leone and Guinea, and enables Okech’s team to study the prevalence of trafficking in Senegal

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R E S E A R C H

T E A M

DAVID OKECH Director Associate Professor, UGA School of Social Work

JODY CLAY-WARNER Associate Director Meigs Professor, UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences

ALEX BALCH

Associate Director

Professor, Department of Politics, University of Liverpool

NATHAN HANSEN Intervention Coordinator Professor, UGA College of Public Health

TAMORA CALLANDS Training and Evaluation Coordinator Assistant Professor, UGA College of Public Health

LYDIA ALETRARIS Project Coordinator Associate Research Scientist, UGA School of Social Work

CLAIRE BOLTON Program Manager

UGA School of Social Work

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as well. The grant also gives organizations sorely needed funding to implement preventive programs and provide support to trafficking survivors. The grant will also launch a first-ofits-kind forum that will enlist scholars around the world to test and develop the best ways to estimate the prevalence of human trafficking. “We need the numbers,” said Okech. “I don’t want to be told that it’s 1 million or it’s 10 million. We need a more accurate estimate so that our programming and policy work is commensurate to the problem. The APRIES team is wellpositioned to contribute to these efforts.” Learning more accurate estimates of trafficked people can provide a sense of scale that does not yet exist. The study will fill a sizeable gap in the human trafficking literature, in addition to providing a framework for future efforts to combat trafficking and reintegrate survivors so that they are on a path to stability and productivity. Members of the consortium have developed a model for reintegration, increasing transparency in labor supply chains in the cocoa and garment industries, and helping former child

soldiers reacclimate to civilian life. But trafficking doesn’t just affect people in Africa and other faraway places. “People don’t realize that there’s trafficking in Athens, in Atlanta, in the U.S.,” said Okech. “It’s not something people talk about a lot in this country.” Although some of the trafficking in the U.S. and Europe is for sex, many people are trafficked for labor in the restaurant and agriculture industries as well. Others come from West Africa to become hairdressers only to find themselves on their feet for hours on end with little food and money. Atlanta’s airport is said to be one of the main gateways to bring people to the U.S., which is why airline staff have been trained to spot possible victims. If travelers look as though they’re being

controlled by the person they’re with, for instance, airline staff will engage with the person to further determine if they’re be being held against their will. A number of TSA and airport police have likewise been trained. But there’s more to be done. We have to know where victims are being trafficked from, how traffickers are communicating and getting their victims from place to place, if we are to successfully shut down supply trains, Okech says. The community also needs to be educated on what to look for: a person who seems disoriented or confused, who shows signs of abuse or who sounds coached when responding to questions about who they are and where they’re from. A child who is frequently

absent from school, appears malnourished, seems to adhere to scripted or rehearsed responses in social interaction, or lacks official identification. In 2018, former Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal required notices to be posted in all public buildings with a number for people to report trafficking of themselves or others. The signs have started conversations about trafficking and helped people see that the issue is closer to home than they may think. Okech aims to magnify that conversation by providing concrete evidence that moves us further towards ending trafficking.

For more information, visit apries.uga.edu.

4 SIGNS OF TRAFFICKING People who are being trafficked often: 1. Appear disoriented or confused, 2. Disconnect from their families, friends and community organizations, 3. Sound coached when responding to questions about who they are and where they’re from, and 4. Can’t make their own decisions without getting approval from someone they view as an authority. C O N N E C T M A GA Z IN E

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Faculty KUDOS The Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance selected Adrienne Baldwin-White as a fellow in the first cohort of the Georgia CTSA Translational Education and Mentoring in Science (TEAMS) program for the 2019-2020 school year. Baldwin-White also was accepted into the inaugural cohort of the UGA Gateway Innovation Bootcamp, an intensive six-week program that teaches researchers the basics of commercialization. The bootcamp she attended focused on the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs. Jenay Beer was one of two UGA faculty selected as UGA’s inaugural Innovation Fellows for fall 2019. The program helps faculty commercialize their own research and introduces them to UGA’s Innovation District. Each participant receives up to $10,000 to support customer discovery and facilitate connections with industry partners. Beer, an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the College of Public Health and the School of Social Work, designs assistive technologies for older adults. In April 2019 Harold Briggs was appointed the Pauline M. Berger Professor in Family and Child Welfare. A member of the school’s faculty since 2012, Prof. Briggs has, among other things, been instrumental in identifying and describing welfare service areas that need greater coordination and in developing

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programs that give children, youth and families more voice in the planning and delivery of services. In 2019 Oxford University Press also published a textbook that he developed, “Integrative Practice in and for Larger Systems: Transforming Administration and Management of People, Organizations, and Communities.” Rosalyn Denise Campbell received special mentor recognition during the Feminist Networking Breakfast at the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) 2019 Annual Program Meeting. Llewellyn “Lee” Cornelius delivered the Carl A. Scott Memorial Lecture in October 2019 at the Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education, held in Denver, Colorado. Prof. Cornelius’s presentation, titled “Social Work Education and Our Role as Social Justice Liberators” is online at bit.ly/Cornelius-

CarlScottLecture

Maurice C. Daniels, dean emeritus and professor emeritus, celebrated the release of his newest book, “Ground Crew: The Fight to End Segregation at Georgia State” (UGA Press).

Jeremy Gibbs was accepted to the 2019 Innovation to Impact (i2i) fellowship program at Yale University. The program, funded by The National Institute on Drug Abuse, provides substance abuse researchers who seek to translate their research from the lab to the market with an intensive five day training in entrepreneurship. Gibbs was one of 30 i2i fellows from 30 institutions across the U.S., Canada and Russia.

Kristina Jaskyte Bahr joined the board of directors for The Network for Social Work Management, an international organization whose goal is to strengthen social work leadership in health and human services. She was also elected to serve as an international editorial advisor for the British Journal of Social Work. Together with her colleague Jeanne Liedtka, professor of business administration at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, she developed a new instrument to assess Design Thinking practices and outcomes. She and Liedtka delivered several webinars on the topic, titled “Evaluating the Impact of Design Thinking in Action I and II” which can be seen at blog.mural.co/ designthinking-roi-3. Tony Lowe was selected for the UGA Special Collections Library Fellows program. Lowe plans to develop a course titled “Civil Rights and Social History as a Tool of Community Development” that will engage students in archives research. Lowe’s research on the attempted assassination in 1897 of African American postmaster and civil rights activist Isaiah Lofton was also recognized by the Georgia Historical Society, which in September unveiled a marker in Hogansville, Georgia to memorialize the event. Tony Mallon was selected to participate in the 2019 UGA Facilitation Academy, a professional development program that provides a select number of diverse faculty and staff the opportunity to cultivate effective facilitation, leadership, and presentation skills.

Jane McPherson was named a 2019-20 UGA Special Collections Library Fellow and selected as a fellow of the Transnational European Studies Seminar taking place in Berlin, Germany in June 2020. As an SCL Fellow she will integrate the history of Athens millworkers and the School of Social Work building, which is housed in a former textile mill, into her teaching. At the Berlin seminar she will focus on her rights-based work in Iberia and southeastern Europe. She also received the 2019 First-Year Odyssey Teaching Award for her seminar “Human Rights in the USA and at UGA.” More at t.uga.edu/5ue. Kate MorrisseyStahl was selected as a fellow in the UGA Center for Teaching and Learning’s Innovative Teaching program. Selection includes a stipend of $2000 and a commitment by the fellow to participate in program workshops. The 2019-2020 focus will be on strategies to help students work effectively with each other. Orion Mowbray was appointed to the National Advisory Committee for the Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation. The committee reviews research proposals submitted to the fund. Michael Robinson was appointed chair of the Council on Social Work Education’s Commission for Diversity and Social and Economic Justice, effective July 1, 2019.

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PARTNERSHIPS

CENTER FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE, HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS

he 2019 Social Justice Symposium, held in January, included presentation of the symposium’s Bridge Award to June Gary Hopps, Parham Professor of Family and Children Studies. The next symposium will be held January 25, 2020 at the Athens Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. The Center provides technical assistance and advice to the planning committee, as well as staff support on the day of the symposium. The 2019 Donald L. Hollowell Lecture featured Robert Michael Franklin, Jr., the Meera Naqvi 

In November the Center co-sponsored a visit by more than 100 students to Atlanta’s city hall for a lively discussion of policy issues with Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. More at t.uga.edu/5u9. Chenzira Davis-Kahina, PhD, director of the Virgin Islands Caribbean Cultural Center, will discuss post-hurricane environmental resiliency in the Caribbean during a visit to the school January 29 February 2, 2020. The Center also will sponsor a presentation titled “Power and resilience within the Gullah nation” for the Saint Simons African American Heritage Coalition at the Historic Harrington School House, St. Simons Island on February 18, 2020.

Laurie Anderson

The Center is co-sponsoring The Art and Education for Social Justice (AESJ) symposium on February 21-23, 2020 with the UGA Lamar Dodd School of Art. More at art4socialjustice.wordpress.com. (Above) Robert Michael Franklin, Jr. delivers the 2019 Donald L. Hollowell Lecture. (Above Right) MSW students at the 2019 Social Justice Symposium

Laney Professor in Moral Leadership at Emory University. In his presentation “The Vocation of Moral Leadership,” Franklin noted that “democracy requires virtue to survive” and described three fundamental skills to support social structures: courage, imagination and “listening for the sound of the genuine in ourselves and in others.”

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For more information, contact Center Director Llewellyn Cornelius at lcornel@uga.edu.

PARTNERSHIPS

INSTITUTE FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

The Institute also sponsors a nonprofit speaker series in collaboration with the Athens Area Community Foundation, United Way of Northeast Georgia, AthensClarke County Unified Government, and UGAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of Service Learning. The series, aimed at nonprofit executive directors, board chairs and nonprofit staff, brings specialists to help organizations build capacity and show impact. Speakers for the fall 2019 series included Victoria Prevatt, lead strategist for Good Works LLC, Grace Bagwell Adams, PhD, of the UGA College of Public Health, and Rachel Spears, executive director of Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta.

oth the Institute and the Center are providing technical assistance in capacity-building to the East Athens Development Corporation, a neighborhood revitalization nonprofit that serves East Athens. The Institute is conducting work on workforce development (job training and placement) and reviewing EADC bylaws, with particular attention to the board of directors to enhance the overall operations of the organization.

For more information about Institute activities, contact Institute Director Anthony Mallon at ajmallon@uga.edu.

La ur

ie An de

rson

ÂŠ Cindy M Brown for C Brown Photo

(Above) Tony Mallon, director of the Institute for Nonprofit Organizations. (Left) Rachel Spears, executive director of Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta.

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PARTNERSHIPS

BSW Students Learn the Importance of

INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION By Adelia Henderson

Huddled around a table sit a social worker, a pharmacist, a physician and a nurse practitioner. They are intently discussing how best to treat their patient, a 64-year old man who went to the emergency room complaining of weakness and excessive thirst.

nstead of this conversation taking place in a hospital with licensed professionals, the scene paints a different picture: all the discussants are University of Georgia students. The second-annual Interprofessional Education (IPE) Day was held Oct. 23 at The Classic Center in Athens. The event was held in conjunction with UGA’s School of Social Work, College of Pharmacy, the Augusta University/UGA Medical Partnership and AU’s College of Nursing in Athens.

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Over 250 social work, pharmacy, medical and nursing students attended. Activities such as IPE Day are a way of preparing health professionals to perform in effective and collaborative teams, said Susan Fagan, assistant dean of the Augusta University program. “Interprofessional teams in the health sphere have been shown to enhance the quality of care, reduce costs, reduce length of stay for hospitalized patients and reduce medical errors,” Fagan said at the event.

Laurie Anderson

The collaborative discussions helped students work out issues that the professionals may run into in real life. “When interprofessional collaboration occurs on teams, social workers have an opportunity to educate other professionals on the holistic needs of the patient in all areas of their life. This can lead to a greater awareness of the socio-cultural needs of patients,” said Rebecca Wells, coordinator of the Master of Social Work/ Master of Public Health dual degree program.

“I love (social workers), they have been absolutely invaluable,” Seagraves said. “They’re of value to the patient, (and) they’re of value to me.” Seagraves said that after adding a social worker to his teams, the patient’s level of adherence, or how closely they follow medical advice, increased greatly.

“The team can use these insights to partner with the patient and patient’s family to build more effective treatment plans that result in better patient outcomes and improved quality of life,” Wells said. Information about the hypothetical patient was only given to one student per team, in order to mimic real-life scenarios.

Social work, pharmacy, medical and nursing student teams collaborate at IPE Day.

“Just like on rounds, only one person has the information,” Fagan said. Students deliberated for a half-hour during the first round, then were given additional information about their patient that was relevant to each profession. The students then went through the case again, each contributing what they learned from their profession’s perspective. Pharmacy Professor Brian Seagraves is on the board of directors for the Athens Nurses Clinic, a free healthcare clinic for uninsured and low income Athens-Clarke County residents. He knows firsthand the value social workers add to team-based care.

Laurie Anderson

“It made a big difference,” he said. “We’re actually able to get these people cured and most of the time get them back to work and get them to be members of society…it’s really a cool thing.” Wells hopes that the social work students who participated in IPE Day recognize the strength of other disciplines, as well as impact their own voices have. “These students will one day be leaders on the front lines providing care and support to patients and clients, and interprofessional education and collaboration will enable them to be leaders in their future professions,” she said.

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PASSAGES

Welcome

F A C U L T Y

L Wingate Downs

ydia Aletraris, Ph.D. sociology, University of Georgia, is an associate research scientist and principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health-funded project that examines the effects of cannabis legalization on the substance use disorder treatment industry. She also coordinates the Prevalence Reduction Innovation Forum for the African Programming & Research Initiative to End Slavery (APRIES). The forum enlists scholars from universities around the world to test and develop the best ways to estimate the prevalence of human trafficking. In addition, she serves on the Regional Advisory Council of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Courtesy Lemuel LaRoche

emuel “Life” LaRoche, MSW, University of Georgia, is an academic professional who brings his experience in mentoring at-risk youth to the classroom and to his work in community outreach through the Center for Social Justice. As the founder and executive director of the Athens-based nonprofit Chess & Community Conference, LaRoche uses chess to teach critical thinking skills to young students from marginalized communities. LaRoche’s work has been recognized by Points of Light and the Atlanta Braves Foundation, which named him a “community hero.” He is also a recipient of the UGA President’s Fulfilling the Dream Award, which honors community activists whose work carries out the vision of Martin Luther King, Jr.

S Laurie Anderson

hannen Malutinok, MSW/MPH, Tulane University, joins the school as field education coordinator for the Gwinnett campus. She is a licensed clinical social worker who has concentrated her practice on individuals and couples experiencing prenatal and postpartum mental health issues. Additionally, she has provided health education through teaching mindfulness-based childbirth courses. Shannen had a varied career in adoption, Medicaid case management, alcohol and drug treatment research, drowning prevention advocacy, and medical social work.

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PASSAGES

S T A F F

laire Bolton, Ph.D. geography, University of Georgia, is the APRIES program manager. Her interests broadly include political economy, urbanization, migration, and critical race studies. In addition to the APRIES project, Claire teaches world geography at the University of North Georgia. She also serves on the Athens-Clarke County Vision Committee, which assists local government with decision-making processes related to community development, and participates in community-based research projects.

enae Brown Bryan, MSW program support and advising, holds master’s degrees in adult education and professional communication and leadership from Armstrong State University. She comes to UGA from Georgia Southern University, where she was an academic success coach. Prior to that, she worked at Savannah State University as a graduate admissions specialist.

ue Li, applications analyst, comes to the school from the UGA Libraries’ systems department. As a member of the IT team, she supports the school’s websites and web applications such as course evaluations, field applications and admissions.

Laurie Anderson

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PASSAGES

Farewell

R E T I R E M E N T S

D Laurie Anderson

iane Harvey, MSW, LCSW, served as field education coordinator for three years before retiring in June 2019. Her warm personality and experience as a school social worker and social work licensing workshop instructor were valuable assets to the MSW program. Her honors include being voted 2017 MSW Teacher of the Year for the Gwinnett campus.

P Rick O’Quinn

atricia “Trish” Reeves, professor emerita, joined the faculty in 1998 as a temporary assistant professor and retired at the rank of full professor in July 2019. She taught popular courses in qualitative research methods, human behavior theory, lifespan development, medical social work, and most recently the human-animal bond and professional practice. A multiple recipient of the school’s Outstanding Teaching Award, at various times she also was named by doctoral students “Faculty Member Most Likely to Make Students Feel Appreciated” and “Faculty Member Students Would Most Like To Have as a Parent.” In addition to serving on multi-year research projects, she led the development of the dual master’s degree program in social work and public health.

D Laurie Anderson

aphney Smith joined the school in November 2014 as MSW program support staff and advisor. During her time with the school she quietly shepherded a large number of students through the university’s administrative maze to successful graduation. “Daphney has made huge contributions to the school as the MSW advisor, and has been a true support to our MSW students,” said Dean Anna Scheyett. “She will be sorely missed.”

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PASSAGES

Courtesy Kat Farlowe

I N

M E M O R I A M

aura Landers Hartman Ciucevich, 74, passed away in Athens on October 23, 2019. She graduated from the Grady School of Journalism (now Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication) in 1967. She began her career at UGA at the UGA Foundation and later moved to the UGA School of Social Work, from which she retired in 2010 as director of alumni relations. “Laura taught me to always be mindful of others, be they human, or four-paw creatures,” said Mary Hill, MSW ’71. “[I] will always appreciate Laura`s laughter, love, and many generous and selfless acts for all alums of UGA - and especially the School of Social Work!” Laura remained a strong UGA supporter after retirement, often attending Bulldog and School of Social Work events where she greeted old friends and made new faculty and staff feel welcome. An ardent Bulldog fan, she lived for UGA football season to watch her beloved Dawgs between the hedges. “Go you Hairy Dawgs” could often be heard in the halls of the School of Social Work.

School of Social Work

“Laura was a bright ray of sunshine at the School of Social Work, loved by all who knew her,” wrote Dean Emeritus Bonnie Yegidis. “She will be sorely missed.”

eita Castellaw (Pittard) Cobb, 82, passed away on October 7, 2019 after battling cancer. She served as a support staff member for 25 years, retiring in 2000. Leita was an outstanding MSW program assistant who took great pleasure in assisting both graduate students and faculty. “The relationships she made with students was definitely what she valued most during her time at UGA,” said son Sam Pittard. “The MSW students also very much appreciated all she did. She had a shelf full of plaques and tokens of appreciation from them.” Throughout her life, Leita always looked for opportunities to serve others. She was a den mother for the Cub Scouts for many years, and a member of the Daughters of American Revolution and the Piedmont Athens Regional Auxiliary. As a longtime member of the First Presbyterian Church of Athens she sang in the choir and served as a lay caller, visiting members in hospitals and senior living facilities. When she wasn’t busy helping others, you could find Leita cheering for her Dawgs. She was an avid Georgia fan, and held season tickets to multiple UGA sports.

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STUDENTS

four graduate students named

By Chris Starrs & Laurie Anderson

he team is small, but don’t let size deceive you.

School of Social Work graduate students Avital Abraham, JeDawn Gaither, Chelsea Johnson and Ariel Scholl are designing programs to inspire change at the University of Georgia. The four are among 360 students from 90 institutions in 13 countries who have been named University Innovation Fellows. The University Innovation Fellows program, based at Stanford University’s prestigious Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, empowers student leaders to increase engagement on their campuses with innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity and design thinking. The latter is a process that helps participants to reframe problems in human-centered ways, then design and test solutions. What sets the UGA quartet apart from most University Innovation Fellows is that they’re all graduate students, and their projects cover social science rather than the usual business and STEM disciplines. Three of them - Abraham, Gaither and Johnson - are pursuing dual master’s degrees in public health and social work. Scholl is in the nonprofit management and leadership graduate degree program.

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“I was told that the University Innovation Fellows program has never had a team of social work students apply to this program, which was seen as a major strength,” says Associate Professor Kristina Jaskyte, the students’ advisor and faculty champion, who learned about the program during her first trip to Stanford’s “d.school” Design Thinking for Social Systems workshops. “Most of the teams in that program represent business and hardscience fields.” Each Fellow is tasked with developing a project that will help their peers develop the mindset needed to address global challenges. Johnson is developing a design thinking class for UGA freshmen. Abraham’s project looks at creating new standards for online learning. Gaither’s project is promoting multiculturalism, inclusivity, and diversity to campus, and Scholl’s project concerns developing an experiential learning course to close the socioeconomic gap between UGA and the city it calls home. “In the past, all the Fellows from UGA have been focused on tech or engineering, so we’re the first group to come through to focus on social change and social justice,” says Johnson. “So we’re hoping to inspire change in our time as Fellows, but also moving forward with future Fellows expanding beyond just STEMfocused projects.” After being selected as Fellows, the four students took part in a six-week online training program. They will continue to refine their projects, then this spring, Fellows will participate in the Silicon Valley Meetup in California, the program’s signature event. Fellows will have immersive experiences at Stanford and Google headquarters in San Francisco, working with leaders in industry and education, joining experiential workshops and exercises focused on topics that will include movement building, spaces for innovation,

#Dawgs4Change (From left) Avital Abraham, JeDawn Gaither, Chelsea Johnson, Ariel Scholl

design of learning experiences, and new models for change in higher education. In addition to Jaskyte, the Fellows have been advised throughout the process by Rebecca Wells, clinical assistant professor and the coordinator for the Master of Social Work/ Master of Public Health program, and Jenay Beer, assistant professor in the College of Public Health and School of Social Work. “Every week they would listen to our ideas and tell us what was feasible, what they could help us with, and get it moving in that way,” says Johnson. And even though each Fellow is working on her own individual project, the four are considered – and consider themselves – a team. They call themselves “Dawgs4Change.”

Laurie Anderson

“We got together and decided what we were passionate about and created an overarching theme,” says Scholl. “And we’ll do our projects within that. We’ll support each other with the expertise and passion that we all have for the general subject. “We’re all tackling problems, but what we really want to create is a culture of togetherness and collaboration and inclusivity between majors and schools.”

To learn more about the projects, visit bit.ly/UIF2019-UGA. To learn how you can help Fellows attend the Silicon Valley Meetup, contact Kristina Jaskyte Bahr at kjaskyte@uga.edu. C O N N E C T M A GA Z IN E

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Within

Reach Child welfare workforce education program helps DFCS staff earn MSW degrees By Laurie Anderson

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Laurie Anderson

enya Wooden worked in child welfare for 14 years. With a heavy workload and a family to care for, however, a masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in social work was not in the picture - until now. Wooden is one of seven full-time staff members of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services who were accepted into a new leadership training program at the School of Social Work, one that is geared toward professionals working in Georgiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s child welfare system.

STUDENTS

(Left) Front row, l-r: Allison Dunnigan, Kenya Wooden, Kimberly Scott. Back row, l-r: Linsey Phillips, Tasha Head, Jane Yang, Nicole Pullens, Kristina Jaskyte Bahr. Not pictured: Precious Andrews.

The education opportunity was made possible by funding provided by the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute to a joint program run by the University of Georgia, the Georgia State University School of Social Work and the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services. The Georgia group was among eight selected by the NCWWI as a Workforce Excellence site. Allison Dunnigan, who spearheaded the Georgia team’s project, credits the selection to their proposal’s innovative design. “Our approach is unique in that we are providing current DFCS supervisors, managers and administrators with an opportunity to return to school and obtain their MSW while remaining employed,” said Dunnigan, an assistant professor in the school and principal investigator for the program at UGA. Associate Professor Javier Boyas, director of the MSW program, and Assistant Professor Kristina Jaskyte Bahr are co-investigators on the project. The School of Social Work admitted the first cohort in fall 2019. The seven students are current DFCS staff in administrative positions or were identified by the agency as having management potential. All work full time while attending class. It isn’t easy. “The job is extremely demanding and it never stops, so trying to find a balance is hard” said Wooden. “Plus I have a family on top of work and school. I give

100% in all that I do, so I will give this my best shot.” In addition to tuition stipends, the funding supports a comprehensive assessment of Georgia’s child welfare agencies. The assessment, which began in June 2019, will identify strengths and challenges in areas such as burnout, case manager training and supervision quality. Results will inform plans for organizational change and workforce development. “We hope that by targeting supervisors across Georgia, we can have a large-scale impact at the county level,” said Dunnigan. “These supervisors will take their training and knowledge gained at UGA back to the field where it will impact how they support case managers and investigators, as well as DFCS programs.” The university partners also will hold an annual summer training institute, starting in 2020. The institute will be open to current DFCS employees, child welfare-focused students in the federal Title IV-E program, and other community partners engaged in child welfare practice. It will provide workshops on key subject areas identified by the assessment, as well as training opportunities for field supervisors. Wooden and her fellow DFCS employees, meanwhile, look forward to bringing what they learn to others. “I want to take the skills and knowledge I learn and use it in the work place,” said Wooden. “I want to use what I learn to impact staff to decrease turnover, and to help them love the work more.” C O N N E C T M A GA Z IN E

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Alumna Extriara Gates guides young adults on a route to success By Adelia Henderson

hey say life is a journey. While journeys can be fun, sometimes getting started is the hardest part. For some young people, Extriara Gates (MSW ’11) provides the needed push that propels them forward on their lifelong path. Gates has spent the past four years at Year Up Atlanta, a nonprofit which offers a oneyear college and career readiness training program for underserved young adults. As student services manager, Gates makes sure that the students have access to resources they may need, such as mental health services, a homeless shelter or food pantry. She enjoys getting a front-row seat to watch the Year Up students’ transform over the course of their program. “I love to see people succeed,” Gates said. “Before (this job), it was very much you see people, you’ve helped them, and they go and you may not see them again, whereas these people I’m here with for a year.” After earning her bachelor’s in social work at Georgia State University, Gates completed her MSW at the UGA Gwinnett campus. Before Year Up Atlanta, she worked at Habitat for Humanity and the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

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Melissa Bugg

Gateway to Opportunity

Gates also does advocacy work for children of color and autism. When she’s not busy impacting change at Year Up Atlanta, she is in the Georgia Leadership & Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (GaLEND) program at Georgia State University. She is also working on opening a respite and resource center for families and children with autism. In recognition of her exceptional work, Gates was inducted into the 2019 Class of 40 under 40 by the University of Georgia Alumni Association. The program celebrates the achievements of successful UGA graduates under the age of 40. A graduate of the Gwinnett campus program, Gates credits her experience at UGA with opening her eyes to the full scope of the social work field beyond traditional roles and occupations. “I think most young people who come to social work have an idea of what it looks like. But having an opportunity to be around people who were not just in academia but had traveled abroad, who were doing a myriad of things, really inspired me to explore things outside of traditional social work roles,” she said. “The professors really inspired me to place myself beyond what I thought I could do and be. “I’m truly appreciative of that experience.”

ALUMNI

CARROL SHANNON

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED By Jennifer Abbott

o meet and talk with Carrol Shannon (MSW ’87) you realize quickly that she was destined to be a social worker. However, the path she took to fulfill this destiny took 30 years and a road less traveled. Mrs. Shannon grew up in south Georgia near the Florida line. Discouraged from pursuing higher education, she married at 17, raised three girls and worked in a small-town bank 50 miles southwest of Valdosta. In 1985, with her daughters grown and her herself recently divorced, Carrol enrolled in a local college where she completed an undergraduate degree in psychology. A trusted faculty member encouraged her change her focus from psychology to social work and consider the University of Georgia’s School of Social Work’s graduate program. She applied, was accepted and, at age 41, for the first time in her life left the familiarity of South Georgia. As an older student, Carol said she was often seen as a “mother figure” by her younger classmates. It was a role she cherished. After graduation Carrol dedicated most of her career to working in mental health. During this time she became one of the founding members of NASW Georgia, along with good friend and UGA alumna Lawanna Barron (MSW ’91). She forged relationships and became a valued community member and advocate for the mental health services in rural Georgia. It was those relationships and her tireless work on behalf of others

Courtesy Carrol Shannon

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that led to another road less traveled as she neared retirement. Carrol admits that she was slightly burnedout when one day she got a call from her childhood friend and another alum, Ben Marion (MSW ’83). Ben was now CEO of Turning Point, a treatment center in Moultrie, Georgia, and he asked her to come work for him. At the time, Turning Point administered Head Start for the region. Carrol was tasked with expanding and improving the program that served several rural counties. This was a very new challenge. She often worked long hours, and spent hours in the car driving all over South Georgia, but she loved it. Carrol worked for Turning Point and Ben Marion until her retirement. Then her life took another unexpected turn. Happily retired and remarried, one day Carrol and her husband Stan were invited to visit some friends on the British island of Anguilla. They fell in love with the place and began spending more and more time there. During these visits Carrol realized she wanted to work with the children of Anguilla. She took a part-time job with the island’s Department of Education, serving

as the school system’s social worker for six primary schools and its only high school. Working in the school system, she came face-to-face with children living in glaring poverty. Unable to play the role of bystander, she rallied island businesswomen and women philanthropists to annually provide school uniforms for all of the children in the schools. While living in Anguilla, Carrol also became interested in soap-making. She learned how to make goat milk soap from watching videos on YouTube. What started as a hobby grew into a goat milk soap business. Carrol sells her product through local boutiques on the island. Her soaps have become so sought-after that they’ve been featured in Forbes magazine and in a popular European travel magazine. Looking back on her life and career, Carrol is proud that she stood up to those who told her education was wasted on women, and instead forged a new path as an example to her own daughters. When asked if she would do it all over again, her eyes twinkle and she nods an affirmative yes. Perhaps the road less travelled is perfect for courageous and empowered women like Carrol Shannon. Carol and her husband Stan live on the island of Anquilla.

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Adobe Stock Images

island picture goes here.

ALUMNI

ClassNotes 1970s

1990s

Ron Taylor (MSW ’74) is senior services leader and vice president of North America Services for Sage, a business management technology services corporation.

Maggie Biscarr (MSW ’98) is director for global partnership solutions at PepsiCo in Washington, DC and New York. Her recent activities include involvement in the Collaboration for Healthier Lives initiative.

Susan Waltman (MSW ’75) is executive vice president and general counsel for the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA), a center for health care advocacy and expertise that serves more than 50 hospitals across the New York region.

1980s Jackie Angel (BSW ’82) is a teacher at Milton High School in Fulton County. She has been the social studies department chair at Milton since 2005. Jerome “Jerry” Bagnell (MSW’89) retired in December 2019 as workplace mediator for the Department of the Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps in Carolina Beach, North Carolina. Stephanie Payne (BSW ‘83) is a licensed clinical social worker at the Veterans’ Administration Clinic of Dayton, Ohio. Angela Solomon (MSW ’89) is president of the School Social Workers Association of Georgia and a social work coordinator in Bibb County.

Fred Brooks (PhD ‘99) is an associate professor of social work at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. Tracy Carpenter-Aeby (MSW ‘94, PhD ’99) is professor of social work at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. Nedra Deadwyler (BSW ’98) was featured in the September 2019 issue of Uncommon Path, a quarterly print magazine. She is founder and CEO of Civil Bikes, a nonprofit organization that runs biking and walking tours of Atlanta’s civil rights landmarks. More at

bit.ly/CivilBikes201909

2000s Hayley Adkisson (BSW ’06) is senior social worker with Fink Children’s Ambulatory Care Center at NYU Langone Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. David Bolt (BSW ‘09, MEd ‘18) is an organizational development consultant with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

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ClassNotes

(Continued)

Josphine Chaumba (MSW ’06, PhD ‘10) is associate professor of social work at the University of North Carolina Pembroke. In March 2019 the National Institutes of Health awarded a $404,000, three-year grant to Kennesaw State University faculty Evelina Sterling, assistant professor of sociology, and Carol Collard (PhD ’01) and Vanessa RobinsonDooley (MSW ’00, PhD ’05), associate professors of social work, to study health disparities and develop a support program that serves low-income African American men with chronic conditions. Leigh Ellen Magness (BSW ’04, MSW ’06) is co-owner of the Athens Center for Counseling and Play Therapy. She also founded Little Athens Children’s Museum in 2017, a mobile museum that serves more than 1,000 children annually with interactive exhibits at pop-up events. Bryan Schroeder (MA’06) is executive director of the Giving Kitchen, which received the 2019 James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year Award. The Atlanta-based nonprofit provides emergency assistance and support to food service workers. More at thegivingkitchen.org/. William Tanner (BSW ’08) is a leadership development specialist and executive coach with Deloitte Consulting in Atlanta, Georgia.

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Joivonna Thompson (MSW ‘07) is a specialty clinic/heart, liver and lung transplant social worker with the Department of Veterans Affairs in Gainesville, Florida. Matt Yancey (MSW ’05) is deputy commissioner of behavioral health community programs at the Department of Mental Health and Substance Use Services in Nashville, Tennessee.

2010s In December 2019 Hayley Banerjee (BSW ’13, MSW ’14) was named director of the Athens-Clarke County housing and community development department. Banerjee has served as the department’s interim director since April. Mindy Bartleson (MSW ‘15) is a marketing manager with Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and freelance writer for OnTrack Diabetes with Remedy Health Media. Maeghan (Pawley) Beahm (MA ‘13) is development manager for corporate and foundation relations at America’s Warrior Partnership in Augusta, Georgia. Meghan Armstrong (BSFCS ’13, MSW ’15) is a research professional at UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government. Amanda Bennett (MA ’12) is a nonprofit fundraising consultant in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

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ClassNotes

(Continued)

Hannah Boyd (BSW ’17) is a social worker at the Hospice and Palliative Care Center of Alamance-Caswell in Burlington, North Carolina.

Porter Jennings (MSW ’12, PhD ’19) is an assistant professor of social work at Austin Peay State University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Allison Cheadle-Gandhi (MA ’13) is development coordinator at The Legacy Senior Communities in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Texas.

Yolanda Machado-Escudero (PhD ’19) is an assistant professor of social work at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.

Uzma Chowdhury (AB ’14, MA ’14) is director at oneTILT, a nonprofit that promotes inclusive workplaces, in Washington, DC.

Mumbi Mwaura (MSW/MPH ’14) joined the Council on Social Work Education in Alexandria, Virginia as curricular resources program associate. She develops continuing education programs for faculty in higher education.

Holly Dennis (MSW ’13) is an emergency department social worker at NASH UNC Health Care in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Dana Dillard (PhD ’19) joined the University of West Florida faculty as an assistant professor of social work in August 2019. Lindsey Disney (PhD ’19) is a therapist and social worker at Positive Growth, Inc. Dania Ebanks (MSW ’18) is a clinical social worker with Affinis Hospice in Gray, Georgia. Christi P. Hardeman (PhD ’19) is a licensed clinical social worker and registered play therapist with Alpha Omega Holistic Care & Counseling, LLC. Kaira Jallow (BSW ’14) is transitional housing counselor at Hope’s Door New Beginning Center in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Texas.

Alexandra Pajak (MSW ’11) is a mental health clinician and contemporary music composer. Her album Mind/Electric: Music Inspired by Mental Illness was released by Centaur Records in September 2019. Joelle Pettus (MSW/MPH ’15) married Jeff Dake on May 27, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. Joelle is a research projects manager at Emory University. Joseph “Joey” Tripp (MA ’13) is director of development for The Warrior Alliance in Atlanta, Georgia. Send your updates to Jennifer Abbott at jabbott@uga.edu.

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Nonprofit Alum selected for

B U L L D O G 100 By Laurie Anderson Courtesy Andrew Hunt

Accurate data management is essential for any business, including nonprofits, but can be costly. One data management firm that provides a less expensive way for nonprofits to manage their data is headed by Andrew G. Hunt (MA ’06), a graduate of the nonprofit management and leadership program.

Hunt’s company facilitates the implementation of CiviCRM, an open-source tool that enables nonprofits with limited budgets to track and manage interactions with donors, volunteers, event participants, and email subscribers, to name a few, as well as organization projects and grants.

Hunt says his business started “out of necessity” when a nonprofit he worked with, Common Ground Athens, needed a better way to manage customer data. Hunt used his expertise in customer relationship management (CRM) systems to help the nonprofit and others. After moving to the Washington, DC area in 2008, he continued to find a steady demand for his skills in the nonprofit sector, even during a recession. He eventually decided to focus full time on building the business.

Since 2008 the firm has grown from serving three clients to annually serving around eighty. Most are from outside the Beltway, says Hunt. “The organizations have all kinds of missions and scales,” he says, “ranging from the Rural Coalition to the National Urban League.”

“I didn’t seek out data management,” he says. “It just caught up with me.”

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In recognition of his company’s phenomenal growth, in November 2019 the UGA Alumni Association named AGH Strategies to the Bulldog 100 Class of 2020. Members of the cohort will celebrate in Athens on February 8, 2020.

FUNDING SPOTLIGHT

OFFICE OF RESEARCH

builds on success

ssociate Professor Orion Mowbray was named director of the School’s Office of Research at the start of FY 2019-2020.

The school’s research output has been on an upward trajectory for several years. “The mission of the University of Georgia School of Social Work Office of Research is to facilitate excellence in the pursuit of all forms of research via three priority areas,” said Mowbray. “These are (1) assisting with faculty, student, and staff research related needs; (2) developing a supportive infrastructure for research; and (3) promoting the impacts of social work research locally and globally.”

Laurie Anderson

Since joining the University of Georgia in 2013, Mowbray has established a track record of research and training funding in these areas from the National Institutes of Health, the Bureau of Justice Assistance the Health Resources and Services Administration and SAMHSA. He has authored/coauthored many peer-reviewed articles in various high impact substance use, mental health, and social work journals. “I look forward to making the Office of Research a more responsive and visible part of the School of Social Work,” said Mowbray.

200%

INCREASE

Research funding for the School of Social Work rose from $824k in 2018 to $2.5 million in 2019 C O N N E C T M A GA Z IN E

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GIVING

In 2016 the Commit to Georgia campaign became the starting point for the next generation of social workers and nonprofit leaders. We answered the call to solve the global challenges of our lifetime, and committed to raising more than $1.9 million by 2020. Today, we are proud be the epicenter of innovative solutions for a better future for all. Thanks to visionary philanthropic investors like you, the impact of your gifts can be felt every day throughout the communities of Georgia and our world. But weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re just getting started. Because of your commitment and generosity to the School of Social Work, we never run out of reasons to look back and be proud. We get to open the doors for new ideas that need to be explored. We get to take down the barriers for voices that need to be heard. Because of you we get to grow. To make a transformative gift to the areas that matter most to you, visit give.uga.edu.

Endowed Funds Created

Planned Gifts

105 Scholarships Awarded

$1,582,493 32

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Donors

1,291

2,595 Gifts

Raised as of 12/1/2019

MAKE AN IMPACT ON THE AREAS THAT MATTER MOST TO YOU. Andrew Davis Tucker

our years ago we answered the call to solve the global challenges of our lifetime, and committed to raising more than $1.9 million by 2020. Today we look to our shared future, knowing that the most critical part of that 1.9 million is one.

One scholarship that grows to support generations of change-makers. One career defining opportunity that brings classroom lessons to life. One intervention that improves lives and communities everywhere. With one commitment, join hundreds of long-standing partners and visionary investors committed to driving the School of Social Workâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission forward and become 2019-2020 Presidents Club member today. Your leadership gift of $1,500 or more will enable the brightest undergraduate and graduate students to achieve their fullest academic potential and transform the way individuals experience life in Georgia and beyond. One at a time.

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Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID

Athens, GA Permit No. 165 279 Williams Street Athens, GA 30602 (877) 535-6590

COMMIT TO

LEAVING A LEGACY give.uga.edu

Andrew Davis Tucker