2008 Nominees for the Board of Directors
Goutham Menon, MA, PhD
University of Texas, San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
Nominee for Graduate Faculty
I am honored to be a candidate for the Graduate Faculty Representative slot on the CSWE Board and will be delighted to serve the profession if elected. I am currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work, University of Texas at San Antonio. My earlier appointments were at the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of South Carolina. Much of my academic work revolves around the effective and ethical use of technology and new media for social work education and practice. I contribute to the development of a global context for social work education by strengthening networks of collaborators from around the world. I have my Master’s in Social Work from the Madras School of Social Work, India and my PhD in Social Work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
I have served on the International Commission and the Commission on Professional Development of CSWE. Most recently, I have chaired the Council on Conferences and Faculty Development. In this role, with the support of my fellow councilors, I helped make substantive changes to the Annual Program Meeting format and structure which was introduced and successfully implemented at the 2007 APM. I am currently Vice-President for Communication and Public Relations at the International Consortium for Social Development and serve on the Board of Human Service Technology Applications (HUSITA). Additionally, I serve on the editorial boards of several journals.
I believe that social work education and our profession are uniquely positioned to positively contribute to human and social development around the world. To that end, if elected, I will work diligently with the board to promote our profession at various avenues and will strengthen collaboration with other social work organizations to be effective in meeting local-global challenges in a constructive way.
Maria Puig, MSW, PhD
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado
Nominee for Graduate Faculty
Dr. Maria Elena Puig is an Associate Professor and the Assistant Director of the School of Social Work at Colorado State University. She was also the first Leadership Fellows for the School. Dr. Puig has over 20 years experience as a child welfare practitioner and agency administrator, having served as the Direct Services Supervisor for the State of Florida, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, Children, Youth and Families Program in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Dr. Puig also served as Special Assistant to the Chief Administrative Judge, Juvenile Court in Miami, and is the former Director of the Office for Refugees and Entrant Services for HRS-district XI in Dade County, Florida. After leaving the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, Dr. Puig became the Division Director for the Juvenile Division in Dade County government. Her research interests include refugee and immigrant policy, resettlement, and integration, cross-cultural social work practice, social work education, and child welfare practice, policy, and administration.
Dr. Puig currently serves on the CSWE Commission on Diversity and Social and Economic Justice, served on the CSWE Transition Team, and is the former President of the Association of Latino Social Work Educators. She brings over 25 years experience as a social worker, program administrator, and manager, and is known for her organizational and problem solving skills. If elected to the Board of CSWE, Dr. Puig’s goal is to serve as a voice of reason and conciliation among all groups.
Brij Mohan, MSW, PhD
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Nominee for Graduate Faculty (By Petition)
Social Work is in search of professional identity and authenticity. As a member of the Board, I will work tirelessly to see that our organization unifies and legitimizes our profession. This goal, to my mind, cannot be achieved unless education, practice and research, are re-conceptualized as a dynamic whole.
Unfortunately, our standing on campus and in the professional world continues to wither away, our budgets are cut, and our classrooms lose appeal to the brightest and most passionate young minds. Our students and peers, and predecessors, depend on us to raise our academic and professional standing to a new level. This means traveling beyond the politics of expedience, and uniting to develop bold positions on difficult issues. A concern for our current roles is valid, but not at the cost of our professional excellence, and not at the cost of our profession’s legacy.
For 47 years, I have worked as a researcher, professor, dean, editor, author, and, always, as an advocate, in defense of our professional discipline. In the upcoming term, I believe we must focus, creatively and critically, on five core issues:
* Are we educating or just training? Are we generating knowledge that other disciplines value?
* Are fund raising and funded research means or ends?
* Is the new textbook culture conducive to knowledge production?
* Is accreditation a process of self-renewal or self-promotion?
* Must we follow our traditions or can we invent new ones?
There are no easy answers. The challenge of change is upon us. Nothing less than the future and legacy of our young profession lies in the balance. I believe that I have the experience with all different facets of our profession to effect change in our organization. Most importantly, I have the indefatigable passion I had when I first joined our ranks: to change.
Susan Tebb, MSW, PhD
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, Missouri
Nominee for Undergraduate Faculty
The nomination to serve as the Undergraduate Faculty member on the CSWE board is an honor. Over the years I have become very aware of how important it is to have a strong organization that represents our social work academy. I became involved in undergraduate education over twenty-five years ago, first teaching social work courses on military bases and then being mentored while getting my Ph.D. by a master undergraduate educator, Alice Lieberman. Because of these two experiences, I relished the offer to head the BSW Program at Saint Louis University. This opportunity led to another, to lead the School of Social Work there. In the eleven years that I served as dean/director I continued to teach in the BSW program. In this position I was a resource and mentor for faculty beginning to teach as they worked toward understanding and appreciating the needs and strengths of the undergraduate student community. While dean/director, I held the office of NADD vice president and one of my goals was to promote undergraduate program needs when decisions and discussions occurred. Currently, as a site visitor and chair, I am assigned undergraduate programs or combined programs with BSW programs. I recently completed my term as a Commissioner on Accreditation where my fellow commissioners knew my passion for undergraduate education.
In July I stepped out of administration, so that I can once again devote my energy to teaching and scholarship. To be on the board at this time would be an opportunity to work with our social work leadership and represent BSW educators as we begin discussions about new directions and social work collaborations that together will enhance the national presence of social work and those we educate.
I look forward to representing undergraduate education and you on the CSWE Board.
David Jenkins, PhD, LCSW
Texas Christian University
Fort Worth, TX
Nominee for Undergraduate Faculty
It is with great enthusiasm that I approach this opportunity to serve on the CSWE Board of Directors. This is a critical time for the organization as it faces changes in its structure and addresses issues related to unification, attacks on its value system and educational processes, and the aging of the profession. It is vital that we have board members committed to positioning social work to address the issues that impact the next generation.
My career as a social work educator began in 1991. I am presently chair of the Department of Social Work at Texas Christian University. During my tenure at TCU, I have served the social work profession in numerous capacities including my duties as an accreditation site visitor, member of the CSWE Commission on Diversity and Social and Economic Justice, and co-chair of the Council on Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression. I also worked as part of the original group that developed the present structure and vision of the Commission on Diversity and Social and Economic Justice.
Over the past 17 years, I developed a deep commitment to the importance of generalist undergraduate curriculum and recognized how graduates of generalist programs serve as first-line practitioners. Even with this focus on undergraduate education, I believe it is crucial that we understand the continuum of practice and how it relates to the broader vision of social work. As a Hartford Faculty Scholar and member of BPD, CSWE, NASW, GSA, and SSWR, I seek out experiences to help mature my scholarship, teaching, and my understanding of the issues facing the profession at all levels.
I will work hard to continue moving our profession forward. I would be honored to serve as the undergraduate faculty representative on the Board of Directors of the Council on Social Work Education.
2008 Nominees for the National Nominating Committee
Sheldon Gelman, MSW, PhD
Yeshiva University
New York, NY
Nominee for Graduate Dean
With almost 40 years experience as a social work educator in both baccalaureate and graduate programs, and 18 years of service as Dean of Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University, I have both experience and an understanding of the role that social work education must play and the challenges we face as a profession. Having served as a member of the CSWE Board of Directors, the Commission on Accreditation, the Commission on Conferences and Faculty Development, the Commission on Program Information Management and Research, and the committee that developed the National Statement on Research Integrity in Social Work, I have met and worked with a wide and diverse range of social work educators who might be tapped to serve the Council in leadership positions. I look forward to the opportunity to work with the other members of Nominating Committee in identifying future leaders.
Paul Stuart, MSW, PhD
Florida International University
Miami, Florida
Nominee for Graduate Dean
It is an honor to be nominated for election to the National Nominating Committee of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) representing Graduate Deans and Directors. If I am elected, I will serve to the best of my ability. My practice experience is in group work and community mental health. My Ph.D. is a joint degree in social welfare and history; my primary research interest has been the history of social work and social welfare, including the history of social work education. I co-authored a history of the Association of Baccalaureate Program Directors (BPD) that was commissioned for BPD’s tenth anniversary. I have taught in social work education programs for over thirty years, in baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral programs in the Midwest and Southeast. Most of my teaching has been in the area of social welfare policy and services and social welfare history. I have served as a baccalaureate program director, a doctoral program coordinator, and more recently as the director of a comprehensive School of Social Work. I am an active member of NASW, CSWE, BPD, the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education (GADE), and (more recently) the National Association of Deans and Directors (NADD). I served as Book Review Editor, Editorial Board member, and Consulting Editor for Social Work and, as a GADE representative, on the Boards of ANSWER and IASWR. I was chair of the BPD Archives & History Committee and served as Chairperson and as a member of the Steering Committee of GADE. I have served as President of the Social Welfare History Group and as Co-Chairperson of the Alabama-Mississippi Conference on Social Work Education. I was privileged to participate in the Wingspread Conference on the Unification of the Social Work Profession in June 2007.
Gary Anderson, MSW, PhD
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
Nominee for Graduate Dean
I believe that the strength of our organization is built on the experience and talent of our membership. Serving on the nomination committee is a special privilege and responsibility. We need to recognize present and future leaders and appreciate the diverse abilities and strengths that our membership brings to CSWE. We need to develop and expand access to leadership roles in social work.
I am in my tenth year as the Director of the School of Social Work at Michigan State University. In addition to my academic leadership, I have been involved in community boards, grant-funded projects, and national initiatives. I have served for ten years as the Editor of the Journal CHILD WELFARE. Before coming to Michigan, I was a Professor at Hunter College School of Social Work in New York City, where I served for fifteen years. I was the founding Director of the federally-funded National Resource Center for Permanency Planning at Hunter. I received my MSW at the University of Michigan and my PHD at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. I have served on the Board of the National Association of Deans and Directors (NADD) of Schools of Social Work, where I chaired the Nomination Committee for three years. This experience reinforced my commitment to inclusiveness, representativeness, fairness, and leadership development. It would be a pleasure to work with my colleagues on the nominating committee and across the country in our departments and schools to identify and support strong and effective leadership for CSWE. Thank you for your consideration.
Jannah Mather, MSW, PhD
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Nominee for Graduate Dean
I believe strongly in the statement by Jane Addams that “…the good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain, is floating in mid-air, until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into common life.” This statement has been one of the guiding frameworks for my last 30 years as an educator and a practitioner. My work during these years has been about children and families whether it has been in the classroom or in the field. I received my MSW from the University of Michigan and my PhD from the University of Illinois. I began my career in family services and moved into the academic world following my appointment to the faculty at Indiana State University. A major part of my career was spent at Florida State University as a tenured faculty member, the Director of Distance Education and as Associate Dean. I became Dean at Laurier University in Canada in 1994 and moved as Dean to the University of Utah in 2000. I served on the Commission of Accreditation and as a member or chair of close to 20 site visits. I have been through the accreditation process three times and am familiar with programs in both the BSW and MSW process.
My desire to “provide for all” means that those selected to lead the profession must come from all walks of life and provide an understanding of the needs not only in academia but also in the profession. Inclusiveness is a key for me and as a member of the Nominating Community I will seek to involve diversity, global perspectives, and different individual frameworks. I see this position as a crucial one for selecting individuals who understand the role of social work education in the advancement of the profession.
Lori Messinger, MSW, PhD
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas
Nominee for Undergraduate Director
Relationship building lies at the heart of who we are as social work educators. My years in social work education have given me the chance to develop relationships in a variety of settings across the nation. Not only have I held academic positions in the Southeast, the deep South, and, now, the Midwest, but I have also been intentional about seeking out and building relationship with colleagues from across the country.
Along with regular participation at conferences and professional meetings, I have also served on state and national social work committees, including the Diversity Committee of the North Carolina Chapter of NASW, and EFLAG, the BPD Committee addressing concerns of lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and our allies. I also co-edited two textbooks on practice with LGBT populations, with numerous authors from all over the country. These experiences have given me contacts at free-standing BSW, MSW, and combined programs, as well as PhD programs, in many settings. As such, I have gained insights into the needs and concerns of these different programs as they grow and flourish in their various communities.
The Council on Social Work Education needs qualified and committed leadership that represents the many different interests and perspectives of all of its members and stakeholders. The future of social work education and the larger social work profession will be greatly influenced by decisions the CSWE Board makes in the next few years, as CSWE undergoes restructuring and negotiates its relationship with the other social work organizations. If elected as a member of the nominating committee, I would use my contacts to identify a diverse, qualified pool of candidates for all leadership positions.
Andrea Stewart, MSW, DSW
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
Little Rock, Arkansas
Nominee for Undergraduate Director
I wholeheartedly welcome an opportunity to become a member of the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) National Nominating Committee. I would be totally committed to identifying and nominating dedicated social work educators whose primary purpose is to execute the needs of CSWE and the social work profession. My commitment and dedication to baccalaureate education is reflected in my 19 years of service as a baccalaureate social work program director. I am currently serving as a member of the Council on Social Work Education’s Continuum Committee as well as the Baccalaureate Program Directors’ Continuum Committee. In consideration of the proposed Educational Policies and Accreditation Standards (EPAS), CSWE’s Board representatives must have considerable knowledge, skills, and experience to confront various social work entities that will be affected by considerable change from previous accreditation standards. Having served a three year term on CSWE’s Board of Directors, I had prime opportunities to recognize the importance and significance of diverse representation of baccalaureate educators, graduate educators, field directors, and practitioners to fulfill CSWE’s mission. Identifying new leadership for CSWE’s Board is a welcomed challenge. Recently being elected to the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors’ Board, I am privileged to work in collaboration with CSWE administrators and other Board members. This affords me supplementary knowledge to aid in the identification of effective social work leaders, movers and shakers to advance CSWE’s purpose and mission.
Mary Tijerina, MSSW, PhD
Texas State University, San Marcos
San Marcos, Texas
Nominee for Undergraduate Director
This is an exciting time for CSWE leadership and I would be honored to work with other members of the National Nominating Committee (NNC) to identify individual CSWE members who will continue to provide strong and committed leadership for the Council in the coming years. The move toward unification of social work organizations, demographic shifts, changes in domestic policy, and increased globalization make this a dynamic period in social work education and I look forward to helping shape CSWE’s response to these important issues. Strengths that I bring to this task include dedication to social work education, collective decision-making, commitment to diversity, and the ability to work collaboratively with others.
I am an Associate Professor of social work and am in my fourth year as coordinator of the BSW degree program at the School of Social Work at Texas State University. As the undergraduate director member of the NNC, I will work to ensure that undergraduate social work education has full representation and strong advocates on the various councils, commissions and board of CSWE. Due to my practice background in program planning, management and administration, my teaching assignments are primarily at the MSW level; thus I am knowledgeable about curriculum issues at both levels and recognize the value of strong baccalaureate education to graduate social work education and the profession.
I have been an active member of CSWE since entering social work education eight years ago. I have served as an abstract reviewer for three different tracks, and am currently serving the last year of my appointment to the Council for Disabilities and Persons with Disabilities. I also serve as secretary for the Association of Latino Social Work Educators (ALSWE). I believe that these experiences have provided me the skills needed to serve CSWE and its membership in this capacity.
Lloyd Gestoso, MSW
Philadelphia Biblical University (PA)
Langhorne, Pennsylvania
Nominee for Undergraduate Director
We are the profession that pursues and values difference. Yet as we reflect on the challenges we face, our profession has lost ground to many other professions. We have gone from the innovators in the care of communities and clients to the gatekeepers of the establishment. Thus, those who innovate find themselves in professions that are younger, more nimble, and more inclusive. We have even lost ground in areas which traditionally were our strengths, such as racial diversity and the faith community, who continue to be the backbone of social services around the globe.
My whole career has been devoted to this profession. As a leader from generation X who is of Asian descent, and a professor at a historic BSW program established in 1965, which is committed to maintaining the connection of faith and practice, I know what it is like to be different. As the 3rd department chair in over 40 years, I know the burden we carry to represent values that many choose to deny. Yet individuals and communities continue to suffer and we must not yield. We believe that there is value in diversity. We need to nominate the brightest and most innovative minds from our profession to the board. We need well balanced academics that possess the skills of research and practice. We need individuals who understand that every clinical decision has macro implications. We need to address our own educational continuum to extend the skills and abilities of the graduates we produce. We need individuals with wisdom, vision, and courage to propel this profession and the communities it advocates for, to a brighter future. If given the privilege of serving you on the nominating committee, I intend to do my best to nominate individuals who represent the future of our profession.
Cathy Pike, MSW, PhD
Indiana University
Indianapolis, Indiana
Nominee for Graduate Faculty
Social work academic programs face many challenges and opportunities in the coming years. Some of these are documenting accountability in social work education and practice, maintaining the fiscal health of programs, and managing and securing resources. These are exciting and rapidly changing times in our community, and I am honored to be nominated as Graduate Faculty member for the National Nominating Committee.
As professionals and academics, we carve out our focus and contributions to social work education and the profession. Documenting accountability in social work education is an enduring purpose of my career. My work in this area began with the development of the Social Work Values Inventory, in 1994. Since then, more than 90,000 copies of the SWVI have been ordered by programs to document students’ changes in values adherence from the beginning to the end of their BSW programs. Shortly, I will revise the SWVI, in order to maintain its viability and usefulness to BSW programs. In addition to this instrument, I have developed and tested many instruments, most of which focus on social work education assessment. Another is the Racial Climate Inventory that measures racial climate in schools of social work. My teaching is focused on accountability in social work, in that I teach MSW-level students to evaluate client progress through group-level and single-system research designs. At the doctoral-level, I focus on teaching statistics. In teaching these courses, I strive to further the profession’s research capacities by teaching doctoral students how to engage in important and ethically sound research.
My academic career spans 20 years of teaching in social work programs and at all levels. As someone who is dedicated to social work education, I am very grateful for your support and vote for me for the position of Graduate member of the National Nominating Committee.
Kip Coggins, MSW, PhD
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Nominee for Graduate Faculty
For the past twelve years I have been teaching and practicing in a culturally diverse U.S./Mexico border region. My research and publications have been directed toward cultural competence skill development for social workers at the micro and macro level. Grants I have received have been focused on border issues and on community empowerment.
I was highly involved in the development and successful application for a 1.7 million dollar 4 year grant funded project. I was appointed principal investigator for the final year of the grant. This project was designed to assist community-based partnerships in the development of youth activities that foster the building of leadership skills and the creation of sustainable healthy lifestyles among youth in the El Paso, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and Southern New Mexico borderland region. During the first three years of the grant I developed community-based student activities that contributed to the collection of baseline data regarding community culture and social conditions.
If elected I would become an active member of the nominating committee, especially in relation to diversity. Because of my Indigenous American heritage (Northern Michigan Odawa and Ojibwa) I have always been concerned with issues related to Native American/First Nations populations. However, my experience in relation to service, outreach, and research along the U.S. Mexico border has resulted in a broadening of my focus on issues of globalization, environmental racism, rural poverty, and immigration.
Dennis Ritchie, MSW, PhD
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia
Nominee for Undergraduate Faculty
I have been involved in baccalaureate social work education for over 25 years, having taught in BSW programs at Cornell University, Nazareth College, and George Mason University (GMU). I was director of field education at Cornell and Nazareth. At Nazareth I also served as department chair and BSW program director, was primary author of the self study, and guided the program through a successful reaffirmation of accreditation. My practice experience has primarily been in school settings providing consultation, education, and direct services. Much of my current scholarship and program development work focuses on child and family welfare of immigrant populations, particularly the Latina community, here in the USA and Central America.
Currently, I am the Enochs Chair in Child Welfare and Professor of Social Work at GMU, a combined program in which I teach undergraduate and graduate courses. Over the past 16 years I have been actively engaged in international social work and promoting a global and human rights perspective on social work education and practice. I have been a visiting professor of social work at the University of Costa Rica, Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania, and the National Autonomous University of Honduras as a Senior Fulbright Scholar. Many of you may know me through numerous presentations related to a global perspective for social work that I have made at the annual meetings of BPD and CSWE. National leadership positions related to this theme include co-founder and co-chair of the BPD International Committee; chair of the CSWE Council on Global Learning, Research, and Practice; and member of the National NASW International Committee.
If elected, I will continue to ensure that undergraduate education has a voice in the evolving conceptualization of social work education and practice in a global context while incorporating a commitment to diversity and cultural competence.
Denise Davis-Maye, MSW, PhD
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama
Nominee for Undergraduate Faculty
I am a licensed clinical social worker with over 17 years of experience. I am currently an Associate Professor with the Social Work Program in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work at Auburn University. My research interests include the cultural, community and familial impact on the emotional development of adolescent girls of African descent, and health disparities and their influence on the well-being of women, girls, and families of color. My publications, though appearing in journals as broad as the Journal of Children and Poverty, Affilia: The Journal of Women and Social Work, the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, the Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services and the Journal of Social Work Education all focus on the issues of women of color and creating understanding of the challenges and strengths of these populations. In my brief academic tenure I have witnessed significant strides made in broader representation among the Social Work professoriate. Because of my practice background, an area in which I continue to engage, I am committed to the development of social work as a profession, at both an academic and professional level. Educational institutions and their institutional values have played a vital role in outlining the direction and foci of the profession, its relevance and continued development. Social work education represents diverse groups and continued transformation as the global challenges become germane to students and faculty in programs at the BSW, MSW and PhD levels. These new domains require continued growth and dynamic capacity in those who are represented among the leadership of the Council on Social Work Education. In my role on the National Nominating Committee of CSWE I would be dedicated to having the volunteer leadership reflect diversity of our programs and dynamism of Social Work and the populations served.
Connie Corley, MSW, PhD
California State University, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Nominee for Undergraduate Faculty
Social work is an evolving profession and social workers provide essential services in an increasingly complex world. Leadership roles are important in maintaining the visibility of social work in different settings as well as in helping the public understand its vital contributions. Further, leaders attract new members to the profession and uphold standards of excellence in the education of social workers.
In over 20 years of teaching at 5 different social work programs and through leadership in the field of aging, I am connected to a broad range of faculty, students, and practitioners to nominate for CSWE leadership positions. Since completing my dual degree program in Social Work and Social Science (Psychology) from the University of Michigan in 1982, I have taught courses in practice, policy, research and human behavior and also supervised students in field placements. I have engaged in research in a range of fields, including geriatrics and gerontology, rehabilitation, spirituality, and substance abuse. Over the years I have been a board member of various community and professional organizations, as well as an advisor/mentor for foundations (e.g. John A. Hartford Foundation) and government agencies as well as radio/television networks. As Past President and former board member of the Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work (AGE-SW), I promoted several mentoring initiatives for members and received an AGE-SW Leadership Award. In 2004 I was named the inaugural recipient of the West Coast Gerontological Social Work Career Award from the Institute for Geriatric Social Work. I am a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE). Over the last year I have co-hosted KPFK-FM’s “Expanding the Gray Matters” radio show and am co-producing a documentary on creativity in the later years.
Julia Guevara, MSW, PhD
Grand Valley State University
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Nominee for Undergraduate Faculty
I currently serve as the Assessment and Accreditation Officer for Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI where I also teach in both graduate and undergraduate programs in the School of Social Work. Over the course of my career I have had the opportunity to teach social work at the University of Tirana, Albania, and at a special program in Merida, Mexico. In addition I have published and conducted student service learning and research projects in El Salvador since 1992 and have engaged in the study of human rights and international social work throughout Central America and Cuba since 1984. I have extensive experience serving on numerous non-profit human service boards including the Kent County Department of Human Services Board, foundation boards and . My service to professional social work organizations includes 4 years on the Board of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors (BPD), 6 years as the BPD International Committee co-chair, and current membership on the Council on Social Work Education Global Commission and External Relations Council. Currently, I am responsible for the University’s program assessment, student outcomes and strategic planning activities as well as university, college and program re-accreditation processes.
I believe that serving on the nominating committee is a natural continuation of my service to CSWE and to the profession. In my various capacities with CSWE and BPD I have had the opportunity to meet and work with fellow social workers from around the country and the world. Since our organization is only as strong and vibrant as the members who serve in leadership capacities, the selection of candidates for leadership roles is critical. Given my long and continuing relationships with many social work professionals I believe I can be helpful in developing and maintaining the tradition of progressive leadership.