Nominees for Board Officers
Mildred “Mit” Joyner, MSW
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Nominee for President-Elect
It is an honor and a privilege to be nominated by colleagues for the office of President of CSWE. If elected, I will work purposefully with the CSWE board and staff, association members, and related professional organizations, to assertively advocate for excellence in social work education. Social work educators at all levels of the academy must shape and inspire the profession's high quality of service through promoting evidence-based practice, scholarly research, effective instruction, to develop students who have competent practice skills, and graduates who have the ability to create and administer programs, and the passion to champion policies that meet clients’ needs.
As a Professor of Social Work, I am the Director/Chairperson of the Undergraduate Social Work Department at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Presently, I serve on the CSWE Board as Vice President/Secretary and as a member of the Executive Committee. Other CSWE committee assignments I hold are the Budget and Finance Committee, Strategic Issues Committee, and the Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Task Force. I am an Advisory Board Member of the Gero-Ed Center, and a member of NASW. In my community, I serve as the Chairperson of Living Beyond Breast Cancer’s Board, a non-profit education and advocacy group. In 2005, I was elected to the Board of Directors of DNB First, a community bank in Chester County, PA and serve on the Audit, Trust, and Marketing Committees.
My previous leadership positions include the President of the Association of Baccalaureate Program Director’s, Treasurer of IASWR, Conference Chair and Site Selector of BPD, and Chairperson of BPD Gerontology Committee.
Social work must be the voice that speaks for those who remain silent, both nationally and globally. CSWE must espouse and achieve excellence in all of social work education. I promise you that my Presidency will be devoted to these goals.
Salome Raheim MSW, PhD
University of Connecticut
Nominee for President-Elect
I am deeply honored by the nomination to serve as CSWE President. Depth and breadth of professional experience have prepared me well to serve in this critical leadership role. My journey as a social worker and a social work educator spans thirty-three years and covers diverse terrain—from small BSW programs to large multi-degree schools; from a historically black college to a Big Ten university; from public to private institutions; and from the East Coast to the Midwest and back, with forays into international territory. My professional roles have included educator/scholar, editorial board member, federal grant reviewer, psychiatric social worker in community mental health, social service program administrator and higher education administrator (see http://ssw.uconn.edu/index.php?path=faculty/profiles/raheim# ). Consequently, I have multiple perspectives from which to understand the realities and unique needs of CSWE’s diverse constituents.
I am best described as a participatory-servant leader. Currently dean and professor at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, I have oversight of a $41 million budget, including $34 million in multi-year research grants and contracts. Previously, I served as director of the School of Social Work and senior associate to the president at the University of Iowa. Early in my career, I was field director at Bowie State College. My prior leadership in CSWE includes: member of the Board of Directors, first chair of the Commission for Diversity and Social and Economic Justice, chair of the Commission on the Role and Status of Women and member of the Executive Director Search Committee. These experiences have deepened my understanding of issues in social work and higher education, CSWE’s critical leadership and advocacy role and members’ needs for a responsive and supportive organization. Significant political and fiscal challenges are ahead. I am poised to provide effective, collaborative and visionary leadership in these critical times.
Phyllis Black, MSW, PhD
Marywood University
Nominee for Vice-President/Secretary
Contemporary society is challenged by multiple crises, further complicated by the “certainly of uncertainty”. This crisis context has implications for Social Work. As the frontier for Social Work education, CSWE must assume responsibility for preparing the next generation of Social Work practitioners to meet the demands of an ever-changing socio-economic and political landscape. CSWE has to be organizationally nimble to act proactively in promoting forward-looking education. There are current societal trends that provide opportunities for Social Work intervention. These include economic chaos and resulting family dislocation and poverty, the increasing aging population, immigration policy, scarcity of natural resources that threaten human well-being, and the needs of returning veterans and their families. Social Work must integrate into its educational and practice modes the explosion of knowledge in the neurosciences and genetics. EPAS 2008 offers a pathway to develop innovative, flexible curricula to educate students to meet societal needs. As Chair of COCEI, it was a privilege to participate in the design of the new EPAS.
The new Administration in Washington is addressing initiatives of relevance to Social Work. With its commitment to social justice, Social Work must be “at the table”, to participate in social policy development. CSWE should take leadership in advancing Social Work participation, and in supporting research to enhance evidence-based education and practice.
At a personal level, I am a Social Work educator and Director of an off-campus program of a hundred students. My scholarship interests include pedagogy, and a range of ethical issues in Social Work education and practice. A long-time member of CSWE, I have seen the evolution of the organization and its increasingly successful efforts to achieve its mission. I would welcome the opportunity to serve as Vice-President of the CSWE Board as it deals with the challenges of the certainty of uncertainty.
Betty Garcia, MSW, PhD
California State University, Fresno
Nominee for Vice-President/Secretary
I am honored to be a candidate and look forward to serving on the board if elected. I have taught practice and diversity courses for over twenty years in schools of social work in the northeast and southwest. As a professor at California State University, Fresno I teach advanced practice courses in the MSW program and also coordinate a state funded, CalSWEC administered stipend program in Public Mental Health. This role involves curriculum development, linking classroom teaching with mental health field instruction, symposia coordination, and statewide mental health coordinator meetings. I have extensive experience in mental health service delivery in university, community clinic, and prison settings. My publications, research and presentations are in the areas of diversity teaching, social justice, immigration and Latino/a concerns, incarcerated mothers, interprofessional collaboration, social service needs of elders, atomic veterans, and Latino drop outs in higher education. I received my Master’s in Social Work from San Diego State University and my Ph.D. from Boston University. I have served on the Council on Conference and Faculty Development (former Commission on Conferences and Faculty Development) and currently sit on the Commission on Professional Development (COPD), as well as Chair the APM Cultural Competence Tract. As the recent chair of the NASW National Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity (NCORED), I facilitated collaboration between NASW and CSWE on promoting cultural competence standards. I am a regular guest editor of the JSWE and sit on the Affilia Editorial Corporate Board.
If elected, I am prepared to work in the role of Vice President/Secretary with the Board in on its goals of promoting the preparation of social work professionals through quality education and am particularly pleased to participate on the Board during a period of transition that enhances the achievement of CSWE aims.
Nominees for Board Members
Gordon Limb, PhD
Brigham Young University
Nominee for Graduate Dean Representative
I feel honored to have been nominated as a candidate representing the Graduate Deans on the CSWE Board of Directors. I am currently the Director of the School of Social Work at Brigham Young University. My earlier appointments were at Arizona State University and Washington University in St. Louis, where I was a Lecturer and Assistant Director of the Buder Center for American Indian Studies. My research focuses on policy and practice issues that impact Native American families and children with specific interest in Native American child welfare issues. I have an MSW from the University of Utah and a PhD in Social Welfare from the University of California at Berkeley.
I have been involved in social work education at many levels. I am currently a member of the American Indian/Alaska Native Social Work Educators' Association and have represented that group to CSWE in a number of capacities. I am a member of the Native American Task Force that CSWE’s Board of Directors has commissioned to examine the status of Native Americans in social work. I have worked with a number of national organizations and states to improve American Indian child welfare practice in the United States. I also serve on the editorial boards and as a manuscript reviewer of several journals in social work.
I firmly believe that social work can and should be at the table to make important decisions in our country. I bring a unique perspective based on my experience at a number of excellent Schools of Social Work. I am a team player and my broad experience allows me to be an active and productive contributor to this position.
Gerri Outlaw, MSW, EdD
Governors State University
Nominee for Graduate Dean Representative
I have twenty-two years of social work education experience teaching in the areas of research, social welfare policy and social justice, applying the principles of critical feminist pedagogy. I have served as Department Chair and Director of the MSW program at Governors State University since 2004. Upon assuming this administrative post was charged to re-imagined and reaffirmed a combined social work program. In this leadership role I led a young faculty from two separate social work programs, a long standing BSW and a new MSW program and established a learning community in a re-imagined Combined School of Social Work. We have developed a distinct mission-driven school, housed in an unconventional university borne of the “open-classroom” era and serving nontraditional students. Social Work grounded in a social justice ethic inspires our pedagogy and exhorts our students to activism to be social workers to that make a difference.
As a social work educator I have maintained an ongoing evidence-based collaboration with community-based agencies and organizations throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. My work exemplifies a commitment to helping communities build capacity to substantively change the lives of marginalized groups using community practice methods grounded in a social justice ethic. I have extensive background in community organization, consultation and leadership development work that focus on HIV and AIDS education and prevention in African American communities, youth development and critical feminist pedagogy. I have led a number of local workshops, presented at national conferences and published work on collaborative community based research and development primarily in the public health arena. I have served two terms as a commissioner on the Commission on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education of the Council on Social Work Education, now known as the Women’s Council and I am an accreditation site visitor for the COA.
Anne Fortune, MSW, PhD
University at Albany, State University of New York
Nominee for Graduate Faculty Representative
I am pleased to be nominated for the Graduate Faculty Representative to the CSWE Board. The social work profession faces critical challenges: finding a common vision that can influence public policy, recruiting and retaining new students and faculty, and keeping our knowledge-base updated in a rapidly-changing society. CSWE is a leader in facing these challenges through its commitment to quality education, training educational leaders, and implementing new programs such as the Gero-Ed and EBP initiatives. I hope to support CSWE’s leadership role while increasing its collaboration with other professional organizations.
A member of CSWE for 30 years, I served as a site visitor and as a member of the Board, of the Publications Committee, and of the Commission on Educational Policy. I also worked closely with NASW, SSWR (I am a past president), IASWR and ANSWER. I edited Social Work Research (NASW) and Journal of Education for Social Work (CSWE). I participated in the 2007 Wingspread conference, where representatives of 10 social work organizations discussed unifying to overcome the professions’ challenges. I am committed to collaboration among organizations and better integration of practice, education, and research.
I received my social work degrees from the University of Chicago. I taught graduate and undergraduate students at Washington University in St. Louis, Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, and now at the University at Albany in New York, where I am Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Director of the Internships in Aging Program. My scholarly work is in task-centered practice, termination of social work treatment, aging, and field education. Co-authored works include the text Social Work Research, Multicultural Issues in Social Work, and Aging and Social Work.
I have a broad perspective on social work and social work education that I believe will help me be an effective representative of the graduate faculty.
Stanley Witkin, MSSW, PhD
University of Vermont
Nominee for Graduate Faculty Representative
I am honored to be nominated as the graduate faculty representative. As a social work educator for more than 30 years, I am deeply committed to promoting and supporting the highest quality social work education. Today’s social workers face enormous challenges. Our education programs must equip students to think critically, analytically, and globally about social issues, be deeply committed to human dignity, and have the skills to work collaboratively toward new and sustainable futures. CSWE, through its representatives on the Board, other volunteers, and staff, must lead the profession toward these aims.
During my career I have held different social work roles including professor, department chair, MSW coordinator, and PhD program director. From 1998-2002 I was editor-in-chief of Social Work and currently serve on the editorial boards of several journals. I have published and presented widely. My service to CSWE includes six years on the Commission on Global Social Work Education and eight years on the Publication and Media Commission. In addition to my current appointment as professor at the University of Vermont, I have been a Fulbright Scholar and a visiting scholar at the University of Newcastle (Australia), Honk Kong Polytechnic University, and the University of York (UK). I hold MSW and PhD degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an honorary doctorate in social science from the University of Lapland (Finland). I am the co-founder of the Global Partnership for Transformative Social Work, an international organization dedicated to global dialogue on transformative inquiry, practice, and pedagogy for the purpose of creating a more humane, tolerant and peaceful world.
If elected, I will work diligently to make CSWE a champion of educational excellence, to be open and responsive to the voices of its members, and to be a collaborative partner with social work education organizations throughout the world.
Isabel Feliciano, MSW, MA, PsyD
University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras
Nominee for Undergraduate Director Representative
Thank you very much for the nomination. I got the inspiration to study Social Work from my experience with the social worker that handled my case as a foster homes child. I hope to bring a wealth of personal, professional and academic experience, leadership, knowledge of higher education and commitment to the profession of Social Work.
I bring 29 years of social work experience, 15 as a Specialist with inmates, delinquency youths, immigrants and child welfare services. I've held social work practice, supervisor and administrative positions in government. I served 14 years in the academia as professor in BSW programs in private and public universities teaching practice, Policy, Field Education and HBSE courses and social work program director and Dean of Academic Affairs. I have participated in candidature processes and reaffirmations for the programs accreditations of the CSWE.
I assist to the APM CSWE and I am member of the LSWE. As a professor, I have received awards for investigations on the contributions of black women in the Caribbean. For 14 years I have collaborated actively with the College of Social Workers of Puerto Rico, offering workshops and lectures at it's assemblies and publishing articles in the College's journal as well as in other professional journals. Within the College, I have been a member of the Ethics Commission, Political Status and President of Diversity Commission. I have made presentations in international Social Work events: Dominican Republic, Cuba, Chile, Panamá, Costa Rica and Chile.
I’ve worked with women's humans rights organizations, as a consultant with communities in danger of being expropriated and as activist against social diseases such as racism, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia.
I welcome the opportunity to serve CSWE in this challenge that requires strong advocacy for social justice in our profession.
Susan Grettenberger, MSW, MPA, PhD
Central Michigan University
Nominee for Undergraduate Director Representative
I am honored to be nominated for the Board of CSWE. This is an exciting and uncertain time for our country and for our profession, as we face unprecedented opportunities and challenges. Our profession is grappling with defining our role in planning social welfare policies and providing services while seeking to retain the historical qualities and purposes of social work which we value so much. Social work’s commitment to social justice, equality and inclusion are being tested. The CSWE membership and its Board are key players in guiding the profession, through the shaping of professional social work education and work with policy makers. Holding onto the best of our profession and staying true to its values while mapping its future path requires a visionary board of directors, a board responsive to the membership and cognizant of the environment in which our graduates practice. We must also hold a global perspective.
I am an associate professor at Central Michigan University, currently serving as director of the BSW program after four years as field education director. I previously taught in the undergraduate and graduate programs at Michigan State University. Additionally, I began a term as treasurer for the Board of Directors of BPD in January, 2009. The prospect of being a liaison between these organizations at this important time contributes to my desire to join the CSWE Board.
My practice experience has been with a variety of people in marginalized groups: immigrant Mexican women who survived domestic violence, persons living with HIV, persons with substance abuse problems, and runaway and gang involved youth in Chicago. This work deepened my commitment to assuring that as we seek to secure the future of the profession, we also assure the voices and needs of all our constituents are heard, considered and addressed in that process.
Michael Berghoef, MSW, ACSW
Ferris State University
Nominee for Undergraduate Faculty Representative
I am honored to be considered as an Undergraduate Representative to the CSWE Board of Directors and would serve enthusiastically if elected. The profession of social work faces exciting opportunities as well as substantial obstacles in the coming years. We will face many critical and challenging issues that will require strong and focused leadership. CSWE has a pivotal role in this regard.
I am a Professor of Social Work at Ferris State University in its BSW program. I also serve on our Academic Senate, currently as its Vice-President, and in that position am regularly involved in programmatic, curricular and accreditation decision making in all disciplines on campus. I have taught widely across the BSW curriculum. My career in social work began in 1980, first as a practitioner in a variety of settings, working with preadolescent to geriatric clients, inpatient and outpatient settings, mental health and substance abuse treatment as a therapist and chief of staff, and then as a BSW educator for the past 16 years.
Some of you may know me from conference presentations at BPD, APM and HUSITA. I have presented on educational technology issues, antiracist pedagogy and plagiarism prevention and detection. I’m a long time member of the BPD Technology Committee and have been its chair for the past several years. I’m now also serving on the BPD International Committee.
I’ve been extensively involved in the American Democracy Project and the Political Engagement Project and am concluding a two year appointment as a Political Engagement Project Carnegie Scholar. I work with the Phi Alpha Social Work Honor Society both locally and nationally. I am an active GLBTQ ally. In recent years I have also co-chaired two successful regional conferences and co-edited a recent issue of the Journal of Social Work Values & Ethics addressing academic honesty.
Harriet Cohen, MSW, PhD
Texas Christian University
Nominee for Undergraduate Faculty Representative
To be nominated to serve as the CSWE Undergraduate Faculty Representative to the Board of Directors is a tremendous honor, one that provides me with another opportunity to positively influence the next generation of students in social work. My interest and involvement in undergraduate social work education began in the early 1970s with the opportunity to serve as the undergraduate student representative in the CSWE House of Delegates. During my tenure, the BSW was recognized as the first professional degree in our discipline.
As BSW program director UNT, I developed our Gero-Rich project, and became one of the few BSW Gero-Ed Center mentors. I advocated for the inclusion of BSW faculty in the Hartford Faculty Scholars’ program and am proud that seven of us have been selected as Harford Faculty Scholars.
Currently I serve on the BPD Gerontology and EFLAG committees, and chair the Mit Joyner Gerontological Leadership Award subcommittee. I represent BSW programs on the National Gero-Ed Center Advisory Board. In 2008, I was honored with the BPD Distinguished Contribution to Social Work Education Award.
Although I have taught across the continuum, my passion for undergraduate social work education continues to deepen. Having worked in 5 BSW programs, I have learned about the uniqueness of large and small programs, stand-alone and BSW-MSW continuum programs, and newly developing and well-established programs.
As a CSWE Board member, I will work with my colleagues to ensure that undergraduate social work education and our students continue to be a strong and visible presence in CSWE’s discussions and deliberations. I bring lessons learned as a practitioner with nonprofit management and board experience, a field instructor of BSW students, and an experienced educator. I am prepared to meet the challenges and ethical responsibility that this position affords me.
E. Victoria Burke, MSW, MS
U.S. Census Bureau
Nominee for Practice Representative
It is an honor to receive this nomination to represent Practitioners on the Council of Social Work Education Board of Directors. Currently I work as Program Analyst in program development at the U.S. Census Bureau, Partnership and Data Services Branch. This branch is responsible for community education, outreach, and promotion of census surveys, as well as dissemination of survey data. My social work background has served me well, as my work actually involves macro practice at a national level. This experience also provides a unique perspective on the profession of social work and the training of practitioners to meet the needs of an economically troubled society.
My career as a social work educator began in 1974 and spans 23 years of teaching, field supervision and administration in state and private undergraduate programs. During this time, I served as Acting Department Chair during a successful undergraduate reaccreditation process. As a social work educator I held membership in NASW, BPD, and CSWE, and previously served on the CSWE Board of Directors as undergraduate faculty representative, and as a member of the 1994 APM Planning Committee. As a practitioner I have four years of social service agency experience and 13 years federal experience at the national and regional level. This is supplemented with active involvement in community organizations and boards, and six years service on the North Carolina State Social Services Commission.
While in social work education my interest and commitment grew in the generalist practice perspective. I believe the generalist curriculum continues to be important to social work education and provides an important framework for practitioners today. If elected, I will avidly work with the board to meet the education needs of the profession and to represent practitioners across all practice areas.
Charles Flora, MSW, LCSW-C
Department of Veterans Affairs
Nominee for Practice Representative
My decision to become a social worker occurred at one of those pivotal moments when the need to find direction becomes compelling amidst much confusion and conflict. Just home from Vietnam, traditional cultural scripts said it was time to cast my net toward some meaningful goal. How best to employ those shreds and patches of experience that makeup one’s life? Having been an anthropology graduate student living in a Yaqui Indian village and a military advisor to the South Vietnamese infantry I came to appreciate the diversity of human community and its importance in understanding thought and behavior. As my social work professors said: not much is accomplished in the clinic if you don’t know something about the community.
In 1976, graduating from St. Louis University School of Social Service I began my professional career at Catholic Social Service as a clinical social worker in child welfare and individual and family counseling, becoming clinical supervisor of 5 MSWs and 2 MSW interns, then Director of Clinical Programs for Marital and Family Counseling.
In 1983 I joined the Department of Veterans Affairs, Readjustment Counseling Service (RCS). Known as the Vet Center Program, it provides outreach, counseling and community-based social services to combat veterans and their families. Currently, as Executive Assistant to the Chief Officer of RCS, I share responsibility for administrative and clinical operations for 232 Vet Centers with 1300 employees (many LCSWs).
Through my education and work I have come believe firmly that social workers are of unique value for the diverse perspectives and skills they bring to the social, political, and cultural world. Contingent upon the dynamics of the moment they are: psychotherapists, political activists, teachers, social theorists, ethicists, ethnographers. It would be a privilege to serve them on the CSWE Board.
Nominees for the National Nominating Committee
Terry Cluse-Tolar, MSW, PhD
University of Toledo
Nominee for Graduate Dean Representative
I am honored to be nominated to the Nominating Committee. I have been a social work educator since 1991 and have been at the University of Toledo since 1997. I have served as the Social Work Department Chair for the past eight years. During this time, our program has enjoyed significant growth, most recently receiving initial accreditation for a new MSW program. I have come to know CSWE through two reaccreditation cycles of our BSW Program and the Benchmarking of our MSW Program, as well as attendance and numerous presentations at the APM. I am particularly interested in serving CSWE through the Nominating Committee because I believe in enabling everyone’s voice. Large schools as well as small schools should be present at the policy-making table. I am a strong advocate for diversity, quality social work education, and inclusion. That’s why I would like the opportunity to serve CSWE.
Robin Perry, MSW, PhD
Florida A&M University
Nominee for Graduate Dean Representative
It is an honor and a privilege to be nominated for this position. I received my Ph.D. in social welfare from the University of California at Berkeley in 1999. Prior to that, I had eight years of practice experience in child welfare and domestic violence settings. I am currently an Associate Professor of Social Work and MSW Program Director at Florida A&M University. I previously held academic appointments at Florida State University, and was Associate Director for the Institute for Health and Human Services Research. I have been an extremely active educator and faculty member, committed to improving the educational experience of graduate students, and promoting faculty development, ethical practice, and academic freedoms. I have served on many social work and university committees, and have received a number of awards and accolades as a social work educator. I have been a researcher in the child welfare and social work education fields for 15 years, and have published and presented extensively in these fields (with a primary focus on professional training and development and workforce issues). I am a strong supporter of the research-practitioner model, critical thinking, and a social work education model that responds to the needs of populations our profession is sanctioned to serve. I aspire to the example set by Dr. Victoria Warner, the founder of social work programs at Florida A&M. She was successful in designing an MSW program that attempts to advance social and economic justice by educating students for knowledgeable, ethical, and culturally competent leadership in community-based social work practice designed for populations at risk. Although an active member of CSWE for many years, I wish to become more involved in the organization and see a position on the Nominating Committee as a first step in that direction.
Co Carew, MSW
Salish Kootenai College
Nominee for Undergraduate Director Representative
In the Salish language, SpûÛs, means the coming together of the mind and heart. In today’s society, our ability to serve our local and global communities must be directed by the determination to act, lead, and teach with this simple principle that for some, SpûÛs, is a lifetime goal. Eighteen years before my world changed as a Social Work educator, I could be found at Pow Wow’s, Tribal Council, Head Start, and Native American parent meetings assessing needs and then developing and finding funds for community based, culturally relevant, creative programs to reach high-risk children and their families.
Over the past six years, I have worked as the director of the Salish Kootenai College Social Work Program located on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Northwest Montana. This Tribal College serves predominately Native Americans representing over fifty tribes as well as our local community. It has been my passion to lead discussions with local agencies and community members to assess community needs and discuss relevant culturally respectful practices. The SKC Social Work Program was developed, as these rich discussions became the cornerstone of our curriculum. It is our mission to support our community and strengthen the cultural integrity of Native American communities. In February 2008, the SKC Social Work Program was the first Tribal College in the nation to be granted full accreditation by CSWE.
It is an honor to be nominated for election to the National Nominating Committee of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) representing the Undergraduate Program Directors. The profession needs people who have served, advocated, and mentored people not only locally, but globally as well. If given the privilege to serve on the Nominating Committee, I will work to identify people who seek social justice initiatives to represent our diverse Social Work profession.
Rebecca Garrison, MSSW, PhD
Northern Arizona University
Nominee for Undergraduate Director Representative
I am honored to be considered for the CSWE nominating committee. I have been involved with CSWE since 1980, serving as a CSWE board member and an accreditation site visitor and chair.
My social work practice and education experiences have provided me the opportunity to work with colleagues in rural and urban areas across many parts of the country. After earning my MSSW degree from University of Tennessee in 1970, I worked in public welfare and mental health in Tennessee, mental health in New York, crisis intervention and critical incident in North Carolina and Colorado, and hospice and HIV/AIDS services in Arizona, I earned my Ph.D. in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University and have held social work faculty positions at East Carolina University, Colorado State University, and Northern Arizona University where I am BSW Program Coordinator.
I would bring to the nominating committee my commitment to ensuring representation of the diverse constituencies of CSWE.
Cheryl Parks, MSW, PhD
University of Connecticut
Nominee for Graduate Faculty Representative
Diversity and expertise are key ingredients required to assure the ongoing vitality and effective leadership of the Council on Social Work Education. Members of the National Nominating Committee serve a critical role in identifying a diverse slate of qualified and committed candidates to fill these leadership positions. If elected as Graduate Faculty representative to the Nominating Committee, I will be honored to work on behalf of all CSWE members in nominating individuals who will most ably represent the different needs, interests and perspectives of our organization.
The knowledge and experience I have gained during eighteen years as an MSW practitioner and twelve years as an academic will provide a valuable perspective to the deliberations of the National Nominating Committee. Throughout my academic career, I have been an active member of CSWE and an active researcher. I regularly attend and frequently present at annual program meetings and other conferences. I served six years (2000-2006) on the CSWE Council on Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression, co-chairing the series session planning groups for four years. In 2003, I was awarded a K-Award from NIAAA, subsequently initiating collaborations with social work researchers in Illinois, Texas and Kentucky. As the author of one module of an NIAAA-sponsored curriculum on alcohol education for social workers, I assisted in presenting this curriculum to social work educators throughout the U.S.
These experiences and others have enabled me to meet and establish contacts with a broad network of very talented social work educators, researchers and administrators. I have had the opportunity to learn about the unique needs and interests of diverse groups of people from different programs across the country. If elected, I will rely on these and future contacts to help identify a diverse and talented pool of qualified candidates to be considered for leadership positions in CSWE.
Saundra Starks, MSSW, EdD
Western Kentucky University
Nominee for Graduate Faculty Representative
I am honored to be nominated as a Graduate Faculty member for the National Nominating Committee of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). These are both exciting and crucial times for the profession. Social work academic programs will face many challenges as well as opportunities in the coming years. It is critical that the Council identify and maintain strong committed leaders who will uphold standards of excellence in the education of social workers. CSWE needs leaders who are passionate about the profession and capable of applying progressive strategies that strengthen the agendas necessary for a viable future.
To this position, I would bring over 25 years of demonstrated leadership and professional service in the three major arenas of the social work profession (academia, practice and licensure regulation) at the state, national and international levels. I have over 25 years of experience in teaching, clinical practice, consultation, and supervision. my long term memberships and active service on boards and committees of CSWE, ASWB, BPD, NASW, and NABSW well prepare me with a strong knowledge base of talented academics and motivational skills to inspire others to serve. My research areas and publications relate to diversity, cultural competency, women’s issues, clinical practice, and spirituality. Dedication to social work education, commitment to diversity, collective decision-making, and the ability to work collaboratively with others are some of the strengths that I bring to this task. As a member of the Nominating Committee, I will work toward leadership identification that reflects the diversity of the membership, is inclusive and consists of educators who understand the role of education in advancing the profession. I welcome the opportunity to serve in this role.