magazine
UNIVERSITY OF DENVER GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK FALL 11
Page 6
Dean’s Awards Page 3
Commencement Page 10
contents
scene @ gssw
From the Dean
features
3 Dean’s Awards
As the new academic year begins, we at
6 Social Work in the Service
20 Emeritus Faculty
sections
1 scene@gssw
12 Student News
15 Four Corners Program
16 Faculty News
18 GSSW News
22 Institute Updates
24 Bridge Project
25
Development
30 Alumni Awards
31 Class Notes
gssw magazine
Volume 3, Number 2
GSSW Magazine is published twice each
year, in spring and fall, by the Graduate
School of Social Work, University of Denver,
2148 S. High St., Denver, CO 80208-7100.
The University of Denver is an Equal
Opportunity Institution.
Dean
James Herbert Williams
Editor
Deborah Jones, Director of
Communications and Marketing
In this issue of GSSW Magazine, we focus our cover
story on the timely topic of social work and the
military. We invite you to read the compelling stories
of five MSW students who serve, or have served, in the
armed forces, and we highlight some of the ways GSSW
is addressing the growing need for military-related
research and for social workers specifically trained to
serve military personnel, veterans and their families.
This issue also honors our most recent MSW and PhD graduates, the GSSW
graduates among our emeritus faculty, and the students, alumni, donors, faculty
and staff who have received special recognition over the past few months.
This summer, we distributed the inaugural issue of GSSW’s e-newsletter to
keep our readers updated about recent and upcoming events. If you didn’t
receive a copy, please click here to provide your current e-mail address.
Thank you, as always, for your interest in our school, and please stay in touch
with us during the year ahead.
James Herbert Williams, PhD, MSW
Dean and Milton Morris Endowed Chair
We invite you to read this and all past issues of our magazine online by visiting
www.du.edu/socialwork and clicking on “GSSW Magazine.” You can also scan
this barcode to read GSSW Magazine on your smartphone or tablet computer.
Proofreading
Catherine Newton
©2011 by the Graduate School of Social Work
at the University of Denver.
Admission: 303.871.2841
Alumni and Development: 303.871.7599
Communications: 303.871.3114
www.du.edu/socialwork
GSSW Board of Visitors
Gary Yourtz, Chair
Libby Bortz, MSW, LCSW
Jana Edwards, MSW, LCSW, BCD
Troy A. Eid, JD
David L. Gies, MS, MPA
Grover “Cleve” Gilmore, PhD, MA
Alberto Godenzi, PhD, MBA
Ben Lewis, MBA
Conclude Lecture Series
GSSW’s four-part 80th Anniversary Lecture Series concluded this spring with
presentations by two nationally renowned scholars from Chicago.
On March 8, Charles Payne, PhD, gave a lecture entitled “Mobilizing
Urban Communities on the Behalf of Children.” Payne is the Frank P.
Hixon Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago School
of Social Service Administration, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Urban
School Improvement and a Faculty Affiliate at the Consortium on Chicago
School Research and at the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and
Culture. He currently serves as Chicago’s Interim Chief Education Officer.
Among his key points: A number of urban school systems across the
country are making significant strides, but the national debate about school
improvement places too much emphasis on test scores and not enough on
factors like absenteeism and truancy. Sustainable improvement is statistically tied to relationships among people in the
community and effective community organizing, Payne noted. “Social workers can bridge the gap between parents who
are distrustful of schools and schools that don’t necessarily welcome poor or non-English-speaking parents,” he said.
Celebrating the 80th
Durango Style
Sincerely,
Design and Layout
Art Only, Inc.
Photography
Wayne Armstrong
David Rossi
Chicago Scholars
the University of Denver want to thank everyone who
participated in GSSW’s 80th Anniversary celebration
and especially those who have continued to support
the school with their time, talents and generous
donations.
10 Commencement
Evi Makovsky, MA, MSW, JD
Margaret Roath, MSW, LCSW
Youlon Savage, MSW
Clara Villarosa, MSW
Phil Winn, DPS
Alec Wynne
Jae McQueen, MSW
(GSSW Alumni Association President)
Even the forward-thinking people who founded GSSW in 1931 couldn’t
have imagined that students would someday attend classes in Durango,
Colorado, taught by professors hundreds of miles away in Denver! That’s
often the case in the Four Corners MSW program, whose course-delivery
methods include on-site lectures and discussions, classes simulcast and
broadcast from Denver using Interactive TV (ITV), and online and hybrid
courses that employ web-based technology.
The Four Corners program has become such an
integral part of the GSSW community that it’s little
wonder more than 100 people attended a GSSW
80th Anniversary Celebration held at the Durango
Doubletree Hotel on April 28. Guests included
members of the program’s two advisory councils,
field supervisors and Four Corners alumni. A
highlight of the event was a lecture entitled “Safe
Havens for Women, Children and Animals: A
Research Journey,” presented by American Humane
Endowed Chair Frank R. Ascione, Executive Director
of GSSW’s Institute for Human-Animal Connection.
The lecture focused on Ascione’s internationally
respected research on the link between animal
abuse and domestic violence.
A reception followed the lecture.
Guest speaker Frank R. Ascione
Dean James Herbert Williams (left) enjoys the GSSW 80th Anniversary
Celebration in Durango with (L-R) Clinical Associate Professor Ann
Petrila, Director of Field Education; Clinical Associate Professor Wanda
Ellingson, Four Corners Program Director; and Associate Professor
Jean East, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
Froma Walsh, PhD, titled her April 12
lecture “Strengthening Family
Resilience: Healing and Positive
Growth from Adversity.” Walsh is
Co-Director of the Chicago Center
for Family Health, and the Mose and
Sylvia Firestone Professor Emerita at
the University of Chicago School of
Social Service Administration.
Walsh defined family resilienceoriented practice as “facilitating a
family’s ability to rebound from
crises and master life challenges
[while becoming] more resourceful
in responding to future challenges.”
While no single treatment model fits
all families and situations, Walsh
promoted a collaborative approach
to strengthening family resilience
– one that “conveys conviction in
the family’s potential to overcome
adversity through shared efforts.” She
also discussed the roles that belief
systems, organizational patterns,
and communication and problemsolving skills play in a family’s ability
to rebound from crisis and develop
proactive coping skills.
Click here to view videos of these
lectures.
For updates regarding future lectures
and other events click here.
scene @ gssw fall 11
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Festive
Event
Celebrates
Alumni
and
Friends
GSSW turned the page
on its 80th Anniversary
celebration with a gala
reception and dinner
honoring our alumni,
friends and community
partners since the school’s
founding in 1931. Held
on May 13, the event
entitled “Celebrating
YOU!” brought to a festive
conclusion the year-long
series of events that
included a symposium on
aging, four lectures by
national scholars, a Black
History Month concert and
a dance that gave students,
faculty, staff, alumni and
field instructors a chance
to kick up their heels on a
cold winter night. Among
the student-focused 80th
Anniversary events, the
voluntary community
service day that was
added to our new student
orientation last fall has
now become an annual
tradition.
We invite you to share in
these special moments
of an evening that
celebrated graduates,
partners, donors and
friends like YOU!
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fall 11 scene @ gssw
Dean’s
Awards
Honor
Service
Lynda Ricketson, Director of Development
and Alumni Giving (left), and Alumni
Association President Jae McQueen
(MSW ’00) celebrate the successful
conclusion of GSSW’s 80th Anniversary
events. The two received awards from
Dean James Herbert Williams at the
dinner, honoring their dedication and
leadership as co-chairs of the 80th
Anniversary planning committee.
Board of Visitors member
David Gies, Executive
Director of the Animal
Assistance Foundation,
enjoys the pre-dinner
reception.
Dean Emeritus Jack
Jones and his wife, Lois
(left), converse with
Anne Enderby, Executive
Assistant to the Dean.
Yourtz
Taussig
Butler
Marilyn Hellerstein
(MSW ’71) and her
husband, Hub Safran
(left), celebrate with
Lynn Taussig, MD, of
DU’s Center on Aging
and Eleanor Roosevelt
Institute.
Lisa Taussig (left), whose
daughter Heather received
a Dean’s Award at the
dinner, talks with Terri
Yourtz, whose husband Gary
received the same honor.
to
School
Bortz
Karen Cloud, wife of
Professor William Cloud
(above left), shares a
laugh with her husband’s
colleague, Jeff Jenson,
Philip D. and Eleanor
G. Winn Professor for
Children and Youth at Risk
and Associate Dean for
Research.
Dean’s Award recipients
included the following
GSSW graduates,
philanthropists and Board
of Visitors members: Libby
Bortz, MSW ’67, LCSW;
Jana K. Edwards, MSW ’78,
LCSW, BCD; Margaret Roath,
MSW ’68, LCSW; and Youlon
Savage, MSW ’64, ACSW.
Savage
Roath
Stephen McQueen was on
hand for the event his wife,
Jae, played a key role in
planning.
Edwards
Jeanne Orrben
(MSW ’78) talks
with friends at the
reception.
Harpist Mariah Daniels, a
student at DU’s Lamont
School of Music, serenaded
guests during the reception
and dinner.
A slideshow honoring the 80
GSSW alumni profiled in the
spring 2011 issue of GSSW
Magazine was projected onto
two screens throughout the
dinner.
Winn
GSSW’s 80th Anniversary
reception and dinner
culminated with the
presentation of Dean’s
Awards to eight longtime
supporters of our school.
Also receiving Dean’s
Awards were Erna Butler,
whose generosity created
the Erna and Brad Butler
Institute for Families and
the Butler Scholars Program;
clinical psychologist
Heather Taussig, PhD,
whose Fostering Healthy
Futures program at the
Kempe Center has provided
nearly 100 GSSW student
internships; former
Ambassador to Switzerland
Philip D. Winn, co-founder
of GSSW’s Bridge Project
and member of the Board of
Visitors; and Gary L. Yourtz,
another Bridge co-founder
and Board of Visitors Chair.
scene @ gssw fall 11
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scene @ gssw
Field Team
Hosts Annual
Event
Guest Lecturer
Describes CTI Successes
In May, the annual Field Appreciation Event
honored the Field Instructors, Task Supervisors,
Internship Coordinators, Field Liaisons and Field
Advisory Board members who partner with GSSW
to provide internships for MSW students. Clinical
Associate Professor Ann Petrila, Director of Field
Education, noted in her introductory remarks that field supervisors provided 27,300
hours of student supervision during the 2010-11 academic year alone. A highlight of
the event was the presentation of GSSW’s Field Instructor of the Year Award to Clyde
Freeman of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Denver VA Medical Center. Freeman,
who was nominated for the award by MSW student Courtney Bauers, was chosen from
among 21 Field Instructors nominated by the students they supervised.
Daniel B. Herman, DSW, Associate Professor of Clinical Epidemiology (in
Psychiatry) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and
Director of Research in the Department of Social Work at the New York State
Psychiatric Institute, was a guest lecturer at GSSW on March 22. His talk was
entitled “Critical Time Intervention: An Empirically Supported Model for
Preventing Homelessness in High Risk Groups.” Developed by Herman and
his colleagues, CTI is a time-limited case management approach to preventing adverse outcomes in people with mental illness following their
discharge from hospitals, shelters, prisons and other institutions. The model has proven to be effective and adaptable to various populations,
settings and transitions, both in the United States and in several countries around the world.
Defining
the
Science
of Social
Work
The ongoing evaluation of GSSW’s PhD program, spearheaded by its director Professor
Walter LaMendola, brought Professor John Brekke to our school on April 21 for a daylong focus on what he calls “the science of social work.” Brekke, Frances G. Larson
Professor of Social Work Research and Associate Dean of Research at the University
of Southern California, raised two important questions in his lecture: Is there a need
for a science of social work and, if so, what does that science look like?
“We’re comfortable with the idea of social workers doing research,” he explained, “but
much more complicated issues arise when we combine social work with science.”
A discussion among GSSW faculty, staff and students followed Brekke’s presentation.
Master Scholars Honored
GSSW graduates David Bernstein (MSW
’75) and Nelba Chavez (PhD ’75) were
honored as the school’s 2011 Master
Scholars in April. The Masters Program,
sponsored annually by DU’s Office
of Alumni Relations, brings alumni
professionals to campus for a day as
guest lecturers and student mentors.
Bernstein is Director of the Center for
Effective Interventions at Metropolitan State
College of Denver, promoting evidence-based
services for families, children and youth.
He works with communities to implement
Multisystemic Therapy (MST) programs, and
he developed a Colorado infrastructure that
supports MST teams in seven western states.
Under Bernstein’s direction, the Center has
expanded to support other evidence-based
models including Functional Family Therapy
and Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care.
Bernstein previously had his own training and consulting business and worked in the public sector for 20
years. A GSSW adjunct professor, he directs the international Child and Family Evidence-Based Practices
Consortium, and he helped organize the first Global Implementation Conference held this August in
Washington, D.C.
When Chavez was appointed by President Clinton as first administrator of the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), she’d already been an advocate for the mentally ill and
addicted for nearly 30 years and knew that those most affected by government policies must have a voice
in their creation. The first Hispanic/Latina to head a public health agency in Health and Human Services’
history, Chavez helped SAMHSA launch a unique collaboration with the Casey Family Program that funded
pilot programs for children at risk for developing substance abuse or mental-health problems. Chavez
later became Deputy Director of Programs for Arizona’s Department of Economic Security. She’s currently
Senior Executive Advisor of Moving Organizations Ahead, a community services consulting company.
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fall 11 scene @ gssw
Clyde Freeman (left) is congratulated by
Courtney Bauers, the student who
nominated her for the Field Instructor
of the Year Award.
GSSW’s Field Education
Team hosted its annual
Field Fair on March 30 at
the University of Denver
Cable Center. Nearly 80%
of our foundation year
MSW students attended
the fair, where they
explored concentration
year internship
opportunities offered
by the more than 140
participating agencies.
Seminar
Clarifies New
Licensure
Rules
An April 20 seminar by Renee Rivera, Executive Director of NASW’s
Colorado Chapter, attracted a nearcapacity audience at GSSW, while
even more community professionals participated online as the event
was live-streamed. Sponsored by
the Field Education Team, Rivera’s
presentation sought to clarify Colorado’s new Continuing
Competency requirements for licensed mental health professionals, including social workers.
Colorado House Bill 09-1086, enacted in 2010, sets Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements for certain mental
health professionals who apply to renew, reinstate or reactivate their license or certificate on or after January 1, 2011. Included are
Licensed Social Workers (LSW), Clinical Social Workers (LCSW), Professional Counselors (LPC), Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT)
and Addiction Counselors, as well as Certified Addiction Counselors (CAC II and CAC III). Once the CPD program is fully implemented
by the state’s Department of Regulatory Agencies, licensees will be required to complete a Professional Practice Survey or Rubric and
draft a personal Learning Plan.
Rivera’s seminar demonstrates GSSW’s commitment to become the leading resource for those seeking to meet Colorado’s new
licensure requirements. Certain CPD courses and certificates may also help fulfill professional development standards and licensure
requirements for professionals in other states.
For updated information about GSSW’s current CPD offerings click here.
To watch a video of the April licensure seminar click here.
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5
I N
T H E
S E R V I C E
An Urgent and Growing Need
by Brigadier General USAF (Ret) Gary Hahn, MS
Much has transpired in our armed forces since I retired from the Air Force in 1994, including two
ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other, less publicized, operations. Although I am no
longer an active duty officer, I am constantly reminded of the need for better, more focused mental
health care in the military services.
The last decade has seen extremely high operational tempos in all branches, particularly the Army
and Marine Corps. The nature of asymmetrical combat (violent conflict between a formal military
and an informal, but elusive, “insurgency”), repeated deployments to hostile environments, long
absences from family and friends, and relatively few times of peace and quiet, have taken a great
toll on servicemen and women, and on their loved ones. In addition to severe physical injuries,
including the consequences of brain and spinal cord injuries, there has been a substantial rise in depression, anxiety,
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, suicides and family dysfunction. Although these conditions are becoming better
understood by mental health providers, much remains to be done.
Sergeant Major Pepe Ramirez retired in 2009 after 20
years of active duty in the Marine Corps, but he still wears three dog tags
around his neck: two that belonged to Marines who died while serving
alongside him in Iraq, and one for a son whose cancer – ultimately fatal
– was diagnosed just a week before Ramirez left for his third tour of duty
in Iraq. “A lot of us come back from war with survivors’ guilt,” he says.
“For me, it’s for my son, too.”
The devastating grief, trauma and stress Ramirez and his family
experienced left him determined to devote the rest of his career
to helping other combat veterans and their families. Likewise, his
swift and often challenging transition from military to civilian life
convinced Ramirez of the need to educate social workers about the
critical differences between military and non-military culture, as
well as the differing subcultures among various branches of the
military. Toward that end, he has given lectures at GSSW, at Colorado’s
Fort Carson Army base and elsewhere. Ultimately, he’d like to earn a PhD,
conduct research on resilience among military families and teach at the
college level.
Meanwhile, Ramirez is completing his MSW concentration year internship
at Denver’s Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital, working primarily with
amputees and survivors of strokes and traumatic brain injuries. He’s
Photo Courtesy of Dallas Morning News
Ramirez, pictured in Basra, treasures this
2006 national election ballot as a symbol of
what he believes to be Iraq’s progress toward
democracy.
also teaming up with other combat vets to create what he calls a
unique model of comprehensive, family-focused treatment. Once
he completes his MSW next June, he intends to pitch the idea to
generals, service chiefs, the Secretary of Defense, the VFW and
others. Moreover, Ramirez is writing two books, one on how a father
deals with the death of his son, and the other a clinician’s guide to
understanding military culture.
Today’s social workers, both in uniform and out, are playing an increasingly important role in prevention and
treatment. They are serving those in harm’s way, those who have returned to the United States or their overseas
home stations, and military families experiencing great distress and grief. There is, and will remain, an urgent and
growing need for dedicated, well-trained social workers in the military departments, the Department of Veterans
Affairs, hospitals and other mental health providers throughout the U.S. and overseas.
born and raised on the Isleta Pueblo Reservation in New
Mexico, left home for the first time at age 19 to enlist in the Army. “It was my way out,” she says, “my
way to make something of myself professionally.” In fact, her four years of active duty launched this
determined young woman on a career trajectory with almost unlimited potential.
Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters and Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster.
Although she had no prior medical training, Juancho completed a Medical Specialist Course (equivalent
to an EMT-B), then earned a Trauma AIMS Certificate and a Basic Trauma Life Support Certificate. As a
91 Bravo combat medic, she was assigned to the 10th Combat Support Hospital EMT section, where she
provided care for soldiers. Her service included a six-month tour of duty in Iraq in 2003.
New MSW Course Addresses Need
After leaving the military in 2004, Juancho continued to work as a civilian at Colorado’s Fort Carson
Soldier Readiness Processing Center, helping prepare active duty, reserve and National Guard troops for
deployment or redeployment. It was during that time that Juancho made the decision to earn her MSW,
inspired by a behavioral health supervisor with a combined passion for military service and social work.
Hahn is President of the Board at Denver’s Maria Droste Counseling Center. His military honors include the Defense
Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious
Associate Professor Julie Anne Laser and Clinical Assistant Professor David Blair have designed a new course to help
MSW students understand issues faced by military families and apply that understanding to clinical interventions.
“Social Work with Military Families,” to be offered for the first time in January, investigates individual service
members’ concerns, spousal/partner relationships and family dynamics surrounding deployment, active duty and
returning home permanently or between deployments.
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Sergeant E-5 Sonya Juancho,
fall 11 gssw social work in the service
While still in the Army, Juancho already had become the first in her family to attend college, earning not
one, but two, Bachelor’s degrees. “As a Native American, I always have to prove myself,” she explains.
Now a concentration year MSW student, she commutes two hours to GSSW several days a week from
her Colorado Springs home, attending classes that sometimes last until 9:00 p.m. Her long-term goals
include earning a PhD and perhaps a degree in law, returning to work at Fort Carson and, ultimately,
serving people on her reservation. “I live in two worlds,” Juancho says. “I love my culture, and I want to
Juancho at her first duty station, Fort Carson,
contribute to it.”
Colorado.
fall 11 gssw social work in the service
7
SOCIAL
WORK
IN
THE
SERVICE
Captain Julie Benson
Lieutenant Dana Niemela
After taking a break to work at a non-profit, Benson re-entered the Army again in 2002 and, over the next five
years, was assigned increasing levels of responsibility. She took administrative charge of a 20-member Forward
Surgical Team in Korea, then spent a year as Battalion Medical Operations Officer at Colorado’s Fort Carson.
Deployed to Iraq in 2005, Benson became the Brigade Medical Operations Officer, responsible for medical
operations of a 3,500 member team in Diyala Province.
After eight years of active duty in the Navy, Niemela resigned her commission in 2005
to enter the corporate world. Then she read a newspaper article about an Iraq War
veteran whose PTSD-triggered flashback landed him in jail. (Believing he was still in
Iraq, he had broken down a neighbor’s door in an effort to clear his Colorado Springs
neighborhood of “insurgents.”) After talking with the young man, Niemela realized
how difficult it can be for such vulnerable people to navigate a bureaucratic system to
get the services they need.
enlisted in the Army in 1990, preparing to become a military intelligence
Korean linguist during a year of Defense Language Institute classes lasting six hours a day, five days a week.
She used an ROTC scholarship to earn a Bachelor’s degree in international relations, then re-entered the Army
and spent two years in air defense.
Frustrated that unused American medical supplies weren’t getting to Iraqi troops who needed them, Benson
says she “made some noise [that] caught the ear of someone at a higher level.” The decision was made to
have a medical officer on each Division-level Military Transition Team (MiTT), and Benson became the first
woman assigned to that post. Her MiTT embedded with the Iraqi military, she helped establish the medical
infrastructure in the Fifth Iraqi Army Division.
“These were amazing experiences,” Benson recalls, “but I was a social worker at heart.” She resigned her commission in 2007 and took what she
thought would be a less stressful job as a teacher. She left after a year. “Going from having people obey my orders to dealing with middle school
kids, I thought I might be doing better in Iraq!” she recalls.
Benson wanted to help veterans with PTSD but knew she had to heal herself first. She backpacked across Asia, volunteered with street kids in
Nepal, taught English in Hanoi and spent a year with Americorps before entering GSSW.
“As both a social worker and a veteran, I believe I have a perspective that’s valuable for people to hear,” Benson says. “And,” she adds, “I feel like
I’m finally home.”
Specialist E-4 Albert Gomez
has served for 10 years in the New
Mexico Army National Guard as a Chaplain’s Assistant and Avenger Crewmember,
part of an air defense artillery team providing protection against air and land
attacks. He was on track to complete his MSW through the Durango-based Four
Corners program when a year-long deployment to Kosovo, two days after Christmas
in 2010, threatened to derail his education.
That’s when Four Corners Program Director Wanda Ellingson and her GSSW
colleagues came up with a creative solution: Gomez completed an Independent
Study project while serving in Kosovo, examining the impact that transitioning
to active duty, then back home again, has on the mental health of servicemen
and women. He also examined combat stress and developed strategies for social
workers to use when working with returning veterans. Supervision for his project
was provided online and via Skype.
Gomez (left) in Kosovo with his Albanian translator.
Gomez was attached to the 717th Liaison Monitoring Team, whose mission was to
establish a positive working relationship with the citizens of Kosovo. The Team also
gathered covert information about the developing infrastructure and efforts to establish
a central government during Kosovo’s ongoing quest for independence from Serbia.
“I learned a lot about myself and about the people of Eastern Europe during my deployment,” Gomez says.
While continuing with the Army National Guard, Gomez says his long-term goals include entering Officer Candidate School to obtain a commission
as an officer in the Army. “My focus as an officer will continue to be in the mental health field,” he adds, “specifically working with returning
veterans in the area of trauma, grief and loss, and other transition issues and concerns.”
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fall 11 gssw social work in the service
says that when she tells people her career
goal is to “reform the Veterans Administration,” they nearly fall out of their chairs.
But spend a few minutes with her, and you’ll realize she’s not only serious but quite
possibly up to the task.
“I’m very assertive, and I have so many resources at my disposal to fix problems,”
she explains. “But what does someone do who lacks those resources? They give up! I
want to make systems more accessible.” Referred to GSSW at a career fair, she quickly
realized that social work community practice would give her the system and policy Niemela at the Pentagon with her Commanding Officer,
analysis skills she needs to root out dysfunction and improve service to clients.
General Richard B. Myers, USAF.
No stranger to complex organizations, Niemela spent three years of her military service in Washington as a White House Social Aide and Dining Room
General Manager for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hosting events for international dignitaries, high-ranking military and civilian personnel.
Previously, she had served as Logistics and Services Manager, and Director of Food and Hotel Services, for the 500 personnel aboard the USS LaSalle.
Now a concentration year MSW student, Niemela imparts valuable information to classmates curious about military life. She’s also anxious to
debunk some people’s negative stereotypes about military personnel. “They’re among the most independent, creative thinkers and problemsolvers I’ve ever met,” she says, a description that certainly applies to Niemela herself. She’s already landed a full-time job as Homeless Veterans
Reintegration Program Coordinator for Denver Human Services.
Niemela and Professor Jim Moran, who served with the Air Force during the Vietnam War, are among those working to establish a student veterans’
group on campus. Stemming from the University’s Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence, the group is aimed at addressing the needs of some 250
veterans currently enrolled at DU – a number that has increased five-fold over the past three years.
GSSW Research Informs Practice
Associate Professor Stacey Freedenthal was appointed earlier this year as an affiliate of the Military Suicide Research Consortium (MSRC). The
Consortium is funded by a three-year grant from the Department of Defense and is aimed at developing multidisciplinary approaches to suicide
prevention among active duty military and veterans. Fourth year PhD student James Pease serves as a research assistant with the MSRC, compiling
existing research on military suicides, doing literature reviews and monitoring new studies that are completed. “Our goal is to help close the time gap
between research and implementation,” he says, “so that policy-makers and other researchers can get faster responses to their intervention questions.”
Click here for more information.
Second year PhD student Erin Boyce is hoping to complete a doctoral dissertation that combines her interests in child welfare and military social
work. She’s exploring risk and resilience among adolescents who enter the child welfare system after experiencing trauma in homes where one or
both parents have combat-related post-traumatic stress syndrome or traumatic brain injury.
Tim Russell (MSW ’11) and his fellow Excellence Consulting team members placed first in the second annual Inclusive Excellence Business Case
Competition sponsored by DU’s Daniels College of Business. The team helped Denver’s Qwest/Centurylink Communications develop a strategy
for recruitment, on-boarding and retention of military veterans within the company.
GSSW’s Butler Institute for Families is assisting the Colorado Division of Child Support Enforcement with a three-year project aimed
at improving service delivery and educating military personnel about child support at four of the state’s military bases. The project is
funded by a grant from the Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. Click here to read more about this
project at look for more about the project in the spring 2012 issue of GSSW Magazine.
fall 11 gssw social work in the service
9
Shades of Brown Alliance
received the 2010-11
Outstanding Graduate Student
Organization Award from
DU’s Center for Multicultural
Excellence. Pictured (L-R)
are Laura Medina, Heather
Tousignant, Carla Felton, Badiah
Haffejee, Associate Professor
Michele Hanna (faculty advisor),
Deme Yuan and Professor James
Moran, Interim Associate Provost
for Multicultural Excellence.
Recognition Ceremony and
reception was held on
June 2, at DU’s Newman
Center for the Performing
Arts. With families and
friends in attendance, it was
a time to rejoice, reminisce
and recognize exceptional
achievements.
“I will teach children and adolescents how to find the strengths in themselves.”
“I will help communities organize to bring about social change.”
“I will assist at-risk youth and families through animal-assisted social work.”
As they took the stage to receive their diplomas on June 3,
GSSW’s Class of 2011 made history. Numbering 227, they
were the largest MSW class in the history of the school.
Tom Leversee
GSSW’s pre-Commencement
2011
June Commencement
Suvi Miller
GSSW Recognition Ceremony
“I will help children and families become their own best advocates.”
“I will help connect people and communities to the natural environment to foster sustainable habits and practices.”
“I will strive to strengthen relationships to help children and adolescents avoid out-of-home placements.”
Among them were:
•100
•
Phi Alpha Honor Society members
95 who earned specialized certificates
6 who earned interdisciplinary
dual degrees
•
Dean Williams waits onstage
to greet the graduates.
4 who earned dual undergraduate/
graduate degrees
•
MSW graduates receiving awards at the
Recognition Ceremony were (L-R):
Kaitlin Jones – Ruth Marx Stark Award
Megan Hope – Edith M. Davis Merit Award
Emily Ashton – Tommi Frank Memorial Award
Kathryn Shorg – Dean Emil M. Sunley Merit Award
Erin O’Sullivan – Ina Mae Denham Award
Stacey Schoolfield – Dorothea C. Spellmann Award
Badiah Haffejee – Jean Peart Sinnock Award
Renea Nilsson – OMNI Research Award
“We have finally accomplished
our goal – we’re social workers!”
Graduate Student Association President
Katie Shorg tells her classmates.
Sharing a hug are four graduates who
earned the Social Work with Latinos/as
Certificate: (L-R) Megan Hope, Meghan
Carrier, Frank Jadwin and Allison Ruud.
Pictured with them is dual degree
graduate Katie Susman, who earned an
MA in International Studies along with
her MSW.
“Way to go, Dad!”
MSW graduate
Milo Woodson
enjoys the
post-ceremony
reception with
his son.
10
fall 11 gssw commencement
Ari Kloke, MSW ’11
MSW graduates Hae Jung and Josh Kaplan wait
for their names to be called.
Jenna Brown
and Erica Brown
prepare to join the
processional.
Tim Russell, Graduate
Student Association Vice
President, and
Rachel Nichols enter the
Ritchie Center.
Jolie NeSmith was among
the graduates who voiced
their professional
“mission statements”
during the ceremony.
(See their statements at
the top of these pages.)
Jennifer Middleton, one
of three PhD graduates,
envisions a very bright
future.
Congratulations to all!
Click here to view the commencent video.
Dillon Kline, MSW ’11
Melissa Henehan, MSW ’11
gssw commencement fall 11
11
GSSW’s Influence Felt at gssw
State
Level
student
news
gssw
gssw student news
Students Honored
Students
Honored
Seelman
McDonald
This spring, the GSSW Research Committee selected
PhD students Kristie Seelman and Shandra ForrestBank to receive Dissertation Support Awards. These
awards are made annually to one or more students
whose dissertation proposal and overall record of
study are deemed meritorious by members of the
committee. Seelman’s dissertation is entitled A
Mixed Methods Look at Structural Bigenderism
and the Consequences for Transgender and Gender
Variant People; Forrest-Bank’s dissertation is entitled
The Relationship Between Risk and Resilience,
Racial Microaggression, Ethnic Identity and WellBeing in Young Adulthood.
First-year PhD student
Shelby McDonald
(MSW ’11) has received
a Graduate Research
Assistantship from the
National Institute of
Child Health & Human
Development for her
ongoing work as project
coordinator for the
NICHD-funded research
collaboration between
the Colorado Coalition
Against Domestic
Violence and GSSW.
Forrest-Bank
In mid- April, GSSW’s Queer
Equality Alliance (QEA) enlisted
student, faculty and staff support
for the National Day of Silence,
during which hundreds of
thousands of people
nationwide take a vow
of silence to bring
attention to anti-LGBT
name-calling, bullying
and harassment in
their schools. Observances
were held on Tuesday, April 12,
and Friday, April 15, to allow the
participation of both foundation
and concentration year students.
Participants were asked to wear
buttons symbolizing their pledge
not to speak.
James Herbert Williams named
PhD students Jie Feng (left) and
Jennifer Dickman Portz (right)
as the Enid O. Cox Pre-Doctoral
Fellows for the coming academic
year. The award provides funding
for their third year of doctoral
study. Professor Emerita Cox
(center), in whose honor the
Fellowships are named, presented
the awards at the doctoral
reception on September 14.
Student Organizations Sponsor Events
On March 29, the Multicultural Social Justice Student Organization sponsored the showing
of the film, “We, too, Are the Face of Islam: Muslim Women in a Post-9/11 United States,” that
explores women’s perspectives on Islam in America during a time of transformation in the Arab
world. A group discussion followed, facilitated by Carema Cook-Masaud, a counselor, educator
and founder of the Center for Compassion.
A number of GSSW students participated in
“The Clothes Line Project,” part of Sexual
Assault Awareness Week, sponsored in April
by the University’s Gender Violence Education and Support Service. The project sought to
raise awareness of sexual assault by displaying
T-shirts, created by the students, at
several campus locations including
Craig Hall.
2
Whitenhill
12
fall 11 gssw student news
Concentration year MSW student
Angela Whitenhill was selected
as a 2011-2012 Verne LaMarr
Lyons Scholarship recipient
by the NASW Foundation. The
Scholarship is awarded to MSW
students who demonstrate
interest or experience in health
or mental health practice and a
commitment to working in the
African American community. The
scholarship is named for a social
worker and NASW national staff
member who committed his life to increasing
awareness of pernicious health concerns
affecting African Americans.
PhD student Ashley-Marie Hanna Michel (left) was awarded
a Graduate Teaching Assistantship by DU’s Latino Center for
Community Engagement and Scholarship (DULCCES). Michel’s
research focuses on Latino families living in America under threat
of deportation, or who have experienced actual deportation
of unauthorized family members. Congratulating Michel are
Associate Professor and DULCCES Director Debora Ortega and
Professor Walter LaMendola, Director of the PhD Program.
Students, faculty and staff joined
members of the ECO Conscious
student organization in celebrating
Earth Week in April. A two-day event
on Craig Hall’s sunny Shramm Foundation Plaza offered custom-blended
smoothies and the opportunity to express
eco-friendly messages with sidewalk chalk.
The following weekend, ECO Conscious
participated in Denver’s Fifth Annual
South Platte River Clean-Up, an event that
also featured rafting, kayaking, biking and
walking six miles of the river and adjacent
bike path. The service day concluded with
a party that included a raffle and product
giveaways. Click here to read more about
ECO Conscious.
gssw student newst fall 11
13
GSSW’s Influence Felt at Sgssw
tate
evel
fourLcorners
gssw
gssw student news
Four Corners Program
Student Events
Students
Present
Symposia
Students completing the
concentration year elective
course, “Disrupting Privilege,”
presented their group projects
to the GSSW community on
May 23. Symposia titles
included “Understanding White
Privilege: the Tools We Use to
Resist,” “When Did You Choose
to Be Straight?” and “Living
Within the Safety Net.”
Social Work and
Spirituality
Four Corners Program a
More than 60 people attended “Faith, Religion, Spirituality
and Social Work,” sponsored by GSSW’s Graduate Student
Association (GSA) on April 13. University Chaplain Gary
Brower acted as moderator for a “fishbowl” discussion by GSSW
students and faculty, while audience members observed. The
discussion focused on the ways faith or spirituality had influenced
the participants’ social work practice and vice versa. Audience
members then continued the conversation in small groups, while
individual “fishbowl” participants joined each group. Pictured
here are members of the planning committee for the event (L-R)
MSW students Rebecca Meyers, Kristi Roybal and Rachel Benson,
Associate Professor Marian Bussey and Clinical Assistant Professor
Karen Bensen. Brower also helped plan the event.
When the Four Corners MSW program was founded in Durango, Colorado,
nine years ago, one of its primary goals was improving outreach to rural
and underserved populations. Now the program is fast becoming a national
model for other schools with similar missions.
National Model
Fordham University’s Dale Lindquist, LCSW, DMin, and Vincenza Corcoran,
MSW, visited Durango this summer seeking ways to enhance services for
rural populations in the upstate and western regions of New York. Lindquist,
coordinator of Fordham’s online MSW option, also serves as Associate
Director of the Beck Institute on Religion and Poverty. Corcoran is Associate
Director of Field Instruction in the Graduate School of Social Service.
Kicking it for
Kenya
GSSW helped sponsor the Kick it
for Kenya 5K Run/Walk on June 26
at Denver’s Cheesman Park. MSW
students (L-R) Chelsea Geraghty
and Julia Jones helped organize the
event, which benefitted the Kibera
Girls Soccer Academy (KGSA), located
in East Africa’s largest slum. Also
pictured are (L-R) Clinical Professor
Philip Tedeschi and KGSA Foundation
Director Ryan Sarafolean.
On May 10, four GSSW student organizations co-sponsored “How to Be
an Ally,” an evening panel discussion that included community leaders
and other speakers chosen by the four sponsoring groups: Multicultural
Social Justice Student Organization, Queer Equality Alliance,
Shades of Brown Alliance and Graduate Student Association.
The event explored the roles, challenges and meaning of being an ally
to various marginalized communities. Seated at the table are panelists
(L-R) Shukri Muwwakkil (MSW ’09), Renata Heberton (MSW ’10),
documentary filmmaker Nick McCart, Director of Rainbow Alley and
Youth Services Cory Barrett, Coloradans for Immigrant Rights member
Pete Peterson and American Friends Service Committee Immigrant Ally
Organizing Director Jordan Garcia. Standing behind them are Associate
Professor Michele Hanna (left), Field Education Program Administrator
Andy Downing (4th from right), Clinical Assistant Professor Karen Bensen
(3rd from right) and leaders of the four student organizations.
14
fall 11 gssw student news
“The innovative and extensive work you are doing with your ITV
program and with the Native American population has left a deep
impression on us,” Lindquist wrote in a follow-up letter to Four
Corners Site Director Wanda Ellingson. “You have shown us what
is possible when dedicated to a unique and specific mission, [and
you] have provided us with a model to emulate.”
During their visit, Lindquist and Corcoran met with Steve Brittain,
Director of the Southern Ute Division of Social Services, and Four
Corners student Michelle Olguin, a member of the Southern Ute
Tribe whose MSW internship Brittain supervises. “If Michelle is an
example of the quality of education you are providing your students,
you are clearly doing a superb job!” Lindquist told Ellingson.
The Southern Ute Cultural
Center and Museum
Lindquist and Corcoran on the
Southern Ute Reservation
Course Teaches AnimalAssisted Interventions
Four Corners
Program Director
Wanda Ellingson
(far right) and
MSW students in
the animal-assisted
course visited a
ranch in Farmington,
New Mexico, where
they had the
opportunity
to explore the
human-equine
relationship and
learn about
working with
mustangs.
GSSW is quickly developing an international reputation
for its unique specialization in animal-assisted social
work. This summer, Four Corners MSW students had
their first opportunity to learn these cutting-edge skills in
a course entitled “Integration of Animals into Therapeutic
Settings.” Taught by Clinical Professor Philip Tedeschi,
Clinical Director of GSSW’s Institute for Human-Animal
Connection, the course focused on facilitating many
types of animal-assisted activities with clients. Clinical
Assistant Professor David Blair and Clinical Associate
Professor Wanda Ellingson discussed integrating animals
into family therapy sessions. Additional classes featured
guest speakers from the Durango community; Trish
Lemke, Programs Director at Medicine Horse Center,
provided information about equine-assisted therapy, and
Community Resource Specialist Jenni Berkman from Axis
Health System discussed canine-assisted interventions.
gssw four corners fall 11
15
gssw faculty news
gssw faculty news
Faculty Higlights
The Colorado Society for Clinical Social Work named Dean and Milton
Morris Endowed Chair James Herbert Williams as the 2011 Clinical Social
Work Advocate. The award recognizes community professionals who are
not CSCSW members for their work as advocates for clinical social work.
CSCSW President Kerry Hamm presented the award to Williams at the
Colorado Social Work Month Celebration on March 4.
Williams also was elected to a three-year term as President of the Board of
the National Association of Deans and Directors of Schools of Social Work
(NADD). The election took place at NADD’s annual spring conference on
April 13-16 in Laguna Beach, California.
In April, Associate Professors Nicole Nicotera and Eugene Walls
were awarded an Internationalization Grant from DU’s Office of
Internationalization for their project entitled “Social Work’s Response
to Macro-Level Political Conflicts: The Case of Northern Ireland.” The
project’s goal is to develop a graduate level international course that
provides hands-on opportunities for students to explore and critically
examine social work responses, as well as those of other helping
professions, to the issues arising from the conflict in Northern Ireland.
The project additionally builds on the existing collaboration between
GSSW and the Denver-based non-profit organization, Seeking Common
Ground. Nicotera, Walls and their community partner from Seeking
Common Ground will travel to Northern Ireland as part of the project.
Nicotera also was named the 2010-11 Public Good Faculty of the Year by
DU’s Center for Community Engagement and
Service Learning. The award honors a faculty
member who has demonstrated outstanding
commitment to the public good by applying
their knowledge and intellectual resources to
enhance student learning, faculty research,
social capital and community development.
Nicotera received the award at the 2011 DU
Pioneer Awards Ceremony on May 19.
The University of Denver has added an
International Council to its administration,
joining the Undergraduate and Graduate
Councils already in existence. Dean Williams
named Associate Professor Julie Laser
and Clinical Associate Professor Ann
Petrila (pictured here in Bosnia) as GSSW’s first International Council representatives. Laser’s international
research has included projects in Japan, Korea, China and Senegal. Petrila is Director of Project Bosnia, DU’s
oldest international service learning program. She spent summer quarter in Bosnia, supervising student
interns and teaching a new class she developed called “The Social Work Response in Post-War Bosnia.”
16
fall 11 gssw faculty news
Assistant Professor Inna Altschul (left)
was selected to attend a Statistics Institute
sponsored by the American Educational
Research Association in Washington, D.C.
on May 24-26.
Jenson Named AASWSW Fellow
Jeff Jenson, Philip D. and Eleanor G.
Winn Professor for Children and Youth
at Risk and GSSW’s Associate Dean for
Research, was named a fellow of the
American Academy of Social Work and
Social Welfare. His induction took place
on May 6 in Washington, D.C.
AASWSW is an honorific society of
distinguished scholars and practitioners
dedicated to achieving excellence in the
field of social work and social welfare.
Jenson is a fellow of the Academy’s
second class, the first group to have
undergone the strict selection procedures
created last year by the board and
nominations committee.
“I am truly honored,” Jenson says. “The selection process is quite rigorous, and
my induction validates the scholarly work and teaching I have been engaged
in during my career.”
In addition to recognizing outstanding research, scholarship and practice,
AASWSW informs social policy by providing information for the social work
profession, Congress, other government agencies and non-government entities
charged with advancing the public good.
“The board of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare is more
than delighted to welcome 11 new and very distinguished fellows,” says board
president Richard Barth. “This lifts the number of fellows to 40 in all.”
Scholar-in-Residence Sarah Bexell (above)
taught an enrichment course entitled “One
Health: the Connections Between Humans,
Wildlife and Ecosystems” through DU’s
University College this fall. The course
addressed GSSW’s ongoing efforts to
develop a One Health program focusing on
wildlife conservation and human health
and resiliency, in partnership with China’s
Sichuan University. Bexell is Director of
Conservation Education at China’s Chengdu
Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding,
where she supervised two MSW student
internships this summer.
Jenson’s research and teaching address the etiology and prevention of childhood
and adolescent problems of bullying, aggression, school dropout and juvenile
delinquency. He has published four books and numerous articles on adolescent
problem behavior, and he is currently principal investigator of the Bridge
Project Afterschool Project, a longitudinal investigation aimed at improving
academic and behavioral outcomes among children and youth residing in four
Denver public-housing communities. Jenson also recently completed a largescale bullying prevention investigation in 28 Denver public schools.
“My work aims to prevent problems such as school failure, aggression, delinquency
and substance use among young people,” Jenson explains. “I’m particularly
interested in intervention research and in developing knowledge for practice.
I believe strongly in the principles of prevention and continue to work hard at
advancing practices and policies that support the prevention of childhood and
adolescent problems at an early age. Our success in improving the lives of children
and youth at the Bridge Project illustrates the promise of supporting children at a
very early age. I am looking forward to working with other members of the
Academy to promote social work practice, education and research.”
Recent Faculty &
Doctoral Scholarship
Books
Kumssa, A., Williams, J. H., & Jones, J. F. (2011). Conflict and human security in Africa:
Kenya in perspective. New York: Palgrave MacMillan Press.
Book Chapters
Jenson, J. M. (2011). Advances and challenges in the prevention of youth violence. In T. I.
Herrenkohl, E. Aisenberg, J. H. Williams, & J. M. Jenson. (Eds.), Violence in context: Current
evidence on risk, protection, and prevention. (pp. 111-129). New York: Oxford University Press.
Jenson, J. M., Anthony, E. K., & Howard, M. O. (2011). Policies and programs for adolescent
substance abuse. In J. M. Jenson & M. W. Fraser (Eds.), Social policy for children and families: A
risk and resilience perspective, 2nd edition. (pp. 195-231). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Jenson, J. M., & Fraser, M. W. (2011). A risk and resilience framework for child, youth, and
family policy. In J. M. Jenson & M. W. Fraser (Eds.), Social policy for children and families: A
risk and resilience perspective, 2nd edition. (pp. 1-19). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Jenson, J. M., & Fraser, M. W. (2011). Toward the integration of child, youth, and family
policy: Applying principles of risk, resilience, and ecological theory. In J. M. Jenson & M.
W. Fraser (Eds.), Social policy for children and families: A risk and resilience perspective,
2nd edition. (pp. 265-280). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Jenson, J. M., Powell, A., & Forrest-Bank, S. S. (2011). Effective violence prevention
approaches in school, family, and community settings. In T. I. Herrenkohl, E. Aisenberg,
J. H. Williams, & J. M. Jenson (Eds.), Violence in context: Current evidence on risk,
protection, and prevention. (pp. 130-167). New York: Oxford University Press.
Jones, J. F. & Williams, J. H. (2011). Summary and conclusion: A view from the bridge.
In A. Kumssa, J. H. Williams, & J. F. Jones, (Eds.) Conflict and human security in Africa:
Kenya in perspective. (pp. 187-200). New York: Palgrave MacMillan Press.
Kumssa, A. & Williams, J. H. (2011). Introduction: Human security and conflict in
Northern Kenya. In A. Kumssa, J. H. Williams, & J. F. Jones, (Eds.), Conflict and human
security in Africa: Kenya in perspective. (pp. 1-14). New York: Palgrave MacMillan Press.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Williford, P.A., Brisson, D., Bender, K.A., Jenson, J.M., & Forrest-Bank, S.S. (2011). Patterns
of aggressive behavior and peer victimization from childhood to early adolescence: A
latent class analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40, 644-655.
LaMendola, W. (2011). Child welfare and technology. CW360, 4 (Spring 2011), 4-12.
Nguyen, D. D., Ho, K. H., & Williams, J. H. (2011). Social determinants and health service
use among racial and ethnic minorities: Findings from a community sample.
Social Work in Health Care, 50, 390-405.
Peer-Reviewed Presentations
Jenson, J.M., Brisson, D., Bender, K.A., & Williford, A. (2011, March). The effects of a bully
prevention program on patterns of aggression and victimization during the transition to middle
school. Annual Conference of the Society for Research on Child Development. Montreal, Canada.
Jenson, J.M., Brisson, D., Bender, K.A., & Williford, A. (2011, May). Effects of a bully
prevention program on patterns of bullying and victimization from elementary to middle
school. Annual Conference of the Society for Prevention Research. Washington, DC.
Tedeschi, P., Bexell, S. M., Counter Beaver, H. (2011, April). Conservation social work:
Preparing social work students to aid communities facing environmental changes.
Society for Human Ecology Conference. Las Vegas, NV.
In addition to the GSSW doctoral students listed as co-authors and co-presenters above, doctoral
student Lindsey Breslin was a co-author of the following peer-reviewed journal article:
Bull, S. S., Breslin, L. T., Wright, E. E., Black, S. R., Levine, D., & Santelli, J. S. (2011). Case
study: An ethics case study of HIV prevention research on Facebook: The Just/Us Study.
Journal of Pediatric Psychology.
gssw faculty news fall 11
17
gssw news
gssw news
Faculty and Staff Awards
Faculty Promotions
& Appointments
Clinical Assistant Professor Karen Bensen (left),
MSW ’91, and Clinical Associate Professor Ann
Petrila, MSW ’82, received GSSW’s 2010-11 Kay
M. Stevenson Faculty Citizenship Awards from Dean
James Herbert Williams in May.
GSSW congratulates the following faculty members whose
promotions took effect in June:
•Daniel Brisson – Associate Professor with Tenure
•Michele Hanna – Associate Professor with Tenure
•Michele Sienkiewicz – Clinical Associate Professor
•Philip Tedeschi – Clinical Professor
•Eugene Walls – Associate Professor with Tenure
SIENKIEWICZ
Clinical Associate Professor Michele Sienkiewicz was named
Associate Director for Field Education effective July 1.
YUSKIS
Dean Williams (center) presented 2010-11 Staff Appreciation Awards to (L-R) Debbie Jones,
Director of Communications and Marketing; Lynda Ricketson, Director of Development and
Alumni Giving; Linda Clark, Assistant Dean for Administration; and Ryan Garrett, Technology
Operations Manager.
Associate Professors Debora Ortega (left) and
Kim Bender were named honorary members of
GSSW’s Xi Delta Chapter of Phi Alpha this year at
the social work honor society’s student induction
ceremony on March 26. Ortega is the chapter’s
faculty advisor.
Four faculty and staff members were honored
at the GSSW Recognition Ceremony, held at the
University’s Newman Center for the Performing
Arts on June 2. Dean Williams presented the
2010-11 Excellence in Service to Students
Award to Linda Daubers (left), Assistant to
the Director of Admission and Financial Aid.
Excellence in Teaching Awards for 2010-11 were
presented to (L-R) Adjunct Professor Jordan
Fox-Kemper, MSW, LCSW; Adjunct Professor
Tonna Pallas, MSW ’99, LCSW; and Associate
Professor Michele Hanna, PhD. These awards
are presented annually to adjunct and appointed
faculty members whose teaching is of the highest
quality and has made an important impact on
students’ educational experiences.
18
fall 11 gssw news
Kim Yuskis, LCSW, received a one-year appointment as Clinical
Assistant Professor in the Office of Field Education beginning
on July 1. Yuskis is the coordinator of GSSW’s PROGRESS
gerontology program, whose rotational field internship model
gives students experience in multiple agencies serving older
adults.
Assistant Professor Leslie Hasche joined the GSSW faculty
on September 1. Her academic and research interests include
gerontology, mental health practice, community-based aging
services and organizational issues regarding implementation
of evidence-based practices. Hasche comes to us from the
University of Kansas where she was an Assistant Professor in
the School of Social Welfare.
HASCHE
FREEDENTHAL
Associate Professor Stacey Freedenthal is serving as Interim
Associate Dean for Research while Jeff Jenson, Philip D. and
Eleanor G. Winn Professor for Children and Youth at Risk, is
on sabbatical during the 2011-12 academic year. Freedenthal
began her duties on September 1.
Staff News
In August, GSSW welcomed Nicholas “Nick” Ota-Wang as our new Admission Assistant. He replaces
Brent Stewart, MA, who resigned from the position in June to become an undergraduate admission
counselor at Bridgewater College in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Ota-Wang holds a BA in History from Colorado State University and has a Social Studies Secondary
Education License. He was previously a Visitor Services Coordinator at the Denver Firefighters Museum
and has held customer service positions at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Denver
Zoo. His higher education experience includes Texas A&M University, Colorado State University and
the University of Northern Colorado.
gssw news fall 11
19
gssw emeritus faculty
Honoring
Emeritus
Faculty
GSSW’s emeritus faculty
are distinguished retirees
who have been honored
by the University for their
long and valuable service
to our school. Following
nomination by the school,
the Dean and the Provost,
the emeritus designation
requires approval by DU’s
Board of Trustees. As a
follow-up to the profiles
of 80 GSSW alumni in
the 80th Anniversary
commemorative issue
of GSSW Magazine last
spring, we honor these 15
faculty emeriti/ae who are
also GSSW graduates.
Have fond memories of your
former professors, dean or
classmates? Click here to make
a donation to GSSW in their
honor.
Thank you!
20
fall 11 gssw emeritus faculty
gssw emeritus faculty
Kathryn Bolte
Professor Emerita Kathryn Bolte
(MSW ’53) served in the U.S.
and Japan during World War II,
enlisting in the Women’s Army
Corps and later becoming an
officer. After earning her MSW,
she served as Executive Director
of Catholic Charities in Sioux City, Iowa, for three
years, then returned to Denver where she became a
school social worker. Initially hired as a part-time field
instructor, Bolte joined the GSSW faculty in 1962. She
was an active member of many local and national
organizations, served as an NASW consultant to school
systems establishing school social work programs and
was a regional consultant for Project Head Start. Bolte
retired in 1981 after 20 years at GSSW. She died in 1994.
Ruth Clark
Associate Professor Emerita
Ruth V. Clark (MSW ’50) began
her career in her home state of
Kansas, where she held several
child welfare positions between
1938 and 1949. After graduating
from GSSW, Clark returned
to the Kansas Division of Child Welfare and also
taught social work and sociology at the University
of Kansas. For three years, she held leadership
positions with Wichita’s Community Planning
Council. GSSW hired Clark in 1959 as an Associate
Professor. She served as secretary to the faculty
committee for admissions and taught at GSSW
until retiring in 1975. Clark died in Salt Lake City,
Utah, in 1986.
Edith Davis
Years before Professor Emerita
Edith M. Davis (MSW ’50), DSW,
was honored as an NASW Social
Work Pioneer, she was a decorated World War II veteran. She
served in Europe as director of
personnel and assistant staff
director under General Eisenhower, rising to the rank of
Lt. Colonel in the Women’s Army Corps. Recipient of U.S.
Legion of Merit and Meritorious Service Unit awards,
Davis was the first American woman to receive the MBE
Degree of Honorary Officer from England’s King George
in 1947. During her 29 years at GSSW (1946-75), Davis
served as GSSW’s first doctoral program director and
was herself among the nation’s first social work doctoral graduates. The Edith M. Davis Award is presented
each year to an MSW graduate. Davis died in 2003.
Connie Calkin
Before Emerita Connie Calkin
(MSW ’68, PhD ’82) joined the
faculty in 1981, she co-founded
Big Sisters of Colorado and served
five years as the organization’s
Executive Director. As GSSW’s Field
Education Director, she drew upon
those experiences as she forged agency partnerships
that would ensure students benefitted fully from their
internships. Although she lost her courageous battle
with cancer in 2006, Calkin’s legacy lives on through
the endowed scholarship fund she and her husband
established when she retired in 1999. The Calkin
Scholarship is awarded annually to a concentration year
student who demonstrated exceptional performance
during his or her foundation year internship.
Enid Opal Cox
Two years after joining the
faculty in 1981, Professor
Emerita Enid Opal Cox (MSW
’68), DSW, became director of
GSSW’s Institute of Gerontology.
Under her leadership until she
retired in 2009, the Institute
became a respected source of research, training and
community service, especially in the area of caregiving to the elderly and self-care by the elderly. Cox
directed the PhD Program from 2001 to 2005, and
a new pre-doctoral fellowship for PhD students was
named in her honor when she retired. Cox also was
instrumental in GSSW’s ongoing effort to support
China’s social work profession through faculty and
student exchanges.
Sue Henry
An internationally known
group work specialist and one
of GSSW’s earliest doctoral
graduates, Professor Emerita Sue
Henry, MSc (Soc.Admin.), (DSW
’72) joined the faculty in 1976.
For the next 23 years, she taught
MSW, doctoral and continuing education courses, and
consulted with organizations across the country and
around the world. The author of many publications,
including Group Skills in Social Work, Henry served
two terms on the AARP National Legislative Council in
Washington, D.C. Retired since 1999, Henry maintains
her long-term membership in the Association for the
Advancement of Social Work with Groups, which
honored her in 2001 “for her long and illustrious
career as a group worker, educator and author.”
James Jorgensen
His early experiences in child
welfare and with juvenile
offenders at the South Dakota
State Training School set Professor
Emeritus James D. Jorgensen
(MSW ’58) on the path to a long
career focused on criminal justice.
During his 33 years at GSSW (1964-97), he taught across
the curriculum, was a field liaison and served as Interim
Dean in 1991. Jorgensen also provided consultation
and training to correctional divisions, juvenile courts
and law enforcement around the country and overseas,
and he was a member of the NASW Board of Directors,
Colorado’s Department of Corrections and Parole Board,
and many other boards and committees. A prolific writer,
Jorgensen authored or co-authored six books.
Barbara Maxie
The granddaughter of a slave,
Professor Emerita Barbara Maxie
(MSW ’60) attended segregated
schools and graduated from a
traditionally black college. She
took graduate courses at the
University of Chicago, but waited
to finish her MSW until her family moved to Denver and
her sons were in school. Prior to becoming a GSSW
lecturer in 1969, Maxie was a YWCA Branch Director,
Florence Crittenton Home group facilitator and Auraria
Community Center Executive Director. “I worked very
hard at being a minority,” she later said. “I’m not only
a woman and black, but I’m left-handed and a group
worker. So I don’t know how to behave in the majority!”
Appointed to the faculty in 1975, Maxie retired in 1981.
Ruth Parsons
During her 21 years at GSSW,
Professor Emerita Ruth Parsons
(MSW ’71, PhD ’85) served as
Associate Dean (1987-94) and
PhD Program Director (1996-99).
Her interests include mediation
and empowerment, and she
taught Institute of Gerontology certificate courses
for 12 years. She played a key role in establishing
GSSW’s partnership with China Youth University in
Beijing, and she taught there for several months.
Since retiring in 2000, Parsons has been an adjunct
faculty member and a research professor at DU’s
Institute for Conflict Resolution. Her many scholarly
publications include the 2007 book, Empowerment
in Social Work Practice, whose co-editors include
Professor Emerita Enid Cox.
James Kern
Professor Emeritus James S. Kern
(MSW ’49) began work on his
MSW in 1936, but didn’t complete
it until 1949, 10 years after joining
the GSSW faculty. In the interim,
he held positions in New Jersey’s
Emergency Relief Administration
and Colorado’s Department of Public Welfare, then
served four years as an Army Sergeant and chaplain’s
assistant in Europe during World War II. On the faculty
for 28 years, Kern taught MSW and doctoral courses,
co-founded GSSW’s Alumni Association and served as
an agency consultant. Kern continued to teach doctoral
courses for three years after his 1968 retirement, and he
co-chaired the School’s 50th Anniversary celebration in
1981. He died in 1982.
Pamela Metz
Associate Professor Emerita
Pamela K. Metz (MSW ’84),
EdD, focused her scholarship on
administrative and educational
practice, and on adult-learning
theory and practice. Widely
published, she has written on such
topics as social work with elders, hospice services, and
issues of loss and grief. She also has published several
collections of writings and expressions of Tao, including
The Creative Tao, The Tao of Learning and The Tao of
Women. At GSSW from 1986 to 2002, Metz taught a
wide range of courses, including human behavior in
small groups and social work with the chronically and
terminally ill. She also served two years as associate
dean for academic and student affairs.
Jean Sullivan
Associate Professor Emerita
Jean Sullivan (MSW ’59)
brought a wide range of clinical
skills and experience to GSSW
when she was hired in 1964
as a field instructor. A Catholic
Family Services caseworker
until 1942, she became a medical social worker for
the American Red Cross after World War II, treating
wounded soldiers and prisoners of war, as well as
Navy and Marine personnel with respiratory diseases.
She also worked with veterans at Fort Dix, New
Jersey. In Colorado, Sullivan became a school social
worker in 1959 and later served on the Jefferson
County Mental Health Association Board. Sullivan
attained the rank of Associate Professor in 1976 and
retired four years later. She is deceased.
Donald Krill
Retired in 1996 after 29 years
on the GSSW faculty, Professor
Emeritus Donald Krill (MSW ’58)
has been an adjunct professor
since 1997 and continues to teach
an MSW course on existential
social work, a treatment model he
developed that is now taught nationwide. He founded
the Family Therapy Training Center in 1982, which (as
the Denver Family Institute) today partners with GSSW
to offer MSW students the Certificate in Marriage and
Family Therapy. With numerous journal publications to
his name, Krill has been in private practice since 1961,
has provided consultation to Native American tribes
on family counselling interventions and continues to
volunteer at Denver’s St. Francis Center for the homeless.
Jules Mondschein
As America’s urban racial tensions
peaked in the 1960s, Professor
Emeritus Jules Mondschein (MSW
’59), EdD, demonstrated his
commitment to racial diversity
by moving his family from then
all-white southeast Denver to
an increasingly mixed neighborhood that other whites
were fleeing. Appointed to Denver’s Commission on
Community Relations in 1967, he also served as a
regional consultant for several anti-poverty programs
created by Lyndon Johnson’s Economic Opportunity Act.
At GSSW from 1964 to 1989, Mondschein was a field
instructor and agency liaison, as well as teaching courses
across the curriculum. His prior experience included eight
years at Denver’s Jewish Community Center.
Katharine Vail
After 17 years with the Girl Scouts,
Professor Emerita Katharine D. Vail
(MSW ’55) became Coordinator
of Special Services for Denver’s
Metropolitan Council for
Community Services in 1960. She
joined GSSW’s faculty nine years
later, teaching a wide range of courses including group
work, her own MSW specialization. She coordinated
GSSW’s continuing education efforts and established
the Satellite Education Program in Pueblo, extending
MSW education to an underserved area of Colorado. As
Associate Dean (1983-85) and then Acting Dean (198587), Vail led a major curriculum revision and developed
GSSW’s Information Technology Center, bringing the
school into the computer age. Retired since 1989, Vail
died in 2007.
gssw emeritus faculty fall 11 21
gssw institutes
gssw institutes
Institute Updates
Institute Updates
IHAC
Conference
Examines
Role of
Shelter Dogs
Author and keynote
speaker Hal Herzog
(center) with
Freedom Service
Dogs Board Chair
Paul Scott and
Executive Director
Sharan Wilson.
For the third year in a row, GSSW’s Institute for Human-Animal
Connection (IHAC) sponsored a major conference in the spring. Held
on the evening of May 3, “The Role of Shelter Dogs in Human Health:
The Colorado Connection” brought together a wide range of students,
researchers, authors and animal advocates to explore the ways humananimal interactions impact our lives.
Keynote speaker Hal Herzog discussed his book, Some We Love,
Some We Hate, Some We Eat, which draws upon Herzog’s more than
20 years of research in the emerging field of anthrozoology. Leslie
Irvine, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado
in Boulder, also discussed the book she authored; If You Tame Me argues that
companion animals have a sense of self, which requires that we reconsider our
rights and obligations regarding them.
The program also included a presentation by
Leslie Rockey, AAS, Director of Colorado Animal
Rescue (CARE), an animal shelter in Glenwood
Springs, Colorado. Since opening its doors in
2000, CARE has taken in and placed over 7,900
dogs, cats and other animals.
National Awards for Butler Institute
Charmaine Brittain, MSW ’91 (right), Program and Research Manager at the Butler
Institute for Families, received the 2011 Distinguished Service in Training Award
from the National Staff Development and Training Association, an affiliate of the
American Public Human Services Association. The award is given annually to an
individual who has made significant and continuous contributions to the field of
professional development in human services training. The award reflects Brittain’s
outstanding skills as an adult educator, training manager, mentor and leader.
Additionally, the Butler Institute’s National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI) received the prestigious 2011
Quality Award from the National Staff Development and Training Association for its outstanding performance in training
for human services employees. The award recognizes the successful development and implementation of NCWWI’s
Leadership Academy for Middle Managers and Leadership Academy for Supervisors as cutting-edge, innovative approaches
resulting in demonstrated quality improvements in participants’ learning, behavior and accomplishments.
In addition to Brittain, the NCWWI curriculum development team includes Butler Program
Administrator Nancy McDaniel (at top right), who leads the project’s knowledge assessment and
management efforts, and Professor Cathryn Potter, Executive Director of the Butler Institute and
DU’s Associate Provost for Research. Research Manager Robin Leake (pictured with McDaniel) leads
the ongoing evaluation for NCWWI.
Click here to stay informed about the Butler Institute’s many research, training and consulting projects on their redesigned
and more user-friendly website. The Butler Broadcast e-newsletter made its debut this spring. If you didn’t receive a copy,
click here to read the Butler Broadcast on the Institute’s website.
LINK Conference
Promotes Best
Practices
A pre-conference reception gave participants
the opportunity to meet Freedom Service Dog
teams made up of MSW students and the service
dogs they were training while earning GSSW’s
Animal-Assisted Social Work Certificate.
Staunch IHAC
supporter
Carla Garrity (above)
greets IHAC Executive
Director Frank R.
Ascione, GSSW’s
American Humane
Endowed Chair.
Student volunteers help with sales of Herzog’s book.
22
fall 11 gssw institutes
Pictured are (L-R) Kay Dahlinger, Chief Probation Officer in Aurora, Colorado; Kathleen Schoen,
Director of the Colorado Bar Association’s Family Violence Program and Chair of the Colorado
Alliance for Cruelty Prevention; Janet Mickish, PhD, Coordinator of the Domestic Violence Program’s
Enhanced Domestic Violence Advocacy and Prevention Project; Diane Balkin, retired member of the
Denver District Attorney’s Office Major Crime Unit; Joe Stafford, Director of Animal Law Enforcement
for the Pikes Peak Region Humane Society; Randall Lockwood, PhD, Senior Vice President for AntiCruelty Field Services for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA);
Stephanie Lafarge, PhD, ASPCA’s Senior Director of Counseling Services; Jim Pyle, Colorado LINK
Project Manager; and Clinical Professor Philip Tedeschi, IHAC Clinical Director. Tedeschi and Pyle
organized the conference, and Balkin, Stafford, Lockwood and Schoen were among the speakers.
GSSW’s Institute for Human-Animal Connection
(IHAC) hosted an Advanced LINK Screening and
Evaluation Workshop in April. Based on the
well-documented link between animal abuse and
violence toward people, the two-day workshop
promoted best screening, risk assessment and
intervention practices during animal cruelty
investigations, as well as the most current
research on correlations between animal abuse
and domestic violence like child sexual abuse and
intimate partner rape.
The workshop was funded by a grant from the
Animal Assistance Foundation, one of IHAC’s
founding donors.
gssw institutes fall 11
23
gssw bridge project
gssw development
from the
Bridge Project
New Bridge
Programs
Promote
Early
Literacy
As GSSW’s non-profit Bridge
Project marks its 20th
Anniversary in 2011, it’s making
a positive difference for more
at-risk kids than ever before:
• This fall, 20 Bridge Scholar ship students entered
Denver area colleges and
trade schools, the largest
Bridge freshman class to
date. They join 40 other
college and trade
school students whose
education is financially
supported by Bridge.
• Last spring, the largest group
of Bridge Scholarship
students in the project’s
history graduated from a
number of colleges, including
the University of Denver.
Director of Development & Alumni Giving
Dear Alumni and Friends:
In Denver Public Schools (DPS), Colorado’s largest urban school district, fewer than half of all fourth
grade students can read at grade level.* According to the Colorado Department of Education, the 2009
DPS high school graduation rate was 52%, well below the 75% rate for the state as a whole. Now two new
Bridge Project early literacy programs, implemented this summer, are working to change those dismal
statistics for children and youth in the four public housing communities Bridge serves.
Preventing “Summer Slide”
The Gr8 Readers program is designed to help Bridge participants avoid what two University of Tennessee researchers
call “summer slide,” the reading achievement gap that typically occurs among children who lack access to reading
materials during their summer vacations. Using a modified version of the model developed by UT Knoxville’s
Richard Allington and Anne McGill-Franzen, Bridge partnered with Denver’s Tattered Cover bookstore to provide
230 children and youth with 1,058 books to read over the summer.
Recent GSSW graduate Matthew Iwata (MSW ’10) generously underwrote the cost of the program and played a key
role in establishing it.
The Gr8 Readers elementary program allowed children in Kindergarten through fifth grade to select eight books
apiece. After reading the books with staff and volunteers, the children read them aloud to visiting preschoolers.
Two book distribution celebrations provided the opportunity for the children to decorate storage bins for their new
personal libraries.
Middle and high school Bridge students visited the Tattered Cover to make their summer reading selections.
Preliminary results indicate that 86% of the Bridge Gr8 Readers participants increased their Developmental Reading
Assessment (DRA-2) scores over the summer, and another 12% maintained their reading level. The program is
continuing this fall.
On behalf of our students, faculty, staff, Board of Visitors and Alumni Association, I want to express our sincere gratitude to
all the individuals and organizations who have contributed to the Graduate School of Social Work during the past fiscal year. Thanks to your
spirit of philanthropy and your commitment to GSSW, our tradition of excellence will continue for generations to come.
At the heart of every outstanding educational program are talented, highly motivated students drawn together by the promise of an
academic experience that will develop their full potential and help them mature as professionals. For many students and applicants,
however, the cost of attending GSSW is a primary concern and a significant obstacle to realizing their aspirations to serve the most vulnerable
members of our society.
Providing scholarship support plays a major role in our ability to enroll the most promising students and prepare them to meet the
ever-increasing demand for highly trained social workers. In fact, some 90% of our students require financial assistance to meet the cost of
completing the MSW program. Simply put, we couldn’t meet this level of student need without the enduring support of donors like you.
Thank you!
Best regards,
Lynda Ricketson
Director of Development and Alumni Giving
For a complete list of giving opportunities click here.
The Challenges of the World are Great,
but Great GSSW Students are Changing the World.
Building Reading Comprehension
We live in a world filled with challenges. To flourish,
our society depends on the creativity and optimism of
a rising generation of social work leaders.
Supported by Mile High United Way, Bridge also implemented a new year-round early literacy curriculum this
summer. Called Read Well®, the research-based curriculum focuses on developing phonemic awareness, phonics,
fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. It includes a beginning reading program for children in Kindergarten through
first grade, and another program for second and third graders who need extra instruction or intervention.
The Graduate School of Social Work depends on your support to
help prepare our students to meet the challenges of the next
hundred years.
*Click here for more information.
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. A simple provision in your
will or trust can change the lives of future generations. Help GSSW
shape the leaders and problem-solvers of tomorrow.
Worldwide impact: A GSSW
student shares children’s
stories from her Denver
internship with children at
Kenya’s Kaloleni Children’s
Rescue Centre.
24
fall 11 gssw bridge project
Right now, DU will match your current gift or bequest to establish
an endowed scholarship. Call Lynda Ricketson, Director of
Development and Alumni Giving, at 303.871.7599 for details.
Office of Gift Planning
1.800.448.3238 or 303.871.2739 Click here to email.
gssw development fall 11
25
gssw development
gssw development
Donor Spotlight
The Graduate School of Social Work
salutes the Gay & Lesbian Fund for
Colorado, whose generous event
sponsorship has enabled the University
of Denver to bring vital information
about privilege to students, activists,
community members, educators
and scholars. The Fund works
with numerous organizations and
institutions to achieve its mission:
“fostering an organizational culture
where all people are treated fairly,
valued for their differences and given
equal opportunities to maximize
their success.”
In addition to providing event
sponsorship grants, the Fund supports
public broadcasting and makes impact
grants in the areas of arts and culture,
healthy families and civic participation.
A program of the Gill Foundation,
the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado
has invested over $24.8 million in
hundreds of non-profits since the
Fund was founded in 1996.
Click here to learn more about the
Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado.
DU’s second biennial privilege conference,
one of the recent events supported by a grant
from the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado,
attracted more than 250 participants and
featured presenters from 28 states, as
well as Canada and New Zealand. Hosted
at GSSW on August 15-16, “The Pedagogy
of Privilege: Transformational Education,
Practice & Research” built upon the success
of the University’s first privilege conference
in 2009.
GSSW Donors
Privilege
Conference
Draws
Hundreds
We strive to make this list as accurate as possible, but if your name has been omitted or listed incorrectly, please accept our apologies and let us
know so we can correct our records. Please notify Lynda Ricketson, Director of Development and Alumni Giving, at 303.871.7599 or
click here to email.
Please note that the “1931 Circle” Annual Giving Society has been renamed the “Founders’ Circle” to avoid confusion with a similarly named
scholarship fund.
Dean’s Circle
Gifts totaling $2,500 or more July 1, 2010–June 30, 2011
Afterschool Alliance
Katherine J. Andrews Foundation
at Morgan Stanley Barney Gift, Inc.
Anonymous Donor
Anschutz Foundation
Nancy and Philip F. Anschutz
Keith R. Arnold
Avail-TVN
AYA Kitchens of Colorado, Inc.
Bank of the West
Eleanor Barnett Trust
Lynn S. Belcher
Bessemer Trust
Thomas W. Binning
Mary Lou Bonner
Libby L. Bortz 4 5 and
Michael R. Altenberg
Tim and Libby Brown Foundation
Butler Family Fund at The
Denver Foundation
Caring for Colorado Foundation
Mark David Carleton
Colorado State University
Community First Foundation
Community Holdings West, Inc.
Daniels Fund
The Denver Foundation
Denver Housing Authority
Denver Post Charities
Neal David Dermer
Dish Network
“This event represents an ongoing
commitment, on the part of our numerous
co-sponsors, to social justice work and
critical examination of our educational
approaches, helping profession practices
and research endeavors,” said Associate
Professor Eugene Walls, chair of the
conference organizing committee.
Keynote speakers included Dr. Julia Serano,
a writer, performer, activist and University
of California, Berkeley, researcher; Victor
Lewis, co-director of Oakland, California’s
Center for Diversity Leadership; and Dr.
Kevin Kumashiro, professor of Asian
American Studies at the University of
Illinois at Chicago and founding director of
the Center for Anti-Oppressive Education.
Conference participants chose from 40
interactive workshops, panel discussions,
paper presentations and film-screenings
offered concurrently throughout the twoday event.
In addition to the Gay & Lesbian Fund for
Colorado, other off-campus co-sponsors of
the conference included the Iliff School of
Theology and The Denver Foundation’s
Inclusiveness Project, which underwrote
the registration fees of small non-profits
that are their grantees.
We gratefully acknowledge the donors listed here whose support during these challenging financial times represents a commitment to GSSW, the
Bridge Project and the success of our students. Thank you!
fall 11 gssw development
Kleinman Guerra & Co., PC
Rhonda Adams Knop
Paul J. Korus
KPMG LLP
KRG Capital Management, LP
Kate Celeste Kusner 4
Richard A. and Sandra Lee Laws
Mike A. and Suzy W. Leprino
Liberty Global, Inc.
LibertyGives Foundation
Los Verdes III LLC
Phillip and Texie Lowery
Madison Group
John C. Malone
Mass Mutual Financial Group
Merrick & Company
Brian P. Midtbo
Mile High United Way
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
Brent J. Morse
Northwestern Mutual
Northwestern Mutual Life
Insurance Company
Otten, Johnson, Robinson, Neff &
Ragonetti Charitable Foundation
Peak Orthopedics & Spine PLLC
Perlmutter Investment
Jordon and Essie Lou Perlmutter
Pluss Poultry Company
Julius A. and Rose M. Pluss
Brian P. Roach
Rose Community Foundation
Rose Medical Center - JV
Albert E. and Debbie Rosenthaler
RubinBrown
Virgil Robert Salazar
Geraldine R. Bader Saltzman
and Meyer M. Saltzman
Saunders Construction, Inc.
Schlessman Family Foundation, Inc.
Lee and Carol Schlessman
Schramm Foundation
Christopher Shean
Sherman & Howard LLC
The Anna and John J. Sie Foundation
Terri and Richard Slivka
David Alan Sprenkle
The Sprout Foundation, Inc.
Starz Entertainment LLC
University of Colorado
U.S. Bank National Association
Wells Fargo Bank West, N. A.
Wells Fargo Foundation
Dean James Herbert Williams 6
Eleanor and Philip D. Winn 5
Alec 5 and Sherry Wynne
Gary and Teresa Yourtz Foundation
Gary L. 5 and Teresa A. Yourtz
Youth Opportunity Foundation
Joyce Zeff
Michael Ariel Zeff
Zions Management Services
Founders’ Circle
Gifts totaling $1,000-2,499 July 1, 2010–June 30, 2011
Keynote speakers Serano and Kumashiro participated in
book-signings following their talks.
Allonhill
Andrews Securities, LLC
Animal Assistance Foundation
Scott Ansel
Peter C. Armstrong, Jr.
Atlas Metal & Iron Corp.
Stacey I. Bahr
Regina and Charles L. Biederman
Gwendolyn S. Blake 4
Elizabeth A. Brown
4 GSSW Graduate
26
E. & P. Fund at The Denver Foundation
ECA Foundation, Inc.
Jana K. Edwards 4 5 and Rick Poppe
Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman PC
FirstBank Holding Company
of Colorado
Dusty S. and Mark S. Fitzgerald
Andrew A. Franklin
Don and Jeanne C. Friedman
Carla B. Garrity
Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado
David A. and Louise Gitlitz
The Giving Back Fund
Gerald S. and Lorna S. Gray
Robert J. Guerra
Peter R. Harnisch
Heritage Title Company
Martin H. and Marie F. Herzog
Gerald J. Horton
Gary S. and Leslie D. Howard
Robyn A. Hudson
iCORE Global - Denver
Image Projections West, Inc.
Integrated Airline Services, Inc.
Bill Iwata
Matthew Russell Iwata 4
Jordy and Company
John Charles Jordy, Jr.
JP Morgan/Chase
Howard M. Keys
Kinder Morgan Foundation
Erna D. Butler
Caisson Investments, Inc. d.b.a.
Berkeley Homes
William S. Calkin
Capital Resources Growth, Inc.
Marilynn J. Carroll
Colorado Business Bank
Colorado Society for Clinical
Social Work
Domenico Transportation Co.
6 GSSW Appointed and Emeritus Faculty/Staff
Donelson Ciancio & Goodwin, PC
Bernie Dvorak
Preston Scott Ems
Anne Enderby 6
Lin J. Erhardt
Brian Lee Fun
Julanna V. Gilbert and
Chancellor Robert D. Coombe
Steven S. Gittelman
Morris Glickman Foundation, Inc.
Susan Tolleson Gowen
Paul and Mary Ann
Greiveldinger Trust
Celeste C. and Jack J. Grynberg
Michele D. 6 and Darrell Hanna
William K. Hartman
Graham and Catherine P. Hollis
Gary & Leslie Howard Family
Foundation
HSU’s Ginseng Enterprises, Inc.
5 GSSW Board of Visitors
gssw development fall 11
27
gssw development
gssw development
Founders’ Circle continued
IntelliSource Colorado LLC
IsArt, LLC
Deborah M. Jones 6
John F.6 and Lois M. Jones
John A. Kayser 4 6
Peggy Knight
James Joseph Knobbe
John J. Kopel
Mary C. Krane 4
Gregg Kvistad and Amy Oaks
Homer and Karen Lansdowne
Lexmark International, Inc.
LTM Foundation
Ranae Magness-Carpenter
Evan N. and Evi Makovsky 4 5
Thomas E. Markowski
Joy McMillan
Millennium Commercial Advisors
Bradley Morris
Moskowitz Family Foundation
David Moskowitz
William A. and Lucienne J. Mueller
Hang T. Nguyen
Nyia Jane and
Wayne George Nielsen
Kathleen Ohman 6
Olson & Olson, Ltd.
John A. Orr
Additional Donors
Sharif Abdelhamid
Brian Abrams
Gregg Adams
Jonathan R. Adelman
Madelon S. Affeld 4
Claudia S. Alexander
Judith Altenberg
Paul E. Anderson, Jr. 4
Jennifer Ann Anderson-Moews 4
Julie S. and Jeff L. Andrews
Luis Miguel Antillon and
Lulani Rowena Anglo
Kelly Renee Arora
Wendy Ashley
Deanna A. Austin
Alma J. Ayers 4
Ferah and Asad Aziz
Susan Baak
Bank of America Foundation
Edward N. and Marlin P. Barad
Ali Barghelame
Thomas Bassett
Carroll Leslie Bastian
Amy Battles
Anne C. Beaman 4
Michael S. Bearup
Brian D. and Sandra Beatty
Eric W. Becker
Michael Beermann
Stephanie Jean Begun
Cynthia Catharine Bellows 4
Jack J. Bernstein 4
Brandy Bertram
La Fawn Biddle
Richard L. Bingham 4
John R. Bitzer, Jr.
Amy Blackwell
Lisa Blitz
Boettcher Foundation
Carol A. Boland 4
Kristin Bombeck
Rick Bortz
Kelly Bradner
Melissa Bragg
Bethany Braunstein
Holly L. Brekke
Stephen M. Brett
Margaret G. Briggs
Christopher W. Brown
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fall 11 gssw development
Lorraine R. and Harold K. Pickinpaugh
Matthew D. Pluss
Sara Resnick
Robinson Management LLC
Edward A. and Susan K. Robinson
Sally K. Rogers
Susan M. Roh
Alvin Rosenbaum Memorial Fund at
the Jewish Community Foundation
Stanton D. and Jane E. Rosenbaum
Richard C. Saunders
Youlon Davinci Savage 4 5
The Charles & Faye Schayer Fund at
the Jewish Community Foundation
Nancy H. Schulein
Caroline K. Sherman 4
William J. Smith
Jennifer Sorge
Stadium Management
Company, LLC
Stonehocker Family Foundation
Mark James Stonehocker
Cle C. Symons
Charles Y. Tanabe
Susan Weinstein 4
Jeffrey D. Willis
Kai Ge Yeung
Daniel R. York
July 1, 2010–June 30, 2011
Roe Bubar
Herbert and Arlene Buchwald
Sheila and Richard S. Bugdanowitz
David T. Burnett
Catherine M. Burns
Sam Butler
Rodney Buxton
Margaret E. Cagle 4
Caisson Investments, Inc. d.b.a.
Berkely Homes
Molly Ann Calhoun 4 6
William A. and Jo Ann Y. Calhoun
David L. Calone
Captivating Design Service
Shelley R. Ceballos
Mark J. Celusniak
The Center for Students Missions Inc.
Leon Early Chamberlain, III 4
James E. Chapman
Lorraine B. Chappell
Steven B. and Robin D. Chotin
Steven K. Chough 4
Craig R. Choun
Colette Christen
Shawn Christen
Chubb and Son, Inc.
Kimberly L. Churches
Philip B. Clancy
Linda K. Clark 6
Barbara Lou Cohen-Schweizer 4
Karen K. Colman
Ann M. Corrigan and Kent Rice
Patricia A. Costello 4
Gayle J. Cox 4
Kristen Crockett
Ray L. Cunningham, Jr.
Lisa D’Ambrosia
Neil E. Davidson 4
Dorothy W. Davis 4
Travis Deatherage
Christina DeBarros
Daniel A. DeCino
Kimberly Decker
James Barrett DeLong
Joesph Dencker
Ila E. Dennis 4
Jennifer R. Dennis
Kim Dennison
The Denver Hospice
Denver Lions Foundation
Ray J. DeQuiroz
Harvey E. Deutsch
The Deutsch Family Fund at
Jewish Community Foundation
Brian P. DeWitt
H. Alan and Leilani Dill
District Court of Denver
Rebecca H. Dobbin
Stanton Dodge
Laura Sue Dodson 4
Norman T. Doeden 4
The Douglass Foundation
Andrew Walters Downing 6
Jean F. East 4 6
Cynthia S. Eckroth 4
Joy Eckstine
Patricia J. Eggleston-Mahanke
Virginia M. Eiseman 4
Charles A. 4 and Joyce Olson Ekanger
Rebecca Rian Carpenter Empey 4
Richard E. Enos 4
EON Enterprises, Inc.
Sandra E. Erlach
Marguerite Sebastian Evans and
Michael Kermit Evans
Steven W. and Cynthia A. Farber
Scott Allen Fearon
Feiner Family Foundation of Colorado
Michael A. Feiner
Neal Spitzer Feldman
Ronald S. Fiedelman
Martin Fine
Jennifer Alter Fischer
Carl R. and Laura F. Fitch
Kim Mary Fitzgerald 4
A. Craig Fleishman
Ali Christine Flores-Dent
Alfred Fontana 4
Kenneth W. Fors
Sue and Jerry R. Fowler
Stacey Lynn Freedenthal 6
Freeman-Spicer Charities, Inc.
Kathryn French and
David R. Campbell
Andrew J. 4 and Shannon E. Frey
David A. Fried
Marshall Friedman
Scott Friedman
Susan Rae Friedman and Abe Wagner
Belina and Alan R. Fruitman
Cynthia V. and Mark Fukami
Arthur J. Gallagher Foundation
Carlos G. Garcia
Richard D. Garcia
Faye Gardenswartz
Richard C. Gartrell
Howard B. Gelt
Seth Geyer
Colleen Gibley-Reed 4
David 5 and Kathryn S. Gies
Grover C. Gilmore 5
Anna Mae L. Godin 4
William and Bei-Lee Gold
Lark M. Goodtracks 4
Delceter L. Goosby
Brian P. Grady
Gerald S. and Lorna S. Gray
LT. Gerald Q. Greenfield, Sr. 4
Amanda S. Gregory
Ashley N. Gross
Bruce Guernsey
Charlotte Elizabeth
Cowden Gunnigle 4
Peter M. Gutierrez
Gutterman Griffiths, PC
Sheila M. Gutterman
Guy’s Floor Service Inc.
David Hague
James M. Hahn
Edward I. and Elka J. Haligman
Joshua Hanfling
Beth M. Hanlon
Richard C. Hardes 4
Harris Kocher Engineering Group, Inc.
Dorothy Vilma Harris 4
James W. and Ancella W. Hart
Leslie K. Hasche 6
Daniel M. Haskell
Charles G. Hauber
Leah Hearnsberger
Jodeen Renea Heltenberg
Patricia S. Helton
Jay Dee Henderson 4
Mardella M. Hermann 4
Santos H. Hernandez 4
Anne M. Hewetson
Martha Hickerson 4
Hayden F. Hirschfeld
Jeffrey L. Hirschfeld
Robert W. and Diane B. Hochstadt
Amy Cherie Hoglund
Mary B. Hoover 4
Denise J. and Gerald J. Horton
Housing Organization of
Professional Employees
David W. Howard
Gentry L. Howard
Annette M. and Steven M. Hoy
Kevin F. Humphrey
Penny Hunt
Heather Iden
Lisa Ingarfield
Isaacson Rosenbaum, PC
Jack & Jill Children’s Salon of
Arapahoe Commons
Jack & Jill Children’s Salon of
Cherry Creek
Jack & Jill Children’s Salon, LLC
Lisa M. and Markus W. Jackson
Stephen D. Jefferson
Douglas R. 4 and Frances A. Jenner
Patricia A. Jensen 4
Mary W. and Jeffrey M. Jenson 6
Donna Green Jewett 4
Glenn S. and Susan Engle Johnson
Christian Jones
Patricia R. Jones
Victoria A. Jordan 4
James D. 4 6 and
Christine T. Jorgensen 4
Charles J. and Barbara L. Kall
Barbara T. Kanyr
Mildred Kaplan
Susan S. Karsh
Heather L. Keane
Sean Kelly
Ann M. Kennedy
Susan J. Kenney 4
Martha P. King 4
Kurt and Cindy Kittleson
Frank Knight
Hillard E. 4 and Ann E. Knutson 4
David B. and Judith K. Koff
Sarah Kokin
Paul J. and Lynn E. Korus
Gary Koven
Donald 4 6 and Louise Krill
Michael R. Kromrey 4
Kate 4 and Timothy Kusner
Kenneth M. Laff
Walter F. LaMendola 6 and
Nancy R. Van Demark 4
James Scott Landers
Gary P. LaPlante
Todd A. Laurie
Lelanda Lee
Dorcas E. Leibold 4
Howard R. and Blanca T. Lerman
Dana L. Lestikow
The Levy Family Fund at Fidelity
Charitable Gift Fund
Andrew S. Levy
Marvin B. and Bebe Levy
Grazyna Lewkowicz
Larry L. Libsack
Jeanne M. Liechty
May E. Lihtz 4
4 GSSW Graduate
Sean A. Lipsey
Lipshutz Management Company
John E. Litz
Elaine B. Long 4
Charlene Loup
Celedonio F. Lucero 4
Judith W. Lu-Lawson 4
Joanne Lyons
Heidi S. MacIntyre
Melissa Mackiernan
Christina Marie Mahoney
Charles Malek
Stanley R. Marean 4
Matthew J. Marino
Troy Markgraf
Marisa E. Marraccini
Martha Jane Marsh 4
Julia C. Martinez 4
Jane R. Mastrini 4
Elizabeth Jeanette Matson 4
Saranne K. Maxwell
Bernard S. Mayer 4
Marnie Mcdowall
Maeve McGrath
Nancy McGraw
Timothy J. McManus
Jeanette (Jae) 4 5 and
Stephen J. McQueen
Laura Anne Merten 4
Megan Leslie Miccio
Brett M. Miller
Daryl L. Miller
Debra G. and Peter M. Miller
William Milnor
James J. Mittenthal 4
Lupita Montoya
Mike Moore
James R. Moran 6
Daniel Conway Morello
Mary H. Morling 4
Lisa M. Mueller
Gregory D. and Lynn R. Murrow
Mustard’s Last Stand
Charles S. Myers, III
Janet Neal
Leslie Neal
Lindsay P. Nelson
Ronald D. New, Jr.
Phung Van Nguyen
Marianne E. Nick 4
Nicole Nicotera 6
Barbara E. and Robert M. Nieder
Bradley Nieder
W. Blake Nielsen
Thomas A. Nimtz 4
Paul K. Nitze
Susan T. and
Howard B. Noble
E. H. Noll
Neil B. and Barbara Oberfeld
Michael O’Donnell
Tema Okun
Barbara Olseen
Jennifer Olson-Landers and
James Landers
Jeanne M. Orrben 4
Brian R. Ostenson
Cathey S. Ott
Pacifica Commercial Realty, LLC
Griselda Padilla 4
6 GSSW Appointed and Emeritus Faculty/Staff
Mitch W. Palin
Stephanie Kay Panion 6
Sarah Parady
Marjorie Parker
Hannah S. Parris
Virginia Peavey
Michael S. Pepper
Teryl L. Percich
Casey Perry
Lynne Picard
Tammie Pierce
Michael J. Plante
Annette R. Pluss
Janice J. Podoll
Michael R. Pollak
Perry D. Pollet
The Prop
Melissa Radey
Jennifer 6 and Paul Ratico
Kelly Rayburn
Paris G. Reece, III
Ricki Rest
Sylvia Lynne Reyburn 4
Jay Rhodes
Mark James Richards
Diana M. Richett
Lynda Ricketson 6
Julie Rifkind
Jacalyn Right
Michele and Richard Right
Riker Productions
Burton L. Riskedahl 4
Margaret Roath 4 5
Lisa Robinson
Amanda Roche
Kyle Rodgers
Paul Rooprai
Steve Rosdal
Beverly K. Rosengren 4
Michael R. and Patti J. Ross
Diane Feit Roth
Tamara Rowe 4
Diane Rubinstein
Joanne Z. Saccio 4
SAGE GLBT Center
Michael Sandstrum
John Santivasi
David N. Schachter
Constance H. Schmalz 4
Jolie Schmidt
Ann Fudge Schormans
Robert J. Schrant
Scott Schwayder
Malcolm 4 and Nicole Seawell
Gretchen W. 4 and D. Dale Shaffer
Edward R. Shaoul
Stacy Leigh Shapiro
David S. and Litamae Sher
Litamae H. Sher Fund at Fidelity
Charitable Gift Fund
Alana Rahel Shirley
Allyson Claire Shuldberg
Barbara A. Sidon
Michael W. Sidon
Carol B. Sigmann 4
William S. Silvers
Mark Silvius
Mark Sindrich
Clara L. Sitter
Iris and Michael Smith
Lynn Q. Smith
Mary Elizabeth Smith 4
Matthew T. Smith
Alicia Solorzano
Donald O. Southwick
Joan Sowick
Mary E. Spanberger
Andrea Stanton
Susan Stark
Judy Steffel
Ellen J. Stein 4
Jacqueline R. Stevens
Sandra B. Stevenson
Stokes Auction Group, Inc.
John S. Strachan
Susan G. Strohl and James Looney
Omar Swartz
Felicia Washington Sy 4
Taussig Family Foundation
Travis Lamonte Taylor
Anthony S. Telesmanic
David Thomas, III
Bruce Thompson
Jack and Viki Thompson
Rexford L. Thompson 4 and
Joyce Mamiko Thompson
Eric Tibby
Christopher Scott Tierney
George R. Tippin 4
The Tomkins Corporation
Foundation
Maria Torres-Gregory
Duc M. Tran
Benjamin and Deanna Trasen 4
Robin Trautman
Truist
Amy Tuft
The Turbon Group
Chris Underwood
Kenneth R. Unruh 4
Andrew van Gorder
Vanguard Group Foundation
Marissa Vasquez
Joanne Vermeulen
Thomas Vose
Meredith Elizabeth Wakelyn 4
and Paul Jacob Kosempel
Thomas Edward Walker
James R. Wallace
Sandra J. Walling 4
Nelson Eugene Walls 6
Rebecca Walter
Merlinda Weinberg
Susan Jill Weinstein 4
Barbara J. and Robert S. Wells
Linda G. Wilbanks 4
Marianne Wilkening 4
Benjamin Howell Wilkoff
Lynne P. Wilky 6
Lorain C. Will 4
Daren Willden
Ellen J. Winiarczyk
Todd Michael Witty
Neil Ernest Wolkodoff
Guang Jin Yeung
So Ah Yeung
Tania Zeigler
Leslee D. Zell 4
Irene B. Zimmer
5 GSSW Board of Visitors
gssw development fall 11
29
gssw alumni news
gssw alumni news
2010
GSSW Service Award
This award is presented to an alumnus/alumna who has contributed to, or served,
the Graduate School of Social Work in a noteworthy and significant fashion, through
personal effort and/or financial contribution.
Alumni
Awards
During her distinguished social work career, Sue Kenney has held positions with
Catholic Community Services, the Loretto Community and the Denver Department
of Human Services’ Denver Family Opportunity Program. Kenney also co-founded
and co-directed Project WISE, a non-profit whose mission is the empowerment of
women with low incomes.
Click here to read the full
Alumni Awards descriptions.
Kenney has been an active member of GSSW’s Field Team, serving as a Field
Instructor, Field Liaison and Field Advisory Board member. During the past year,
she also opened numerous new MSW internship sites, building relationships
with potential partner agencies and identifying field instructors for GSSW students. Kenney’s professionalism is
demonstrated not only through the community connections she has developed, but also during her facilitation of
problem-solving meetings with students and their internships agencies. Her gentle style allows for all involved to
feel validated and respected.
Sue Kenney
MSW ‘79
Graciousness, good humor, commitment and willingness to perform any task are but a few of the remarkable
qualities embodied by Kenney. She is a valued asset to GSSW.
Community Service Award
This award is presented to an alumnus/alumna who has demonstrated significant and
continuous volunteer involvement in major community activities and/or charitable
causes, above and beyond his/her employed position.
Hope Wisneski
MSW ‘00
Since 2007, Hope Wisneski has served as the Deputy Executive Director of the
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of Colorado. She’s also a
statewide and national leader offering consulting and training on GLBT cultural
competency and youth-adult partnership models for groups such as the National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Association of Social Workers, the National
Conference on Tobacco and Health, the Colorado Foster Parent Association and the
Division of Youth Corrections at the Colorado Department of Human Services.
Wisneski’s volunteer work includes serving on the boards of the Colorado AntiViolence Program, the Colorado Child and Adolescent Mental Health Committee, the Colorado AIDS Project and
Community Shares of Colorado, as well as the GSSW Field Advisory Board. Wisneski’s talents have contributed to
a number of working committees in Colorado, including Colorado Organizations Responding to AIDS, the Denver
Alliance on Tobacco and Health, the Rocky Mountain Equal Care Coalition, the Johnson and Wales University GLBT
Advisory Committee and the Komen Foundation’s Diversity Outreach Advisory Committee.
Robert L. Hawkins Social Work Achievement Award
This award is presented to an alumnus/alumna who has demonstrated professional
achievement by being named executive director, manager, chairperson of the board,
etc., of a social work agency or organization; or by reaching a level of prominence in
education, practice or politics, etc; or by receiving national recognition in the field of
social work. This award is named in honor of Robert L. Hawkins, MSW ’67, who rose
through the ranks at Colorado Psychiatric Institute in Pueblo, eventually becoming
the first social worker appointed as its Superintendent. Under Hawkins’ leadership,
the Institute became a model psychiatric treatment facility.
Norma Aguilar-Dave is Director of Adolescent Services at Savio House, where she
oversees implementation of evidenced-based interventions and helps strengthen and
develop day treatment, residential treatment and community-based services. AguilarDave has led the merging of Multisystemic Therapy and Functional Family Therapy into the Day Treatment and
Residential Treatment Programs to reduce placement, improve the clients’ success and sustainability in the community
and increase the cost-effectiveness of programming.
Norma Aguilar-Dave
MSW ’96, LCSW, CAC III
Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care, one of the most difficult programs to implement, has been a major challenge
for Savio, and it is through Aguilar-Dave’s efforts that the organization is making great strides in the development of this
program. Moreover, youth who have multiple services and placement failures are thriving in this program.
30
fall 11 gssw alumni news
from the
Alumni
Association
President
Dear Fellow Graduates:
I hope this issue of GSSW
Magazine finds you enjoying
fall. I must admit I love this
season. The start of a new
school year always reminds
me of the joys of lifelong
learning. In fact, long
before the development
of the iPad, I was one of those students who
lived for new pens, pencils, organizers and
binders in preparation for my new classes!
Social workers love learning. We constantly
seek out knowledge so we can practice with
competence and skill. To support our alumni
in this quest, GSSW offers a number of
exciting continuing professional development
opportunities, and even more will be added
during the months ahead.
Please be sure to read the article on page 5
of this magazine about the new Continuing
Competency requirements for Colorado’s
licensed mental health professionals, including
social workers. Although these requirements
directly impact only Colorado’s licensed social
workers, the GSSW Alumni Association is
committed to providing interesting courses,
informative lectures and other learning
opportunities tailored to the needs of everyone
within our diverse profession. Click here to
drop the Association an e-mail with your ideas
and suggestions.
All the best to you as you continue your
journey of professional development!
Sincerely,
Jae McQueen (MSW ‘00)
Alumni Association President
‘40s
Featured in a GSSW Magazine article about social media last
spring, Marlow S. Cowan (MSW ’49) and his wife Fran sent an
update on their activities since the 2008 YouTube video of their
impromptu Mayo Clinic piano concert went viral. The Cowans
appeared in two national PBS documentaries this year, one called
“Over 90 and Loving It,” and the other a segment of the “Need to
Know” series devoted to the positive impact that happy marriage
can have on health. (The Cowans have been married for 63 years.)
A third documentary features an encore piano performance by the
Cowans at the Mayo Clinic’s 100th Anniversary celebration.
‘60s
On May 19, Libby Bortz (MSW ’67), LCSW, was honored at the
2011 annual conference of the Colorado Chapter of the National
Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, held in
Breckenridge, CO. Bortz played an instrumental role in the
establishment of the Littleton Housing Authority (LHA) in 1971,
has chaired its board and has logged thousands of hours as a
volunteer. “Her dedication to low-income clients, quality housing
that is more than safe, decent and affordable, and her integrity
throughout the years have been deeply appreciated by the staff,
fellow commissioners and the Littleton community,” says Dan
Burnham, LHA executive director. In 1994, LHA opened the Libby
Bortz Assisted Living Center to serve frail older adults with limited
incomes. It was one of the first such centers in the country to be
developed by a public housing authority.
Class Notes
Got News?
Please click here to
email your personal and
professional updates.
Be sure to include the
degree(s) you earned at
GSSW and the year(s)
you graduated. Feel free
to attach a digital photo
if you’d like. Class Notes
may be edited or held
for a future issue due to
space limitations.
Jean Hamburg (MSW ’67), LICSW, of
Marblehead, MA, has published a book,
Cooperation Counts! Life-Saving Strategies for
Parenting Toddlers to Teens that is available on
Amazon and Barnes and Nobles sites. Click here
for more information online. A psychiatric
social worker and family therapist since 1976,
Hamburg has worked in child welfare service
agencies, mental health centers and private
practice. She’s also provided care to foster children and is the
mother of two internationally adopted daughters.
‘70s
Janey Alpert (MSW ’73) retired at the end
of May from the Colorado Blood Cancer
Institute at Denver’s Presbyterian/St. Luke’s
Hospital. Her medical social work career
spanned 43 years, 28 of them in oncology,
a field she calls “rewarding and inspiring.”
After her first 17 years at P/SL, social
workers were phased out of the hospital
setting, so she accepted a position at Rocky
Mountain Cancer Centers, a communityfocused cancer clinic, where she worked
primarily in the Bone Marrow Transplant
Program. Last October, both the inpatient and outpatient portions
of the transplant program were united under the auspices of P/
SL. One of her P/SL co-workers writes that Alpert “has done much
to advance medical social work in oncology [and has made] great
contributions to the field.” Clinical Associate Professor Ann Petrila
attended Alpert’s retirement party in May, where she presented
Alpert with a certificate honoring “her distinguished service to the
field of social work.”
gssw alumni news fall 11
31
gssw alumni news
Preparing for
social work
licensure?
gssw alumni news
The Colorado Society for Clinical Social Work honored
two GSSW graduates at the March 4 Social Work Month
Celebration. Jana Edwards (MSW ’78) was named Most
Distinguished Clinician and Mickey Maroon (MSW ’75)
received the Community Service Award.
Sign up today for
‘90s
our highly regarded
Social work Licensure
Preparation course,
on November 5–6.
Click here to find
information.
Photo Courtesy of The Coloradoan
Sister Mary Alice Murphy (MSW ’71) chose her 80th birthday
on August 7 as the time to retire after nearly 30 years working
to eradicate homelessness and help the less fortunate in Fort
Collins, CO. Canadian by birth, Murphy joined Our Lady of
Victory Missionary Sisters in Huntington, IN, at age 17. Before
attending GSSW, she ministered to people in several states and
earned her BSW from Michigan’s Siena Heights College. After
earning her MSW, Murphy served for 10 years at Denver’s
Catholic Charities. In 1983, she became executive director
of Catholic Community Services in Northern Colorado (now
Catholic Charities Northern) in Fort Collins, where she set
out to address hunger and poverty in the community. Under
her leadership, the organization opened a soup kitchen and
created multiple outreach programs including CARE Housing,
the Hand-Up Cooperative, Homelessness Prevention Initiative
and Homeward 2020. In 2009, the city’s Sister Mary Alice
Murphy Center for Hope opened as a collaborative effort to
help the homeless and near-homeless in Northern Colorado.
Betty Proctor (MSW ’74) was named Colorado’s Outstanding
Community Leader at the Governor’s Service Awards
presentation on May 20 at the state Capitol. Proctor founded
the non-profit “Helping Hearts and Hands” in 1997 to provide
one-time emergency assistance to people without other
resources or options. She officially retired 15 years ago but
continued, until recently, to volunteer as the program’s
Director. Now a part of Jeffco Action Center, the program has
been renamed the “Betty Proctor Fund.”
Dina O’Shea Robke (MSW ’78), LCSW, BCD, was a social
worker in Jefferson County (CO) Schools for 10 years and also
worked part-time at the Aurora Mental Health Center. “My last
few years in Jeffco were at Columbine High School before the
name became more of an event than just a school,” she writes.
“That tragedy was near and dear to my heart knowing many of
the people there.” After several student suicides, Robke joined
with the Jefferson Center for Mental Health, the Dept. of Child
and Adolescent Psychiatry at the CU Health Sciences Center,
police, paramedics and community members to form The
Columbine/Chatfield Suicide Prevention Coalition, named by
the Mental Health Association as the best program of 1986.
Robke also served on the CO State Board of Social Work
Examiners, was the first social worker appointed to the
State Grievance Board, served on what was the then called
the American Association of State Social Work Boards on the
Regulatory Standards Committee, and was president of the
32
fall 11 gssw alumni news
American Foundation for Research and Consumer Education.
From 1995 to 2010, she was as a consumer member of CO’s
Physical Therapy Advisory Board. In private practice since
1988, Robke is a trainer for the Office of Suicide Prevention
and the Jefferson Center for Mental Health, and she’s involved
in the Second Wind Fund, a grassroots organization that has
funded psychotherapy for more than 2,400 uninsured suicidal
youth since its 2002 founding.
Clinical Associate Professor Carol Fee Ivanoff (PhD ’99),
who retired in 2010 after 20 years at GSSW, received the
2011 NASWCO Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Colorado Chapter of the National Association of Social
Workers. Ivanoff’s 49-year social work career included
casework, family therapy, private practice, consulting, and
appointed and adjunct faculty positions at colleges and
universities in both Illinois and Colorado. She served as
GSSW’s Director of Student Services from 2001 to 2009.
A member of NASWCO for many years, Ivanoff also has
been an active community volunteer and has served as a
consultant to Denver-area media outlets on coping with
holiday stress and loneliness.
Mary Overington (MSW ’98), left, celebrates the success of
Clothes to Kids of Denver, the non-profit she co-founded in
2008 that has since served more than 6,000 children. CTK
provides school-aged children from low-income families with
clothing, donated by stores and individuals, to encourage
school attendance and self-esteem. Families “shop” for the
free clothing in a store that looks as cheerful and welcoming
as one they might find at the mall. Pictured with Overington
is Kaitlin Jones (MSW ’11), the student intern whom
Overington supervised during 2010-11 and who was hired in
June as the organization’s first Program Director.
‘00s
Leanne Clark (MSW ’06) was named Social Worker of the Year
by the Colorado Chapter of NASW. A medical social worker,
Clark was honored for her work on Colorado’s new social
work licensure statute.
Megan (Boyle) Gage (MSW ’06) recently launched a line of
naturally based hairstyling products for babies and children.
Her company, Hot Tot, employs sustainable business practices
and donates a portion of its proceeds to several charities that
benefit children. Megan says she’s found a “fun and unique
way to make the world a better place.” Click here to visit her
company online.
Nancy Lucero (MSW ’00, PhD ’09), LCSW, has been appointed
Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Colorado State
University–Pueblo. She’s maintaining her association with GSSW
by continuing to teach the Licensure Preparation professional
development course and collaborating with the Butler Institute for
Families on research and evaluation involving tribal child welfare.
Lucero also was interviewed for an upcoming PBS documentary
on American Indian urbanization, both about her work on urban
American Indian cultural identity and cultural connectedness,
and about her experiences as an urban Native person. The asyet-untitled documentary by Lisa Olken, an award-winning
documentary filmmaker from Rocky Mountain PBS, is expected
to air nationally in 2012.
Ginger Meyette (MSW ’90, PhD
’09) married Lynda (Erickson)
Sutherland on June 11 in Decorah,
Iowa, where Meyette is Assistant
Professor of social work at Luther
College. A commitment ceremony,
open house and reception were
held for the couple’s Colorado
family and friends on June 26
at Denver’s First Universalist
Church. Meyette is at the right in
the photo.
Anthony P. Natale (PhD ’05) has been on the
faculty at the University of Oklahoma’s Anne
and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work since
graduation. He’s Coordinator of the MSW
Program, was recently promoted to Associate
Professor with tenure and was named
Graduate Educator of the Year. Natale says he’s
looking forward to moving the program into a
new $12.5 million state-of-the-art school whose community room
and clinical suites were modeled after those in GSSW’s Craig Hall.
“I have fond memories of my days at DU, which prepared me well
for my career since,” he writes.
Anne Williford (PhD ’09), Assistant Professor
of social welfare at the University of Kansas, is
part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers
working to bring the highly successful KiVa
anti-bullying effort to American schools.
Developed in Finland in 2007, KiVa may
be implemented in selected Lawrence, KS,
classrooms as early as the 2012-13 academic
year. If it proves to be successful there, the model could expand
nationally.
‘10s
Antoinette Gomez (MSW ’10), LCSW, CAC II, MFT, is a functional
family therapist at North Range Behavioral Health in Greeley, CO.
She served as a delegate to the Boule (national convention) of Zeta
Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., in Houston, TX, and recently published
an article in Race, Class, Gender entitled “Motivation Factors for
African American Women’s Involvement in the Environmental
Justice Movement.” Of her volunteer work at Colorado’s
Challenge Foundation, Gomez writes “I continue to feel that
higher education is critical for African American girls and women.
I became a mentor at the Challenge Foundation when alumna
Meredith Metcalf (MSW ’09) asked GSSW Phi Alpha members to
mentor youth.”
Gina Aguglia (MSW ’11), who earned the Certificate in Animal-Assisted Social Work, is
the new Therapeutic Programs Coordinator at Heartland Farm Sanctuary in Madison,
WI, and also works for Youth Services of Southern Wisconsin as a Peer Court Program
Counselor. She’s pictured here during GSSW finals week with Kirby, the therapy dog she
trained while earning the AASW Certificate.
In Memoriam
[Mary] Cecilia Duggan (MSW ’80) died on July 28, 2011, at age 84. Formerly a nurse
at Denver’s St. Anthony Hospital, Duggan was a social worker for Jefferson County
and for Adams County, where she specialized in finding foster and adoptive homes
for children with special needs. Many of her cases were featured on the “Wednesday’s
Child” adoption segment on Denver’s KCNC-TV. In 1984, Duggan and her husband, Jerry,
adopted Penny, a child with special needs. Preceded in death by her daughter, Kathy, and
son, Stephen, Duggan is survived by her husband, seven children, 13 grandchildren and
one brother. Memorial donations may be made to The Adoption Exchange, the Mile High
Down Syndrome Association or the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.
Gail K. Reader (MSW ’68) of Fort Collins, CO, passed
away on July 27, 2011. She was 76. Her career as a social
worker in the Jefferson County School District spanned 40
years. Survivors include her husband, Paul, two daughters,
a stepdaughter, a stepson and their families. Memorial
contributions may be made to Medical Center of the Rockies,
Intensive Cardiac Care Unit in care of Allnutt Funeral Service,
650 W. Drake Road, Fort Collins, CO.
Roxanne B. Shelton (MSW ’68), LCSW, of Wheat Ridge, CO, died on February 16, 2011,
at the age of 72. A clinical social worker and volunteer tutor in the Denver area for
more than 40 years, Shelton bequeathed to the National Coalition for Literacy (NCL)
a portion of her estate to fund advocacy work on behalf of adult learners. Memorial
contributions may be made to the NCL or to the National Resources Defense Council.
Joseph “Al” Tennes (MSW ’53) of Walnut Creek, CA, died on February 9, 2011. He
was 93. He served in Europe in World War II prior to earning his MSW. Tennes was
Personnel Director in the Department of Welfare, then served as an administrator in
the CO Department of Social Services for 25 years. An avid sailor, windsurfer, skier and
birdwatcher, he swam regularly until shortly before his death. Tennes is survived by his
wife, Katherine, one daughter, two grandchildren and a step-granddaughter.
gssw alumni news fall 11
33
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The Last Word
House Band
(hous bănd) noun – GSSW’s “noted” faculty
Working at Adams County Human Services back in 1982, Jim Pyle
overheard a conversation in the adjoining cubicle. “We need to find
a drummer,” Pyle’s colleague Dave Blair was saying. Pyle leapt
to his feet. “How about me?” he asked, and the pair’s musical
collaboration was born. Several bands later, the drummer (Adjunct
Professor Pyle) and the guitarist/vocalist/harmonica-player (Clinical
Assistant Professor Blair) are once again professional colleagues,
this time at GSSW. They’re also part of a five-member rock band,
Clusterfunk, whose gigs include everything from benefit concerts to
the 2011 end-of-year party at Spanky’s Roadhouse last June.
Professor Jim Moran, until recently DU’s Interim Associate Provost
for Multicultural Excellence, played in several bands during high
school, then set aside his bass guitar, giving it little thought until
two years ago when he met a couple of like-minded guitarists at
Denver’s Swallow Hill Music Association. Together they formed
a blues band – unnamed until Moran recounted their
meeting to their recently added drummer. “Why that’s a
twist of fate!” exclaimed the new band member. “Twist
of Fate” now plays at venues around the city.
Whose performances inspired Moran to return to his musical
roots? None other than folk-rocker Jeff Jenson, GSSW’s Philip D.
and Eleanor G. Winn Professor for Children and Youth at Risk and
Associate Dean for Research. The multi-talented Jenson not only
sings and plays guitar and harmonica, but also composes original
works. He’s entertained at numerous GSSW events over the years
and is about to break onto the national scene, putting together a
band with colleagues from across the country to play at the Society
for Social Work and Research Annual Conference in January.
Rock on!
Denver, CO
Permit No. 321