Winston-Salem students graduate

The School of Social Work started a new tradition on Saturday, December 15 when students of our Winston-Salem distance education MSW program had their own hooding ceremony in the Tate-Turner-Kuralt building auditorium. Associate Professor Vanessa Hodges gave the commencement address. As a class gift, students donated a total of $262.49 to the School to support the Winston-Salem program.

Congratulations to the class of 2007: Catherine Virginia Alexander, Andrea Dalporto, Erin S. Dennis, Lauren Doyle, Amy Eades Fisher, Melissa Kraskouskas, Sirlena Pinnix, Daniel Platt, Kristi Brim Rakes, Ava Letitia Ramseur, Lisa Dannette Scott, William Reid Smithdeal, Christopher Elijah Solomon, Sherry Stepp and Nikita Whitehead.

Amy Fisher and daughter Karissa	Andrea Dalporto (with her twin babies), faculty member Tamara Norris, and Melissa Kraskouskas	Lisa Scott is hooded by Tina Souders, director of the Winston-Salem Distance Education MSW Program

School to host reception in Washington, D.C.

You are cordially invited to attend the UNC School of Social Work reception on Friday, January 18 from 7:45-9:15 at the Forum Room, Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. This coincides with the Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference.


Recruitment news and events

January 16: Admissions application deadline. More info

January 18: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Annual Conference, Washington, D.C. (see item above). Although we will not have a booth at this event, Sharon Holmes Thomas will attend the UNC School of Social Work reception on Friday, January 18 to meet prospective applicants.

February 1: Information session at the School of Social Work, 2:00-4:30 p.m. in room 300. Contact Jane Gump to register.

February 29: The 29th Annual Minority Health Conference on “The Impact of Poverty, Culture, and Environment on Minority Health” will be held at the The William and Ida Friday Continuing Education Center, Chapel Hill, NC, February 29, 2008. The School of Social Work will have an information booth on our program at the conference.

Clinical Lecture Series dates

January 14 - Ethics and End of Life Care. Speaker: Laura Hanson, MD, MPH. February 18 - How Do We Treat Perpetrators? The Ethics of Working With Sex Offenders. Speaker: Melissa Grady, PhD, MSW, LCSW. March 17 - Using Transference and Counter-transference. Speaker: David Freeman, MD. April 21 - Steps to More Powerful Groups. Speaker: Bohdan Hrynewych, MSW, LCSW, LCAS. All lectures take place on Mondays in the School of Social Work auditorium from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m.; two contact hours. Click here for more info and to register.



Alumni: a student needs you as a mentor

The School of Social Work Alumni Council is calling for alumni volunteers who would be interested in mentoring an enrolled student. This program is designed to match students with alumni who are practicing in an area of the students' interest. Please consider giving a little bit of your time to help a student. If you are interested, please contact Kristen Huffman. If you have already signed up, you will be notified once we have enough mentors to begin the program.


Alumni luncheon set for January 31 in Wilmington

All alumni are invited to join the Dean for lunch at The Pilot House Restaurant in Wilmington on January 31 from noon until 1:30 p.m. Please RSVP by January 29 to Kristen Huffman.



Women and addiction conference to be held in Hendersonville

The 22nd annual Addiction: Focus on Women Conference, "Healing Through Connection," will be held May 13-16, 2008 at the Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, NC. It is sponsored by the Mountain AHEC in Asheville, NC. For more information, contact Toni Hollenbeck at the Mountain AHEC, (828) 257-4481.




Tina Souders, director of our Winston-Salem Distance Education MSW Program, was elected president of The Adam Foundation, Inc. for 2008. As a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, the foundation raises money in Forsyth and nearby counties and distributes those funds to local agencies in the Piedmont Triad that provide HIV/AIDS direct client services, education and prevention. The Adam Foundation also supports organizations that promote the identity, strength, and well-being of the local gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

Lt. Jim Condon, MSW '01, LCSW, BCD, is currently a navy officer in Naples, Italy and is the regional social worker for all of Europe for the Fleet and Family Support Programs there. He spent the past three years as a mental health provider at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Okinawa, Japan.


In December 2007 Lori Fuller, MSW '99, donated a kidney to her good friend, Ruth Anderson. They first met when Ruth was Lori's on-site supervisor during her second year UNC School of Social Work internship. Both Lori and Ruth are doing well since their operations. Lori is the Director of Evaluation and Research for the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust in Winston-Salem.


Mick Rogers, MSW '80, manages Sutter Health's Child Guidance Clinic in Sacramento California. The agency includes 11 clinicians, three graduate students and a family advocate. His role includes serving on the Sutter Center for Psychiatry's Psych Hospitals' administrative team. In addition, he is on the board of directors for the California Society for Clinical Social Work. Mick and wife Pam will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in May. Pam is an entrepreneur and entomologist who wants to make organic farming more universal and affordable.


Do you have news to share?

If you have received an award, promotion, taken a new job, gotten married, or added a new member to the family, let us know. We would love to share your news with other alumni and the School of Social Work community. Please e-mail your alumni news to sswalumni@unc.edu.

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