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Posts Tagged ‘
LGBT social workers ’
Introduction
To celebrate Pride Month, we asked LGBT social workers to talk about their career and proudest achievements.
Kerry D. Bird, MSW
Program Coordinator
The Uppowoc Project
North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs
Raleigh, North Carolina
 Mr. Bird Q. Mr. Bird, where did you receive your education, what are your areas of specialization, and where are you employed?
I earned a BA in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Masters in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. My concentration area was social and economic development. My career goal was to become executive director of a state, regional, or national Native American nonprofit organization.
I am currently the Program Coordinator for the Uppowoc Project, a tobacco use prevention program operated by the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs. I have served as interim Executive Director for both the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center and Native Americans in Philanthropy. I am a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate and Lumbee Tribes.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your career?
I was drawn to social work without really knowing about it. After I graduated from UNC, I went to work at an urban Indian center in Greensboro, NC. There I saw firsthand the struggles American Indians in urban areas have to deal with on a daily basis, from human services and unemployment to cultural isolation. From this beginning, I moved on to the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs, a state advocacy agency working on behalf of American Indians. There I started a career in substance abuse prevention by working with American Indian youth. Coming from a family affected by alcoholism, it was easy to have a passion for my work. Shortly after meeting the recruiter for Washington University, I attended the National Indian Education Association conference where I heard many messages about the need for American Indians to pursue higher education opportunities. It was then that I made the decision to pursue my master’s degree and actually called the recruiter from the conference to let her know I would be applying.
After completing my degree, I worked several years in the field of diversity consulting and training. It was important to increase awareness of and appreciation for cultural diversity and the impact our bias’ and prejudices have on others. I continue to volunteer in the American Indian and GLBT communities.
Q. What are your proudest professional achievements?
My proudest professional achievement was being able to put my social work skills to work when I moved home to provide full-time care for my mother who was living with Stage IV lung cancer. Being able to give the loving attentive care as a son to the mother who had provided it so unselfishly throughout her life to her family was truly the most rewarding experience of my life.
From a perspective of national work on behalf of American Indians, serving as President of the National Indian Education Association was a true honor. Advocating for improved educational opportunities and experiences for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children is an ongoing effort. A solid educational foundation as a youth can have a long term effect on the well-being of an adult.
To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: 2011 LGBT Pride Month, Kerry D. Bird, LGBT social workers
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2011 LGBT Pride Celebration |
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Introduction
To celebrate Pride Month, we asked LGBT social workers to talk about their career and proudest achievements.
Andres Hoyos, MS, LCSW
Wellness Director
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender
Community Center (The Center)
Advisor and Adjunct Professor
New York University School of Social Work
New York, New York
 Mr. Hoyos Q. Mr. Hoyos, where did you receive your education, what are your areas of specialization, and where are you employed?
I received my education at New York University. My areas of specialization are immigration issues with an emphasis in asylum cases on persecution due to sexual orientation and gender identity, PTSD, Hispanic monolingual speakers, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and substance abuse.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your career?
My first Master’s Degree was in clinical psychology. After many years working as a mental health provider with oppressed and disenfranchised communities like the immigrants, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, from a psychological framework, I realized that I would be only able to alleviate the symptom in a persons life and I wanted to impact the systems that caused those cycles of oppression. I wanted to do more advocacy, public policy and community organizing with these communities and social work was the perfect field where I could integrate all my interests and expertise in service of social justice.
Q. What are your proudest professional achievements?
As a Latino gay immigrant from Colombia, I am very proud of the work I have done at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (The Center) in New York City. As program coordinator, I established “Support Services for LGBT Immigrants” a program that now has over 300 participants from over 52 countries and has supported over 350 LGBT immigrants get granted asylum based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.
In 2007 I was the founding director of "Center Recovery", the first and only OASAS license intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment program serving the LGBT communities in New York State. After setting up this valuable program for the community, I was promoted as Director of Center Wellness.
In 2009, I was selected along with other 19 people of Color as new leaders in the LGBT movement nationwide to be part of in the inaugural cohort of the "21 Century Fellows Program" sponsored by Arcus foundation, Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fun and the Gill Foundation.
This year I was invited to join the School of Social Work at New York University as faculty advisor and adjunct professor, work that I deeply enjoy since it has allow me to mentor new professionals.
To find a spanish-speaking social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: 2011 LGBT Pride Month, Andres Hoyos, LGBT social workers
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Introduction
To celebrate Pride Month, we asked LGBT social workers to talk about their career and proudest achievements.
Arlene (Ari) Istar Lev, MSW, LCSW-R, CASAC
Founder and Clinical Director
Choices Counseling and Consulting
and
TIGRIS—The Institute for Gender, Relationships, Identity, and Sexuality
Lecturer
University at Albany-SUNY and Empire College
Albany, New York
 Ms. Lev Q. Ms. Lev, where did you earn your social work degree? What is your area of expertise and where are you employed?
I received my Associate's degree from Herkimer County Community College (1977), and my undergraduate degree at the State University at Binghamton (1979), both located in upstate New York. My BA is in Sociology with a minor in Women's Studies. My MSW is from the University at Albany, School of Social Welfare (1986), where I have been teaching for the past 23 years as a part-time lecturer. I am also a product of the Brooklyn public school system.
I currently teach courses in Family Therapy and LGBTQ issues, including an undergraduate course for Empire College called "Sex and Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective."At the University at Albany, I have developed the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Project, which increases opportunities to provide clinical knowledge on LGBTQ issues to students..
I am in private practice at Choices Counseling and Consulting and the Founder and Clinical Director of TIGRIS—The Institute for Gender, Relationships, Identity, and Sexuality, a post-graduate training program in Albany, New York, providing individual and family therapy. I am also the Clinical Director of the Pride Center of the Capital Region working with MSW interns.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I would love to say something profound here, but I think I was just a young person, deeply committed to social justice work with some abstract notion of being "helpful." Social work helped to direct my goals and make a professional out of the raw material that is me. I am very proud of being a social worker, and see that identity as the underpinnings of all the other professional titles I use like family therapist, educator, addictions counselor, and gender specialist.
Q. What is your proudest professional achievement?
I do not have one achievement that stands out as "the" proudest, but I am thrilled that my work has been received and embraced by so many people. I love receiving emails from colleagues who have read my book and find it useful in their work with LGB and especially Transgender clients. I love seeing the spark in students' eyes when they "get" something that will make them a better social worker.
Helping to create a professional environment in which LGBTQ colleagues can thrive has been immensely important to me, as well as assisting in the development of services for LGBTQ individuals and families. This last year has been filled with awards and kudos, and after years of knocking on doors that would not open, it is exciting to find so many people interested in the social service needs of LGBTQ people.
Someone recently said to me, "You are in the right place at the right time." I answered, "Actually, I've been standing in this place for a long time. What I've been saying is not so new. What's new is that others are participating in the discussion, and that institutions are finally giving it legitimacy." It's all good!
Publications and Honors
Ms. Lev is the author of:
Ms. Lev is the recipient of:
- The Ally Award from the Freedom Center for Social Justice, TransFaith in Color, 2011
- The Unsung Hero Award from the University at Albany Lavender Graduation, 2010
- The Community Service Award, Capital District Gay and Lesbian Community Council, 2010
In addition, Ms. Lev serves on the Board of the American Family Therapy Academy, where she served as the 2011 Conference Chair.
To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: 2011 LGBT Pride Month Celebration, Arlene Lev, LGBT social workers
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Introduction
To celebrate Pride Month, we asked LGBT social workers to talk about their career and proudest achievements.
Wendy Rae Hill, BSW
Senior Legislative Assistant
California State Assembly
Sacramento, California
 Ms. Hill Q. Ms. Hill, where did you receive your education, where do you work, and what is your area of expertise?
My name is Wendy Rae Hill and I earned my BSW from California State University, Sacramento. I continue to live in Sacramento with my wife and our two daughters, Age 4 and 6. My area of expertise is macro level social welfare and civil rights policy. I work as a Senior Legislative Assistant to State Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, an out gay legislator representing San Francisco. I began my macro policy career started in the State Assembly, then I became the Director of Government Relations and Political Affairs for NASW, California Chapter for four years and a half years before moving back to the State Capitol.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
While attending the Santa Rosa Junior College in 1994, I became a peer counselor to a transgender foster youth residing in a group home. There were no policies whatsoever about transgender youth in the child welfare system. In working with her and her social worker, I learned firsthand that the social welfare safety net was not working. I knew then that I wanted to be the one to fix it!
I soon learned that there was a shortage of social workers in public policy positions. I struggled to find a macro level BSW field placement, but after lots of advocacy, landed in a State Assembly member's Capitol office where I learned about the legislative process and how to create sound policy. With that knowledge and my experience as a grassroots organizer and political campaign volunteer, I landed my first policy job one month before BSW graduation where I was able to assist in the passing of California's Domestic Partner Expansion Act in 2001. My specialty soon became LGBT policy as well as legislation that affected other at-risk communities.
Upon the birth of my first daughter, I accepted a position with the California Chapter of NASW with the goal of increasing the number of social workers involved in public policy. After all, there is nothing we as social workers do that isn't affected by policy and our education is perfectly suited for preparing us to be policymakers. Besides mentoring young professionals in advocacy work, I worked to build the largest attended Social Worker Lobby Days program in the country. The Chapter still hosts over 1000 social workers and social work students each year, where they not only learning how to advocate for policy, but how to bring this work back to their clients and communities.
I have taught undergraduate social work macro policy practice at Pacific Union College for 2 years and enjoy introducing new social workers to macro policy practice. During the week, I write, analyze and an advocate policy for underserved populations.
Q. What is your proudest professional achievement?
My proudest professional achievement is that I have built a career on doing what I truly love to do and I have had the courage to be myself the entire way. I am a leader in my community and I proud wife and mother. I also believe that my proudest professional achievement is yet to come!
To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: 2011 LGBT Pride Month Celebration, LGBT social workers, Wendy Rae Hill
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Introduction
To celebrate Pride Month, we asked LGBT social workers to talk about their career and proudest achievements.
John R. Edwards, MSW, LICSW
Clinical Supervisor, Housing Services Division
Wellspring Family Services
Seattle, Washington
Vice President for Marketing and Communications
NASW WA Chapter (2011)
Past NASW-NYC Board of Directors Member
(Elected 1997)
New York City, New York
 - Mr. Edwards
Q. Mr. Edwards, where did you earn your social work degree, where do you work, and what is your area of expertise?
I earned my Bachelor of Science in Social Work in 1989 from Atlantic Union College in South Lancaster, MA. I completed my MSW in 1990 with a concentration in Health and Mental Health from Walla Walla University, College Place, WA. I am currently the clinical supervisor in the Housing Services Division at Wellspring Family Services in Seattle, WA. I have broad experiences in healthcare, public housing, child welfare, mental health and private practice. One area that I have developed a particular expertise in and enjoy working with is difficult to treat populations such as families with children with behavior disorders or multi-problem families.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I tried many majors in college and finally decided on social work. I distinctly remember going to a job fair when I was a senior in college where I saw woman with a toddler approach one of exhibit tables. A few minutes later, the toddler had spilled his entire bag of popcorn on the table. I thought this woman's needs a social worker to help develop a job search plan to include arranging for childcare.
Q. What is your proudest professional achievement?
I have many proud moments of being a social worker. One of the moments I treasurer most was my election to the NASW-NYC chapter board of directors in 1997. Another moment includes being a representative of NASW-NYC and a member of 1199-SEIU and helping to forge the unprecedented collaborative working agreement between NASW-NYC and 1199-SEIU.
To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: 2011 LGBT Pride Month, John Edwards, LGBT social workers
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Introduction
To celebrate Pride Month, we asked LGBT social workers to talk about their career and proudest achievements.
Jeffrey T. Steen, MSW, LCSW
Doctoral Student and Research Assistant
New York University Silver School of Social Work
New York, New York
 Mr. Steen Q. Mr. Steen, where did you receive your education, what is your area of specialization, and where are you employed?
I received my Master’s in Social Work from McGill University in Montreal, Canada and my Bachelor’s in Social Work from Bluffton University in Bluffton, OH. Through NYU’s Silver School of Social Work, I’m presently working on a research project with Drs. Munson and Guilamo-Ramos, exploring the impact of context on adolescent development.
Additionally, Dr. Anastas and I are engaged in research regarding social work education. I’m grateful for the mentorship I have received in social work practice and education, as these relationships have been vital to my professional development.
I have worked in the not-for-profit and health care sectors for over a decade, providing clinical and administrative services in the areas of mental health, substance abuse, homelessness and HIV. My research and teaching interests are also in these areas, with a particular emphasis on theories and interventions that promote resilience.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I experienced traumatic events and subsequent social work services during my childhood. Because of this I have long been committed to helping the underserved; the values of social justice and prominence of human relationships have made social work an ideal fit. I want to contribute to continued development of the profession and the advancement of effective community-based interventions. Therefore, I am working towards a PhD and hope to do research and teach in a school of social work.
Q. What is your proudest professional achievement?
With practice and research interests in poverty, housing, and psychological development, I am most honored to have contributed to the inception and evaluation of several outpatient and residential behavioral health programs.
To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: 2011 LGBT Pride Month, Jeff Stein, LGBT social workers
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Introduction
To celebrate Pride Month, we asked LGBT social workers to talk about their career and proudest achievements.
Megan E. Gandy, MSW, LCSW
Presbyterian Hospital Psychiatric Inpatient Adult Unit
Charlotte, North Carolina
and
Doctoral Student, Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia
 Ms. Gandy Q. Ms. Gandy, where did you receive your education, where do you work, and what is your area of expertise?
I received my BA in Psychology from Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, NC and my MSW from University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, NC. In addition, I am a Doctoral Social Work Student (incoming first year Fall 2011) at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA.
I work for the Presbyterian Hospital Psychiatric Inpatient Adult Unit, Charlotte, NC. My areas of expertise are severe and persistent mental illness, solution-focused brief therapy, and structural family therapy. Also, I am knowledgable about internalized homophobia in LGBTQ individuals and institutional heterosexism.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I chose social work as my profession it because of the social justice and advocacy aspects of social work education, and how it prepares clinicians in a unique way to address the multi-faceted needs of clients as they are presented in practice settings. I also chose social work because of the multiple settings that social workers are prepared to practice in, from a hospital to an elementary school to a jail to a legislator’s office to a college classroom. I value the person-in-environment approach of social workers, and that is what ultimately drew me to social work education over other forms of human services education.
Q. What is your proudest professional achievement?
To date my proudest professional achievement occurred while I was in my MSW program. I was the Principal Investigator of a needs-assessment research project that I independently designed, administered, analyzed, and presented, entitled “Assessment of Staff Members Attitudes Toward LGBTQ Youth in a Mental Health Agency Setting”. The project was beyond the curriculum requirements of the MSW program I attended, and although I only received an elective directed independent study credit for the project, I attained a valuable experience as a young researcher. This achievement was one of many factors that ultimately led me to pursue doctoral education in social work so that I may have the opportunity to conduct research in a professional capacity.
To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: 2011 LGBT Pride Month, LGBT social workers, Megan Gandy
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2011 LGBT Pride Celebration |
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Introduction
To celebrate Pride Month, we asked LGBT social workers to talk about their career and proudest achievements.
James Cappleman, MSW, LCSW
Medical Social Worker
and
46th Ward Alderman
Chicago City Council
Chicago, Illinois
 Mr. Cappleman Q. Mr. Cappleman, where did you receive your education, where are you employed, and what is your area of expertise?
I received my MSW from the Jane Addams School of Social Work at the University of Illinois in Chicago in 1991. For the past 20 years, I’ve been involved in health care and wrote the book Asking the Right Questions to Get the Health Care You Need as a way of guiding families who need help with a loved one diagnosed with a chronic or serious illness. Recently, I was elected to Chicago’s City Council as the 46th Ward Alderman. My experience as a social worker has me well prepared to be an alderman because so much of what I do is about addressing broken systems.
 Mr. Cappleman and his partner Richard Thale Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I used to teach 5th grade and when one of my students was picked up for prostitution, I realized that one of the best ways to help people is to address the root causes that leads people to do such desperate acts. The profession of Social Work fit the bill.
Q. What is your proudest professional achievement?
One of my proudest moments was working with a family with a 16-year-old boy diagnosed with terminal cancer. The boy had not been told of his diagnosis because the parents wanted to protect his feelings, but it became clear from his behavior that he already knew of his situation. The boy was experiencing major depression as he was coping with his illness alone. Working with the rest of the medical team, we were able to assist the parents to help their son process his fears about his approaching death and helped him find peace in his circumstances.
To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: 2011 LGBT Pride Month, James Cappleman, LGBT social workers
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Introduction
To celebrate Pride Month, we asked LGBT social workers to talk about their career and proudest achievements.
Noell L. Rowan, PhD, LCSW, CADC, ACSW
Assistant Professor
Director, BSW Program
Hartford Geriatric Faculty Scholar
Kent School of Social Work
University of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
 Dr. Rowan Q. Dr. Rowan, where did you receive your education, what is your area of specialization, and where are you employed?
I am a graduate of the University of Georgia 1989 and 1990 (BSW and MSW); and the University of Louisville/University of Kentucky Joint PhD Program in Social Work (PhD). My research focus is in aging/gerontology, chemical dependency specifically alcoholism, and LGBT population.
I am Director of BSW Program, and Assistant Professor, University of Louisville, Kent School of Social Work. I teach social work practice courses with undergraduate social work students. I also am a part time private practitioner with Park View Psychiatric Services in Jeffersonville, Indiana. My practice experience for the past 20 years has been in mental health and substance abuse/addiction treatment.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I chose the social work profession mainly because I was drawn to be a helping professional and my maternal grandmother whom I greatly respected and admired was a social worker.
Q. What is your proudest professional achievement?
My proudest professional achievement is obtaining funding from the John A. Hartford Foundation which is giving me a wonderful opportunity to conduct research on resiliency and quality of life with older lesbian adults with alcoholism.
To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: 2011 LGBT Pride Month, LGBT social workers, Noell Rowan
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Introduction
To celebrate Pride Month, we asked LGBT social workers to talk about their career and proudest achievements.
Jordan Hunt, MSW
Psychotherapy Private Practitioner
Freehold, New Jersey
 Mr. Hunt Q. Mr. Hunt, where did you receive your education, where are you employed and what is your area of specialization?
I received my MSW from New York University’s graduate school of social work in 1994. Since beginning my private practice in 1997, I have worked, for the most part, with the LGBT community. In the past five years, my particular emphasis has been in working with the transgender community.
Q. Why did you choose social work as your profession?
I chose to pursue a career in Social Work because it allows me to incorporate my clinical training/skill in combination with my experience of being a member of the LGBT community while assisting my clients.
Q. What is your proudest professional achievement?
My proudest moment is when a client tells me that he/she believes that our “work” together is done. It is at that moment that I know I’ve been able to assist them in developing tools that will enable them to go out into the world, better prepared to embrace a fulfilling life.
To find a social worker in your area, please click here.
Tags: 2011 LGBT Pride Month, Jordan Hunt, LGBT social workers
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2011 LGBT Pride Celebration |
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