Matt Hanson served in the Army National Guard for nearly a decade – on a mostly fulltime/active duty basis and rising to the rank of captain. At one point, he and the soldiers under his command helped facilitate the integration and resettlement of 13,000 Afghan evacuees after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan. Now, Matt …
State Superintendent of Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction (DPI), Dr. Jill Underly, appointed School alum Sara Knueve to the role of Assistant Deputy State Superintendent of Academics in March 2025. Prior to this new role, Sara was a policy advisor for the agency. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Sara is an advocate for education for …
In January 2025, alum Jamie Kuhn was named Director of Public Affairs on the Government Solutions Team at Foley & Lardner, a Wisconsin based law firm. Commenting on Jamie’s hiring, Paul Wrycha, managing partner of Foley’s Madison office, explains, “Jamie’s proven leadership in government affairs and extensive relationships at the state and local level will …
Social Work Alum Stephanie Johnson has had a long career working in healthcare. After many years working as a medical social worker, she started her own consulting and coaching practice after her own transformational experience of seeking support from a life coach herself. Fourteen years ago, healthcare and support became personal when her husband Rick …
Associate Professor Jooyoung Kong received a 2025 Recent Alumni Award from her alma mater, the Boston College School of Social Work for her contributions to the social work profession. Dr. Kong will receive the award at a celebration on November 10th. Dr. Kong received a PhD from Boston College in 2016 with a dissertation titled, …
The Council on Social Work Education selected Assistant Professor Jessica Pac as the recipient of the Early Career Award in Child Welfare for her contributions to the field of child welfare and to social work. Since joining the faculty in 2019, Dr. Pac has had a profound impact on child welfare policy and education. She …
Students doing a Field Placement with a community agency also take a Field Seminar to complement and investigate their work. The emphasis in this unit is on problem-solving and multi-method, evidence-informed, interventions with active consultation, support, and teamwork from the student, agency staff, faculty, and other professional relationships. Ron Chance, Senior Field Instructor, has taught …
High Road Strategy Center released its State of Working Wisconsin report for Labor Day this week. Clinical Associate Professor Laura Dresser, who is also the Associate Director of High Roads Strategy Center, is the lead author. Key findings: Wisconsin’s 2024 median wage – $25.01 per hour – reached a record high. For the second year …
Clinical Associate Professor Laura Dresser recently penned a commentary in the Wisconsin Examiner, “Jobs, data and democracy.” Dr. Dresser is the Associate Director of High Road Strategy Center. A labor economist and expert on low-wage work and workforce development systems, she has both written about ways to build stronger labor market systems and worked extensively …
The Dane County Department of Human Services in Madison oversees a wide range of services aimed at enhancing the well-being of county residents, including child welfare, mental health services, support for individuals with disabilities, and several programs for children and families. For decades, the agency and its social work staff have supervised hundreds of students …