Can a small piece of ethically sourced, small batch dark chocolate motivate people to engage in self-care and stress reduction? Alum and entrepreneur, Melissa Mueller-Douglas, MSW ’11 finds it does. After graduating with her Masters of Social Work degree, Melissa worked for six years as a therapist and then four years as a Vocational/Educational Specialist …
We are pleased to announce that the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work’s Board of Visitors has named Leslie Ann Howard as our 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. Leslie was President and CEO of the United Way of Dane County for 26 years and then served as a Senior Advisor to the CEO of United …
After working in the restaurant industry for more than 20 years, Michael Moody returned to UW-Madison to complete his undergraduate degree. By chance, he took Social Work Professor Marah Curtis’s class on social policy, and, as he explains, “her approach to systems and social policy blew me away!” Motivated to pursue social work and, “looking …
For most of her career, Sandra McCormick developed programs to improve the health, human services, and quality of life for many citizens of Russia, the Ukraine, and numerous other countries. While serving in a leadership role at La Crosse, Wisconsin’s Gundersen Health System in the early 1990’s, she led local efforts to build a partnership …
The Forward Award acknowledges rising stars in various fields who exemplify the Wisconsin Idea through an emphasis on service, discovery, and progress. Lanikque Howard wanted to help families like hers, so she became the first in her family to graduate from high school and went on to graduate studies in social work at UW–Madison. When Lanikque Howard …
After almost 30 years working in the Employee Assistance Field (the last 18 with the City of Madison), Tresa Martinez recently retired. Acknowledging Tresa’s Contributions, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway writes in a city proclamation honoring her work: Tresa managed a robust system of trauma informed resources, employee wellness programs, return to work services, peer support …
I have warm feelings for my six years at the university. At 96, Professor Alan Wade remembers taking classes with Helen I. Clarke, the first faculty member hired to teach social work at UW-Madison, Arthur Miles, Director at the time, and Werner Boehm. He explains that he, “continues to be a loyal, dyed in the …
Madison 365, a non-profit organization that “fosters dialog between diverse communities,” recognized Naomi Takahashi, MSW ’12, for her contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Naomi is the director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and UW Health, where she supports DEI program expansion and strategic development. She …
Upon her retirement in August, Margie Zutter, currently the Executive Director of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Dane County, WI will end the career she began as a UW-Madison Social Work intern in 1976. Through RSVP, from 1976 to the present, Margie collaborated with many community agencies to develop programs that utilized …
In her recent book, Downstairs Church: Finding Hope in the Grit of Addiction and Trauma Recovery, Caroline (Miller) Beidler, MSW ’16, shares her road to recovery from substance abuse and explores the problem of addiction and trauma for women today. With a spiritual bent (the “Downtown Church” part of the title refers to the many …