NASW Foundation Announces 2008-2009 Award Recipients

• Jane B. Aron Doctoral Fellowship
• Eileen Blackey Doctoral Fellowship
• Verne LaMarr Lyons Memorial MSW Scholarship
• Consuelo W. Gosnell Memorial Scholarship
• Ruth Fizdale Program

Jane B. Aron Doctoral Fellowship

Kelly A. Williams is a PhD candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Social Work. She earned her BA and MSW from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1987 and 1991, respectively. Ms. Williams is a research assistant at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her doctoral dissertation focuses on health and mental health service use among sexual minority youth (that is, youth who report same-sex attraction and behavior or gay, lesbian, or bisexual identity). Her anticipated date of completion is April 2009.

Eileen Blackey Doctoral Fellowship

Laura Brierton Granruth is a PhD candidate at the Catholic University of America, National Catholic School of Social Service. She earned her BA from Fordham University in 1984, from which she graduated cum laude, and her MSW from the Virginia Commonwealth University in 2001. Ms. Granruth has lectured on advanced social policy analysis at the Catholic University of America, National Catholic School of Social Service. Her doctoral dissertation addresses a segment of the state tax policy literature that has not been examined to determine the level to which state tax code progressivity impacts a selected number of indicators of children’s quality of life. Her anticipated date of completion is May 2009.

Verne LaMarr Lyons Memorial MSW Scholarship

Alex J. Rhodes is an MSW student enrolled at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Jane Addams School of Social Work. He earned a BS from Northeastern Illinois University, from which he graduated magna cum laude. He is employed part-time as a psychosocial coordinator at one of Chicago’s oldest AIDS service organizations. He works with clients individually and facilitates the agency’s support groups. He has also worked with the Chicago Department of Public Health’s Ryan White Title I Planning Council and the HIV Prevention Planning Group, overseen by the Centers for Disease Control, advocating for funding for the wide range of services for people infected and impacted by HIV/AIDS.

Consuelo W. Gosnell Memorial Scholarship

Yesenia Aguilar, University of Southern California—Ms. Aguilar has worked as a child life specialist at Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles, which allowed her to interact with Latino families who faced life-altering situations. She focused on addressing the psychosocial needs of those who experienced a myriad of feelings in response to their hospitalization. Ms. Aguilar has volunteered with Padres Contra el Cancer for several years, advocating for families in time of grief. While she is pursuing her MSW, she works at a clinic in the Pico Union area of Los Angeles, which provides affordable medical and mental health services to low-income Latinos.

Rosa Delmy Alvayero, University of Maryland, Baltimore—Ms. Alvayero, a Salvadoran immigrant, migrated at the age of 17 to escape the violence of civil war in her country. Ms Alvayero’s deep desire to become a social worker is fueled by the need for more social services and bilingual social workers who can understand the cultural background in the Latino population of the United States. She interned at La Clinica del Pueblo, Washington, DC, which provides a wide range of health care services for the immigrant population in the metropolitan area and within the Montgomery College Mental Health Program. Ms. Alvayero has worked for several years with at-risk youth and their families in Hyattsville, Maryland. Her commitment to continuing her work on behalf of Latino families deepens as she pursues her MSW degree.

Martha M. Andrade, California State University, Chico—Ms. Andrade migrated to the United States six years ago from Mexico. She is a full-time student, enrolled at California State University, Chico, and has been on the dean’s list every semester. She is the first person in her family to attend college. She is employed part-time at the Orland Inn and has volunteered at Enloe Medical Hospital as an interpreter. She is a member of several social work organizations and is an ambassador and member of the College of Behavioral and Social Science Student Advisory Council.

Kathryn Brown, University of California, Los Angeles—Ms. Brown is a third-year student enrolled in a joint-degree program with the Public Interest Law and Policy Program at the School of Law and the School of Social Welfare. She has interned at the Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Center’s Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Clinic, which enabled her to counsel, support, and learn from clients with a variety of mental health concerns. She has also interned with the Public Counsel’s Children Rights Project as a social worker for the city’s culturally diverse and disenfranchised youth. She will intern for the summer with the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley’s Mental Health Advocacy Project.

Alicia Bunch, University of Tennessee, Knoxville—Ms. Bunch is passionate and dedicated to working and advocating for Latino immigrants. She is a native of Panama, Central America. She has worked as a Student Missions Coordinator and volunteered at Siloam Family Health Center as an interpreter. While working in Bolivia at a work center for women in prostitution, she realized that there is severe trauma involved in being in prostitution. Her goal upon completion of her MSW degree is to work with Latino women who have experienced sexual abuse and other forms of trauma. She completed her foundational field practice at the Behavioral Treatment Providers, which provides court-ordered classes for first-time offenders of driving under the influence of alcohol, shoplifting, anger management, and domestic violence. She has also been extensively involved in working with victims of human trafficking.

Nadia G. Kalinchuk, University of Houston—Ms. Kalinchuk is an ardent and passionate advocate for justice. This came from her first-hand experience, both personally and professionally. She became involved in the Peer Assistance and Leadership program at her school and launched a campaign to address the needs of incoming Spanish-speaking students. She has worked as an HIV educator for the AIDS Foundation of Houston. She was able to educate incarcerated youth about the need for HIV testing and practicing HIV prevention. As the only bilingual HIV youth educator, she was assigned the Spanish-speaking floor of the juvenile detention center. As her experience and knowledge of oppression and social justice grew, she realized that it was not enough to be just an interpreter for her community. She began working for the Houston Area Women’s Center, a sexual assault and domestic violence service center and shelter. She counseled survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Ms. Kalinchuk is an MSW student at the University of Houston, Graduate College of Social Work.

Elizabeth Kampf, University of St. Thomas/College of St. Catherine, Minnesota—Ms. Kampf enrolled in a course on Women’s Health in Mexico and visited a rural clinic, where she saw first-hand the health disparities among Mexican people. This brought a renewed awareness for her and her desires as a social worker. Ms. Kampf works in a clinic that offers free psychological, social, and legal services to low-income individuals and recent immigrants. She sees the unique challenges Latinos face in receiving resources needed in the United States. Currently, she is completing her field placement at an outpatient medical clinic where she does perinatal social work, counsel’s patients during difficult pregnancies, and assists women in obtaining medical care for themselves and their children. Being able to interact with the Spanish-speaking patients has opened many doors for her clients.

Jessica Hope LePak, University of California, Berkeley—Ms. LePak has served in the Bay Area urban Indian community. She offers support services to individual youth who are struggling with complicated family and or legal problems. She has also been involved in the Bay Area Native Youth and Family Education Center. She is on the board of directors for the Intertribal Friendship House and is a member of three advisory boards, namely, the Bay Area Indian Child Welfare Improvement Initiative Project, through the Casey Family Programs; Vice Chancellor of Equity and Inclusion’s Strategic Advisory Group at the University of California, Berkley; and Reconnecting the Circle. Her participation on these advisory boards has allowed her to be influential in important decisions that affect American Indian people.

Roshanna Lucero, New Mexico State University—Ms. Lucero was born and raised in Isleta Pueblo, New Mexico. She interned at the J. Paul Taylor Juvenile Detention Center for American Indian Clients. This group facilitates and focuses on maintaining cultural identity through history lessons, identifying and discussing issues that are pervasive in the tribal communities, and also offers other hands-on activities that provide the youth with an outlet to express their “Native Pride.” Ms. Lucero’s involvement in the American Indian communities on- and off-campus; with the American Indian Program at New Mexico State University; and volunteering with the Big Brothers, Big Sisters Community Mentorship Program has given her valuable tools to work with younger American Indians. She was selected by the criminal justice department to research the prevalent criminal and delinquency issues of New Mexico tribes on a curriculum that will be a part of an online learning to the tribal students.

Gloria Teresa Montes, Portland State University—Ms. Montes is an immigrant from Elsalvador Jalisco, Mexico. Her passion for social work began in high school where she volunteered on a project called “Latino Phone Line Network,” which was a voice mail system that recorded pertinent information about schools in Spanish. She has interned at Positive Youth Development (PYD) and the Leadership, Education, Adventure, Direction (LED). In PYD, she participated in the Youth Action Board and translated the Youth Law Handbook to Spanish. At LED, a nonprofit leadership program, she was the Latino Outreach Coordinator. After completion of her internship, she was employed as a bilingual group coordinator, where she coordinates and facilitates weekly meetings to empower Latino youth leadership.

Marisol Naranjo, University of Southern California—Ms. Naranjo’s passion to help others stems from personal and loved ones’ experiences. She is a firm believer of education that goes beyond the classroom and textbooks, which will allow continuous work in the community. Ms. Naranjo is a mentor for three Latino high school students and assists students throughout their college application process. In this one-year program, she serves as a guide to her mentees and prepares them for the journey they are about to embark on. She is also a member of the School of Social Work Latino Caucus, an organization designed to bring awareness about Latino issues and on ways to get involved in the community.

Ruth Fizdale Program

2009-2010: NASW Massachusetts Chapter, Hospital Social Workers: The Needs They Address and the Services They Provide.

The grant will be used to document the value of social work intervention in hospital settings and determine the cost-effectiveness of social work services in the hospital setting. The supporting team includes directors of social work departments in the major Greater Boston, Massachusetts teaching hospitals and researcher and professor Dr. James Drisko from Smith College School for Social Work.

Results of the study will be published and presented at professional conferences.