NASW Foundation National Programs

NASW Social Work Pioneers^®

Rhoda G. Sarnat, LCSW

Rhoda G. Sarnat has made pioneering efforts in enhancing the public image of professional social work.  She has worked tirelessly to increase the public’s knowledge, understanding, and respect for professional social work locally, nationally, and internationally.  Her vision, to create a unified effort to promote professional social work, led to the creation of the NASW Foundation International Rhoda G. Sarnat Award.  This endowed fund, generously established by Mrs. Sarnat and her husband, Bernard Sarnat, MD, awards a monetary prize annually to an individual, group, or organization that has significantly advanced the public image of professional social work. 

Mrs. Sarnat also played an active role in the NASW Centennial, which aimed to raise the visibility of the social work profession, and to improve the public perception of social work. 

Mrs. Sarnat earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a master of art degree from the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration.  Her teachers at the University of Chicago included Edith and Grace Abbott, as well as Charlotte Towle, who served as Mrs. Sarnat’s role model of a psychiatric social worker— a practice area with which she had always been intrigued.  Upon graduation, she was hired as a caseworker at the Jewish Social Service Bureau (JSSB), in Chicago, where she worked for three years. During her third year at JSSB, Mrs. Sarnat became a field instructor for University of Chicago social work students, developing the interest in supervision that continued throughout her professional life. 

During World War II, Mrs. Sarnat joined the American Red Cross as an assistant director of a Home Service Unit, where she worked with veterans and their families and supervised eight to 10 social work staff.  In 1943, she and her husband moved to St. Louis, where she was hired by the Psychiatry Department of Barnes Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine.  At Barnes Hospital, Mrs. Sarnat supervised social work students from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, in addition to medical and psychiatric residents. 

Before permanently relocating to the West Coast, Mrs. Sarnat and her husband returned to Chicago for nearly 10 years.  During this period, she worked at United Charities as an assistant district supervisor, supervised students from the University of Chicago, and gave birth to their son, Gerry (1945) and their daughter Joan (1948).   

In the mid-1950s, the Sarnats moved to Los Angeles, where Mrs. Sarnat entered into private practice. She was later hired by the University of Southern California as advisor to MSW candidates, and then as director of field education.  She also served as assistant dean of student affairs for the school.

In 1981, after a distinguished career, Mrs. Sarnat retired.  During her retirement she has served as docent at the Los Angeles Zoo and volunteer supervisor at the Senior Peer Counseling Service.  She also enjoys presenting slide shows of travelogues to the elderly.  Mrs. Sarnat’s publications include: Supervision of the Experienced Student, which appeared in Social Casework and Prediction vs. Performance in Student Selection, which appeared in Social Work Education Reporter.