The Social Entrepreneurship Committee works to promote and foster and culture of entrepreneurship among social work stakeholder groups including students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members. Shantalea Johns and Marijo Upshaw, co-chair the committee and additional committee members include Charise Coats, Dominique Golden, Jana McNair, Richard Smith and Tamarie Willis. The Committee recently hosted two events addressing the growing field of social entrepreneurship. 

On the evening of, March 20^th, an excited crowd of Wayne State School of Work students, alumni, faculty staff and special guests gathered in the Loft Room of the Outdoor Adventure Center in

downtown Detroit to attend the inaugural Social Work Startup Story Night event. Organized by the Social Entrepreneurship Committee, attendees heard from storytellers Anjanette Davenport Hatter, MSW student Dominique Golden, Judith Fischer Wollack,

and Social Work Board of Visitors Chair Alice Thompson. The storytellers received support from Professional storyteller and coach, Satori Shakoor, who worked with them to craft their startup "love stories" and Aubrey C. Agee, II served as the MC for the evening. Read More. View event photos.

The Social Entrepreneurship Committee also welcomed over 240 attendees (25% social worker, 25% business, and 50% community members) to the 2^nd annual Social Entrepreneurship Conference on April 5^th. The School of Social Work, in partnership with the Mike Ilitch School of Business and student-led social innovation program OptimizeWayne, hosted the event at the newly built Mike Ilitch School of Business. This conference brought together keynote speaker Morgan Simon and over 20 presenters from our own backyard and beyond who are creating impactful new ways to address unmet societal needs through social enterprise and innovation. A big thank-you to the Social Entrepreneurship Committee for organizing this event! View event photos here.

After 21 years in the School of Social Work, Cassandra Bowers will be retiring from her full-time faculty position and taking on the role of part-time faculty. We wish Cassandra well as she transitions to the warmer weather of Arizona and this new position!

After 24 years in the School of Social Work, Arlene Weisz will be retiring and we wish her good luck on her future adventures! 

After four years in the School of Social Work, Assistant Professor Jamey Lister will be departing for a new position at the Rutgers University School of Social Work. Going forward, Jamey will continue his work on opioid use disorder treatment for underserved groups through projects in New Jersey and Michigan. Jamey noted, "The decision to leave Wayne State University was not easy. People at the university have treated me well and we built meaningful relationships. Collectively, my wife and I have been at WSU for 15 years. We trained and worked here, and take pride living in Detroit. Leaving the university and local communities will be emotional." Good luck Jamey on your new endeavor!

The Office of Admissions and Student Services is proud to welcome Lawrence Robinson to the advising team! Lawrence earned his MSW right here at Wayne with a macro concentration. Robinson has collaborated with others to develop, implement, and evaluate student support programs and services for organizations such as WSU Office of Federal TRIO, WSU FOCIS, Connect Detroit, The Yunion, and the City of Detroit Mayor's Office. Lawrence will provide academic advisement to M.S.W. students and those in graduate certificate programs. Other responsibilities include recruitment and retention activities, advisement on admission procedures and degree requirements, and assistance with developing student support services. Join us in giving Lawrence a warm welcome! Lawrence's contact information: 313-577-4409 and dz2996@wayne.edu

The Center for Behavioral Health and Justice is proud to announce Edita Milanovic has chosen to join the CBHJ team! Edita first began working with the jail diversion evaluation team at Michigan State University as a student in an evaluation class taught by Dean Kubiak in 2015, leading her to want to learn more about the various diversion efforts across the state. Edita is a certified Inside-Out instructor, and has four years of experience assisting or teaching a university-level social work policy course at the Jackson Cooper Street Correctional Facility. Edita assists in the entry, coding, cleaning, conditioning, and analysis of multiple data sets from jails, courts, and state-level agencies. In addition to these data responsibilities, she also assists in the writing of manuscripts and reports. Edita's contact information: gy2921@wayne.edu

The Wayne State School of Social Work and Coalition of Community Social Workers hosted "The Social Worker's Role in Supporting Immigrants - A dinner & panel discussion" on April 10^th that brought together practitioners from various fields of social work who work directly with immigrant clients and communities. The intent of the event was to connect the reality and proximity of issues that surround immigration to students who are emerging professionals in such fields of work. Key areas discussed included school social work, child welfare, mental health, substance use, homelessness, incarceration, domestic abuse, and human trafficking.

The Center for Social Work Research organized the annual Social Work Student Research Symposium on April 12^th in the School of Social Work. The event featured bachelor's, master's and doctoral students who presented their research which impacts clinical practice and social policy at the national and international levels. Highlighted research projects included thesis work, directed study projects, faculty-student projects and community engagement initiatives. Awards were presented for the best poster at each program level. Congratulations to the following 2019 award recipients:

• BSW Student: Amani El-Edlebi for "Partnership for Father Success: Collaboration Between Wayne State University and the FARM (Family Assistance for Renaissance Men) Project" (below, right)
• MSW Student: Sarah Charbonneau for "Life Review and Reminiscence with Older Adults in Detroit" (below, left)
• PhD Student: Tamarie Willis for "Individuals with Mental Illness who have Multiple Encounters with Law Enforcement" (below, center)

View event pictures.

On 2/6/19 Eric Wilkins, LMSW, and a 2016 graduate from our MSW program, was a guest in Professor Gonzalez-Prendes' SW 8350 class at the Macomb University Center to talk about the use of mindfulness in social work practice, and to share tips for preparing for the social work license examination. Mr. Wilkins led a discussion and class exercise on the benefits of mindfulness not only as a tool for clinical practice, but also as a means to enhance the social worker's self-care. Mr. Wilkins also shared with the students the steps that he took to prepare for and successfully complete the social work license exam on his first try.

In February, the School of Social Work welcomed lecturer and project manager, Sigrid Haunberger, from the ZHAW University of Applied Sciences, Department of Social Work to meet with collaborators in the Wayne State School of Social Work and get a feel for our chilly home in Detroit. Read more about Hanuberger's adventures on the Q-Line and exploration of the Detroit mural-scape in her blog posting here.

With support from the Wayne State Alumni Association, the School of Social Work sponsored a Small Plates, Big Ideas invite-only luncheon with Social Work Board of Visitor member, Paul Hubbard, and our Social Work student organization leaders. Paul Hubbard, is an MSU alum, past director of economic development for the City of Toledo, former president of New Detroit and currently a consultant at Trivium Partners LLC. Paul discussed political activism initiatives he organized as an MSW student and ways in which student orgs and current students can become involved. He will also briefly discussed organizational change and how current leadership can provide a smooth transition to the new incoming student org leaders for next year.

The School of Social Work recently launched their new website homepage! Checkout the new layout and features here.

With the assistance of Judith Wineman, the Wayne State School of Social Work Office of Admissions and Student Services (OASS) has taken a Warrior Road Trip! They recently launched a pilot program offering student support services and office hours across campus in Old Main. Students have been encouraged to swing by and chat with an advisor, writing tutor or the Associate Dean for Academics. No appointments were necessary for this walk-in program.

OASS has also expanded their Social Work writing services to include a walk-in clinic on Monday's from 9 am 3 pm in the Social Work building. OASS has added resume and cover letter assistance to their list of free services as well. Faculty are asked to encourage their students to utilize these support services in an effort to prepare our future Warrior alumni for the rigors of our programs and the competitive job market in their future! For more information, contact Vanessa Gualtieri at ac8153@wayne.edu. PDF flyer to print.

The School of Social Work has formed a team for the 2019 Metro Detroit Heart and Stroke Walk/Run, which will take place on Wayne State's campus on May 18^th. Donations are not required to participate. Click here to learn more about the Social Work Warriors team, to sign-up or to make a donation.