After five years at the Social Work Doctoral Program Director, Associate Professor Faith Hopp will be stepping down from this role and passing the baton to Professor Poco Kernsmith. The transition will occur mid-July 2019 and provide Faith with additional time to focus on research and new teaching areas. "I have thoroughly enjoyed being doctoral director and it has truly been one of the highlights of my career so far," stated Faith. We would like to thank Faith for her tireless work with the doctoral program and students. Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Poco as she takes on this new role.

A current Wayne State Social Work doctoral student, Laprisha Berry-Vaughn recently took on a new role in the school as a project coordinator for The Center for Behavioral Health and Justice. Laprisha most recently served as executive director of Macomb Children's Healthcare Access Program and prior to that served as the director of programs and evaluations for the same agency. In addition to pursuing her doctorate, Laprisha also holds a master of social work and master of public health from University of Michigan. As a project coordinator, Laprisha will serve as a primary liaison to community stakeholders on the jail diversion and Stepping Up projects, which encompass 21 counties across the state. Her responsibilities include instituting and maintaining positive collaborative relationships with local behavioral health, criminal justice, law enforcement, and county stakeholders; implementing evaluation design and data collection methods within the community; managing data collection processes; and contributing to the development of CBHJ reports and presentations.

The Center for Social Work Research is pleased to welcome Lena Boraggina-Ballard as a new Research Associate. Lena will be working on a new study related to child welfare retention examining factors that influence why child welfare workers stay and leave the workforce. She will also work on Center evaluation projects. Lena received her Ph.D. in Educational Studies - Concentration in Urban Education, MSW and BSW from Eastern Michigan University.

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