A group of Wayne State University School of Social Work faculty and staff accompanied recent program graduates on a trip to Chicago to attend and present at the 30^th Annual Conference of the Network of Social Work Managers (NSWM). The national conference annually attracts over 350 social work leaders and managers of social, health and human services programs, departments and agencies nationwide and has previously centered on aspects of social enterprise and social innovation. This year's conference organizing theme was "Accelerating Impact: Harnessing the Power of Human, Social and Financial Innovation," which garnered nearly 150 workshop proposals. Among the workshops, panel and poster sessions selected for the conference included two dynamic presentations from SSW alumni. Social Work Adjunct Faculty Marijo Upshaw, MSW, MBA presented a 60-minute workshop on "An Overview of Social Work Entrepreneurship" and Anita Partyka, MSW, Dominique Golden, MSW, and Merriam Issa, MSW (far left in above image) all recent MSW graduates from the SSW's Innovation in Community, Policy and Leadership (ICPL) concentration, drew a classroom full of conference participants to attend their 60-minute workshop on "Building Interactive Data Dashboards in Excel and Data Visualization Tips." Read more about their visit to Hull House and attendance at the ACOSA annual working retreat.

New Faces, Farewells and Changes in the School of Social Work

Katie Alfonsi recently transition from her role as a Social Work OASS Student Assistant to her new role as a Secretary III in the Dean's office. Alfonsi is providing support to the associate deans, Continuing Education, event planning and Dean Kubiak until a replacement for her administrative assistant comes on board. She can be reached at 313-577-9348, ec6856@wayne.edu and is in office #271. Join us in giving Katie a warm welcome in her new role!

Anabela Trifan is the new Grant/Contract Administrator in the SSW located in office #252. Trifan is responsible for all areas of research administration, including both pre- and post-award grant management and for providing financial and administrative advice and support services to PI's and other research staff. Before coming to the School of Social Work, Trifan was a Research Assistant in the Department of Radiology. She also has a background in office administration, ERP consulting and accounting for private industry. Trifan can be reached at anabela.trifan@wayne.edu or 313-577-0233. Swing by and welcome Anabela!

Two new Social Work OASS Student Assistants have come on board recently, Brittany Kalaj and Makayla Payne. Brittany is currently majoring in Psychology and can be reached at gj3460@wayne.edu and Makayla is a senior studying Human Resource Management and can be reached at fo1356@wayne.edu. Please introduce yourself to our new additions and welcome them to the Social Work building!

Four new tenure track faculty will begin in Fall 2019 (Jason Carbone, Athena Kheibari, Kristina Nikolova, and Bradley Ray). Ray will enter as an Associate Professor and will become the Director of the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice. All others will be at the Assistant Professor rank.

Social Work Director of Development, Jana McNair, has departed for a position in St. Joe's Health System. Philanthropy matters should be directed to Joye Clark at 313-577-2161 or joye.clark@wayne.edu until this position is filled.

Manager of Research Support, Caitlin Brown, will be leaving the School of Social Work this month. Caitlin has been at the School of Social Work since 2010 - first as a student assistant when she was working on her MSW and as our Manager for Research Support since 2012.  Caitlin has a great opportunity to pursue her passion of wellness and yoga programming. She will be working with the i3 Wellness Center in downtown Detroit. She is also developing a yoga minor for the Kinesiology, Health & Sport Studies Department at Wayne State. Caitlin has been a tremendous asset to the Research Center and we will miss her, but wish her well!

Christina Dennis, Director of Admissions and Student Services, has left the School of Social Work and the areas of of admissions, advising and recruitment, and field education will now be led by Anwar Najor-Durack in the role of Interim Assistant Dean of Student Affairs.

Summer 2019 will see the following leadership transitions:

• Jerrold Brandell will move toward retirement and no longer serve as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
• Joy Ernst will no longer hold the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs position but will remain full-time faculty
• Debra Patterson will take on the role of Interim Associate Dean of Academic / Faculty Affairs

Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Director of Field Education and Assistant Professor, Clinical Anwar Najor-Durack (far left below) co-taught the intensive 2019 Association of Social Work Boards Path to Licensure Institute program this week in Virginia. The goal of the program is to help a select group of ASWB Path to Licensure Institute Scholars understand social work regulation as essential for protecting the public and ensuring high standards for safe and competent professional practice.

Anwar Najor-Durack and Nursing Assistant Professor Clinical, Umeika Stephens are proud to announce the launch of the new Screening Brief Intervention Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) website where visitors can access SBIRT screening resources, brief intervention tools, patient resources and training materials. Wayne State was the first university in the state of Michigan to receive a SAMHSA grant for training students in SBIRT, which is an integrated, public health approach to delivering early intervention and treatment services for persons with or at risk of developing substance use disorders. SBIRT is designed for use in primary care centers, hospital emergency rooms, trauma centers and other community settings that are a person's first, and sometimes only, contact with the health care system. We encourage faculty, staff, alumni and friends to take advantage of the free online SBIRT training to receive two FREE Social Work Continuing Education credits. Learn more

Dean Sheryl Kubiak enjoyed a bit of sunshine while spreading the Social Work Warrior Strong message to #EmpowerSocialChangeInDetroit at the 38th annual Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference May 28 - 30. Dean Kubiak joined over 1,700 of Michigan's top business and political leaders for discussions on state and national policy.

The Wayne State School of Social Work 2019 Heart Walk team joined the Detroit community on May 18 for the annual walk, which raised over $1 million for lifesaving science and outreach. Social Work Warrior Team members included Dean Sheryl Kubiak and Associate Professor Richard Smith. Smith is pictured below (left) with Social Work Custodian Damon Garrett (right).

Members of the School of Social Work will be participating in the upcoming August 17 Baroudeur to benefit WSU student scholarships. Those interested in joining the Social Work Warriors Team contact Tam Perry at ff6800@wayne.edu. Learn more about the Baroudeur.  

On May 9, the WSU Anti-Stigma Committee invited the Warrior community to support the 4th annual Walk a Mile in My Shoes, the Mental Health Awareness Week Walk to benefit the Wayne State University Food Pantry. The School of Social Work, Office of the Provost, the President's Commission on the Status of Women, Counseling and Psychological Services, the Dean of Students Office and La Pita Fresh worked to raise awareness around mental health with the goal of reducing the stigma that people with mental disorders face every day. The event included remarks from Social Work BSW student Farhana Aktar who discussed her journey of overcoming cultural norms and the stigma of seeking counseling help, (image 2 below, Aktar PDF remarks), a one mile walk across campus and a canned food drive. A thank-you to the Social Work representative Shantalea Johns who participated in and planned the event.

The SSW has updated our tagline from "Challenging Minds, Leading Change and Transforming Lives" to "Empowering Social Change in Detroit". You will see this phrase woven through SSW communications, our website, social media channels and on trinket giveaways. We will be fully launching this new tagline in the Fall 2019 semester and would love to get your help spreading the word! We are looking to create a video compilation of students, faculty and staff stating how they Empower Social Change in Detroit and will be hosting a Video Taping Drop-In Session in the SSW Technology Room on August 26, 2019 (faculty meeting day) from 12 3 pm for anyone who is interested in participating. The clips will be short (5 10 seconds) and no appointment is necessary during the Drop-In Session. Additional details regarding the video will be forthcoming. For questions contact Betsy Vanderstelt at fq0994@wane.edu.