UGA School of Social Work Fall 2020 Virtual Graduation Program

GRADUATING CLASS of 2020 Fall

Our Mission The School of Social Work at the University of Georgia prepares culturally responsive practitioners and scholars to be leaders in addressing social problems and promoting social justice, locally and globally, through teaching, research, and service.

Photographs and videos in this virtual program were taken by the School of Social Work, UGA Photographic Services and friends and family of the persons pictured. Design: Kat Farlowe. Video captioning: Laurie Anderson, Kat Farlowe Š2020 University of Georgia School of Social Work

Hugh Hodgson School of Music Graduation Opening Performance

PROGRAM WELCOME Dr. Anna M. Scheyett, Dean and Professor KEYNOTE SPEAKER Erin Barger, MSW Project Manager, Envision Athens DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE Dr. Y. Joon Choi, PhD Program Director MASTER OF ARTS IN NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP GRADUATES Dr. Anthony Mallon, MA NML Program Director MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK / MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH GRADUATES Dr. Javier Boyas, MSW Program Director Dr. Rebecca Wells, MSW/MPH Program Coordinator Dr. Jane McPherson, Global Engagement Director Ms. Jenae Brown Bryan, MSW Program Coordinator NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP CERTIFICATE GRADUATES GOOD FORTUNE Dr. Larry Nackerud CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES! Videos from SSW Faculty Members

WELCOME Anna M. Scheyett Dean and Professor Dear School of Social Work Graduating Class of 2020, On behalf of everyone at the School of Social Work, I wish you a hearty and heartfelt “Congratulations!!!”

Even though we can’t be together in person right now to shake hands and celebrate, please know I am so proud of each and every MSW/MPH, MA NML, and PhD graduate.

Your success is a testament to your hard work, commitment, and passion for making the world a better place. The world continues to be a challenging place right now. However, I am confident that each of you is well prepared to attack these challenges and make a positive difference. Your faculty have equipped you with multiple tools and skills, and your capacity to make positive social change is limitless. We can’t wait to see all the amazing things you will do as you fulfill the School’s mission to address social problems and promote social justice.

All the best to you on this special day and beyond. Please stay connected—we would love to hear how you are doing and we are always here to support you and celebrate your accomplishments. Be well, be happy, be the change you want to see in the world.

With warmest regards,

Welcome DEAN’S WELCOME

KEYNOTE SPEAKER Erin Barger, MSW Project Manager, Envision Athens

ERIN BARGER KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Erin Barger became Project Manager for Envision Athens after serving as a citizen representative on the Steering Committee for this movement in 2017. Barger brings to this role two decades of community development work, ranging from work in disability supports and advocacy, refugee resettlement, service as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in China, and then nearly a decade of addressing poverty in the beloved community of Athens, Georgia. She is an MSW graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Barger is excited about Envision Athens as the right combination of grassroots passion and institutional capacity to propel Athens toward the best possible version of herself. This Athens will have reached her full potential in unity, prosperity, equity, and compassion.

Just as the Athenian oath proclaims, Barger always tries to leave people and places better than she found them, and that is her intention with Envision Athens, and in each role in which she is honored to serve. She loves spending time at Athens YMCA and outdoors, and wouldn’t rather be with anyone else but her husband, Brian, and children Lazarus Mercy, Atticus Earth, and Moses Jubilee.

PhD Doctor of

Philosophy

Dr. Y. Joon Choi, PhD program director, congratulates Shena Brown.

Shena Leverett Brown Dissertation title: Racism by any other name: The lived experiences of Black social work practitioners and racial microaggressions Committee members: Shari Miller, Chair, Rosalyn Denise Campbell, Zoe Johnson

M

Master in

of

Arts

Nonprofit Management and

Leadership

Dr. Tony Mallon, MA NML program director, congratulates the MA NML graduates.

MA NML Maria Therese Antonetti Akilah Japera Blount MacKenzie Christina Carroll

Allyson Benge Hester Brielle Susanne Hill Abigail Grace Horvath

LaDiamond B. Lett Daniela Alejandra Racines-Izquierdo Claire Kathleen Sanders

MSW Sombal Bari Julianne R. Blackburn Ashley Brooke Felt JeDawn Tieteeana Gaither Sheree Jayland Henderson Chelsea Mary Johnson Leah Michelle Kelley Margaret B. Leonard Caitlin Audrey Moore Katelyn Marie Pugh Keilondria D. Robertson Avital Rachelle Wulz

Dr. Javier Boyas, MSW program director, Ms. Jenae Brown Bryan, MSW program coordinator, Dr. Jane McPherson, Global Education director, and Dr. Rebecca Wells, MSW/MPH program coordinator, congratulate and read the names of the MSW/MPH graduates.

W/MPH

Master of Social Work / Master of Public Health

Dual Degree Program

Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership Sombal Bari Larry Dwayne Howard Kayla Marie Imler Forrest Christian Lawson Caitlin Audrey Moore Emily Bentley Pettigrew

good Dr. Larry Nackerud is retiring December 31, 2020 after over 26 years of service to the School of Social Work and the University of Georgia.

d fortune GOOD FORTUNE Larry Nackerud, PhD Professor

It is an absolute pleasure to join the chorus of voices that congratulate each and every one of you on this wonderful occasion. Graduation ceremonies are a moment to pause, take a deep breath, and reflect on your achievement.

I encourage you all to embrace the day, this moment with a sense of joy and pride.

I tease all the students in my classes that use of the word “empirical” is a key part of the culture of the School of Social Work and, in fact, of the University of Georgia. I encourage students to use the word, empirical, at every possible moment—even if it doesn’t fit perfectly. But use of the word, empirical, does fit perfectly with graduation.

No matter what degree is being conferred today—a PhD, an MSW, the dual MSW/MPH, or an MA NML—that degree represents the movement from the world of abstraction, from the world of ideas to the observable, empirical

world. Each graduate can think back to the moment when they had the idea that they should pursue an advanced graduate degree.

Well, today’s ceremony is the empirical, observable reality of all that has taken place between when each of you had the idea of attending graduate school and your success with all that has transpired over the last year and a half, two years, or maybe a number of years.

Think of all those papers that have been written, classes attended, practicums and internships completed, capstone projects created and presented, or a dissertation composed.

My grandmother used to say, “the good fortune of a friend, is good fortune for all.” And today, you graduates have given to yourselves, to the people who are close to you in life, and to us all, good fortune. We are thankful.

Congratulations!

Congratulations Graduates!

Field Education Faculty

Rosalyn Denise Campbell

Llewellyn Cornelius “Dr. C”

Kristina Jaskyte Bahr “Dr. KJ”

Jane McPherson

Orion Mowbray

Rebecca Wells

Messages from

School of

Social Work Faculty Members

Kate Morrissey Stahl

BRAVO! School of Social Work faculty and staff (Fall 2019). Photo by Laurie Anderson

From all of us, to all of you.

STAY I N TO UCH! Follow this link to update your alumni information and let us know how you are doing. https://bit.ly/SSW-alumni-records