Spring Commencement
April 29, 2023
Our Vision
A Better Society Through Individual and Social Change
Our Mission
Advancing the social work profession’s vision and values, the University of Michigan School of Social Work seeks to develop a more equitable, caring and socially just society. Such a society meets basic human needs, eliminates social and economic inequities and empowers individuals, their communities and institutions to reach their aspirations and potential. Drawing on an interdisciplinary faculty within a public university seated in a region of enormous need and promise, the School is dedicated to education, research and service that fosters progressive change at local, national and global levels.
Land Acknowledgment
We acknowledge that the University of Michigan, named for Michigami, the world’s largest freshwater system and located in the Huron River watershed, was formed and has grown through connections with the land stewarded by Niswi Ishkodewan Anishinaabeg --the Three Fires People, who are the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi--along with their neighbors, the Seneca, Delaware, Shawnee and Wyandot nations.
Order of Exercises
Processional
Jordan Schug Quartet
Marshals
David Córdova
Associate Professor of Social Work
Erin Martinez-Gilliard
LEO Lecturer
Julie Ribaudo
Clinical Professor of Social Work
Welcome and Introductions
Beth Angell
Dean and Professor of Social Work
Land Acknowledgment
Abigail Eiler
Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work
Keynote Speaker
Jason Smith, MSW ‘10
Executive Director
Michigan Center for Youth Justice
Student Speakers
Ayah Chehade
MSW Degree Candidate
Kacey Richardson
MSW Degree Candidate
Presentation of PhD Graduates
Reader
William Elliott III
Professor of Social Work
Hooders
Lorraine Gutiérrez
Professor of Social Work
Jamie Mitchell
Associate Professor of Social Work
Presentation of MSW Graduates
Readers
Zaynab Boussi
Field Faculty and LEO Lecturer
Justin Hodge
Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work
Hooders
Miriam Connolly
Field Faculty and LEO Lecturer
Kristen Seefeldt
Associate Professor of Social Work
Closing Remarks
Beth Angell
Dean and Professor of Social Work
Recessional
Jordan Schug Quartet
Cover Art
The Real Blue, 1998
Sam Gilliam b. 1933
Sam Gilliam is one of the great innovators in postwar American painting. He emerged from the Washington, D.C. scene in the mid 1960s with works that elaborated upon and disrupted the ethos of Color School painting. Gilliam abandoned the traditional frames and stretchers used in painting. Instead he chose to loosely drape and suspend his paint stained canvases from the walls and ceiling.
Gilliam’s The Right View is a four-piece ceiling installation commissioned for the School of Social Work’s lower level and is a centerpiece of its art collection.
Dear Graduates,
Congratulations! We are delighted to celebrate your hard work and dedication together with your friends, families and loved ones.
You have earned your MSW during difficult and historic times, requiring focus, tenacity and determination. Your academic efforts and success have prepared you to become skilled and effective leaders, prepared to face the challenges of our field.
University of Michigan social work graduates have a reputation for their expertise, dedication and achievement. Today you join 17,000+ alumni who lead the field as policymakers, agency directors and foundation leaders, who improve lives as accomplished and effective social workers. We look forward to hearing how you apply your talents for the good of people and communities.
You are the leaders and best. On behalf of the Michigan Social Work community, I wish you every success as you reach out, raise hope and change society.
Go Blue,
Beth Angell Dean and Phillip Fellin Collegiate Professor of Social Work
About Our Keynote Speaker
Jason Smith Executive Director Michigan Center for Youth Justice
Jason Smith currently serves as the Executive Director of the Michigan Center for Youth Justice (MCYJ), an organization that promotes fair and effective youth justice policies in Michigan. Smith has worked in various roles for MCYJ since 2014.
Smith’s journey in the field of juvenile justice began as an intern with the Ingham County Circuit Court’s Family Division, which sparked his passion for advocating for youth in the system. After earning his bachelor’s degree in social science from Michigan State University, he worked as a direct care provider at a transitional home for justice-involved youth and later as a case manager within Wayne County’s juvenile justice system.
Determined to deepen his knowledge and skills in justice reform advocacy work, Smith pursued a Master of Social Work degree at the University of Michigan, where he interned with the Washtenaw County Michigan Prisoner Reentry Initiative and MCYJ. His commitment to juvenile justice led him to comanage a youth diversion program in Skokie, IL, and become a 2011 Youth Justice Leadership Institute Fellow with the National Juvenile Justice Network.
During his time with MCYJ, Smith has served in governorappointed roles on the Juvenile Justice Task Force for Reform and the standing Michigan Committee on Juvenile Justice.
Smith lives in Ann Arbor with his wife, Cristy, and two young daughters.
About Our Student Speaker
Ayah Chehade, MSW ‘23Ayah Chehade is a poet, community organizer and researcher based in Michigan. Born and raised in Chicago to Lebanese and Moroccan parents, she centers her work around psychology, faith and justice.
Chehade graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a BA in English and international studies. Her lifelong fascination with the power of words inspired her 2018 TEDx talk, “What’s In a Name,” which explores how language shapes identity. She believes that creating social change also begins by resisting and reclaiming a deeply engrained lexicon.
She served as a creative producer for the ZAKAT Foundation of America. While on assignment in Turkey, she recognized the power of storytelling as a tool for decolonization and healing.
As an MSW student, she interned with the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), where she helped develop an activities-centered group therapy program for young adults. She also interned at the Arab American National Museum, where she worked on the Cultivate & Grow oral history project to celebrate and commemorate the opening of the new heritage garden rooftop.
After graduation, Chehade plans to further her studies in Arabic and the Islamic sciences, and work to cultivate community spaces and resources centered around holistic wellness and the arts.
About Our Student Speaker
Kacey Richardson, MSW ‘23
Kacey Richardson (she/her) is a Master of Social Work candidate in the Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse pathway. She graduated summa cum laude from Western Michigan University with her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Gender & Women’s Studies in 2020.
During her time as an MSW student, she has developed a service-centered social work practice through her experience as a counselor at the Center for the Education of Women+. She has striven to empower individuals in the University of Michigan and surrounding communities by serving as an advocate and providing resources to help them reach their academic, financial and professional potential. Through a holistic approach to her clients’ needs, she demonstrated the ability to connect them to appropriate resources, facilitate exploration of their career/educational goals, and provide encouragement to them as they embark on their professional journeys. She also served as a graduate student instructor for three terms. This allowed her to make deep connections with students and faculty at U-M, find ways to best support students’ academic growth and personal well-being, and witness community organizing in action in the fight for workers’ rights.
After graduation, Richardson plans to fulfill a lifelong dream of hers to work for the Walt Disney Company before returning to Michigan to continue her advocacy work in higher education.
School of Social Work
MSW Graduates
Willa Rae Adamo
Walt Albee
Yannick Alexis
Saria Bechara
Dara Bellinson
Melissa Bien
Sari Bircoll
Alexis Bowman
Madelyn Brunvand
Rachel Brustein
Taylor Buffalo
Morgan Burns
Claire Butcher
Abigail Calef
Christopher Camacho
Andres Cepeda
Ayah Mohamad Chehade
Nina Chiuchiarelli
Tae Whan Choi
Hao-Yun Chu
Paige Coffing
Alexandra Coleman
Alison Cromer
Justine D’Souza
Domenica Dalla-Vecchia
Julia Dinverno
Stephanie Doyle
Kiera Dressler
Aliza Durack
Jason English
Debra Erickson
Megan Fordon
Katherine Fraus
Carissa Funk-Wojciechowski
Antonio Gaeta Jr
Lydia Greenberg
Keith Hall
Melina Victoria Halpin
Jennifer Lynn Harris
Skylar Hawthorne
Holleigh Herchenbach
Mary Giselle Herran
Julia Hettich
Jadrienne Horton
Wenzao Huang
Megan Jagolinzer
Carly James
Joshua Yiran Jin
Cassandra Kelly
Brooke Kraeszig
Charmaine Kunz
Elana Lambert
Breanna Lange
Madison Rylie Larson
Kathryn Linnen
Wendy Lu
Kaitlyn Hope Malo
Valery Martinez
Abigail McDonough
Ashlen Paige Michalski
Sahar Mir
Secret Mitchell
Brontë Chanel Munson
Brianna Muzzall
Ha-Eun Gloria Nam
Megan O’Gara
Emily Alyse Oandasan
Chika Chinwe Obianwu
Amal Omer
Andreah Patsalis
Jacob Pollock
Elizabeth Post
Zixuan Qi
Kacey Ryan Richardson
School of Social Work
MSW Graduates
Sydney Rinehart
Jørgen Robertson Reberg
Katy Rose Robeson
Ellery Rosenzweig
Sean Rositano
Yasmin Sacks
Mack Schroeder
Caytlin Schultz
Fasia Scott-Watson
Brendan Sedivy
Hayley Shadoian
Dillon Shain
Grace Sherbin
Carly Max Silverstein
Lexi Smith
Thomas Somi
Olivia Stillman
Caroline Strauss
Mark Suris
Alissa Sweeney
Kalisi Taborga
Sololeya Teklehaimanot
Hillie Teller
Nicole Tomaszewski
Matthew Tomsicek
Nicholas Michael Varra
Nick Voelkner
Sierra Voigt
Emily Waldman
Valerie Watkins
Alexandra Weston
Nathan Willette
Dominique Be’ate Williams
Emma Wise
Rose Ybarra
School of Social Work
Dual Degree MSW Graduates
Master of Social Work and Master of Public Policy
Justine D’Souza
Master of Social Work and Master of Public Health
Jadrienne Horton
Master of Social Work and Master of Public Policy
Valery Martinez
Master of Social Work and Master of Kinesiology
Ha-Eun Gloria Nam
Master of Social Work and Master of Urban Planning
Oliva Stillman
Master of Social Work and Master of Public Policy
Mark Schroeder
Master of Social Work and Master of Arts in Higher Education
Kalisi Taborga
Master of Social Work and Master of Arts in Higher Education
Sierra Voigt
School of Social Work
PhD Graduates
Finn Bell Social Work and Sociology
Nicolas Espitia Social Work and Sociology
Lolita Moss Social Work and Psychology
Garrett Pace Social Work and Sociology
Kaitlin Paxton Ward Social Work and Psychology
Ramona Perry Social Work and Social Psychology
Sakura Takahashi Social Work and Psychology
School of Social Work Leadership
Dean
Beth Angell
Dean and Phillip Fellin Collegiate Professor of Social Work
Associate Deans
Joseph Himle
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Howard V. Brabson Collegiate Professor of Social Work
Robert Ortega
Associate Dean for Educational Programs and Associate Professor of Social Work
Rogério Meireles Pinto
Associate Dean for Research and Innovation and Berit Ingersoll-Dayton Collegiate Professor of Social Work
Assistant Deans
Timothy Colenback
Assistant Dean for Enrollment Management
Daniel Fischer
Assistant Dean of Field Education and Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work
School of Social Work Leadership
Directors
William Elliott III Director, Joint Doctoral Program in Social Work and Social Science and Professor of Social Work
Larry Gant Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program Director and Professor of Social Work
Karla Goldman
Director, Jewish Communal Leadership Program and Sol Drachler Professor of Social Work
Barbara Hiltz Director of MSW Programs and Clinical Associate Professor of Social Work
Katie Lopez
Director, Office of Global Activities and Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor
Daicia Price Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program Director and Clinical Professor of Social Work
Katie Richards-Schuster Director of Undergraduate Minor Programs and Associate Professor of Social Work
Michelle Woods MSW Student Career Services Director
Erin Zimmer Director of MSW Student Services
School of Social Work Faculty
Governing Faculty
Beth Angell
Cristina Bares
Lindsay Bornheimer
Linda Chatters
David Córdova
Fernanda Cross
Ashely Cureton
Abigail Eiler
William Elliott III
James Ellis
Katrina Ellis
Lisa Fedina
Daniel Fischer
Terri Friedline
Larry Gant
Karla Goldman
Odessa Gonzalez Benson
Andrew Grogan-Kaylor
Lorraine Gutiérrez
Jaclynn Hawkins
Todd Herrenkohl
Barbara Hiltz
Joseph Himle
Justin Hodge
Shanna Kattari
Ashley Lacombe-Duncan
Shawna Lee
Lydia Li
Kathryn Maguire-Jack
Katie Lopez
Debra Mattison
Patrick Meehan
Jamie Mitchell
Robert Ortega
Sunggeun Park
Brian Perron
Rogério Meireles Pinto
Daicia Price
Camille Quinn
Beth Glover Reed
Julie Ribaudo
Katie Richards-Schuster
Joseph Ryan
Sue Ann Savas
Katie Schultz
Kristin Seefeldt
H. Luke Shaefer
Trina Shanks
Beth Sherman
Matthew Smith
Rebecca Sokol
Karen Staller
Robert Joseph Taylor
Richard Tolman
Lynn Videka
Daphne Watkins
Addie Weaver
Lisa Wexler
Xiaoling Xiang
Mieko Yoshihama
Bradley Zebrack
Anao Zhang
Roland Zullo
Field Faculty
Zaynab Boussi
Amy Burandt
Miriam Connolly
Rachel Naasko
Rosalva Osorio
Stacy Peterson
Yatesha Robinson
Aimée Vantine
Emerti
Paula Allen-Meares
Oscar Barbarin III
William Birdsall
Letha Chadiha
Barry Checkoway
Tom Croxton
Sandra Danziger
Ruth Dunkle
Kathleen Coulborn Faller
Sheila Feld
Phillip Fellin
Charles Garvin
Rose Gibson
Martha Gizynski
Leslie Hollingsworth
Berit Ingersoll-Dayton
Srinika Jayaratne
Harold Johnson
Edith Kieffer
Sherrie Kossoudji
Armand Lauffer
Laura Lein
Edith Lewis
Shirley Lockery
Susan McDonough
Sandra Momper
Elizabeth Mutschler
Thomas Powell
Lawrence Root
Mary Ruffolo
Daniel Saunders
Brett Seabury
Vivian Shapiro
Kristine Siefert
John Tropman
David Tucker
Diane Kaplan Vinokur
Elizabeth Voshel
Helen Weingarten
Lecturers
Cara Alexander
Daniel Alvarez
Gina Ambrogio
Dayna Asante-Appiah
Richard Barinbaum
Alethia Battles
Anthany Beasely
Trevor Bechtel
Mercedes Monaee Brown
Daphne Brydon
Amy Burandt
Brooke Buys
Adisa Chaney
Roxanne Change
Marna Clowney-Robinson
Sue Crabb
Colleen Crane
Julie Cushman
Christina Dadswell
Sean de Four
Daniel DeSena
Bonnie Dockham
Kathleen Doyle
Linda Edwards-Brown
Kallie England
Elizabeth Evans
Rhonda Fields
Emily Fitzgerald
Joseph Galura
Karyn Gendreau
Ayesha Ghazi Edwin
Terri Gilbert
Tammie Glenn
Irena Glover
School of Social Work Faculty (cont.)
Elizabeth Gonzalez
Kathryn Greening
Elizabeth Gumbis
Jennifer Heckendorn
Grace Helms Kotre
Gregory Hoffman
Kathryn Irish
Camille Jones
Leonardo Kattari
Erin Khang
Jax Kynn
Jamie LaLonde
Marlanna Landeros
Dana Levin
Phillip Thomas Luttrell
Douglas Manigault III
Kassandra Maple-Jackson
Erin Martinez-Gilliard
Aliyah Masudi
Patrick McEvilly
Nasreen Meah
Benjamin Moe
Maureen Okasinski
Mari Jan Pitcher
Susan Radzilowski
Kristal Reyes
Osvaldo Rivera
Fatima Salman
Monica Sampson
Laura Sanders
Diana Seales
Nitesh Singh
Andrea Smith
Megan Thiel
Jennifer Towns
Paige Walker
Ebony Watson
Stephen Wiland
Laura Yakas
Candace Ziglor
Alumni Board
President
Sabrina Clark, ‘10
Vice President
James Bui ‘01
Secretary
Amy Good, ‘80
Constance (Connie) Ackert, ‘83
Aroosa Ahmed, ‘18
Steven Applewhite, MSW ‘74 & PhD ‘77
Ann Easley, ‘80
Rafael (Ray) Engel, ‘79
Karen Fein, ‘85
Janice (Jan) Fisher, ‘75
Yuri Hernandez Osorio, ‘17
Gregory Hoffman, ‘13
Vance Jackson, ‘06
Elizabeth Kinney, ‘10
Alana Kivowitz, ‘16
Sarah Koreishi, ‘01
Madinah Luqmaan, ‘16
Janice Matthews, ‘77
Kyra Miller, ‘16
Deborah Covington, ‘88
Courtney Morrison, ‘20
Ricardo Perez, ‘75
Sadé Richardson, ‘18
Milton Rodriguez, ‘97
Shannon Saksewski, ‘01
Kelly Taylor, ‘95
Bruce Thyer, PhD ‘82
Joanne Waszczak, ‘07
Kendra Webster, ‘97
Glenn Whitelaw, ‘76
Matthew Wollack, ‘12
Joanne Yaffe, MSW ’76 & PhD ‘88
School of Social Work Representatives
Beth Angell, Dean, Ex-officio
Halla Jomaa-Jouney, Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Ex-Officio
U-M Board of Regents
Jordan B. Acker
Michael J. Behm
Mark J. Bernstein
Paul W. Brown
Sarah Hubbard
Denise Ilitch
Ron Weiser
Katherine E. White
Thank You
Today’s beautiful graduation ceremony looks wonderful and effortless. In truth, the Graduation Committee and many additional people devoted a great deal of talent, time and effort to make it a success. This ceremony would not be possible without the creativity, dedication and hard work of the students, faculty and staff listed below.
Graduation Planning Committee
Debra Mattison, Faculty Chair, Clinical Associate Professor of Social Work
Grant Clement, Recruitment, Admissions, and Student Services Officer (ex officio)
Fernanda Cross, Assistant Professor of Social Work
Michelle Gorton, Office Manager (ex officio)
Rebeccah Sokol, Assistant Professor of Social Work
Callie Torkelson, Recruitment, Admissions, and Student Services Officer (ex officio)
Thomas Ursing, MSW Degree Candidate
Aimee Vantine, Field Faculty and LEO Lecturer
Erin Zimmer, Director for Student Services (ex officio)
Sidney Zimmermann, MSW Degree Candidate
Roland Zullo, Associate Research Scientist, and Lecturer
Platform Party
Beth Angell
Sabrina Clark
Tim Colenback
Abigail Eiler
William Elliot III
Joseph Himle
Debra Mattison
Rogério Meireles Pinto
Robert Ortega
Readers
Justin Hodge
Zaynab Boussi
Hooders
Miriam Connolly
Lorraine Gutierrez
Jamie Mitchell
Kristin Seefeldt
Marshals
David Cordova
Julie Ribaudo
Erin Martinez-Gilliard
Sign Language Interpreter
Michael Colton
Angela Dzierwa
Commencement Reception
Our reception will be held immediatley following graduation in the Power Center Lobby.
Closing Song:
Hail to the Victors
Hail! to the victors valiant Hail! to the conquering heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan
The leaders and best Hail! to the victors valiant Hail! to the conquering heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michigan
The champions of the West