Order of Exercises cont.
Student Speakers
Arushi Rana
MSW Degree Candidate
Xiaoya Geng
MSW Degree Candidate
Presentation of PhD Graduates
Reader
Robert Ortega Associate Dean for Educational Programs and Professor of Social Work
Hooders
Allison Earl Professor of Psychology
Terri Friedline Professor of Social Work
Lorraine Gutiérrez Professor Emerita of Social Work
Joe Himle Professor of Social Work and Professor of Psychiatry
Matthew Smith
Associate Dean of Research and Professor of Social Work
Karen Staller
Professor of Social Work
Lisa Wexler
Professor of Social Work
Presentation of MSW Graduates
Readers
Hooders
Zaynab Boussi Field Faculty and LEO Lecturer
Daicia R. Price Field Educator & LEO Lecturer
Richard Tolman
Sheldon D. Rose Collegiate Professor of Social Work
Robert M. Ortega, Associate Professor
Hooders
Readers
Barbara Hiltz Director of MSW Programs and Clinical Associate Professor of Social Work
Daniel J. Fischer Assistant Dean of Field Education & Clinical Assistant Professor
Erin Khang Director of Field Education and Clinical Assistant Professor
M. Antonio”Tony” Alvarez, LEO Lecturer II
Closing Remarks
Alumni Welcome
Beth Angell Dean and Professor of Social Work
Judy Levick, Alumni Board of Governors
Recessional
Closing Remarks
Jordan Schug Quartet
Lynn Videka, Dean
“Hail to the Victors”
Led by Anna Ladd, Auriella “A.J.” Lewis, Laura Nord and Maryam Tout
Recessional
Jordan Schug Quartet
Commencement ceremonies have been the site of free expression and peaceful protest for decades at the University of Michigan. The University does not attempt to prevent peaceful protests or other speech protected under the First Amendment.
Today’s ceremony is a way to honor our graduates’ accomplishments and celebrate their hard work. The School uplifts the values of social work, which includes holding space for different opinions and the opportunity for dialogue. Today and every day, we advocate for a safe and peaceful exchange of ideas and we encourage empathy, compassion and respect.
About Our Keynote Speaker
Dr. Leona Tate
Founder/Executive Director Leona Tate Foundation for Change
On November 14, 1960, six years after separate Black and white schools were ruled unconstitutional, Leona Tate became one of three six-year-old girls to integrate McDonogh No. 19 School, a white-only public elementary school in New Orleans’ historic Ninth Ward. The integration of New Orleans public elementary schools marked a major focal point in the history of the American Civil Rights Movement.
In 2009, Tate established the Leona Tate Foundation for Change, Inc. (LTFC) to purchase McDonogh 19, the school she, Tessie Prevost and Gail Etienne integrated. Under Tate’s leadership, the organization has provided free summer camps, after-school tutoring, adult literacy, Christmas toy drives and a monthly food pantry. The foundation also staffed the Lower Ninth Ward Living Museum, a free community museum dedicated to the history of the historic Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood.
In 2020, LTFC and development partners renovated the historic McDonogh 19 campus, which reopened as the Tate, Etienne, and Prevost (TEP) Center in 2022. It is a mixeduse development dedicated to the history of New Orleans Public School desegregation, civil rights and Black life. Tate’s mission for the center is to create a safe space and community anchor where the public can learn, support and train for anti-racism activism and social restorative justice.
In 2023, Tate received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from St. Thomas Christian University and Macalester College in recognition of her service to the New Orleans community and beyond.
Tate’s love for community anchors the mission of LTFC and the TEP Center. She also values quality time with her family. She is a mother of three, a grandmother of 12 and a greatgrandmother of eight.
School of Social Work
MSW Graduates
Annaliese Marie Schuster Donahue
Yongxuan Du
Megan Dale Dungan
Mileidy Duran-Martinez
Hallie Dykstra
Maria Gabriela Eyrich Freile
Lauren Frank
Jose Eli Fresquez III
Olivia Gabrail
Yiwen Gao
Jasmine Akiko Garcia
Xiaoya Geng
Hannah Elizabeth Giampa
Matthew David Giehl
Lissette Gonzalez
Kulsoom Haqqi
Keion Hunter Harris
Amanda Hawkins
Amy Audra Hecht-Zizes
Nora Kate Hilgart-Griff
Joslyn Marie Hoffmeyer-Gay
Daisy Michalski Holthus
Personna Hover
Cherrai Lynnett Hubbard
Farah Huq
Shannon Jirous
Keshav Kanapur
Robert Edward Karle
Apollo Kepler
Rachel Klisz
Sydney Kohrman
Stephen Jacob Celious Kraft
Amanda Renee Krieger
Aasia Laurencin
Paige LeAnn Leach
Ryan Leclerc
Samantha Nicole Lhotak
Yuru Li
Yu-Yu Lin
Yun Lin
Emma Mae Lloyd
Anahí López Espinoza
Tess Lusson
Catherine Madish
Stephanie Marie Mann
Justin Matthew Margolis
Megan Elizabeth McComb
Derek Mehraban
Ashley Nicole Miller
Jerome Montgomery
Reyhaneh Najafi Koupaei
Stephanie Neff
Paige Arianna Nickol
Edisa Niyifasha
Lauren Nowatzki
Philip Ognenovski
Shelby Ostrewich
Yianni Pallas
Brittany Palmateer
Molly Pappas
Chaewon Park
Pooja Patel
School of Social Work Leadership
Dean
Beth Angell
Dean and Professor of Social Work
Associate Deans
Shawna Lee
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Professor of Social Work
Robert Ortega
Associate Dean for Educational Programs and Professor of Social Work
Katie Richards-Schuster
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Strategic Initiatives and Associate Professor of Social Work
Matthew Smith
Associate Dean of Research and Professor of Social Work
Assistant Dean
Timothy Colenback
Assistant Dean for Enrollment Management
Christina Dadswell
Rachel Naasko
Rosalva Osorio-Cooksy
Stacy Peterson
Nitesh Singh
Aimée Vantine
Emeritus
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
Daniel Fischer
Larry Gant
Rose Gibson
Martha Gizynski
Lorraine Gutiérrez
Leslie Hollingsworth
Berit Ingersoll-Dayton
Srinika Jayaratne
Harold Johnson
Edith Kieffer
Sherrie Kossoudji
Laura Lein
Edith Lewis
Shirley Lockery
Susan McDonough
Sandra Momper
Thomas Powell
Beth Glover Reed
Lawrence Root
Mary Ruffolo
Daniel Saunders
Brett Seabury
Vivian Shapiro
Kristine Siefert
John Tropman
David Tucker
Diane Kaplan Vinokur
Elizabeth Voshel
Helen Weingarten
Lecturers
Cilene Adam-Rita
Feyisetan Adunbi
Daniel Alvarez
Gina Ambrogio
Richard Barinbaum
Alethia Battles
Anthany Beasley
Trevor Bechtel
Mona Berry
Zahraa Boussi
Amy Burandt
Brooke Buys
Mary Byrnes
Adisa Chaney
Marna Clowney-Robinson
Miriam Connolly
Rosalva Osorio Cooksy
Priscilla Cortez
Colleen Crane
Julie Cushman
Christina Dadswell
Bonnie Dockham
