For Alumni, Friends and Donors of the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
Spring 2017
Bringing diversity, equity and inclusion to the front of the class
From One Nurse to Many
The Social Challenge of Environment
Alumna Barbara Jury starts the first scholarship fund for nursing students
Larry Palinkas and Marleen Wong aim to move social workers into positions of leadership
A ROBOT IN THE FAMILY Social work in technology is changing lives around the world
FROM
The Dean W
e are proud of our achievements as a school, but we also recognize that we have great responsibility. Because we send more professionals into the workforce than any other school of our kind, we must set the bar high. We must ensure that our graduates in nursing and social work bring with them the most current knowledge, the best critical thinking skills, and the courage to face increasingly complex problems.
All of us recognize that social workers and nurses are also faced with unprecedented needs for advocacy and commitment to social justice. Many of the populations we serve every day are threatened by potential loss of social support, deportation, unsafe environments, climate upheaval, homelessness and unstable employment. For these individuals, families and communities, we remain committed to the advancement of human rights and social justice. We will continue to uphold our code of ethics. We will be the voice for those who are oppressed, neglected or exploited.
Photography by Tracy Boulian + David Ahntholz
I believe that social workers and nurses have an opportunity to make major contributions to the course of history right now, and push the boundaries of innovation and creativity in finding solutions to individual and community needs. We will not be able to turn to the solutions upon which we have often relied in the past. We will need fresh perspectives, the ability to collaborate in new ways, and a clearer presence in public discourse. That is what this issue of Partners is all about - empowering social workers and nurses to believe in themselves and their ability to be leaders in solving problems and creating change. They need to affirm the possible, take the next step in education to elevate their impact, and direct positive change in health and society at large. This could be an extremely transformative time for social work and nursing. Our school will continue to position itself on the cutting-edge of curriculum development, research and innovation to ensure our students lead the future with compassion and expertise. Sincerely,
Marilyn L. Flynn, PhD 2U Endowed Chair in Educational Innovation and Social Work Dean and Professor of Social Work
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Inside THIS ISSUE
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FEATURES LOOK TO THE FUTURE...................................................................................4 THE SOCIAL CHALLENGE OF ENVIRONMENT................................................14
COMMUNITY IMPACT FROM ONE NURSE TO MANY....................................................................... 10
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION SOCIAL WORK IN TECHNOLOGY.................................................................. 22
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NEWS BRIEFS INAUGURAL WHITE COAT CEREMONY FOR NURSING STUDENTS..................12 ALUMNI MAKING A DIFFERENCE...................................................................13 POINTS OF PRIDE......................................................................................... 25
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SOCIAL WORK ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ......................................................... 26 COHEN CLINIC OPENS FOR VETERANS........................................................ 27 USC FOOTBALL AND SOCIAL WORK TEAM UP FOR HOMELESS YOUTH......... 27
THE USC SOCIAL WORK INITIATIVE.....................................18 SCHOLARSHIPS: TURNING DREAMS INTO REALITY.......................................19
On the cover: (back row) Professor Rafael Angulo, MSN student Ceff Cabanban, MSW student Janice Boafo, MSW student Thomas Wong. (front row) Professor Renée Smith-Maddox, MSN student Kartika Budiman, Professor Terence Fitzgerald, Professor Karen Lincoln. Photo by Jason Wallis.
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USC Provost Michael Quick recently issued a mandate aimed at increasing efforts for diversity, equity and inclusion university-wide. The USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work is committed to bringing these issues to the front of the class.
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y skin color is brown,” said Melissa Singh. “Being this skin color, I’ve always wanted to be included.” As a student, Singh, assistant clinical professor for field education at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, always did extra reading on any subject she was studying to ensure there would never be a good reason to exclude her from a conversation. Now, as a professor, she seeks to incorporate all the voices in her classroom to have this discussion. “You have to look inward to understand yourself in order to understand how you could possibly include other people,” she said. “You have to understand your intersectionality, your privilege. It has to be intentional to be inclusive and have a diverse lens in whatever you’re doing, whatever task.”
and social inequality and the author of Black Males and Racism: Improving the Schooling and Life Chances of African Americans. “It’s easy for people to get lost and not be engaged, just out of touch until the next fire happens, until the next Trayvon Martin.” The school hopes to change this by opening wide the doors to conversation on this often sensitive and divisive subject.
CREATING“SAFE SPACES”
Five years ago, the school initiated a Committee on Diversity and Inclusion to address racism and social inequity head on by creating safe spaces in which students, faculty and alumni could have courageous conversations and difficult dialogues that critique and analyze problems affecting Issues surrounding individuals, diversity, equity and inclusion are not new. They communities and organizations. are also far from being issues of the past. Through immigration, travel bans, pipeline protests and Renée Smith-Maddox, clinical associate police violence, this is all taking center stage, professor, and Rafael Angulo, clinical professor yet again. of field education, have served as co-chairs “We’ve been here before,” said Clinical Associate for the committee, which gives the school an Professor Terence Fitzgerald, an expert on racism opportunity to focus on current events dividing our nation.
Photography by Tracy Boulian + David Ahntholz
“When we disregard someone’s dignity and humanity, there is a disconnect from who we are as human beings.”
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“We have used the work of activist groups like Black Lives Matter and invited family members of those who have been lost to police violence to speak on campus about the impact it has on our communities,” Smith-Maddox said. “We provided an insider’s look at that movement to understand the circumstances that give rise to advocacy and activism.” The committee also developed an annual survey to gauge student comfort with discussing issues of race and equality to determine if they had opportunities to connect with material relating to diversity and inclusion. Interestingly, one question received consistently high results. Angulo says almost 80 percent of surveyed students indicated they wanted a course offered specifically on diversity and inclusion. A similar survey was also administered to faculty, and there was a definitive call to develop curriculum that will expose students to a deeper understanding of these issues. “I’m really happy there is a consensus around this,” Smith-Maddox said. “I see it as such forward movement in thinking about how we want to train our students. But we need to be clear on what it is we’re trying to teach and have the ability to deal with the discomfort of teaching a course like this. Being interested in the topic is not good enough.” Singh concurs. As a professor based in Orlando, Florida, for the school's Virtual Academic Center (VAC), she regularly witnesses the complexities of these issues as it relates to her students. The mix in a VAC classroom can range from students based in large metropolises to those who live in a town with one traffic light. Their knowledge and experience as it pertains to topics such as race, sexual orientation or religious beliefs varies greatly. “I need to be aware that I have different opinions in my classroom,” Singh said. “If one student attacks another student, or me, how am I going to stop that and make it into a productive, teachable moment? It’s a safe space to voice your opinion, but don’t come to class, get riled up, leave and never think about it again.” The goal is for the diversity, equity and inclusion course to be required for all social work students. Smith-Maddox sees the course as an opportunity to prepare social work students to think critically CONTINUED PAGE 6
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Photo by Tom Pullen / Associated Press DIVERSITY: CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
and differently about diversity, equity and inclusion, and to understand the complex nature of the person-in-environment by taking into consideration the dynamics of racism, oppression, privilege and discrimination. However, for diversity, equity and inclusion to be successful and meaningful, it must be an ongoing daily practice. As an assistant to the school’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion and a community activist, second-year MSW student Janice Boafo believes the first step is to be in agreement in understanding that diversity is a living concept. “There is a desperate need for this course, and additional opportunities to engage diversity in a meaningful way within the current curricula,” she said.
“You can have people of color at the table, but if their voices are not considered valuable, then they’ve just been allowed at the table so that someone at the top can add their colorful faces to some civil rights data,” Fitzgerald said. “We have a system that essentially protects itself from those who want to come from beyond the barriers and obstacles because - Melissa Singh there is a fear of loss of power or resources.”
“It has to be intentional to be inclusive and have a diverse lens in whatever you’re doing, whatever task.”
UNDERSTANDING EQUITY In many ways, addressing diversity and inclusion go hand-in-hand – the definition of diversity being the inclusion of different types of people. Equity – justice according to natural law or right, freedom from bias or favoritism – is another matter entirely.
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Too many people still endure daily judgment based on the color of their skin, their gender, who they love, their religious or political beliefs, poverty level, or ability and not on the content of their character. Issues around equity can also be easy to miss if all the appropriate boxes appear to be ticked.
Fitzgerald specializes in the impact of race on children, particularly institutional racism within the education system. His own experiences in school as a young man of color – from racial slurs to negotiating an un-level playing field – shaped his academic pursuits.
Students hold a vigil for victims of police violence on the campus of USC.
“I felt a natural obligation to help those that were younger than me to not go through what I did,” he said, “to affect the system so that it doesn’t create the same insecurities that I still hold fragments of to this day. Sometimes it’s reinforced within my academic setting as a professor and reminds me why I’m fighting for what I’m fighting for.”
Angulo is front and center for stories from “the other” through his work with Project Fatherhood, a group therapy initiative for migrant fathers, mainly from Mexico and Central America. The majority of the fathers are undocumented, hard-working men who have been in the U.S. for more than 20 years. The majority of their children are U.S. citizens.
Some scholars believe it will take a revolution to change the system and significantly move the needle on issues of equity. This will not happen overnight.
“In the 14 years that I’ve worked with these fathers, I have never seen a political event have such psychological consequences,” said Angulo, referring to the current political climate on immigration. “They share stories of holding their crying child because of what is heard on the news or by other students at school. It’s much more nuanced and sophisticated than the public narrative provides. For Latinos, it feels as if the country is in the midst of shaming us.”
“You have to maintain some sense of hope, but you have to be realistic too,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re on the 10 yard line, and it took us 400 years to get to the 10 yard line. We’ve got a long way to go.”
PERVASIVE IN SOCIETY What often halts progress in matters of equity is what is commonly known as “the horror of the other,” or the tendency to label and project false attributes that allows for the rationale to treat people in a negative way. “When we disregard someone’s dignity and humanity, then there is a disconnect from who we are as human beings,” Angulo said. “We don’t share anything, they are very different, they are out to get me.”
A deeper understanding of racial equity reveals just how pervasive it is in our society. For example, the average person probably would not view social security as an issue of racial equity, but Karen Lincoln, associate professor and director of the USC Hartford Center of Excellence in Geriatric Social Work, founded Advocates for African American Elders to help address the impact of this very problem. Most poor seniors, regardless of race, rely on social security as their main source of income, which is based on earnings throughout a lifetime. Now think about the time period in which today’s seniors would have been in their “working years.” In the 1960s, 70s and 80s, CONTINUED PAGE 8
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DIVERSITY: CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
employment opportunities and income levels for African Americans were not, on average, what they were for whites. As a result, what an African American receives in benefits will be even lower than what is considered “poor” by white standards. “Because of the lack of opportunities to earn an income, African-American seniors are more likely to be poor, and the second scenario is that their families are also more likely to be poor or not able to provide the financial support that seniors might need from their families,” Lincoln said. She explains that this makes African-American seniors more vulnerable to being placed in a nursing home, with few choices based on lack of income and resources. As an outreach and education program, Advocates for African American Elders helps level the playing field for older adults to stay in their own homes – or age in place – and avoid nursing home placement. “Our seniors are more racially and ethnically diverse than ever before,” she said. “Curriculum that can train students on the importance of cultural humility, competence and sensitivity can increase our capacity as social workers to engage people, to work with communities and to increase access.”
MOVING FORWARD One of Provost Quick's requirements was for each school to develop a five-year strategic plan. The Unleashing Social Work and Nursing !nitiative was completed in December 2016, authored by Associate Professor Devon Brooks and Assistant Professor Jungeun Olivia Lee. The development of the plan was overseen by Cherrie Short, associate dean of global and community initiatives and professor of practice, who also serves as a diversity liaison to the provost along with Smith-Maddox and Angulo. It is the first plan of its kind in the history of the school. Short believes it is important to take a proactive approach to ensuring that stakeholders and the community feel heard. "We must adapt to the needs of the school and community as they change," she said. "Our plan includes an evaluation process over the five-year implementation." Associate Professor and Chair of Faculty Council Maria Aranda, who was also instrumental in the creation of the five-year plan, sees first-hand how the school prioritizes the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion when admitting students, hiring faculty and fostering relationships with the profession. "Our school provides visible and consistent leadership, and is regarded as a standard-bearer across the university," she said. Further initiatives of the school that contribute to addressing diversity, equity and inclusion are the annual All School Day, an educational forum promoting an atmosphere of cooperation and respect, and a recent Race Symposium that brought together researchers from USC and around the country to find ways of advancing the real-world application of their scholarship on race and race relations. In these unprecedented times, social workers will need to look beyond the traditional forms of practice to be agents of change. “I’m an advocate for the aging,” Lincoln said. “It’s not that I was trained in advocacy or public policy - I was trained in social work. But I saw a need, and I decided to use whatever skills I had to increase the visibility of that need. I think our role is to make waves.” Similarly, Fitzgerald argues that while case managers and administrators play an important role in the ground game, an end to social injustice will only be realized through bold action. “We need more social workers who are policy makers, community organizers, lobbyists,” Fitzgerald said. “And we need to be tougher about saying, ‘We’re letting you know, you’re on notice. We are taking a stand.’” n 8
Karen Lincoln, Terence Fitzgerald (top) Renée Smith-Maddox, Rafael Angulo (bottom)
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion REFERENCES
To learn more about the programs and initiatives mentioned in this article, and the school's and university’s efforts to address issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, please visit the links below:
diversity.edu.usc
Resources, news and schedule of events for the university
bit.ly/5YearPlanSummary
Summary of the Unleashing Social Work and Nursing !nitiative
bit.ly/SocialJusticeStatement
Statement by faculty on the school’s commitment to eliminating racial injustice
bit.ly/RaceSymposium
Symposium on racial issues hosted by the school and including researchers from across the country
aaaeonline.com
Official website of Advocates for African American Elders
projectfatherhood.org
Official website of Project Fatherhood at The Children’s Institute
bit.ly/BlackMalesAndRacism
Black Males and Racism: Improving the Schooling and Life Chances of African Americans by Dr. Terence Fitzgerald JANICE BOAFO, MSW STUDENT "We need to create not only accepting but affirming communities, and challenge our professional practice and knowledge around how best to serve diverse populations." KARTIKA BUDIMAN, MSN STUDENT "Diversity and inclusion were major themes that ran my life. Prioritizing [it] fosters enrichment of the human mind and spirit."
CEFF CABANBAN, MSN STUDENT "I believe diversity, equity and inclusion enhance students’ experience and develops them into more respectful, courteous and caring people." THOMAS WONG, MSW STUDENT "The lack of diversity, equity and inclusion in our society has created profound social issues. Understanding these problems is one thing, but solving them will require a spectrum of expertise, perspective and knowledge.” 9
COMMUNITY IMPACT
From One Nurse To Many
Photography by Tracy Boulian + David Ahntholz
by Joanna Scott
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COMMUNITY IMPACT
arbara Jury, ’50, discovered her calling at an early age. When she was 7 she spent a week in the hospital recovering from an appendectomy, and she believes the experience of observing nursing in action around the clock planted the seed. During her teen years, her father became a hospital administrator, offering Jury more opportunity to witness not only the nursing profession but the workings of the whole hospital organization from top to bottom. By the time she graduated high school in 1945, she knew that health care would be her career. Jury became an innovator in the nursing profession, pioneering specialized procedures for premature babies and an intensive care unit for newborns (now commonly known as a neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU) at California Hospital, where over a span of 46 years she served as director of nursing and its first director of risk management. “Risk management was the thing I loved the most,” Jury said, “because it was looking at all the issues hospital-wide and trying to improve things.” This passion for progress and looking at the “big picture” also manifested itself in her extensive volunteer work for the greater good of society. As a member of Soroptimist International of Los Angeles, including three terms as president, she was actively involved in community activities rooted in social services. Over the years, her interactions with single mothers, battered women and the homeless afforded her the chance to see the larger issues related to environment. Looking at these problems through her nursing eyes, Jury could not help but notice how a medical component would be an asset to social work and vice versa. “When I found out that the University of Southern California was looking at putting nursing with social work, I thought that made sense,” she said. “Because I see the need. For example, homelessness causes major health issues, but housing isn’t going to solve them all. There will still be major problems to address such as dementia, psychiatric needs and addiction issues that will require more nurses and social workers that can work together.” While registered nurses will always be an important part of hospital and facility care, what communities are going to need is the ability to provide more preventive care and management of chronic illnesses. There is no question in Jury’s mind that nurse practitioners are the wave of the future for the nursing profession. She felt so strongly that the new Department of Nursing at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work was a move in the right direction that she recently made a gift to start the Barbara Jury Scholarship fund for nursing students. This is the first scholarship fund in the school for nurses who wish to pursue a Master of Science in Nursing to become family nurse practitioners. “I think there will be more sophistication from nurses at the master’s level if they start to analyze the communities where their patients live, the frequency of their concerns, and begin to look at impact,” Jury said. “The living we’re doing is going to get more complicated.” To make a gift to the Barbara Jury Scholarship fund, contact Kathleen Lago at 213.821.3604 or lagok@usc.edu. n
NURSING STUDENTS COMPLETE FIRST ON CAMPUS INTENSIVE The Department of Nursing held its first on-campus intensive (OCI) weekend in December 2016 for the inaugural class of students pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). Over three days, nursing faculty led the students
Photography by John Davis
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through motivational interviewing, open labs and head-to-toe skills assessments. Motivational interviewing trains nurse practitioners to understand the root causes of a patient’s injury, illness or disease through focused engagement and communication. Open labs took the students through various stations, covering neurological, EENT (ears, eyes, nose and throat), cardio/pulmonary, abdominal, musculoskeletal and genitourinary examinations. Finally, using all of the skills obtained through motivational interviewing and the open labs, students performed head-to-toe examinations on faculty “patients,” for an assessment. All of the students passed the first OCI skills assessment and received their medical practitioner’s white coat at a separate ceremony that concluded the weekend (see story Inaugural White Coat Ceremony Held for Nursing Students on page 12). The MSN is an online program with two on-campus intensives for completion of the degree. For more information, visit nursing.usc.edu. n 11
NEWS BRIEFS
INAUGURAL WHITE COAT CEREMONY HELD FOR NURSING STUDENTS Nursing students at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work learn together online, all over the country. The opportunity to finally meet in person came this past December as the Department of Nursing held its inaugural White Coat Ceremony, a celebration of their joining one of the most demanding—and rewarding—professions. by Michelle Marquis Dumas
Sharon O’Neill, vice chair of the Department of Nursing and director of the FNP program, welcomed the students, their families, nursing faculty and staff to the ceremony, held in the USC City Center in downtown Los Angeles. “The white coat represents attainment of a prestigious milestone in a health care professional’s career,” she said. “The desire to hold this ceremony came from our collective belief that nursing and social work both play a major role in promoting health and addressing social barriers to health and productivity.” Dean Marilyn Flynn welcomed the students to the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work family. “As the first nursing students to take part in the White Coat Ceremony, you hold a special place in the history of
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our school,” she said. “We also recognize the dedication of our nursing faculty and staff who have helped launched this degree program.” To receive a white coat, each student had to complete pathophysiology and health assessment courses with grades of “B” or better, and conduct a head-to-toe physical examination on a fellow student while being assessed by a qualified faculty member. “After receiving my white coat, I feel incredibly honored, privileged and excited to be part of the very first cohort in this dynamic and groundbreaking program,” said first-year student Dalia Copti.
MSN student Kathlyn Dino receives her white coat from Sharon O’Neill.
The white coats the nursing students received were donated by USC alumna and longtime supporter of the university Christine Ofiesh, ’82, who feels the new degree program for nurses is an important addition to USC’s offerings. “I was very pleased to support the first White Coat Ceremony for these dedicated nurses,” she said. “I believe in this innovative program and its commitment to training nurses who will become leaders and agents of change in health care.” n
Photography by John Davis
A sense of accomplishment filled the room as the first cohort of students pursuing their Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) to become family nurse practitioners (FNP) observed the academic tradition of acknowledging the successful completion of their first semester by receiving their own medical practitioner’s white coat.
The inaugural class of MSN students with Suzanne Dworak-Peck (left) and Christine Ofiesh (right).
ALUMNI
AlumniMAKING A DIFFERENCE Mary Hahn, RN, CPHQ BSN ’85
Amber Rivas MSW ’12 Mary Hahn is the owner of Lescoulie Nurses Registry, a Amber Rivas is the chief operating officer of St. Anne’s, a
social services agency in downtown Los Angeles addressing the needs of at-risk, pregnant and/or parenting young women, children and families. When she decided to pursue a graduate degree, the MSW piqued her interest, as it would allow her to gain an in-depth understanding of the application of social work on a macro scale. Rivas also serves as a field instructor for MSW students at USC, incorporating opportunities to participate in executive-level activities in addition to traditional clinical work.
“The ability to collaborate leads to the ability to motivate.”
home care company located in Newport Beach, California, with a mission to meet home health care needs through individualized care plans. Lescoulie provides caregivers in a wide variety of settings including home, pre- or post-surgical supportive care in hospital, rehabilitation, skilled nursing, rehab and detox, and physician offices. Hahn has more than 15 years of experience in health plans, managed care organization (MCO) operations, and directing national and international efforts to develop and implement programs that improve the delivery of care and health care outcomes.
“We were being trained to be leaders in nursing.”
“I was always interested in science in school, and nursing offered a career path with a variety of medical specialties, delivery options and “The ability to collaborate leads to the ability to motivate. The MSW the ability to transition into the business world. The USC nursing program at USC allowed me to learn clinical practice and macro-level program provided broad exposure to the nursing profession versus skills, such as strategic planning, research and program evaluation, and just as a job. We were introduced to traditional hospital nursing, social policy. My field practicum further advanced my development, bicultural nursing, home care, and the training and opportunity working with children ages 0 to 5 and their families, and later gaining to test for a Public Health Nurse (PHN) designation. One of the experience in community engagement and policy advocacy with core points repetitively communicated to us was that we were the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. Social being trained to be leaders in nursing. I believe that was my main workers’ assessment skills position them perfectly for identifying gaps motivation in deciding to eventually leave traditional bedside in services, unmet needs or systemic problems that can change the nursing and pursue managerial roles that would help advance impact of an organization.” the nursing profession.” 13
The SOCIAL CHALLENGE of ENVIRONMENT by Joanna Scott
1989. The Exxon Valdez oil tanker strikes a reef in Prince William Sound, releasing 11 million gallons of crude oil into the environment. A storm blows in soon after, spreading the oil over more than 1,000 miles of coastline. Approximately one year later, Lawrence Palinkas, the Albert G. and Frances Lomas Feldman Professor of Social Policy and Health at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, publishes studies on the health, well-being and sustainability of the communities affected in southwest Alaska. His findings stress the social and psychological issues, which include increased rates of mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and domestic violence. Fast forward to 2010. An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig releases more than two billion gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over three months, polluting an estimated 1,100 miles of shoreline across four states.
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Palinkas is called in by the National Institutes of Health to share what he had learned from the Exxon Valdez spill. Very little research had been done up to that point to compare the similarities or differences of a man-made disaster to a natural disaster, and the Gulf community was only just recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He is asked to write a report, which afforded an opportunity to formally organize his thoughts on the three tiers of social impact relating to environmental change. This would eventually become the basis for what is now one of the American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare’s (AASWSW ) Grand Challenge initiatives for the profession: Strengthening the Social Response to the Human Impacts of Environmental Change. Palinkas leads this national challenge with Susan P. Kemp of the University of Washington.
Photography by Tracy Boulian + David Ahntholz
The conceptual model Palinkas proposes can be applied to disaster preparedness and response for both natural and manmade disasters, as well as to issues of escalating urbanization and population displacement: »»
Biopsychosocial impacts, or the direct consequences of damage to the physical environment, constitute tier one;
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Tier two focuses on interpersonal impact, which includes the reduction of social support and increase in social conflict and uncertainty;
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Intrapersonal or behavioral health impacts make up tier three.
“The linchpin to all of this is really the second tier because it is the destruction of the community and the social bonds that bring a community together that is most critical,” Palinkas said. “So the model is really designed to play upon the strengths of social workers by focusing on the social
dimensions of these kinds of events, but also to engage social workers at all three levels: macro, mezzo and micro. You cannot solve this problem by just targeting one.” For example, planning for the impacts of disasters or an influx of refugees on delivery of services would be a tier-one response. Training people in how to deal with community conflict or how to provide timely information to communicate risk would be tier two. Providing evidence-based practices for treatment of trauma, depression or substance abuse is tier three. Changes relating to environmental racism, deterioration of infrastructure, rural to urban relocation, and refugees forced from their places of origin due to inhabitability issues also make this challenge a focus on social justice. The majority of people who are most deeply affected by environmental change–including climate change–are those that have few to no resources. CONTINUED PAGE 16
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ENVIRONMENT: CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15
“Your cardboard house gets swept away, now what?” said Marleen Wong, the David Lawrence Stein/Violet Goldberg Sachs Professor of Mental Health and senior associate dean of field education at USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. “You already didn’t have many clothes. What little you had is now gone. Sometimes the only intervention is you see who’s alive and you move them somewhere else. There’s a lot of thought that needs to go into the way we treat people and understand all the factors involved.” Wong is internationally recognized for her work in disaster recovery, trauma and mental health, and was a major contributor to the working paper on environmental change chosen by AASWSW to be one of the 12 Grand Challenge initiatives for social work. She feels the three-tier model allows the profession to look at the social response to environmental change on a much larger scope and scale.
“Science tells us if you provide psychological first aid early on, and health education about trauma, people do much better and they move on,” Wong said. “People need hope. If they don’t understand what is going on with them, there’s no hope.” One of the “challenges” of this grand challenge will be in creating an infrastructure for specializing in environmental change within social work education. The approach of combining macro, mezzo and micro is still a rather innovative idea with regard to this problem. Most schools of social work do not even offer the opportunity to focus on social work and the environment.
“Our approach has really been to nurture the millennials and build this Grand Challenge from the ground up.”
Historically, social workers have been left to “clean up the mess” in terms of delivering services to people who are already traumatized. By thinking about what their role is with regard to all three tiers, Palinkas proposes that social workers can make a major difference in solving the problems of environmental change. Theoretically, this approach will require interdisciplinary practice with professionals in public health, urban planning and even geophysical and climate sciences; integration of global knowledge with local experience; and, perhaps most important, the implementation of policy at the local, state and national levels that makes sense for the changing environmental reality. “Social workers are, by virtue of their training and their role in communities, best positioned to lead all of these activities,
Due to her specialization in the effects of trauma on the mental health of children, Wong has been called in by governments and foundations to assist in the wake of Hurricane Katrina (2005), the Sichuan earthquake in China (2008), and multiple typhoons that have swept through the Philippines during the last decade. Following the Northridge earthquake in 1994, as director of mental health and crisis teams for Los Angeles Unified School District, she wrote the first FEMA crisis counseling grant to provide clinics and outreach within the schools to address the myriad stressors that children and their parents were experiencing.
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Seven year-old Li Yangyang stands in front of her collapsed house following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China.
Photo by Wu hanren/Imaginechina
Crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill washes ashore in Orange Beach, Alabama in 2010.
Photo by Dave Martin/Associated Press
“If there are pieces that are missing anywhere in those three tiers, it creates a gap in what can be an optimal response to a tragedy,” Wong said. “If we can address these gaps then it promotes healing and far more effective responses to recovery.”
“The question becomes do we educate specialists in environmental change or do we educate everybody about how environmental change relates to whatever they are doing,” Palinkas said. “I’d like to see more social workers at the table, trained in the planning of responses to environmental events.”
rather than merely be foot soldiers who are taking direction from somebody else,” Palinkas said. While social work as a discipline has always emphasized “person in the environment,” this emphasis is on the social environment rather than the physical. This Grand Challenge places the physical environment front and center. The impact of environmental change will not reverse itself. It will take mobilization at the highest level on an issue that, in one form or another, affects every person on the planet. One beacon of light
in the storm is the younger generation, which is acutely aware of the need for stewardship of the environment and the implications of failing to do that. “Our approach has really been to nurture the millennials and build this Grand Challenge from the ground up,” Palinkas said. “That’s where the passion lies. That’s where the enthusiasm lies. Because they know they’re going to be more affected by this than we have been.” For more information visit: aaswsw.org/grand-challenges-initiative.n
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Supporting THE USC SOCIAL WORK INITIATIVE The USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work held a series of gatherings for friends and donors to meet with school leadership and faculty to learn more about the school’s work, its vision for the future and how people can participate in supporting these efforts.
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illian Barba, MSW ’09, hosted an intimate gathering at Olson’s Scandinavian Delicatessen on Feb. 11, 2017, to highlight the use of media as a social work intervention. Clinical Professor Rafael Angulo presented a unique interactive program of short projects produced by students in his class on media and social work, followed by a discussion with guests. Nancy Fong, Cathy Benavides, Gary Fong, Claudia Velazquez
Rafael Angulo
Kimberley Price and Angela Chandler
Jessica Goodman, Andrew Goodman, Emily Putnam-Hornstein, Suzanne Dworak-Peck, Dean Marilyn Flynn, Jacquelyn McCroskey
T
Dean Marilyn Flynn and Jillian Barba
Photography by Steve Cohn
he Children’s Data Network (CDN) was the focus of an event held at the home of Jessica Goodman, MSW ’13, and her husband, Andrew, on Oct. 16, 2016. Dean Marilyn Flynn was joined by guest speakers Emily Putnam-Hornstein, associate professor and director of the CDN, and Jacquelyn McCroskey, the John Milner Professor of Child Welfare. The linkage and analysis of largescale, administrative data sources by the CDN to inform policies and programs affecting children is dramatically changing the capacity of agencies throughout California.
Jennifer Kerr-Boyd, Brandon McCall, Nina Powell, Karla Garcia
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Mara Zeigler, Peter Zeigler, Steven Sanders
Colleen Friend and Alma Fowlkes
Scholarships TURNING DREAMS INTO REALITY For most students, receiving a scholarship can make a critical difference in their choice of school, ability to focus exclusively on their studies, or even the chance to pursue an advanced degree at all. The USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work is committed to increasing its capacity to help ease the burden of debt to our students and ensuring that we continue to provide opportunities for the best and the brightest to become part of the Trojan Family, regardless of financial circumstances. Here are stories of four current students for whom receiving a scholarship changed the trajectory of their academic experience.
Kendra Brown
BARBARA SOLOMON ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP Kendra Brown spent her young life exposed to parental drug use, poverty and domestic violence, ultimately ending up in the foster care system. Today, she is an MSW student at USC with an ambition to help others who come from difficult backgrounds. “I want to serve as an example that you can accomplish whatever you desire when you pursue what you are passionate about,” Brown said. “I am a firm believer that your background does not determine your future.” Brown is a single parent with a 16-year-old son. The daily challenges of balancing her commitments to her son with pursuing a graduate degree nearly caused her to give up on going back to school. Then she received the Barbara Solomon Endowed Scholarship, which is awarded to African-American MSW students with the express interest in working within the African-American community.
“Tears of joy filled my eyes, receiving a scholarship was like fuel to a jet.”
“Tears of joy filled my eyes,” Brown said. “Receiving a scholarship was like fuel to a jet. It allowed me to continue my educational quest no matter how difficult my financial situation was. I cannot describe the success I have already achieved as a recipient of this scholarship.” With children, youth and families as her focused area of study and a specialization in military social work, Brown hopes to initially work with military families and one day create a nonprofit agency for children in foster care, disadvantaged youth and families. “I have a passion and a desire to make a lasting impact,” she said. “I am so grateful for this opportunity.” CONTINUED PAGE 20
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SCHOLARSHIPS: CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19
Bonnie Johnson
MATTHEW HOLLAND SCHOLARSHIP FOR SOCIAL WORK Dissatisfaction with society’s strict adherence to the systemically unequal status quo is what motivated Bonnie Johnson to come to USC from her home state of Tennessee to study macro social work. “I could no longer sit on the sidelines,” Johnson said. “USC is one of the few schools in the country with a developed macro social work program. I want to help change the harmful aspects of our society on a larger scale.” Johnson is the recipient of the Matthew Holland Scholarship for Social Work, awarded to MSW students who have demonstrated a commitment to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues through academic accomplishments, community involvement and/or other personal contributions. “The LGBT community still faces an immense amount of legal and social discrimination despite the marriage equality victory,” she said. “Many people do not understand that coming out is a constant process in our heteronormative world. Every time I enter a new setting, I have to assess the safety of my situation and my own energy level to decide if I want to reveal this important part of myself.” Receiving this scholarship reinvigorated Johnson, who no longer felt as though she was shouting into the void about the plight of LGBT people. It made her feel less alone and inspired her to keep fighting for a more accepting world. “After I complete my MSW, I plan to return to Tennessee and study law in order to become the most effective and impactful social worker and advocate I can for marginalized populations in the American South,” she said. “An equal America is not just a fantasy - it is a reality that we can create together.”
“An equal America is not just a fantasy - it is a reality that we can create together.”
Ceasar Mejia
LOS AMIGOS DE LA HUMANIDAD ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP Ceasar Mejia is the oldest of four children and the first in his family to attend college and to pursue a master’s degree. He has always had a passion for helping others and decided that social work was the best way he could contribute to the betterment of society. Mejia chose USC because he believed it would be the best school of social work to challenge him and reach his fullest potential as a social worker. Receiving the Los Amigos De La Humanidad Endowed Scholarship, awarded to Latin American/Hispanic MSW students with demonstrated academic achievement and financial need, meant more than his own personal accomplishment. 20
Yong (Ronnie) Eo GARY SINISE ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP
After serving 11 years in the United States Army, including tours in the Middle East, South Asia and East Asia, Yong (Ronnie) Eo decided to make a career change and become a social worker. In the Army he piloted helicopters, but instead of transitioning into civilian aviation he chose social work because he imagined he could help more people as a social worker than a pilot. “As my wife, newborn daughter and I transition into civilian life, receiving a scholarship has relieved us of some financial stress and allowed me to complete my studies,” Eo said. “Transitioning from active duty has been a more difficult process than I expected. Being recognized and receiving an award as a civilian is very meaningful for me. I feel validated, humbled and proud.” The Gary Sinise Endowed Scholarship is awarded to MSW students who have served in the military, been wounded or disabled in military service, are children or family members of fallen service members, or are from an active military family. Recipients of the scholarship will focus on helping their fellow veterans by working with active duty service members, veterans and military families. One of the main reasons Eo chose to pursue his MSW from USC was its reputation as an institutional leader in military social work. Eo has focused his studies on social work in policy-level community and corporate environments, and hopes to effect change in government on military issues by learning how to work in current systems. “Empowering others gives me a sense of fulfillment,” Eo said. “My fellow students that sit in the classrooms with me now are going to be those with whom I will have an impact on the nation and the world.”
“Transitioning from active duty has been a more difficult process than I expected.”
MAKE A GIFT “In my family, we have a culture of unity,” Mejia said. “If one of us struggles, we all struggle. If one of us succeeds, we all succeed. This scholarship has not only helped to ease the burden of tuition for myself but for my family as well.” Mejia’s concentration is in children, youth and families with an emphasis in mental health, and he hopes to become a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) once receiving his graduate degree. “Long-term, I envision myself running my own private practice and giving back to the profession in any way I can,” he said.
“In my family, we have a culture of unity. If one of us struggles, we all struggle. If one of us succeeds, we all succeed.”
To make a gift to an existing scholarship fund, visit bit.ly/ givetoscholarships. If you are interested in creating a scholarship fund, contact Asha Jayasinghe, executive director of individual giving and alumni engagement, at 213.740.2020 or ajayasin@usc.edu. 21
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
Innovation in social work pushes the boundaries of what is possible and shows us how many different ways change can be created. Often this means exploring interdisciplinary practices. Two initiatives that are improving quality of life around the world have harnessed technology to advance social work principles.
THE ROBOT IN THE FAMILY by Vincent Lim
Consumers can now interact with artificially intelligent machines in their homes through Google Home and Amazon Echo, which serve as personal assistants that answer questions, tell jokes and play music, but there is a potential for deeper human-machine connections. A USC project funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation is exploring how robots can provide companionship and support intergenerational interactions between older adults and other family members in the same house.
“We’re investigating how companion technologies can facilitate and enhance existing family relationships.” 22
Shinyi Wu, an associate professor at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and a senior scientist at the School’s USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging, is a co-principal investigator on the project and part of the research team led by principal investigator Maja Matarić, the Chan Soon-Shiong Professor of Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics at USC, the founding director of the USC Robotics and Autonomous Systems Center and the Vice Dean for Research in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. The project’s other co-principal investigator is Elizabeth Zelinski, the Rita and Edward Polusky Chair in Education and Aging at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Elaine Short and Katelyn Swift-Spong, PhD students in the
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
Department of Computer Science at the USC Viterbi School are the lead student researchers on the project. “Robots cannot replace our closest human companions, but we’re investigating how companion technologies can facilitate and enhance existing family relationships,” Wu said. The team is using SPRITE, a tabletop, social assistive robot developed in Mataric’s lab,that is about 30 cm tall with six degrees of freedom and an expressive face display. It is an embodied robot—
designed to look like a living being— with an appearance that can be changed by modifying its covering which was designed from feedback by elderly users. The team recently recruited multigenerational families for an exploratory study and found they enjoyed playing tablet-based games like Go Fish with SPRITE and could envision the robot in their home. Researchers hope to further develop SPRITE’s capabilities to help support the families’ social well-being. n
A student interacts with SPRITE through a tablet.
ZERO MOTHERS DIE by Keith Demolder
Diagnosed with a rare heart condition after delivering her third child in 2016, Kristie Holmes, adjunct associate professor at the USC Suzanne DworakPeck School of Social Work, learned firsthand that attentive care can be the difference between life and death. “I had no reason to ever check my heart,” she said. “No family history of heart disease or problems. I went to physical therapy after the birth for neck pain, back pain, jaw pain, cold sweats–which turned out to all be symptoms of women’s cardiac issues.” Holmes nearly lost her life to postnatal complications. She was placed on a CONTINUED PAGE 24
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RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
TECHNOLOGY: CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23
United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) list and will eventually require a transplant. However, her experience with advocacy for postnatal care started nearly five years earlier in the lobby of a convention center halfway around the world at the Global Health Dynamics Roundtable in Geneva, Switzerland. There, Holmes became part of a technology-based breakthrough in women’s health care. According to recent statistics from the World Health Organization, about 830 women die each day due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth. To combat these losses, eHealth and gender-based health experts Drs. Coumba Touré, Véronique Inès Thouvenot and Jordi Serrano Pons founded Zero Mothers Die (ZMD), a global initiative to save the lives of pregnant women, new mothers and their babies by implementing access to health care programs through mobile technology. The initiative is part of the United Nations' next phase of sustainable development goals for 2030–to reduce infant and maternal mortality, now global goal number three. ZMD’s mobile app provides essential maternal and newborn health information to both expectant and new mothers, as well as to health care workers providing care to their communities. “The app has made it so mothers, community health workers, public health workers and providers are all connected,” Holmes said. “If they have a smartphone, they can connect to a lot of information at their fingertips to get better help.” ZMD distributes about 10,000 phones per year to women around the world who are considered to be at high risk, delivering important pre- and postnatal information at
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the right time, with a goal to distribute 100,000 phones by 2030. Women in the ZMD program also receive free minutes donated by Airtel. In some parts of the world, it can be dangerous for a woman to have a valuable smartphone, so to thwart potential theft and black-market re-sale of these mobile devices, ZMD made them pink to discourage men from wanting them. Holmes’ work as a researcher and ZMD representative has allowed her to develop programs in multiple African
countries, assisting thousands of women and their children. Her own experience has provided further motivation for her to ensure that no more mothers die from a lack of proper medical attention. “The whole family is affected when a mother dies,” she said. “Before, I was focusing on research and now I’m focused on advocacy. I’m a mother trying not to die, so I’m doing what I can to make sure that mothers all over are receiving the care they deserve.” n
FACULTY
NEWS BRIEFS
POINTS OF PRIDE
Nathan Graeser
Nathan Graeser, community program administrator for the USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families, was featured in a GEICO commercial highlighting military heroes. He used this opportunity to focus on the needs of all veterans coming home to their families. View the full video at bit.ly/nathangraeser.
Stacy Kratz, senior lecturer, was awarded the Welcoming America Tampa Bay Welcomer Award, recognizing her work to build an inclusive community for refugees and other immigrants in Tampa Bay, Florida. A member of the Hillsborough County Refugee Task Force, and founder and chair of the Refugee Stacy Kratz Mental Health Task Force Subcommittee, Kratz collaborates with nonprofit and government partners to help transform Tampa Bay communities into welcoming places for all people, including immigrants.
Ellen Olshansky
Elizabeth Swart
Ellen Olshansky, professor and chair of the Department of Nursing, was elected to her second term on the board of directors of the American Academy of Nursing. As the board’s former liaison to the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science, Olshansky earned valuable skills to help develop the nursing department at our school. Elizabeth Swart, adjunct lecturer, presented a paper with VAC MSW student Elizabeth Baik at the National Women’s Studies Association conference in Montreal, Canada. Swart teaches courses on domestic violence and global violence against women for the VAC. Baik spoke about hegemonic media images of women that perpetuate gender-based violence and what social workers can do to “decolonize” these images.
William Vega, executive director, and Maria Aranda, senior scientist, for the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging, presented research at the Ninth National Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics in Havana, Cuba, a country with one of the oldest populations in the Americas. They also presented at the Healthy Lifestyle and Neurological Disorders Symposium in Mexico City, Mexico, focusing on evidence-based medical research and clinical practice that showed how healthy lifestyle changes can treat chronic neurological disorders. William Vega
Maria Aranda
Ben Henwood, Julie Cederbaum and Lawrence Palinkas were elected to the 2017 Class of Fellows of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR). Fellows are members who have served with distinction to advance the mission of the society. SSWR fellowship is determined by a point system established by the board of directors. Ben Henwood
Julia Cederbaum
Lawrence Palinkas
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ALUMNI
USC SUZANNE DWORAK-PECK SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Representing the largest school of social work in the world, the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work Alumni Association (SWAA) seeks to maximize the potential of our social work Trojan Family, providing opportunities to connect with the school, students and one another.
RECENT EVENTS •• SWAA hosted its annual Alumni Homecoming Celebration for alumni, faculty, staff, friends and family at the University Park Campus, November 2016. •• SWAA and the NASW-USC Unit hosted a Los Angeles screening of the award-winning film Resilience and a discussion about preventing childhood trauma, treating toxic stress and improving the health of future generations, November 2016. •• SWAA and the NASW-USC Unit hosted Social Workers for Social Change, a conference on community organizing and political advocacy for social workers and community leaders, February 2017.
Blas Villalobos, MSW ’12, and his family share their Trojan pride at the Alumni Homecoming Celebration. Attendees at the Social Workers for Social Change conference.
KEEP IN TOUCH Let us know what your alumni association can do for you! swalumni@usc.edu
Panelists Gabe Crenshaw, Pia Escuerdo, MSW ‘88, Salina Copeland and Samantha Buckingham led a discussion at the screening of Resilience.
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Follow us on Facebook for all upcoming alumni activities. facebook.com/USCSWAA
Update your contact Visit the events page on information on our Class the school’s website. Notes page and learn more about sowkweb.usc.edu/ your alumni benefits. alumni-events sowkweb.usc.edu/alumni
USC MENTAL HEALTH CLINIC’S OPENING CELEBRATES VISION FOR VETERANS by Claudia Bustamante
The grand opening of the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at USC in October 2016 celebrated the vision of bringing the highest quality mental health care to Los Angeles’ veterans and military families.
the connective tissue that allows all of us that serve veterans to do it well,” he said. “We want to be the support system in our region. If we accomplish that, the people will flourish.”
The downtown Los Angeles clinic was made possible by a $15.7 million grant from Steven A. Cohen through his nonprofit Cohen Veterans Network. The clinic offers free care to veterans and their families who are suffering from post-traumatic stress, mood disorders, substance abuse and other mental health issues.
The clinic marks the latest investment by USC in the well-being of service members, veterans and military families. The Los Angeles clinic is the fourth to open within the Cohen Veterans Network and is the first on the West Coast.
Marvin Southard, professor of practice at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, said the clinic is going to do more than provide mental health therapy.
Kyle White, an Army veteran who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in Afghanistan, said he realized years ago while still in the military that he needed to seek help and was grateful that he did.
“The biggest part of our vision for the clinic is that we desire not merely to be another provider of care, we want to be
“I don’t know what my life would look like if I didn’t get help,” he said. “It’s time to stop looking at statistics. It’s time to
destigmatize the idea that because our wounds are invisible, they’re somehow less than physical ones.” n
USC FOOTBALL AND SOCIAL WORK TEAM UP FOR HOMELESS YOUTH by Joanna Scott
Coach Clay Helton and his wife, Angela, are dedicated to supporting social change wherever they can. So it seemed obvious to them that they should partner with the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work to find a way for USC Football to make a difference.
About 1,000 pairs of sneakers were collected, making the inaugural event a successful collaboration. The sneakers were
then distributed to homeless youth agencies My Friend’s Place, Youth Center on Highland, and Safe Place for Youth, where the early holiday gifts were received with immense gratitude. The Heltons personally visited the shelters where the sneakers were donated and met some of the youth who had benefited from their efforts. “One young man came up to me and said, ‘Coach! I’m wearing your shoes!” Coach Helton recalled. “I was really touched by that.”
The result was the creation of a sneaker drive for homeless youth in Los Angeles. Those attending various sporting events during the month of November 2016 were asked to donate a pair of new sneakers, with the main drive taking place at the USC vs. Notre Dame football game Thanksgiving weekend.
Look out for the 2nd Annual Sneaker Drive during the 2017 football season! n
SPRING 2017 EDITORIAL Scarlett Powers Osterling Jessica C. Lee Joanna Scott Maya Meinert Brian Goodman Judith Lipsett
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Joanna Scott Claudia Bustamante Vincent Lim Michelle Marquis Dumas Keith Demolder
PRINTER ColorGraphics GRAPHIC DESIGN Peter Clifford petercreates.com
PHOTOGRAPHY Tracy Boulian + David Ahntholz Steve Cohn John Davis Jason Wallis
©2017 USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work Photography and artwork may not be reproduced without permission. If your name or address is incorrect on this mailing, or if you received duplicate copies, please contact: 213.821.6423 | sowkadvn@usc.edu. 27
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Congratulations to our Class of 2017 Graduates! View video and photos from commencement at
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