Donor Spotlight

Donor Spotlight on Martha Pheneger, MSW: “Born to Be a Social Worker”

“I think I must have been born to be a social worker. My mother was a social worker, family friends were social work professors, and I participated in a high school career program on social work as a teenager.” Thus was Martha Pheneger’s response to the question, “How did you become a social worker?” Martha is currently a retired social worker living in Laramie, Wyoming and has been a friend and supporter of the Division.

In the last ten years, Martha Pheneger is a consistent major donor to the Division of Social Work. Her continued donations over the years are the inspiration for the launching of the Social Work Student Success Fund Campaign as her generosity has been used to support student and faculty projects over the years. According to Martha, “I give to the Division of Social Work because I want to keep the program going and strong.”

“I arrived in Laramie in 1981 as an LCSW and I was thrilled to learn that there was a social work program at the University of Wyoming. I began to mentor social work students and even taught several courses over the years including Introduction to Social Work,” says Martha.

She has served as an adjunct field instructor for the Division and continues to actively recruit people for the profession and the Division.

Martha graduated from the UC Berkley School of Social Welfare in 1966. Her practice has extended across the life span from the UCLA Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to her work in California nursing homes, retiring from the Albany County School District in Laramie 2001 as a School Social Worker where she was employed for 18 years. Martha worked to bring the district into compliance with the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and advocated for children and families in her role as a school social worker. Within the schools, she started numerous groups for the students including those experiencing divorce, girls’ groups, life skills groups, careers, and socialization groups. She describes a basic task of all social workers as a profession that “connects people to resources.”

Martha’s advocacy and commitment to the principles of social work extended into her volunteer work. She has served on the Laramie Interfaith Board of Directors, the Board of Laramie Reproductive Health, and is a long-time member of the League of Women Voters.

Her life serves as an excellent example of the core values of social work with a strong commitment to continuing a high quality profession.

“I give to the Division of Social Work because I want to keep the program going and strong.”