Class Notes

Wendy Lewis-Jackson was recently named to Crain's Detroit Business' 2026 Women of Influence list.

As a grateful 1994 graduate of Michigan’s School of Social Work, I’m thrilled to announce my new book, Everyday Ecotherapy: Nature Connection Practices for Where We Live, Learn, Work, and Play, forthcoming from Routledge Press. Drawing on my experience founding two nonprofits—Wildrock and Nature Connection Lab—the book offers practical tools and inspiring stories to help readers foster community mental health and a conservation outlook through connection with local nature. My time at Michigan laid the foundation for this work, and I would love to connect with fellow alumni who share an interest in nature, mental health, and community engagement. I currently serve as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Virginia in the Environmental Thought and Practice Department.

I retired in 2024 after a long career in adoption focusing on domestic private infant adoptions and international adoptions after adopting two children via international adoption. I worked with families preparing them for adoption and then provided post adoption support services. I also enjoyed presenting workshops about adoption issues at local, state, regional, and national adoption and social work conferences. Since retiring, I am enjoying traveling, bicycling, going to Broadway shows, and visiting with my children, one of whom resides in Montreal and the other in the Netherlands. I still tell people how going to UM was the best decision I ever made.

Financial therapist and Mind Money Balance founder Lindsay Bryan-Podvin has been named a 2026 Tory Burch Foundation Fellow.

The fellowship recognizes women entrepreneurs for their vision, leadership, and impact. Fellows gain access to a peer network, coaching, and educational opportunities. The organization aims to generate more than $1 billion in economic impact for women-owned businesses by 2030.

Mind Money Balance is growing its offerings by developing a digital version of its in-person financial wellbeing program to reach more people, boost financial confidence, reduce anxiety, and promote a more comprehensive vision of financial wellbeing for individuals, their workplaces, and their communities.

I was just appointed Editor-in-Chief of the NASW journal, Socail Work Research. GO BLUE!

I just published a new study in Home Health Care Management and Practice. Here is the abstract:

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has documented a significant increase in the number of Medicare beneficiaries opting for Medicare Advantage (MA, also referred to as Medicare Part C) Plans. As a result, there also has been an increase in Medicare Home Health beneficiaries receiving their home health through Medicare Advantage Plans. A literature review indicates there is only one quantitative study and no qualitative studies on the impact of this shift on home health on patient care, and none on home care nurses’ views on the impact on patient care. The current study is a qualitative study based on in-person interviews of a convenience sample of 48 home care nurses from nine different home health agencies in New York City between January 15, 2026, to March 25, 2026. Five major themes emerged, with nurses feeling: (1) the MA prior authorization process denials are frequent and adversely impact patient care; (2) MA Plans use of home health decreases the amount of home health visits; (3) decreased MA home health visits per patient adversely affects nurses’ ability to deliver appropriate care; (4) decreased visits per patient increases the likelihood of health care readmissions; and (5) decreased MA home health visits per patient increase the likelihood of patients developing further medical complications.

Citation:

Cabin, W. (2026). “it’s Too Late to matter”: A Qualitative Study of Home Health Nurses Views on

Medicare Advantage Home Health. Home Health Care

Management and Practice. https://doi.org10.1177/10848223261458743

I graduated with my MSW in December 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—a uniquely challenging and transformative time to complete graduate school. Following graduation, I joined Western Michigan University, where I conducted trauma assessments for children involved in the child welfare system before transitioning into a role as an outpatient therapist.

Since then, I have become certified in TF-CBT, facilitated therapy groups for LGBTQ+ youth, and begun family therapy work utilizing Attachment-Based Family Therapy. This year I supervised my first MSW intern and was honored to have received the “transformative mentor” award. Supporting children and families impacted by trauma has been the focus of my professional work for the past 10 years, and it continues to be deeply meaningful to me.

I am incredibly grateful for my education at UofM and for the opportunity to serve as a Child Welfare Scholar—an experience that continues to shape and inspire my work in the field today as well as who I am as a human :) GO BLUE!

César Valdez recently founded the IADC International Institute, the official home for IADC Therapy — an EMDR-derived, evidence-informed, brief therapeutic approach for grief originally developed by psychologist Allan Botkin. Distinct from traditional grief counseling, IADC Therapy helps clients process unresolved grief through a structured clinical method that often leads to a deeply felt sense of connection, resolution, and emotional relief following the death of a loved one. Valdez serves as Executive Director and Lead Trainer of the Institute, which provides clinical training, certification, research support, and professional consultation for mental health clinicians internationally. The Institute supports the continued development, study, and ethical practice of this powerful and highly specialized therapy worldwide.

Over my long career I have been a clinical social worker, school social worker, Special Education Administrator, Assistant Professor at Tompkins Cortland Community College, Co-author of college text with Cornell University Professor, Assistant Professor at Ohio State University, 15years as an English teacher at Evart, Eagle Boys Village, and Big Rapids High school, Varsity Boys Basketball coach, and 20 years as adjunct Professor at Ferris State University, 15 years as a college Track and field official, National Champion Javelin thrower in two separate Associations.

Currently a Hospice Volunteer

After graduation, Michelle moved back to her home state to start her clinical practice. She is currently a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and psychotherapist in the San Francisco Bay Area who brings a rich, social-justice-oriented lens to her private practice and projects. With nearly a decade of experience spanning hospital systems and Silicon Valley tech environments, Michelle specializes in supporting first-generation adults navigating cultural identity, high-achieving professionals battling burnout, and women moving through the complexities of maternal mental health.

Her advocacy extends to impactful media collaborations, including an NPR's Bay Area KQED feature discussing the Fall of Saigon and prioritizing generational trauma and healing. She further explores her passion for social work and its intersections on podcasts like Heard Business School, where she discusses building culturally responsive practices and the importance of authenticity in therapy.

Her therapeutic approach is defined by a balance of warm humanity and clinical direction, using evidence-based tools such as CBT, DBT, and Psychodynamic and Narrative Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to build lasting resilience. By blending professional expertise with "tactful transparency" and humor, Michelle creates a space where clients can move away from perfectionism and toward a life of radical self-acceptance and intentionality.

michellevolcsw.com