Class Notes

I recently launched a podcast exploring the transformative and healing power of kindness. My first guest was Dr. Dan Siegel, a mentor whose work I was first introduced to during my time in the MSW program. His work, along with the exceptional training I received in attachment theory from Julie Ribaudo and Doug Davies, deeply informed my dissertation research at Arizona State University, and Dr. Siegel served on my dissertation committee.

This initial podcast conversation focuses on the healing power of mindfulness and kindness within family systems where trauma has occurred. Through this research and clinical work, I developed a kindness–mindfulness model that I now teach in organizations and use in my work with individuals. The podcast is titled Kindness in Action with Dr. Natalie Gruber.

I think of my fabulous professors back in the middle 1970s and thank them for what they taught me. I wish them all the best!

Attending my son Michael's wedding in Miami Beach this weekend (Nov. 1)were classmates Bonnie Stern Miller and Sharon Kestenbaum. We have attended our children's weddings in the past so it was great to see them once again for a happy occasion!!! ( If I get a picture, I will send it along)

I was just re-appointed to the editorial board of the NASW peer-reviewed journal, Health and Social Work

Hello, fellow grads!

I wanted to tell you about the novel that I've just published, available on Amazon:

THE RELUCTANT WOMB: by Pamela Blair

A powerful novel of friendship, choice, and survival—before Roe v. Wade, when a woman’s options could define her destiny.

In 1963, three college friends at the University of Michigan are on the cusp of adulthood, full of dreams and discovering their place in the world. But when two of them become pregnant, they face an impossible reality: abortion is illegal.

Set in the years before Roe v. Wade, THE RELUCTANT WOMB follows these young women as they grapple with love, shame, secrecy, and the consequences of choices no one should be forced to make. Against the backdrop of the sexual revolution, shifting gender roles, and political unrest, their stories illuminate the emotional and societal weight of unplanned pregnancy in a time when women had little agency over their bodies.

I hope you'll read it!

Pamela Blair

I’m looking forward to seeing some of my fellow 1975 MSW graduates at the homecoming luncheon at the College of Social Work in Ann Arbor on October 3, 2025 and at the football game the next day.

I've recently transitioned to a new role and new aspect of my career and am working in business development for my organization. I have been with my current employer for 5 years and started this role in January '25. I lead cross-sector business development efforts by managing a pipeline of opportunities, overseeing proposal processes,and supporting strategic planning to align initiatives with organizational and funder priorities.

During the 1990s, worked for the State of Michigan as a clinical social worker serving mentally ill incarcerated individuals.

In 1998, graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and began working on behalf of individuals and business organizations to enforce the Constitution against municipalities, States and the United States of America. That practice included civil rights cases representing owners of dogs that police officers shot under the color of state law. Several of the police dog shooting cases were featured in a British documentary film entitled Dogs Are People Too. The film debuted at the 2024 One World Film Festival in Prague and was featured at the Brooklyn Film Festival in 2024. It is currently streaming on Apple TV and other services.

Meanwhile, a thriving private psychotherapy practice continues, serving adults in Michigan and Virginia.

Married with four children and living outside Washington, D.C.

Theresa was recently promoted to Partner at Kinetic West, a social impact consulting firm based out of Seattle, WA

Hi,

I wanted to share that I received by EdD in Community-Based Leadership from CUNY College of Staten Island. Degree conferred in June 2024. See more details here: https://csitoday.com/2024/06/school-of-education-holds-inaugural-hoodin…

My dissertation is here for those who are interested https://academicworks.cuny.edu/si_etds/15/

I recently published my first solo article : https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s11920-025-01599-4?sharing_token…

My social work experiences helped me get to where I am today and I am forever grateful to be an alum of University of Michigan School of Social Work. Happy to discuss details if interested. Go Blue!

Best,

Erica Riba, EdD, LCSW

Class of December 2012 (Interpersonal Practice-Children and Youth in Families Concentration)