Class Notes

Harlena Reed, JD, LCSW LMSW is excited about her new role as LCA Deputy Director for the State of New Mexico. Ms. Reed will oversee the Children Youth and Families Department (CYFD) Licensing and Certification Authority Bureau monitoring health, safety, supervision and quality of care for licensed facilities throughout the State of New Mexico, She will support and monitor compliance with the Kevin S. Settlement Agreement and CYFD's Family First Prevention Services Act Strategic Plan.

Matt Bouse, MSW '19 recently completed an hour-long documentary about the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that occurred in northeastern Japan. The film focuses on how a natural disaster impacts survivors’ mental health and how community bonds and strong social support can create resilience after a tragedy. It also discusses the important role that socioeconomic factors play in disaster recovery and mental wellness. This project began life as part of a Global Independent Study that Matt completed through the School of Social Work's Office of Global Activities. The full film can be found online. Matt also presented on this topic at the 2021 NASW-Michigan Meeting of the Profession Conference.

Andrew just recently released Grappling: White Men's Journey from Fragile to Agile. Be a agent of change or a victim of progress. How to use courage and compassion to support change inside of us, between us, and around us.

Allessia earned tenure and promotion to Associate Professor at Salisbury University School of Social Work (effective August 11, 2021). In a time when colleges and universities are closing, and some institutions are discontinuing the tenure process, she is fortunate to have a measure of professional success and stability.

Jazmine concentrated in Interpersonal Practice and Mental Health and currently works as a Mitigation Specialist/Social Worker at SADO—Michigan’s award-winning statewide indigent appellate defense provider. Jazmine works on the Juvenile Lifer Unit where she collaborates with attorneys and clients to develop strategy for new sentence hearings. She represents individuals who were unconstitutionally sentenced to life without parole for crimes they committed as children and who are now entitled to new sentences and eligible for an opportunity for release. Jazmine also started a new service-learning partnership between SADO and Project Outreach’s Juvenile and Criminal Justice section, which is an undergraduate service learning course housed within the University of Michigan’s Department of Psychology in the College of Literature, Science and Arts.

Andrea Watkins was honored to have been profiled in her hometown newspaper, the Monroe Evening News (Monroe, MI) for her career in international social work in which her MSW degree from the University of Michigan served as the foundation: https://eu.monroenews.com/story/news/history/2021/02/24/andrea-watkins-…

Remeta Hicks-Montgomery has recently been appointed as the Service Director of Detroit Action and she has worked diligently to relaunch the community organization's community services. These services include: ID/Birth Record - This program provides low and no-income Detroiters with access to ID and birth records. Mutual Aid - This program provides cash assistance to low and no-income Detroiters financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Job Readiness/Career Exploration - This program provides job readiness and career exploration services to employment-insecure Detroiters.

Remeta's work has been recognized on a statewide and global level with the Detroit Free Press covering the relaunch and Blavity News, the #1 Black Millennial publication, publishing her op-ed about her experience relaunching these services while starting a new role in an organization that had a heavy impact on flipping Michigan blue. The op-ed can be found here: https://blavity.com/covid-has-dried-up-many-resources-but-well-always-f…

Brittney M. Williams (LSA '16, MSW '17) became the first Public Defender Social Worker hired in the near 50-year history of the Washtenaw County Public Defender's Office. She is tasked with building and leading the Public Defender Social Work Division; and will create a Social Work Internship Program in collaboration with local institutions as part of her efforts. Ms. Williams also accepted a part-time instructor role in the University's School of Social Work.

U.S. Embassy Kigali, Robin Martz, MPH, MSW, is the director of USAID - US Agency for International Development Rwanda Health Office. Robin earned Master's degrees in Public Health and Social Work from the University of Michigan and brings an incredible range of public health experience from all around the world. Robin has worked on maternal and child health in Laos, polio in Afghanistan, HIV in Haiti, and emerging pandemic threats in Thailand and Cambodia. Robin was a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger and has advised the World Bank, United Nations Population Fund, and Save the Children. In Rwanda, she manages a team of 22 experts with an annual budget of nearly $80 million providing comprehensive support to the country's public health initiatives.

This year, Alice received one national and one regional award, the Council on Social Work Education Early Career Faculty Award: https://cswe.org/About-CSWE/Awards/2020-Awardees/Dr-2020-Awardee2 as well as the Pacific Sociological Association "Distinguished Contributions to Sociological Praxis" Award: https://www.pacificsoc.org/psa-news/psa-awards