Class Notes

Morrie O'Neil is a Senior Technical Writer for the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington, DC. He lives in Arlington, VA.

After working 20 years in the field of child welfare, Lacea Zavala, MSW, LMSW made a career switch to instructional design and is now back at the U-M SSW as a Learning Experience Designer in the Online MSW Program. In addition, in January of 2023, Lacea and colleague Jamie Garrison launched the non-profit Rising Sage with the mission to assist single mothers in SE Michigan to overcome barriers to access of wellness practices such as yoga, mindfulness, and mental health support.

State Senator Stephanie Chang, MSW/MPP ‘14, has received the Ford School’s Neil Staebler Distinguished Service Award for her dedication to excellence in public service. She will be honored during a Policy Talks @ the Ford School event in which she will discuss environmental justice with U.S. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and newly appointed Director of the Wayne County Health, Human & Veterans Services Department Abdul El-Sayed.

https://fordschool.umich.edu/news/2023/state-senator-stephanie-chang-mp…

During her time at the University of Michigan's School of Social Work, Taylor specialized in Management of Human Services and Community and Social Systems while accepting a field placement at the State Appellate Defender's Office in their Juvenile Lifer Unit supporting their resentencing Work. Currently, Taylor is working in Atlanta, Georgia with the Southern Center for Human Rights as a Civil and Human Rights Investigator on their Impact Litigation Unit. Here, Taylor is successfully challenging the conditions of confinement across the deep south through prison and jail investigations, parole advocacy, resentencing work, and promoting policies that advance decarceration and racial justice.

Maureen Dolan Tyra, LCSW, MSW '82 is the Director of Social Support Services at VyncaCare, a palliative care organization providing care via telehealth for patients in CA, OR and WA. She is also a Respecting Choices® certified Advance Care Planning instructor and facilitator. She educates her staff in the nuanced skills around engaging patients in end-of-life planning conversations, and won't rest until all adults everywhere have their Advance Health Care Directive completed.

I have been re-appointed to a two-year term as a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Evidence-based Social Work. In addition, I have the following recent publications:

Cabin, W. (2022). “What Were They Thinking?”: The Exclusion of Medicare Home Health from Providing

Supplemental Social Needs Benefits. Home Health Care Management and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1177/10848223221135576

Cabin, W. (2022). “It’s Just Too Much”: The Financial Calculus in Hospice. Home Health Care

Management and Practice. Published online June 8, 2022:

https://doi.org/10.1177/10848223221102544

Cabin, W. (2022). The Hospice Algorithm: Capitalizing on Death and Dying. Home Health Care

Management and Practice, 35(1): 3-12.

https://DOI:10.1177/10848223221085992

Dr. Brittany Davis (formerly Byers), MSW '08, recently completed her PhD in social work at the University of South Carolina. Her dissertation research examined longstanding Black residents' meanings of place identity and gentrification-induced social and cultural displacement, and their actions against such displacement. Additionally, she utilized a secondary analysis and introduced an integrated, innovative way to examine gentrification-induced social and cultural displacement. This involved the integration of photovoice data into a GIS Story Map. The photos and Story Map will be utilized by the community to support their efforts to maintain the historic identity of their neighborhood. As a result of her innovative, and impactful research, Dr. Davis is a recipient of the 2023 Society for Social Work and Research Outstanding Social Work Doctoral Dissertation Award.

Dr. Davis' new adventures will be serving as an Online Assistant Social Work Professor and a Senior Analyst.

Dr. Jun Sung Hong (MSW 06) was named one of the top 100 contributors to the social work journal scholarship, according to an article entitled, "Who are the Top 100 Contributors to Social Work Journal Scholarship? A Global Study on Career Impact in the Profession", which was featured in the Research on Social Practice journal.

Karen Faith Gordon, MSW '92 is the founder and owner of Karen Faith, LLC, a mental health practice focused on the journey of aging. Scope of practice centers around counseling individuals, couples, and families as they navigate the myriad changes that accompany the aging process. Primary themes include caregiver stress, grief & loss, coping with diagnosis, hospice & end-of-life, depression, anxiety, loneliness, and isolation. To further address these issues in a collective space, Karen created Elements Every Day, housed within the Karen Faith, LLC space, to create community engagement. Offerings include affinity/support groups, educational opportunities, gentle & adaptive yoga, mindfulness practices, culinary workshops, and art therapy. Karen earned her Specialist in Aging certificate with her MSW, and her passion for working within this demographic has continued to deepen throughout her personal and professional life.

Dr. Meredith Mason-Ramler, MSW 2011, has been recently promoted to an Associate Professor of Human Services and Social Work at the Gateway College. In addition to serving as the Program Coordinator of these subjects, Dr. Mason-Ramler has been promoted to Assistant Dean of the Allied Health Professions Division, also as Gateway College. Furthermore, Dr. Mason has received a renewal of her Ohio Social Work License (LISW) in clinical mental health practice.