Class Notes

I was working in the field of addition/mental health before graduating with my MSW in 1987. I then worked at Chelsea Hospital (Kresge House), Older Adult Recovery Center and University of Michigan (UMATS program). I retired from UM and now do full-time, private practice. I've been in the field for more than 50 years.

I retired after 35 years providing outpatient substance use disorder treatment to individuals and families. My final position was with the Department of Veteran's Affairs, which meant a lot to me as my dad was a World War II veteran. Thanks to U of M School of Social Work for a great career!

Congratulations to Dr. D. Scott Tharp for the upcoming publication of this second book! His book, “Decoding Privilege: Exploring White College Students' Views on Social Inequality,” explores how White students understand the concept of privilege so that educators can more effectively teach students about social power and inequality. Specially, the text examines three elements that influence how White college students understand privilege: Ideas, beliefs, and feelings. More information about this book, including how to purchase your own copy, can be found on the publisher’s website here: https://www.routledge.com/Decoding-Privilege-Exploring-White-College-St…

In fall 2020, Jamie earned her MSW from the University of Michigan School of Social Work with a focus in Community Engagement. Since her graduation Jamie has worked as the Engagement Director for Michigan Climate Action Network, where she has helped bridge the gaps between justice, equity and climate change. She has also worked with organizations across the state to build attention to and advocate for state and federal policies that center the most underrepresented communities in Michigan. Jamie has recently become the first Community Engagement Reporter for Michigan Radio. Her reporting will supplement Michigan Radio’s coverage in Detroit, and specifically various neighborhoods across the city. She will work with the station's Community Reporting Engagement Council to better understand and address residents’ goals.

I recently published my first book, Aging and Social Policy in the United States. Intended for undergraduate and graduate students in social work and the social sciences, this book explores the issues facing older adults and their families through local, state, federal, and international policy lenses.

Randy Ross was promoted in January 2021 to Vice President, Philanthropic Services at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, where he has been employed since 2005. In his new role, he will be responsible for the leading the Community Foundation's fundraising and donor services activities. In 2020, the Community Foundation raised more than $121 million in new gifts. The Community Foundation seeks to build permanent endowment in order to improve the quality of life in the seven-county region of southeast Michigan, including Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, Livingston, and St. Clair counties. The Community Foundation's assets total more than $1.2 billion.

Claudette Grinnell-Davis, PhD, MS, MSW has received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Policies for Action program to study the implementation and impact of the 2015 Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) statute. Dr. Grinnell-Davis, an assistant professor in the Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work at OU-Tulsa, will serve as the principal investigator for the grant, in conjunction with community partners Nebraska Indian Child Welfare Coalition, LLC. & Nebraska Appleseed. This research grant is the first step in understanding how best to support Indigenous communities in Nebraska in restoring balance within their communities and generating collaborative strategies to heal the historical trauma that has disrupted tribal communities there for over 150 years.

Andrea Brand has recently published her first book, Stop Sweating & Start Talking - How to Make Sex Chats with Your Kids Easier Than You Think. With the goal of empowering tweens and teens to make intentional decisions based on facts, Andrea helps parents overcome their fears and barriers to having informative sex conversations with their kids. Given the inconsistencies in sex education that is offered in the U.S. school system, kids need a trusted resource for accurate information.This book encourages and helps parents have ongoing, developmentally appropriate, scientifically accurate, sex positive conversations and offers practical tools and tips to help get the ball rolling.

Melissa Mendez has worked the past 20 years in the field of infant and early childhood mental health. Melissa spent the first five years of her career with Head Start programs in Jackson County, Michigan and then moved to Connecticut in 2006 to work as an Early Childhood Consultant at Wheeler Clinic. Melissa is currently Director of Early Childhood Programs at Wheeler and is also a part-time Professor of Child and Family Clinical Practice in the MSW program at Southern Connecticut State University. Melissa served as President of the CT-Association for Infant Mental Health Health from 2015-2018 and is still active with the work of CT-AIMH. Melissa authored, illustrated, and published several children's books in 2020 that are focused on children's social emotional health and development.

In fall 2019, Violeta earned her MSW from the University of Michigan School of Social Work with a focus on Interpersonal Practice and African-Centered Social Work. Since bridging her Master’s in Sociology (‘14), community-care based experience with healing justice, and her most recent accomplishments in Social Work, Violeta prioritizes working on health and healing strategies and interventions in clinical and macro-level settings. Violeta currently holds two transformative social work positions. First, she is a clinical therapist at Integrative Empowerment Group, PLLC in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, MI where she works with many clients of multiple-marginalized identities and supports clients across a number of presenting needs including but not limited to racialized stress and trauma, gender identity expression, LGBQQ+ issues, anxiety and depression, sexualized violence and complex trauma. As a kink-aware therapist, she is also trained to work with clients through a sex therapy informed lens. Violeta is also a macro-level Mental Health Therapist at The Firecracker Foundation which is based in Lansing, MI. As part of The Firecracker Foundation, she co-leads digital project and initiatives that work to uphold the holistic mental health needs of survivors of sexual violence and the communities that support them.

In addition to this work, she has served as a board member of the National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network and as a partner to Healing by Choice! Detroit.

In 2020, Violeta was featured on Lindsay Bryan-Povin’s podcast, Mind Money Balance, addressing the importance of spirituality and rest in the quest for financial wellness. More recently, she is one of a select group of poets with work featured in the Untold Stories of Liberation and Love Anthology, "Ypsi on My Mind," which is a publication that centers women of Color stories in Ypsilanti, MI.

Violeta passed her ABSW exam in Spring 2021. More information on her work can be found here: www.violetadonawa.com.