Sekai K.Ward, MSW '07, is a case manager at SOS Community Services in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where she helps homeless families become self-sufficient. She received the Michigan Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence 2011 Promise Award for outstanding advocacy on behalf of survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Sekai also provides supervision to LLMSWs who are pursuing their clinical licenses.
Jennifer M. Acree, MSW '05, joined the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation as an associate program officer for the Flint area grantmaking team. She will be responsible for a variety of grantmaking strategies within the Flint program, with particular focus on the local nonprofit community.
John F. Butler, MSW '74, edited "The Origins of Family Psychotherapy: The NIMH Family Study Project", by Jason Aronson. This book was published in April 2013.
Kristin Meekhof, MSW '98, is a writer for The Huffington Post. She is also co-writing a book entitled "Just Widowed."
Lawrence Green, MSW '68, has spent much of his time, since retiring after 42 years as a psychiatric social worker, writing a memoir of his childhood. It is told primarily through the eyes of a young child. It is entitled Once Upon a Wounded Heart.
Robert MacDonald, MSW '68, retired from Dearborn Public Schools after thirty years of service.
Lourdes Gutierrez Najera, MSW '98, PhD '07, is coeditor of Comparative Indigeneities of the Américas: Toward a Hemispheric Approach (University of Arizona 2012).
Peter Bleby, MSW '77, is working at the University of South Australia. He previously worked at Anglicare SA as Director of Family Services, later becoming Executive Manager of PR and Communications. He also worked as a communications consultant. He was later named as CEO of Summerhill Aged Care Services. Retired in 2012, he has continued teaching in the Social Work program at the University of South Australia, something he has done part-time for the last seven years.
Gayle Shier, MSW '08, authored the article, "Strong Social Support Services, Such as Transportation and Help for Caregivers, Can Lead to Lower Health Care Use and Costs" in the March 2013 issue of HealthAffairs. Shier is currently a program coordinator at Rush University Medical Center's Health and Aging Department.
Kaity Nicastri, MSW '10, recently began work as a case manager in refugee foster care. Her previous work includes a fellowship with the Alliance for Immigrant Rights in southwest Detroit and assisting local organizations with management and development.
University of Michigan
School of Social Work
1080 South University Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106