MSW Program

MSW student Courtney Smith has been named one of Junior Chamber International (JCI) USA’s 2026 Ten Outstanding Young Americans. The national honor recognizes exceptional leaders ages 18-40 whose work reflects achievement in leadership, service and professional excellence.

Smith is the founder and CEO of the Detroit Phoenix Center (DPC), a nonprofit organization that responds to the needs of underserved and transient youth. DPC supports young people, ages 13-24, through direct services, including a drop-in center for young adults, after-school enrichment programs for teens, a youth action board

The Stephen R. Anfinson Scholarship provides support for a second year MSW student with a preference for students pursuing a concentration in Children, Youth, and Families in Society with a demonstrated commitment to child welfare reform with a focus on the issue of chronic neglect.

The Betty Schmalzle Appich and Horst G. Appich Scholarship provides scholarship support for MSW students with a preference for students returning to complete their professional degree after time working the field of social work.

The School welcomes back Assistant Clinical Professor Katie Doyle, who will serve as the director of the MSW Program. She holds an MSW and MBA from U-M and was on faculty at the School from 2015-2022. From 2022-2026, she served as the Managing Director of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, where she also taught courses in leadership at the Thomas J. Watson School of International and Public Affairs. She was integrally involved in our last MSW curriculum revision and brings two decades of professional experience in both clinical and macro practice, including over a decade of service

Lecture Erin Martinez-Gillard’s “Death, Loss and Grief” course was featured in an MLive article.  The students requested that the course end with a funeral, in keeping with the course theme.  Together, they had a three-hour service, hosted a potluck and listened to a playlist they created for the event titled “Death Party.” 

To end class with a funeral felt beautiful and poetic, said MSW student Natalie Willyerd, who was in charge of the funeral playlist. “It’s important, even if that’s not what we’re specializing in, to be comfortable talking about death,” she said.

MSW student Jaime Oberlander presented her research at American University in June at a conference entitled “The Impacts of USAID’s Dismantling on its Workforce and Families: Survey Presentation and Panel Discussion.” Oberlander, a former USAID Foreign Service Officer, designed a survey to document how the dismantling of USAID affected the people who worked in and alongside the agency. She discussed these findings on MS Now with Jacob Soboroff.

Oberland also wrote about her research in in Foreign Serivce Journal.

MSW Student Lillie Khatib and her family were featured in a Chicago Tribune article exploring the grassroots advocacy efforts across the nation to help ICE detainees, many of whom are being held far from home. Khatib’s family is part of “Hope for Neighbors,” which provides support for those held at the North Lake detention center in Baldwin, Michigan. Khatib helps coordinate volunteers to visit with people detained; her parents both regularly volunteer to meet those released, drive them home or to their next stop, and provide them with food, clothing and a phone to use during the journey.

“Ever

MSW students Allie Rosenberg and Sam Tick-Raker were quoted in the Detroit Jewish News about the upcoming Alicia Jo Rabins concert produced by the Jewish Community Leadership Program (JCLP).  “This event is a fully student-planned program, organized and facilitated by the second-year JCLP students as they seek to offer the local Jewish community this space for meaningful joyful engagement and a unique experience,” said Tick-Racker.

“As an emerging singer-songwriter, I am beyond honored to be opening for Alicia Jo Rabins whose spiritual journey mirrors my own in many ways,” said Rosenberg.“I

MSW student Angela Chin has been selected as U-M’s 2026 National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Student of the Year.  Chin’s nomination was based on her outstanding leadership and contributions, her commitment to the Schools MSW program and the NASW Code of Ethics.  She will be honored at a ceremony in Lansing in April.

"I am honored to have been selected to represent the University of Michigan. While my name is associated with the award, it reflects the support of those who uplift me: friends and peers who believe in my leadership, staff and faculty who provide me with educational and