’64
Truett Briggs, MSSW ’64, had a fruitful social work career at the Department of Human Services’ Income Maintenance Administration in Washington, D.C., where he started as supervisory social work specialist in 1968 and retired as assistant deputy administrator in 2005. After retiring he joined Whitetail Ski Resort in Pennsylvania as a ski instructor, where he worked until 2015. Truett enjoyed the reunion with 1964 classmates in 2014.
’72
Camille Miller, MSSW ’72, has retired as president and CEO of the Texas Health Institute, a position she held since 1996.
’76
Jane Derrick, MSSW ’76, retired in 1999 after working 22 years as a contract manager for the Texas Department of Human Services. In 2012 she was diagnosed with Triple Negative breast cancer. Now five years out from treatment, she has published a book about her journey: Jane Beat Cancer: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed. Her book covers not only her diagnosis and treatment but also all she’s done to adapt to her new normal, including changing her diet and lifestyle. For more details visit www.seejanebeatcancer.com.
’77
Janie Otto Garrett, MSSW ’77, has been in private practice since 1988 at Coppell Counseling Center in Coppell, Texas.
Stephanie (Pousson) Ackert, MSSW ‘77, has retired after 28 years with the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts Human Services Department. She worked in Planning and Development and as director of the Cambridge Multi-Service Center, serving homeless and near homeless individuals and families. Ackert worked in state and local government in Austin before moving to Massachusetts. She and husband Kevin are enjoying small-town New Hampshire life and daily encounters with nature.
’78
Jean J. Lyons, MSSW ’78, opened a private practice in Dallas after retiring from AETNA Insurance.
Steve McKee, MSSW ’78, is principal at Social Impact Consulting, LLC, specializing in social sector leadership and organizational development. He holds an adjunct faculty appointment at the LBJ School of Public Affairs where, in consultation with the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service, he currently teaches a course on governance of nonprofit organizations. In September 2017 he accepted a part-time position as director of the Texas Chapter of
Physicians for Social Responsibility (texaspsr.org). He capped 2017 with a winter-break trip with family and friends to Ecuador, where they visited the cloud forest, the Amazon and the Galapagos.
’93
Emma Orta, MSSW ’93, is enjoying a new twist in her social work career after many years of direct practice. For the past five years, she has served as the MSW Academic Advisor at New Mexico State University. She loves supporting and guiding new social work students through their graduate school journey and giving back to the profession in a new way. She is proud to have recently received the NMSU Provost’s Excellence in Advising Award as well as the Dean’s Award of
Excellence in the College of Health & Social Services.
’95
Eric Metcalf, MSSW ’95, was presented with the 2018 Counseling Super Hero award by the Austin ISD Counseling Department for his ongoing collaboration, advocacy for school counseling, dedication, integrity and support. Eric is the chief of program strategy for Communities in Schools of Central Texas.
Paul Mott, BSW ’95, is working to overcome various health issues and sharing his life journey through a public Facebook blog. Additionally, as he works on his faith and accepting himself as an empath, he is planning to write a book about being a Christian empath. He is passionate about and an advocate for mental-health care not only for survivors of trauma but also for first responders. He writes, “I confess that I do not miss Texas heat, but have found that UT and friends still in Austin remain in my heart. I am a Life Member of the Texas Exes, and proud to be a graduate of the School of Social Work.”
’96
Jonathan Bentley Singer, Ph.D. ’96, continues to have a great experience with the faculty and students at Loyola University Chicago. In 2017 he was elected secretary of the American Association of Suicidology. After two years of living in Evanston, Ill., Jonathan and his wife bought a house. This planted a rather large root for their new life in the Midwest. He is still tweeting at @socworkpodcast.
’01
Christa Soileau (née Powers), BSW ’01, obtained an MSSW from UT Arlington and is a licensed clinical social worker. She worked for years in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in psychiatric settings including ABC Behavioral Health and Presbyterian Hospital. While starting a family, Christa worked as a care manager
at Lifesynch (managed care) in Fort Worth. Missing clinical work, Christa returned to Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas as a therapist. In December 2014, Christa opened her private practice, Selah Counseling & Wellness Centre.
Chad Wysong, MSSW ‘01, and his wife Cris moved back to Austin from Bethesda, Maryland in August 2017. In Bethesda, Chad worked for 16 years at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in multiple positions, including budget, administration, management analysis and change management. He also served on
two assignments at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., one in IT change management and one in budget formulation. As a MSSW student in 2001, Chad successfully applied for the federal government’s Presidential Management Fellows Program (PMF), which led to his position at NIH after graduation. Now back In Austin, Chad continues to work for NIH in an analyst role. He is excited to be back in Texas and involved with the Steve Hicks School of Social Work.
’03
Linda Glatt Anderson, MSSW ’03, works at South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) in Framingham, Massachusetts.
’04
Kristin Schumacher, MSSW ’04, earned a Ph.D. in public affairs in 2011 from the University of Colorado at Denver. She is a senior policy analyst at the California Budget & Policy Center, where she conducts research and analysis on antipoverty programs such as SNAP, TANF and subsidized early care and
education.
’05
Nancy (Shaffer) Klein, MSSW ’05, relocated back to her hometown on the Space Coast of Florida in 2017 along with her husband and 3-year-old daughter Elizabeth. She was a field instructor for many years while she oversaw the Employee Assistance Program at Goodwill Central Texas in Austin. She is currently providing in-home psychotherapy to clients receiving Medicare and/or Medicaid.
’06
Adam McCormick, MSSW ’06, is an assistant professor of social work at St. Edward’s University. Adam recently authored the book, LGBTQ youth in foster care: Empowering approaches for an inclusive system of care (Routledge, 2018).
Kate Quirin Spooner, MSSW ‘06, lives in Denver, where she works part-time with children, families and adults in a small private practice. She spends the rest of her time running around, cooking and exploring with her husband and 18-month-old daughter.
’09
Tiffany Anschutz, MSSW ’09, has been working on launching a new inpatient residential drug and alcohol treatment center in East Austin. Sage Recovery Villa will be a trauma-informed treatment center specializing in trauma, addiction and holistic healing through yoga, acupuncture and more. It will be staffed with only master’s level clinicians qualified to treat individuals with more complex issues in addition to their substance use. Anschutz opened an outpatient counseling center, Sage Recovery & Wellness Center, in 2014.
Annie Carroll (Terry), MSSW ‘09, and her husband welcomed their daughter, Laken, in January of 2017. They moved to the United Kingdom in November of 2017 and she is now working for Department of Defense as a community outreach specialist.
Quan Cosby, BSW ‘09, is currently working on risk management at Marsh & McLennan.
Kayle Evans, MSSW ‘09, lives in Austin with her husband, two dogs and a cat. She recently opened a private practice specializing in sustaining sobriety, eating and body image issues, mood disorders and shame-related issues. Outside of private practice, she also enjoys teaching yoga for a community based program.
Jennifer June Strayer, MSSW ‘09, received a promotion at the Muskogee VA in Oklahoma and has graduated to a very competitive GS-12 position in geriatrics, the population she specialized in. Jennifer moved from her home state of Arkansas to Oklahoma at the end of 2017. Jennifer received her LCSW in Arkansas in October 2013, and was awarded her LCSW in Oklahoma in January 2018.
’10
Andrea (Lahm) Albrecht, MSSW ’10, has been working for the past seven years as an emergency room social worker at St. David’s South in Austin.
Alda Santana, MSSW ‘10, has been working in sexual and reproductive health in Texas for the past 10 years. She recently helped launch a county-wide adolescent health collaborative with more than 20 agencies across Travis County. She also works at Women’s Health and Family Planning Association of Texas, a nonprofit that administers Title X funds for the state and supports local clinics, hospitals and health departments in expanding access to quality sexual and
reproductive health services.
’11
Kelly Bagnall, BSW ’11, joined Teach for America after graduating and moved to Las Vegas, where she spent six years teaching in low income communities in Las Vegas Valley to help close the achievement gap. This past summer she transitioned out of the classroom and accepted a recruitment position with Democracy Prep Public Schools, an organization with the mission of educating responsible citizen scholars for success in the college of their choice and a life of active citizenship.
Reno Gomez, MSSW ’11 married Chase Roe on April 29, 2017.
’12
Loren Fouch, MSSW ’12, has transitioned into the role of chief operating officer at Millwood Hospital in Arlington, Texas. She is excited to be in a role that connects her clinical and macro skills.
’13
Paula Gerstenblatt (Ph.D. ’13) is an assistant professor at the University of Southern Maine in Portland. She recently received a President’s Award for Community Engagement for a course she co-taught with artist in residence Mushana Ali to create a mosaic mural with community members and USM students in Portland’s East Bayside community.
Shay Noriega (née Mooney), MSSW ’13, BSW ‘10, has worked with the United Way of Greater Austin 2-1-1 Center for more than four years. In 2017 she received the Information and Referral Resource Specialist Award from the Texas Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (TAIRS). She was recognized at the annual TAIRS conference, where her husband and parents surprised her during the awards ceremony.
Emily Roth Van Laan, MSSW ’13, is part of a support team working with students with various neurological differences at the Monarch School in Houston.
Brad Watson, MSSW ‘13, is a medical social worker with Encompass Hospice in Austin. He is participating in LCSW supervision with Doran Oatman, LCSW.
’14
Shanté Lowery (née Johnson), MSSW ’14, started her social work career at Big Brothers Big Sisters Lonestar, where she worked for three years as a partnership specialist for their mentor 2.0 program at Kimball High School in Dallas. She got married to her husband Keith in April 2015, and in May 2017 they had their first child, Isaac. Shanté passed her LMSW exam in February 2017. She is now Faith Family Academy’s first school social worker, and is helping them redesign their student support services department. She is working towards obtaining her LCSW and would like to open her own practice in the future.
Donald “Keith” Montgomery, MSSW ‘14, is seeing clients three days per week at Therapy Austin. He is focusing on individual adults with mental health and substance use disorders. He will also open a solo practice one day per week beginning March 21, 2018, in northwest Austin. Keith received his LCSW in 2017, his LCDC in 2010, and his MAC in 2016.
Ciera Ray, MSSW ‘14, worked in juvenile justice for the past three and a half years, and has recently ended her time doing individual, group and family therapy with adolescent boys. She now works part-time as a medical social worker in three different agencies. She is thankful that her social work degree prepared her to work with different populations and levels of society. Ciera received her clinical license in June 2017 and is looking forward to continuing direct practice on a contract basis with local foster care agencies. As she put it, “the sky is the limit!”
’15
Juliana Lindsey (née Ssemanda), MSSW ’15, has recently accepted a position with UT Austin as an associate academic advisor with the Liberal Arts department. She is thrilled to work more closely with students and to be a Longhorn again! In her new position, Juliana will utilize her interpersonal, problem-solving and strategic planning skills, along with her global perspective, to advise students through their academic tenure at UT Austin. Prior to this position, Juliana worked for two and a half years at an international education provider company, Academic Programs International. During her time there she learned a lot about program development, cultural engagement and how universities create academic curriculums abroad.
Rachelle Olivares, MSSW ‘15, has obtained her LMSW. She works as a planner for Travis County Health and Human Services Research and Planning Division.
’16
Brenda Cazares, MSSW ’16, BSW ’13, has been working in Austin as a licensed bilingual social worker in the field of telepsychiatry and integrated behavioral health. She graduated from the master’s program as an Integrated Behavioral Health Scholar.
Meghan Graham, MSSW ‘16, BSW ‘14, joined the Counseling and Mental Health Center at The University of Texas in Austin in January of this year. She is enjoying her time there as a brief assessment and referral counselor.
Sarina Jones, MSSW ‘16, and her husband Chris Cerny (also a UT Austin graduate) welcomed their first child and future Longhorn into the world on September 12, 2017. Caroline Grace Cerny is a happy baby and has brought them much joy.
’17
Samantha Guz, MSSW ’17, moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she is working at a grassroots social service agency. She develops programs and provides direct services to youth on Chicago’s Southside.
Candy Taylor-Ceballos, MSSW ‘17, is in California working as a medical social worker at Stanford Children’s Health-Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Taaj Sheikh, MSSW ’17, BSW ’15, is a policy analyst with the Texas Sunset Commission.
Catarina Silva, MSSW ’17, BSW ’16, works as a caseworker at Bertha Sadler Means Young Women’s Leadership Academy, where she completed her final field internship. She enjoys doing individual counseling, group counseling and much more!
Maya Williams, MSSW ‘17, is in her first year in the doctoral program in social work at Washington University in St. Louis. Her article “Foundation field internship and identity formation” was published in Reflections: Narratives of professional helping 22:4.
In memoriam
Edgar H. Busby, MSSW ‘53
Jay Erwin Grotsky, MSSW ’90
Martin Holloway, MSSW ’98