
We always want to hear from our alumni! If you have news to share, send an email to utopian@utlists.utexas.edu.
- Matt Scoggin (BSW ’87) serves as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns diving team and led UT to a second consecutive national title in swimming and diving. Scoggin also coached Nick Harris and Luke Forester, who were named All-Americans in 3-meter diving.
- Michael Spencer (MSSW ’92) serves as the Ballmer Endowed Dean in Social Work at the University of Washington. He recently was awarded the Chang-Lin Tien Leadership in Education Award recognizing Asian American and Pacific Islander leaders in U.S. higher education.
- Debbie Guenther Gold (MSSW ’96) and her family live just outside of Austin on beautiful Lake Travis. She is an author and founder of the podcast ‘You Are Not Alone’, a Christian based podcast. She co-hosts with her oldest son, Greg, where they talk about topics that help people of all ages navigate life.
- Brenda Kunz Sweeten (MSSW ’96) was chosen for the 2025 UNT Foundation Community Engagement Award.
- Jonathan Singer, LCSW (MSSW ’96) earned the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work, where he earned his doctorate degree.
- Seanna Crosbie (MSSW ’00) was recently honored with the Henry McMahon Mental Health Advocacy Award through Kids Living Well. She accepted the honor in the memory of her dear friend, Kimberly Durham, LMSW, who passed away in 2023. “UT Social Work played such an important role in shaping both my clinical work and advocacy over the years, so it felt meaningful to share this recognition with the school community,” she said.
- Mary Beer, LCSW-S (MSSW ’01) was one of two recipients of the President’s Associates Graduate Teaching Excellence Award for the 2025-26 academic year — a peer-nominated honor recognizing UT Austin’s most innovative graduate educators.
- Neena Buxani (MSSW ’01) debuted an art showcase in Bastrop, Texas, from Feb. 6–Mar. 28, 2026 at Found Fine Art.
- Robert Sebesta, LCSW-S, HEC-C (MSSW ’02) will join the UT Social Work faculty as a clinical assistant professor in health and aging. Sebesta brings more than 20 years of social work clinical experience to the clinical faculty at UT Social Work, as well as experience as a health care ethicist and psychotherapist.
- Amanda Houghton, LCSW (MSSW ’05) published “The ADHD Crisis: The Shortened Lifespan We’re Overlooking.” She is a licensed therapist specializing in ADHD, trauma, and relationships. She resides in St. Augustine, Florida, and is licensed and practicing in both Florida and Texas.
- Adam McCormick (MSSW ’06) is a professor of social work at St. Edward’s University and was recently named a recipient of the Minnie Stevens Piper Professor Award, one of Texas’s highest honors recognizing outstanding achievement in college teaching.
- Emmie Knox, LMSW (BSW ’09, MSSW ’13) owns and operates Assisting Hands West Austin. She opened it with a goal to actively collaborate with healthcare partners in the city to ensure clients were receiving appropriate care including caregiving services.
- Olivia Branscomb-Burgess, LCSW (MSSW ’17) recently began a new position working with Centene as a health equity specialist for Coordinated Care of Washington.
- Anao Zhang, LICSW, ACSW, OSW-C (Ph.D. ’18) was appointed as the Behar Endowed Associate Professor in Psychosocial Oncology at the University of Washington School of Social Work. He also serves as the director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care Research and Practice at UW.
- Jordan Goldberg (BSW ’19) married Adam Rossman and was featured in the New York Times for their wedding. Goldberg received her master’s degree in journalism from NYU and is now the managing editor of Editorialist, a luxury fashion and lifestyle platform based in New York.