The 2012 NASW-New York State Social Worker of the Year award recognizes the commitment and achievement of an outstanding member. Sherry Saturno, this year’s award recipient, serves as the Clinical Director for the Behavioral Health Center at the Westchester Medical Center, and has oversight for the Inpatient Social Work, Recreation and Expressive Therapy, Case Management, and Assertive Community Treatment departments.
Sherry has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Columbia University School of Social Work Alumni Association since 2007, and also serves as a field instructor for Fordham and Pace Universities for students interested in counseling. She has Master’s degrees from Columbia University School of Social Work and Long Island University School of Management and Public Service. She is a 2008 graduate of the Volunteer Center of the United Way’s Leadership Westchester program, a ten month development program that promotes social responsibility and volunteerism. She received the NASW- NY Westchester County Social Worker of the Year Award in 2010. Saturno will receive the statewide award on March 16, 2012 at the NASW Annual Power of Social Work Conference in Albany.
She was a guest on the national talk radio show "Open to Hope" in October 2011 to discuss helping people struggling with depression and grief cope with the holidays, and will be a guest on WHUD radio discussing stress management this month. Sherry is an advocate for social worker safety and in June her commentary on the death of fellow social worker Stephanie Moulton was published in the NY Times. Sherry’s recent article Violent Crime and Social Worker Safety was published in Social Work Today Magazine, NASW Specialty Practice Section Social and Economic Justice and Peace, NASW-NYS News Update, and on socialworkersspeaks.org. She recently interviewed Matt Zenner, husband of murdered social worker Teri Zenner, about his advocacy efforts to have the Teri Zenner Social Worker Safety Act enacted nationally.
Sherry is also a partner in an upcoming documentary film about clinical social workers, which will begin filming in major cities throughout the U.S. in 2012. The film will feature clinical social workers helping women overcome issues such as negative self esteem and body image, depression, and abuse. Sherry will be featured in the film and is facilitating national recruitment for social workers to participate in the project.
Founded in 1955, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest membership association for professional social workers in the world. New York has over 22,000 members.
Elizabeth Benson Forer ‘81 participated in the Jewish Women's Conference of Southern California as a panelist on “The ABCs of Health Care: Access, Benefits, and Costs” on October 30, 2011. The workshop focused on the social and economic impact health care policy has on women, families, and society. Elizabeth is the CEO of the Venice Family Clinic in California.
Rebecca Carel ’67, long-time activist who has been working in the field of gerontology since 1980, is retiring as Executive Director of to Riverstone Senior Life Services. She has served in this position for over 23 years.
Elaine Congress '69 is Professor and Associate Dean at Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service. This year she received two awards, one for Mental Health Advocacy from the Hispanic Mental Health Professionals Association, and one for Social Work Educator of the Year from the New York Social Work Education Association. Her most recent publications include books on Social Work with Immigrants and Refugees and Teaching Social Work Values and Ethics, as well as chapters on “Global Ethical Principles and Dilemmas” in the Handbook of International Social Work and “The Culturagram” in the Encyclopedia of Family Health .
Anne Deepak, ‘04PhD won the most recent CSWE Feminist Scholarship Award for her essay, “Sustainability and Population Growth in the Context of Globalization: A Postcolonial Feminist Social Work Perspective.”
Susan P. Fenker, LCSW ’98 is the new executive director at The Montclair Counseling Center in Montclair, NJ.
Ilana Dunner ‘76 is the new Executive Director of Riverstone Senior Life Services.
Moira Flavin ’07 is Policy Associate for Early Childhood Education, Education and Youth Services at Citizens' Committee for Children of New York.
Loren M. Gelberg-Goff, LCSW ’78 published a new book entitled, Being Well Within: From Distressed to De-Stressed. Information and details can be found at her website.
Meghan Lemery ‘99 is a psychotherapist practicing in Upstate NY, columnist for Saratoga Today newspaper, and author of Please Pass the Barbie Shoes.
Ann Nichols ’66 ‘80DSW spent almost two years in Kitwe, Zambia working with the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation, an educational and leadership training institution. Read about her experiences and her work on her blog.
Jessica Stein '09 is a supervisor of Family Foster Care at The Children's Aid Society in the Bronx, NY.
We acknowledge with great sadness the passing of the following alumni and faculty. They will be missed for the pride that they brought to the school for their work.
| Werner W. Boehm Crystal D. Breeding ‘50 Sarah S. Clapp ‘55 Anita Colville ‘42 Mary Ann Draut ‘62 Theresa Chirico Fisichella-Claassen Marie S. Flewellen ‘67 Roderick Fowlkes ‘73 Daniel Green ‘40 Arthur Greenberg ‘50 |
Martin Greenberg ‘70DSW Alan R. Gruber ’71DSW Ilse G. Gutzwiller ‘72 Claire M. Harnan ‘76 Alice Kassabian ‘54 Dattatreya Vithal Kulkarni ‘47 William A. Lane ‘78 Lorraine J. Levy ‘51 Wallace M. Lornell ‘49 Glenn Marshall ‘80 |
Evelyn Messer ‘56 Harry Minkoff ‘53 Florence Mittwoch ‘49 Debra Pearl ‘75 Milton Rosenblum ‘56 Pearl B. Rosenthal ‘46 Gisela S. Simon ’54 Helen G. Smith ‘44 Beatrice A. Sommers ‘42 Mr. Richard Stander ‘58 Miriann V. Stepich ‘64 |