Taken in 1977, the CUSSW Marvels competed against the basketball teams of the schools at the University. Barry Gold '77 is #10 and Paul Corrado '77 is #16. Do you know who the other members are? Let us know!

If you have other great photos that you would like to share with us, send them to [email protected]. Many thanks to Carol Chetrick '77 for passing this photo along.

Columbia University School of Social Work (CUSSW) alumni Jamie Favaro ’04, Raysa S. Rodriguez ’05, Kimberly A. Steinhagen ’04 and Lisa White ’99 have been named the 2007 Emerging Social Work Leaders by the National Association of Social Workers New York Chapter.

“We are indeed proud of the accomplishments of four of our alumni, each of whom has demonstrated exemplary professional achievements. We are particularly pleased that their fine work is being acknowledged because of the palpable difference they are making in the lives of individuals and families from so many segments of our community in New York City,” says Jeanette Takamura, Dean of CUSSW. “All four – who represent half of the number of awardees this year – are relatively recent graduates of the Columbia University School of Social Work. We are thrilled for them and know that they represent the incredible potential and passion that we see among their fellow alumni and within our student body. Our congratulations go to each honoree.  We have no question that we will see and hear more about their accomplishments in the future.”

The annual award identifies individuals who demonstrate a unique commitment and dedication to the social work profession and to the improvement of social and human conditions at the local levels through practice, teaching, writing, research, program development, administration, and advocacy.

Jamie Favaro is the Founder and Executive Director of The Washington Heights CORNER (Community Outreach, Resources, Needle Exchange and (H)arm Reduction) Project. CORNER is the first licensed needle exchange in Washington Heights and the only organization North of Harlem designed specifically to address drug user health. Ms. Favaro created this organization through client-driven practice, sound research methods, establishing partnerships with community, governmental, and health organizations, tireless advocacy, and her dedication to the principles of the social work profession.

Raysa S. Rodriguez serves as Senior Advisor on Children’s Issues to the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Linda Gibbs and to the Family Services Coordinator of the City of New York, Jennifer Jones Austin. In this capacity, she has served as a catalyst for macro-level change, and has played an instrumental role in strengthening the City of New York’s Early Care & Education policy agenda.

Kimberly A. Steinhagen, LMSW is the Director of the Geriatric Mental Health Alliance of New York, an advocacy and education organization with over 2,800 members committed to improvements in geriatric mental health policy and practice. The Alliance, which Ms. Steinhagen had an active role in developing, was formed in January 2004 by the Center for Policy and Advocacy of The Mental Health Associations of New York City and Westchester. She is also member of a number of advisory and planning groups including the NYC Adult Protective Services Advisory Council, the Community Advisory Committee of the Cornell Institute for Translational Research in Aging (CITRA), and the NY Southern Area Aging Network (NY-SAAN).

Lisa White, LMSW has spent her 18-year career promoting the well-being, self-determination and interests of vulnerable children and their families within New York City. Ms. White has been affiliated with Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center for 8 years. She was the catalyst for obtaining the initial grant funding for launching that institution’s Healthy Families initiative and serves as Director of that program, which provides support and education services to expectant and parenting families. In addition, Ms. White is a Clinician at Northside Center for Child Development and an Adjunct Professor at Mercy College. She also serves as a private consultant to various organizations.

A total of eight individuals are being recognized this year for their professional promise and accomplishments. Award winners were recognized at a fund raising dinner hosted by Dominic Carter, Political Anchor, NY1 News on Thursday, November 29, 2007 at the Golden Unicorn Restaurant in New York City.

Alumni Profile: Megan Crowe Rothstein

“Why did you take this job?” I was asked on my first day in the office.  A recent MSW graduate, I was looking for experience in international work, politics, and justice.  The Open Society Justice Initiative´s fellowship in Mexico offered me the opportunity to combine my program development training with advocacy for justice policy reform. The specifics of the work, pretrial detention reform and the Mexican criminal justice system, were frightfully new to me, but I had faith in my ability to ask questions and learn.  After two weeks of training in the US, I moved to Monterrey, Mexico to join the Pretrial Detention Project, a partnership between Open Society Justice Initiative and Institución Renace, a local NGO. In Mexico 43% of the people in prison have not been convicted but are instead awaiting trial.  Moreover, the Mexican system is inquisitorial – all criminal proceedings are done in writing via documents as opposed to ppublic hearings, defendants rarely have any contact with the judge, etc. – and only recently have a few states begun the process of reforming to an adversarial model similar to what we have in the United States.  In this context the Project aims to rationalize and reduce the use of pretrial detention. It is concerned with promoting the presumption of innocence and the rights of the defendant as well as supporting the equity and fairness of the legal process overall including efficiency and victims' rights.

My primary work here is in developing a pilot program for pretrial services – evaluation and supervision to assist with pretrial release decisions and supervision in the community – in Chihuahua, the first Mexican state to reform its criminal justice system to an adversarial model in which pretrial detention is not mandated based on criminal charges.  The basic concepts for evaluation and supervision come from models in other countries, primarily the United States and England, and our major challenge is to adapt them to the local context and needs.  I have had the opportunity to meet with government representatives from the judiciary, congress, prosecution, defense, and public security to discuss their interests and concerns.  This process has often been a reality check for my social justice idealism, demonstrating that there are times when advancements in human rights have to be sold in terms of efficiency and cost effectiveness to certain stakeholders. Taking this into account, our team tries to incorporate as many perspectives as possible while maintaining the integrity of the Project and its political and constitutional viability.  At this stage, we are developing the programmatic and training materials to support the local actors’ implementation of a pilot site. 

The rest of our work in other states is to further the discussion around pretrial detention within the criminal justice reform process.  We have provided training for lawyers and judges in the new justice system and the much-needed, and often underdeveloped, institutional supports.  In addition, we are organizing a conference for political leaders and international experts to promote criminal justice reform around issues of pretrial justice. 

As a social worker collaborating with experts in law, criminal justice, and international relations, I have brought a unique perspective to the Project.  With my MSW training, I try to search for the individual, human-level impact of our policy proposals.  Our interdisciplinary team attempts to integrate into the legal process the needs of people confronted with mental illness, domestic violence, drug abuse, poverty, or ethno-linguistic disenfranchisement.  In particular, in pretrial services where statistical trends are increasingly influencing judicial decisions, it is important to try to understand the defendant’s context in addition to the charges and risk factors.  Thus, the necessity of analyzing the macro and micro level of any system – as CUSSW´s AGPP curriculum stressed – has been critical and at times extremely challenging.

Two-thirds of the way through my fellowship, I recognize that this truly has been a rewarding experience.  While the learning curve has been steep – I arrived without a legal background, native language skills, or significant previous knowledge of Mexican culture and politics – my social work training prepared me to contribute to the Project’s goals and hopefully to the communities in which I have worked.

CUSSW Collaborates with the National AIDS Foundation to Conduct Intervention Study with Sex Workers in Mongolia

While reported HIV positive cases have been few in Mongolia, the country is centrally located in a vulnerable zone bordered by China and Russia, where the HIV/AIDS epidemic is rapidly expanding. Having been economically devastated following the collapse of the USSR, many women turned to sex work for survival. In the general population, up to 58% of women under the age of 25 have reported at least one diagnosed sexually transmitted infection (STI), while 8% of women have reported alcohol abuse.

“Despite the knowledge of HIV transmission risks, as many as 60% of Mongolian women surveyed by the NAF reported using condoms inconsistently, rating alcohol abuse as a primary reason for non-condom use,” says Dr. Witte. “The commercial industry of sex workers has grown with migration, creating opportunities for unprotected sex exchange transactions and transmission of HIV/STIs across geographic boundaries. Without urgent interventions, Mongolia is poised to become a significant contributor to the regional HIV epidemic.”

The study will recruit 165 women from the NAF program who have a recent history of alcohol abuse and engage in high risk sexual behaviors. These women will be assessed and randomized to receive one of three programs: a HIV sexual risk reduction intervention, an HIV sexual risk reduction intervention that integrates motivational interviewing, or a general wellness intervention that will serve as a control.

“This pioneering initiative that will make great contributions at the national and the organizational levels in Mongolia, says Dr. Altantsetseg Batsukh, co-principal investigator and Executive Director of the National AIDS Foundation (NAF) in Mongolia. “Most importantly it will help social work and public health interventions move forward towards international standards by building capacity and introducing evidence-based approaches in Mongolia among women who have drinking problem. It will inspire and educate many professionals who dedicate themselves in the areas of HIV/AIDS prevention and behavior change interventions.”

First Years At-A-Glance

Sarah Kirshenbaum

Hails from: Boston, MA; Moved to NYC from Los Angeles, CA
Field of Study: Clinical Social Work
Last Job: Covenant House of California-Crisis Shelter for Homeless Young Adults
Best at...: Making random statements and asking philosophical questions
Favorite hobby: Being active and outdoors!
"Social work is...": Taking on a role to empower those who have been marginalized and to not only to intervene with acute issues, but also to help develop policy that will mitigate the root causes of social problems on a micro and macro level and break down social injustice.
Why Columbia?: It is in NYC and I appreciate the number different fields of practice and specialization I can choose to study from.




Shavon R. Chambers

Hails from: Paterson, NJ
Field of Study: Child and Youth Family Services
Last Job: Building Manager, Student Center Programming Services
Best at...: Cooking
Favorite hobby: Reading long series, such as Harry Potter
"Social work is...": A profession that is filled with everyday people working for the better good and social justice for all.
Why Columbia?: Its the first school of social work therefore I feel the experience and knowledge I gain during my two years will surpass a lifetime.





Aoife Gilligan Quinn

Hails from: Dublin, Ireland via London, England.
Field of Study: Clinical practice, Law minor.
Last Job: Mental Health and Criminal Justice Assertive Outreach worker at Revolving Doors Agency, a non-profit agency in London.
Best at...: Bargain hunting! In terms of social work, I have strong advocacy skills and an in-depth understanding of non-profit issues.
Favorite hobby: I love to knit, but can only do scarves. My friends and family also tell me I shop too much for someone with my political opinions!
"Social work is...": Working with and for individuals and communities in the pursuit of social justice.
Why Columbia?: I chose to study in the US in order to gain experience outside of my own culture. I love New York City, and Columbia gave me the opportunity to gain an Ivy League education at the oldest school of social work in the US. The range of methods encompassed within the school makes it unique in terms of the breadth of education it can offer.

Elizabeth Kempton ’41 was honored with a ficus tree planted on a pedestal bearing her name on the roof of Carnegie East House. Friends, staff and representatives of the Women’s City Club of New York gathered to celebrate her life on July 30, 2007.

Helen Hamlin '45 received the Walter M. Beattie, Jr. Award from the State Society on Aging of New York on October 18, 2007. The award is given for distinguished service in gerontology.

Dr. Rosa Perla Resnick ’51, Chair, UN / NGO Committee on Migration, participated in workshops at the UN / Global Forum on Migration and Development and associated meetings of Civil Society and the Community Forum on Migrants and Human Rights, held in Brussels in July 2007. In September 2007, she was a panelist at the UN / 60th Annual DPI / NGO Conference on Climate Change: How It Impacts Us All.  Her presentation focused on issues affecting environmental migrants and refugees.

Karen Blumenthal ’74 was honored at the 12th Annual OTO (Overcoming the Odds) Awards Dinner in May 2007, presented by Student Advocacy.

David Wagner ’76 has a new book out entitled Ordinary People: In and Out of Poverty in the Gilded Age (Paradigm Press). Dave is a professor of social work and sociology and MSW coordinator at the University of Southern Maine School of Social Work.

Joy Sorrel Goldstein '79 and her husband Michael have founded Forever Families Through Adoption, Inc., a New York State and Connecticut-authorized nonprofit adoption placement agency. 

90's and Beyond

Mary Rebecca “Becky” Garrison ’92 announces that her latest book Rising from the Ashes: Rethinking Church is available for order in bookstores and on amazon.com.

Patricia L. Mulvey '96 has been named Director of Lifecare Plus at the Jewish Home Lifecare System in New York City. Patricia has been with the program since its inception in 2002 as Care Coordinator and Clinical Supervisor.

Nathan Smith '02 was named the 2007 "Educator of the Year" by Junior Achievement New York (JANY). Honorees receive awards for their significant contributions to JANY and for exemplifying the values of leadership, integrity and achievement.

Peter Butler '04 began work as the Social Worker at Elm City College Preparatory School, a charter school dedicated to delivering on the promise of equal educational opportunity for all of America’s children, regardless of race or economic status. He is doing individual counseling, group work, crisis intervention, parent work, developing a peer mediation program, teaching Health and is an advisor for the 8th grade.

Erika Dankovits ’06 is Assistant Administrator at a nonprofit assisted-living facility. Previously, she was a Program Manager at Gilda's Club Northern New Jersey, where she worked with men, women and children touched by cancer.

Marti Teperman ’06 is a Post Graduate Associate in the Outpatient Clinic at Yale Child Study Center. She also at the Center’s Intensive In-home Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Service (or IICAPS for short) which provides intensive, in-home therapy for children and adolescents who are at risk for hospitalization.


Have you heard from these alumni?

We've lost touch with these alumni and we are looking to reconnect. If you are in contact with any of these folks, please let us know how we can reach them! Send their current contact information to [email protected] or have them give us a call at 212-851-2375.