Alumni & Friends

In his Social Policy and Programs course, adjunct professor and doctoral candidate Christopher (Chris) Collins worked with undergraduates on projects in the Tallahassee community.

“Students facilitated community-wide projects in support of local non-profits,” explained Chris. “They were tasked with identifying a piece of social policy legislation that impacted a disenfranchised community and to develop an assistance campaign educating the public on the bills.”

This year, Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis and the Florida Division of Emergency Management announced the appointment of Sara LaTorre Newhouse (BSW, 2010; MSW, 2011) as the state disaster recovery mental health coordinator.

Youth Guidance, an established non-profit organization founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1924, offers a school-based guidance program to support the mental health and social-emotional needs of students. Today, Youth Guidance (YG) has programs in seven different states helping young people overcome obstacles so they can focus on succeeding in school and life.

The FSU Alumni Association recognized Alexa Cronin Sobeck as a 2021 Notable Nole, a program that recognizes outstanding accomplishments of FSU graduates 35 years old or younger that are exceptional contributors to their profession, community, and society or the university.

Dr. Zhe He (School of Information), Dr. Michael Killian (College of Social Work), and their research team recently received a $395,200 R21 grant from the National Library of Medicine of National Institutes of Health for a project entitled “Prediction of Health Outcomes and Adverse Events in Pediatric Organ Transplantation in Florida”.

Dr. Shalay Jackson joined the FSU College of Social Work faculty in 2018, coming back to Florida State where her interest in social work began. Dr. Jackson recalls, “I was challenged, supported and inspired by a compassionate community of faculty, staff, students and alumni” while receiving her BSW (2006) at Florida State and later honing her skills while earning an MSW from the University of Michigan.

Margaret M. Holland, a recent graduate of the Doctoral Program in the College of Social Work, joined the faculty of the University of Wyoming as an assistant professor in the College of Health Sciences Division of Social Work starting fall 2022.

“I am very excited to be joining the faculty in the Division of Social Work this fall,” expressed Margaret. “The University of Wyoming is doing a lot of great things, and I am really looking forward to contributing to the work they are doing.”

Jessica Bagneris is a doctoral candidate in the College of Social Work’s Doctoral Program and will join the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work faculty as a tenure-track faculty.

“I am so excited to begin my new position! I feel connected with the work, interests and values of my future colleagues,” expressed Jessica. “I am excited to build a connection with a larger community of the university and the City of Houston. It truly is a good fit for me.”

Online MSW student Lara Klopp began working with the Center for the Study and Promotion for Communities, Families and Children at the FSU College of Social Work in 2021 to complete her social work field internship. One of her key assignments included working with pre-Kindergarten (pre-K) students in Brevard County, Florida, utilizing the center’s Rebound and Recovery program, a socio-emotional learning program piloted with pre-K through third-grade children.

Helping others was instilled in College of Social Work faculty member Carol Campbell Edwards from an early age. Her mother was a career social worker and her father was a well-respective teacher. Building on this family legacy of service, Edwards earned her Bachelor of Social Work degree (1984) and Master of Social Work degree (1985) from Florida State University while sharing her energy and school spirit as an FSU cheerleader.