Alumni & Friends

Johnathon Alleman joined the US Navy in 2006 for a five-year tour of duty, serving within the special operations community before returning to civilian life in 2011 to pursue higher education and other opportunities. His time in special operations, he recalls, taught him to be detail-oriented, effective and efficient with what he set out to accomplish and taught him to see himself as a “multi-purpose tool capable of solving various problems with a variety of different approaches.

Dr. Kia Bentley (PhD, 1987), professor at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), was awarded by the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work (GADE) the 2021 GADE Award for Education Leadership in Doctoral Education.

For more than twenty years, Katrina Boone has served as a faculty member at the FSU College of Social Work (CSW). She began her career at the CSW in August 2001 as a lecturer teaching classes for the BSW and MSW programs. After two years as a lecturer, Katrina was promoted to assistant director of Field Education. In 2005, Katrina became the director of Field Education and has served in this position for 16 years.  

A study recently published in the Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, a publication from the American Psychological Association, examined the case of the sole perpetrator of Incel-related violence that took place in a Tallahassee, Florida yoga studio in 2018. The perpetrator opened fire on a Tallahassee yoga studio on November 2, 2018, injuring several and fatally wounding FSU student Maura Binkley and FSU faculty member Dr. Nancy Van Vessem.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Florida State University, including the FSU Institute for Family Violence Studies and the College of Social Work, is partnering with the Tallahassee Domestic Violence Coordinating Council (DVCC) on local events to bring attention to the issues related to domestic violence.

On August 20, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appointed six state experts to the Florida Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse. The commission was established in 1999 by the Florida Legislature as a way to review, evaluate and make recommendations for change to the state systems addressing mental health and substance use,

As Florida State University welcomed back students to campus in August, student organizations and their new leaders are faced with the fun challenge of reconnecting with their peers in person. The FSU College of Social Work is excited to profile the amazing students leading the FSU Student Association of Social Workers (SASW) and the FSU Macro Social Work Student Network (MSWSN) who have dedicated themselves to the busy and ambitious lineup of social, networking and education events for students in the College of Social Work and across campus.

A group of Florida State University researchers is bringing together experts from around the country for a one-day symposium focused on substance use disorder.

Social work student Merari Flores Saldana was awarded the 2021 Scholarship for Students of Color Pursuing Degrees in Mental Health by Mantra Health, a digital mental health clinic that partners with institutes of higher education. In her second year at Florida State University, Merari will graduate with her Master of Social Work with a clinical focus in spring 2022.

Florida State University has launched a new online professional development certification to assist educators with early childhood social and emotional behavioral support and interventions.