Alumni & Friends

Anna Rupani, Executive Director for Fund Texas Choice, set her sights on a career in law, but within a framework of community action and social justice. “I knew if I wanted to help folks access legal care, understanding the psychosocial impacts of their day-to-day was necessary,” she said. “When I started researching how that was possible, social work made sense. I was able to understand the practical experience of working with clients and build rapport in a different way than other lawyers.”

The FSU College of Social Work hosted its 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award and Student Scholarship event on Tuesday, November 16, 2021.

The virtual event honored more than 120 student scholars. Over $128,000 in awards were given to support FSU College of Social Work (CSW) students with focuses including international programs, child welfare, social policy and military veterans.

The event was hosted by CSW Dean Jim Clark and faculty members Carol Campbell Edwards, Keithen Mathis, and Vicky Verano, who serve on the college’s Student Affairs Committee.

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.