Alumni & Friends

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.

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.

Watch the event video on YouTube

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.