CSW General

 Second Harvest of the Big Bend’s Board of Directors announced October 2, 2019, that Monique Ellsworth (MSW, 2013) will become Chief Executive Officer of the organization. The appointment concludes an exhaustive search that began late this summer.

Ellsworth has served the last four years as CEO of CESC, Inc. in Tallahassee. She has developed a reputation as a community leader and dedicated professional in the areas of homelessness, poverty, and food insecurity.  

A team of Florida State University researchers has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the resilience of older patients after undergoing open-heart surgery. 

The study, a first of its kind, will provide a comprehensive analysis of long-term survival benefits of psychological strengths, such as optimism and spirituality, in older adults with advanced heart disease.

Combining their talents and resources, IBM, Design for America at FSU, the FSU Innovation Hub, and the College of Social Work’s Center for the Study and Promotion of Communities, Families, and Children (CFC Center) held a “Design Sprint for the Future Child Welfare Workforce” event on September 19, 2019.

The Florida State University College of Social Work celebrated its 2019 Distinguished Graduate Award recipients and social work scholarship recipients at a dinner at the FSU Alumni Association on Thursday, Sept. 26.

Each year, the event celebrates the contributions of students, alumni, and donors to the College of Social Work, social work education and the profession.

Since 1983, the FSU Multidisciplinary Evaluation and Consulting Center (FSU MDC) has offered services including diagnostic, evaluation and consultation services for children identified as having complex medical, education, emotional, and behavioral problems. Additionally, the FSU MDC offers services and consultation to parents, teachers, school and district personnel, providers and professionals.

“An international study abroad experience can be both intimidating and exhilarating,” said Pam MacDill, coordinator of the Exchange Programs at the FSU College of Social Work, as well as the Director of the BSW and Professional Development Programs. “Getting out of your comfort zone and being exposed to cultures, languages, and foods that are so different from home is an enriching experience.”

Ashton Sanchez has always been a social worker at heart. After earning her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Florida State University in 2016, she began working in child welfare in Miami, Florida. She was assigned to a human trafficking unit working with minors who were victims of human trafficking.

LaShundra Williams knows first-hand what it is to experience hardship. Her own story included experiences with family struggling with mental health and substance use issues, the foster care system, and overcoming her struggles with trauma, abuse, and neglect. She saw both sides of the child welfare system, the good and the bad, and knew what it was like to be dismissed as just another child to fall through the cracks.

Two Florida State University faculty members have been awarded a grant to study health outcomes after pediatric organ transplants.

Michael Killian, an assistant professor with the FSU College of Social Work, and Zhe He, an assistant professor with the FSU College of Communication and Information, were awarded the grant by the University of Florida Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Precision Health Initiative Pilot Project.

Social work student Libby Burgess was wrapping up her Bachelor of Social Work degree this year when she realized she was three credits short to graduate. BSW Program Advisor Zoey Zeitlin suggested a Directed Individual Study (DIS), individual or group work outside the classroom as Libby was already deeply involved in the local community.