The Florida State University College of Social Work honored 5 distinguished graduates plus its 2021-2022 pupil students at its 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award and Student Scholarship dinner final week.
The school awarded greater than $168,000 in scholarships in 2021-2022 to help undergraduate- and graduate-level social work college students with pursuits in areas together with little one welfare, social coverage, worldwide social work, social work observe and navy veterans.
Interim dean Craig Stanley hosted the occasion together with college members Carol Campbell Edwards, Keithen Mathis, Fran Gomory and Vicky Verano.
The school honored the next recipients:
Distinguished Emeritus Alumni Award
Nolia Brandt (BSW, 1972; MSW, 1973; MA, 1993; Ph.D., 2004), a four-time Florida State University graduate who earned undergraduate and graduate levels in social work together with a grasp’s in artistic writing and a doctoral diploma in training. Her profession took her into each the general public and non-public sectors in areas together with human providers, medical-social work, legal justice, advocacy and group improvement and work in enterprise and entrepreneurship and information expertise. Brandt wrote and lobbied for modifications in public coverage associated to program improvement, funding, service supply, efficiency enchancment and accountability. She additionally supplied instruction for 2 universities on tutorial design, social work, legal justice, sociology and enterprise and entrepreneurship. Brandt and her husband, Bill Brandt, constructed and ran an award-winning information expertise enterprise for 25 years. She additionally taught and coached on the FSU College of Business’s Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship earlier than retiring.
Distinguished Young Alumni Award
Wang (Chun) Rosenkranz (BSW, 2013), founder of the I’ll Be There Project nonprofit devoted to empowering and uplifting individuals by means of the transformative conduit of kindness. Chun earned his BSW from Florida State in 2013 and grasp’s diploma in social work from Columbia University. Upon completion of his levels, he joined Bronx Defenders working with adolescent males within the legal justice system. He left the Defenders to determine the I’ll Be There Project, which focuses on reference to individuals experiencing hardships together with homelessness, substance use and involvement with the legal justice system. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chun was named New Yorker of the Week by NYNews1 for his work with people experiencing homelessness and in want of extra sources in the course of the shutdown. Chun begins every new reference to the query, “How can I help?” drawing on his social work training to satisfy purchasers the place they’re.
Distinguished Social Work Educator Alumni Award
David Jenkins (Ph.D., 1992), a licensed medical social employee who’s dean and professor of the College of Social Work at The Ohio State University with greater than 30 years working in social work training. He served as dean of the University of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work from 2016 to 2022, advancing college analysis and instructing help whereas strengthening range, fairness and inclusion efforts. He beforehand labored as a school member at Texas Christian University, serving in management roles together with affiliate dean, division chair and Master of Social Work program director. Much of his current analysis focuses on understanding the experiences of people and household types affected by marginalization, with a selected curiosity within the lives of sexual minorities. He earned his bachelor’s diploma and Master of Social Work diploma from Louisiana State University and his doctoral diploma in social work from FSU.
Distinguished Social Work Practice Alumni Award
Angela M. Martinez (MSW, 1975), a licensed medical social employee and group psychologist with greater than 40 years of expertise offering particular person, {couples} and household psychotherapy. Throughout her profession, Martinez has additionally designed and executed analysis, coaching and session applications for nationwide organizations together with the National Institute of Mental Health, National Office of Refugee Resettlement and Planned Parenthood. She has additionally supplied providers to Miami’s fireplace and police departments, the Department of Veterans Affairs, SouthCom and the Seaport of Miami. Programming developed by Martinez has targeted on points together with range, fairness and inclusion within the office reminiscent of management, empowerment and organizational improvement. Martinez has additionally served on the college of a number of South Florida universities, together with the previous 15 years for Florida International University, the place she is a member of the college President’s Council. She has consulted internationally within the Caribbean and South America. She earned a bachelor’s diploma from Barry University (1971), her MSW from FSU in 1975 and a doctoral diploma from Union Institute & University (1981).
Distinguished Social Policy and Administration Alumni Award
Lynn Rosenthal (BSW, 1980), president of the Center for Family Safety and Healing in Columbus, Ohio, that addresses household violence together with little one abuse, intimate associate violence and elder abuse. She is a social employee with experience in public coverage on gender-based violence. She oversees groups offering medical care, counseling and advocacy home-visit providers and well-child take care of various populations together with victims of violence and youngsters within the foster care and little one welfare techniques. From 2009 to 2015, Lynn served as the primary White House advisor on Violence Against Women and a senior advisor to Joe Biden, who was vice chairman on the time. Prior to her federal service, she held management positions in native and state home violence companies. She served as government director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence from 2000 to 2006. Most just lately, Rosenthal was appointed by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin to steer a 90-day Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault within the Military, delivering a report and suggestions for the Department of Defense. She additionally served on the advisory board of the Center for the Study and Promotion of Communities, Families and Children on the FSU College of Social Work.