Defining Service
When designing this section of the site, I spent a lot of time thinking about how to define "service." I struggled to distinguish "service" from what I simply just "do." My struggle around defining "service" speaks to how I think about contributing to the world around me: don't think about it, just do it. Now, that is not to say that I act without intention or purpose; I do. But I do not spend much time thinking about what to call or how to categorize what I am doing. I do not think about how to document, list, or record it, especially for my CV. I do not think about the accolades, recognition or attention that could result from it. I simply just do the work; work I believe will make the greatest impact for those that need (me) the most. So, to me, service is about making a contribution, having an impact, and improving lives. And it is at the heart of everything I do.
Community Presentations and Talks
I am especially passionate about destigmatizing mental illness, particularly among Black Americans as well as encouraging self-care among social workers and other helping professionals. I have given in-person and online presentations to audiences, large and small, on these topics and the intersections that exist among them.
Presentations include:
- Working Towards Health Equity with Vulnerable Populations: Attending to the Physical and Mental Health of African Americans (Certificated program session as well as a guest lecture).
- Attending to Mental Health, Too (Self-care presentation).
- Liberation: Mental Health in the Black Community (Guest speaker).
- Mental Health and the African American Community (Panel Presentation).
- Let’s Talk Mental Health Panel: Mental Health Professionals.
- Mental Health As A Believer. Audience of One Podcast with Monique Tuset.
- Mental Health Awareness and College Students (Panel presentation).
Departmental, University and National Service Work
I am continually focused on using my expertise to be a good citizen and serve communities in need and those in which I am embedded. In the UGA SSW, I served as chair of both the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) and the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee (DEI). I was also a member of the MSW Program committee for all ten years of my time at UGA, the Online MSW Program Course Development Group, and the Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Strategic Plan Committee. At the University level, I served on the President’s Faculty Advisory Committee, the Diversity Advisory Council, and the Council of Academic Diversity Leaders. My service to the profession at the national level included, most recently, an appointment as the co-chair of the Cultural Competence track of CSWE (2018 - 2021) and a past appointment (2014 - 2017) as a Councilor on the Council on Disabilities and Persons with Disabilities, also with CSWE. I review submissions for a number of academic journals and served on the editorial review board for the development and launch of Alexander Street’s Social Work Online Collection (2015 -2017). On the global front, I served as the Co-Director of the 2018 Study Away Program in Northern Ireland.
Recognition and Honors
At CSWE's annual meeting in Anaheim, CA, I was named the 2022 Early Career Faculty Service and Leadership in Social Work Education Award recipient for the year. Accepting in my absence was Dr. Dashawna Fussell-Ware. In 2019, I was nominated for a Thought Leadership Award in the subcategory of Outreach and Communications with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Connections Program.