alumni - Office of Career and Leadership Management

April 22, 2019April 22, 2019

Free Online Institute on Technical Skills for Online Event Production – Open to CSSW Alumni

Do you want to build your marketable skills?

CSSW is offering a free online Institute on Technical Skills for Online Event Production

Deadline for enrollment: Tuesday, May 7th at 5 pm EST

If you would like to enroll, please complete this form.

The Institute on Technical Skills for Online Event Production includes both self-guided preparation assignments located in the Canvas course site, and three weekly 120 minute live sessions held online in Adobe Connect. The dates and times of these live sessions are:

Week 1 Live Class Session

Thursday, May 9 at 8 pm-10 pm EST
or Friday, May 10 at 9:30 am – 11:30 am EST

Week 2 Live Class Session

Thursday, May 16 at 8 pm-10 pm EST
or Friday, May 17 at 9:30 am – 11:30 am EST

Week 3 Live Class Session

Thursday, May 30 at 8 pm-10 pm EST
or Friday, May 31 at 9:30 am – 11:30 am EST

What will you learn in the Institute on Technical Skills for Online Event Production?

This institute is for CSSW alumni who are interested in learning what goes on behind the scenes to manage the technology of online events, including online classes. In the course, participants will learn how to prepare for live online events, how to run the technology for live online events, how to write reports sharing data on live online events, and how to provide technical support to anyone experiencing technical issues. They will also learn how to edit pages in the Canvas learning management system. This institute combines asynchronous homework online, as well as three live 2-hour webinar sessions in Adobe Connect where you gain hands-on practice as you learn.

The professional skills that participants develop in the institute may be relevant to professional roles conducting virtual training, running live online events, creating digital content, and more. In addition to developing these skills, successful completion of the institute may qualify participants to apply for part time positions with the Online Campus as Live Support Specialists.

Participants who successfully complete the institute will receive a letter certifying completion of the course, a digital badge to share their accomplishment on online platforms, and they can add their participation and skills to their resumes. There is no fee for the course, but students must provide their own computers, webcams, headsets, and hard-wired Internet connections. If you have questions about the technical requirements, please feel free to email [email protected].

Please note, applications for the Live Support Specialist role are by invitation only (invitations sent after the institute) and successful completion of the institute doesn’t guarantee an invitation to apply.

Whether you are interested in applying for a position with CSSW’s online campus, or you’re just looking to learn a new skill set, you are welcome to attend!

Best,

Kristin Garay
Manager of Online Campus Technologies

April 16, 2019April 17, 2019

Alumni Spotlight: Patrick Burden ’12 Shares Path to Leadership Role at Mount Sinai

Tell us about your career journey.

When I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a Bachelors in Psychology, I was still unsure what I wanted to do. I decided to participate in an AmeriCorps program, The Choice Program, serving youth with justice-system involvement in Baltimore. This experience was tough, but incredible, because it showed me all the skills I lacked to do the type of work I wanted to do with the kids there. I decided that pursuing an MSW at Columbia would be the best path for me to gain those skills.

I currently work for the Mount Sinai Health System as a Program Coordinator in the Care Management Program. Care Management employs social workers, care coordinators, nurse clinical coordinators, and others to carry out the population health goals of the health system. As Program Coordinator, I provide clinical supervision for the social workers and care coordinators providing direct services to patients. This is an aspect of my work that I love most, because it allows me to stay connected to the direct work, flex my clinical muscles, and support my supervisees’ professional development and growth, which is always inspiring.

I also plan and develop workflows and initiatives to better engage patients in meaningful care. For example, Mount Sinai has recently partnered with a new insurance provider serving those with Medicare and Medicaid. In this initiative, I create reports, present data to health system and insurance administrators, and work closely with the insurer to meet standards set forth by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, while setting up best practices to facilitate the most efficient and patient-centered interventions.

I love being able to effect change in healthcare through this work. My goal is to use the lessons learned working in a large health system to make broader changes in healthcare, especially seeing the systemic constraints placed on hospitals and patients that exacerbate healthcare disparities. I recently published an article on the subject of these disparities in the International Journal of Aging and Society (now known as the International Journal of Aging and Social Change), titled “Seeing Healthcare through a Social Work Lens: Tackling Disparities and Inequalities for the Elder African American Male”.* I have also had the opportunity present at conferences around the world and look forward to continuing to advocate for improved access to healthcare, quality of care, and health outcomes, particularly among underserved populations.

How did your experience at Columbia impact your career trajectory?

My time at Columbia prepared me for much of my journey at Mount Sinai. In addition to developing critical clinical skills as an intern at IMPACCT Brooklyn (formerly Pratt Area Community Council) and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, I was involved with many of the caucuses and that allowed me to interact with people with varying experiences and points-of-view, often times different from my own. I have reflected on those experiences to develop better relationships with my supervisees, colleagues, and leadership. This also prepared me to take on more leadership roles.

I also worked on a research team with a post-doc focused on juvenile justice and planning. Working with her rekindled an interest in writing and caused me to be more thoughtful about the problems beyond my day-to-day work. Though I’m not completely sure what is next in my future, the curriculum and wide range of concentrations and fields of practice showed me the vast array of opportunities I can pursue as a social worker.

What knowledge, skills, and abilities have been critical for success in your roles?

Flexibility is the first trait that comes to mind in terms of being successful in the health system, as protocols and workflows may frequently change to meet the needs of the larger health system. Being willing to take risks and volunteer for new pilots and initiatives — understanding you will have to build some of the structure as you are doing the work — is what leads to new opportunities for success and growth. In general, you must have a wealth of empathy and be able to use your clinical skills in creative ways.

What advice do you have for students and fellow alumni?

Take advantage of your opportunities when they come, understanding that there will be times where you feel like you aren’t ready or prepared for the moment. It might be uncomfortable, but you can always grow from these experiences.

*This article received the International Award for Excellence for Volume 7 of the journal.

April 1, 2019April 4, 2019

Alumni Panel: Journey to the “C” | Wednesday, April 17

The Office of Career Services and Leadership Management and Mental Health Caucus invite all interested students to attend Journey to the “C”, a panel event featuring alumni from various clinical backgrounds and work experiences, on Wednesday, April 17 from 12:15 to 1:45 pm in Room 301. This will be a great opportunity to network in an intimate setting and gain insight into obtaining clinical licensure.

Speakers include:

Ari Borinsky, LCSW ‘15, Psychotherapist at Insight Psychiatry & Psychotherapy
Jennifer Stefanik, LSW ‘17, DBT Therapist at Koch Center
Tonia M. Spence, LCSW ‘02, MSEd, Senior Director of Early Childhood Services at the Jewish Board

Light refreshments will be served.

Please reach out to Ashley Leeds at [email protected] with any thoughts, questions, concerns, dietary restrictions, or necessary accommodations.

INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES: Columbia University makes every effort to accommodate individuals with disabilities. If you require disability accommodations to attend an event at Columbia University, please contact the Office of Disability Services at (212) 854-2388 or [email protected] at least 5 days in advance of the event.

Speaker Bios

Ari Borinsky, LCSW ‘15
Psychotherapist at Insight Psychiatry & Psychotherapy

I was born and raised in suburban New Jersey. I attended undergrad at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN where I majored in Philosophy & Spanish Literature. After college I moved to Brazil where I taught English and studied Portuguese. I then joined the Peace Corps and served for two years in El Salvador. My title in the Peace Corps was a Rural Health & Sanitation volunteer although in essence my job description was that of international social worker. I now run a small non-profit that raises money for kids to attend college in El Salvador. See: www.elprogresoproject.org

I returned to the New York Metro area and attended law school for a brief period before dropping out and finding my career path as a social worker. At CSSW my first-year field internship was at a senior citizen community center in Brownsville, Brooklyn. My second-year internship was at the Roberto Clemente Center working as a bilingual family therapist. I took my social work licensing exam upon immediately graduating CSSW. I then spent one year working at the non-profit Partnership with Children which partners with NYC public schools and provides in-school counseling services. I then left for full-time private practice at a clinic in Jackson Heights, Queens called Dr. Szuster Psychiatry. I continue to work at Dr. Szuster’s clinic twice a week and run my own private practice in Greenpoint, Brooklyn the other three days a week. I accrued all my necessary clinical hours and passed my LCSW in October 2018.

I have completed trainings in TF-CBT, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and EMDR.

Jennifer Stefanik, LSW ‘17
DBT Therapist at Koch Center

Jennifer Stefanik, LSW, graduated from CSSW in May 2017, and while at CSSW, was a student of the CSSW Dialectical Behavior Therapy Training (DBT) Program directed by Dr. Andre Ivanoff. Jennifer’s 1st year internship was at South Mountain Elementary School in the Maplewood/South Orange School District in New Jersey where she worked with students aged 7-11 on emotion regulation and social skills. Her 2nd year internship was at Long Island Jewish Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, NY and was through the DBT Training Program. While at Zucker Hillside Hospital, Jennifer provided outpatient DBT (individual and group) to adults dealing with chronic mental health issues, including borderline personality and emotion dysregulation.

Since graduation, Jennifer has been working towards her clinical licensure by working full-time for The Koch Center, a private group DBT practice located in New Jersey. Jennifer works as a DBT therapist for children, adolescents, families, and adults where her work consists of conducting individual DBT sessions, running DBT groups, and serving as a program coordinator for the DBT Child and Social Skills programs. Jennifer is passionate about providing clients and their families with psycho-education about Borderline Personality Disorder and DBT to help reduce the stigma of both personality disorders and mental health in general. Jennifer is hopeful towards obtaining her clinical licensure in early 2020. With clinical licensure, Jennifer plans to continue working with DBT populations, as well as expanding her practices to clients who typically do not have access to DBT. A long-term goal that Jennifer has is to open a DBT center within the tri-state area that takes insurance, and that follows the evidence-based DBT model to fidelity to provide more accessible treatment to mental health consumers who may not otherwise be able to afford treatment.

One piece of advice that Jennifer has for MSW students is to be proactive with LSW/LMSW licensure. Start applying for licensure early on in your 2nd year so that when graduation comes, you can already have most of the process complete, and can be ready to start any prospective job opportunities

Tonia M. Spence, LCSW ‘02, MSEd
Senior Director of Early Childhood Services, the Jewish Board

Tonia M. Spence, LCSW, MSEd, believes in the power of healthy relationships in shaping young children’s lives. She is a clinician, educator, presenter and advocate who has served children and families for 17+ years. As a new clinician, Tonia’s passion to learn led her to a Fellowship program at Yale’s Child Development Center Outpatient Clinic in New Haven, where she was able to strengthen her clinical understanding of young children. Being in New Haven, where the dichotomy of wealth and poverty was so evident, Tonia recognized how racial tension and stress added an additional layer to the trauma of the children and families she was serving. She understood that only with the additional lens of race, class and privilege could she truly serve children and families well.

Tonia is a leader in the field of zero to three who has worked tirelessly to integrate her knowledge as a social worker and educator into an interdisciplinary approach to teach clinicians, educators and students how to apply a lens of racial stress to assessing, diagnosing, and treating young children who have experienced trauma. She is passionate about supporting families through challenges and firmly believes that engagement is the foundation of social work.

Tonia holds a Masters in Special Education from Bank Street College of Education and a Masters in Social Work from Columbia School of Social Work. She is currently the Senior Director of Early Childhood Services at the Jewish Board (JB) and is a co-leader of the Administrators of Color group, where she works along with colleagues to impact all staff’s racial literacy.

March 4, 2019March 11, 2020

MSW Job Fair App Now Available

We’re excited to share that the MSW Job Fair App is now available! Download it to your smartphone today to get a head start on your job fair planning: iOS | Android

This app will allow you to:

View the most up-to-date list of employers
See descriptions of each organization and opportunities available
Search for employers that match your preferences, based on method or field of practice
Identify employers that offer clinical supervision, OPT employment, or visa sponsorship
Find every employer’s table on an interactive map (coming soon)*

You can also find tips on how to prepare for the fair and take notes of your conversations on the day of.

*Please note that the employer list and map will not be printed on the day of the fair. You can view the full list of employers on the main MSW Job Fair Student Registration page.

February 20, 2019

Free Training Opportunity: The LGBTQ Institute For Family Therapy (LIFT) at The LGBT Community Center

From CSSW Alumna Lindsey Hennawi ’17:

The LGBTQ Institute for Family Therapy (LIFT) at The LGBT Community Center is now accepting applications! Spots are currently open for the next two cohorts: a condensed cycle running April through June of 2019, and the next full-length cycle which will run July through December 2019. Please encourage your staff to apply here – the deadline to apply is March 13th.

LIFT is an exciting, completely free opportunity to gain additional knowledge in order to help create and sustain affirming homes for LGBTQ youth. Staff members who are currently working with families or supervising staff members working with families are great candidates. Individuals with an LMSW or LCSW are eligible for certification from The Center and up to 54 CEU credits. Individuals without a license, or another license such as an LMFT or LMHC, are still eligible for certification from The Center and are encouraged to apply.

The LGBTQ Institute for Family Therapy (LIFT) Certification Program:

Is the first and only LGBTQ specific family therapy certification program in the greater New York City area
Meets the needs of clinicians who work with families involved with ACS across the five boroughs
Offered over either a six-month period (meets for one full day training session and one half day clinical coaching session each month) or three-month period (meets for one full day training session and one half day clinical coaching session each month with independent work completed between sessions)
Confers 54 CEU credits for LMSWs and LCSWs upon completion
May be used in lieu of current ACS LGBTQ in-service training requirements

If you have any questions, please contact Lindsey Hennawi, Family Permanency Coordinator, at [email protected] or call 646.358.1703

February 17, 2019February 19, 2019

HRSA’s Regional Virtual Job Fairs February and March 2019

Message from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA):

HRSA’s Regional Virtual Job Fairs February and March 2019

Network with employers and explore educational loan repayment opportunities!

HRSA’s Virtual Job Fairs are online recruitment events that connect students, trainees, and clinicians with health care delivery organizations. The goal of this upcoming Virtual Job Fair is to connect current and future clinicians who are providing substance use disorder services with health care organizations located in underserved communities.

HRSA is hosting four regional events in February and March. At no cost, join the HRSA Virtual Job Fairs to connect and network with health care organizations. You’ll be presented with hundreds of open positions, hear details about relocation, benefit packages, and populations served. Please choose the correct event based on your location preference.

East Coast: Register for the February 26 event (4:45-7:00pm ET) if you are interested in working in an organization located within HHS Regions 1 thru 4. (Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Islands, South Carolina, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia).
North/South Central: Register for the February 28 event (3:45-6:00pm CT) if you are interested in working in an organization located within HHS Regions 5 and 6. (Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Wisconsin).
Mountain/Plains: Register for the March 5 event (3:45-6:00pm MT if you are interested in working in an organization located within HHS Regions 7 and 8. (Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming).
West Coast: Register for the March 7 event (4:45-7:00pm PT) if you are interested in working in an organization located within HHS Regions 9 and 10. (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau).

Prepare!
After registering, participants may prepare for the Virtual Job Fair by building a searchable professional profile on the Health Workforce Connector. You can highlight and share your professional experiences, education, and employment preferences with organizations searching for qualified candidates like you! With over 6,000 job opportunities throughout 23,000+ organizations, the Connector helps future and current health professionals find careers in underserved communities.

For current NHSC or Nurse Corps program recipients, click here to use your current portal credentials to log in.
For all others, click here to set up a new account.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to get real-time answers to your employment questions. To participate, you need a computer, smart phone, or other mobile technology with access to the Internet.

Visit the Virtual Job Fair website to learn more.

Build Your Searchable Profile on the Health Workforce Connector

February 8, 2019February 8, 2019

Philanthropy New York’s Public Policy Fellowship Information Session | Tuesday, February 12 + Open House | Wednesday, February 27

Interested in philanthropy? Consider applying for Philanthropy New York’s Public Policy Fellowship, a two-year, full-time employment opportunity for candidates who are committed to deepening racial equity practices in the sector.

Philanthropy New York is a membership association of approximately 280+ private, corporate, family and public grantmaking organizations based in the New York City region that provides a broad range of services to over 3,500 individual philanthropic professionals and trustees of those organizations.

The Public Policy Fellowship is designed to support the organization’s commitment to building diversity and equity in the philanthropic field and increase their organization’s capacity to work with their membership. Fellows facilitate issue-based working groups, develop and execute programs on current issues in the field, curate content for their media platforms, and write insightful reports and publications.

This opportunity is open to diverse candidates completing their master’s program this spring or who have recently graduated (May 2017 or more recent).

Read the full job description (also attached) for more details.

Information Session

Philanthropy New York’s third fellow, Jo Christine Miles, will be leading an information session on Tuesday, February 12 from 1:00 to 1:50 pm EST in Room C06 to share additional insight into the program. Register to attend via Career Connect. A live-stream link will be made available to all those who register. In-person attendance is strongly encouraged.

Light refreshments will be provided!

For more information aboua the fellowship, go to https://philanthropynewyork.org/public-policy-fellowship.

Public Policy Fellowship Open House

Philanthropy NY will also be hosting a night of networking with staff, sector professionals, including from WT Grant Foundation, New York State Health Foundation, Arbor Brothers, and Ford Foundation, and like-minded peers, on Wednesday, February 27, 4:00 to 6:00 pm EST at their offices at the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice on 320 East 43rd Street. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about the philanthropic sector, careers in the field, and the fellowship from the perspective of the members they serve.

January 30, 2019January 30, 2019

GoinGlobal Training Sessions

Are you taking advantage of our GoinGlobal subscription? You can access GoinGlobal by logging into Career Connect, and clicking on the logo on the main dashboard. (Alumni – go here.)

GoinGlobal resources can help you plan ahead for international jobs and internships. Schedule a complimentary, one hour training session to learn more about:

Work authorization regulations
Industry and employment trends
Professional and social networking organizations
Office protocol and interviewing customs

Find upcoming training dates and register here.

January 28, 2019August 29, 2019

Preparing for Careers and Internships in Policy: A Panel Discussion | Wednesday, February 13

Wondering what a social worker can do in the policy field or what policy work entails?

Attend our upcoming panel discussion to meet experienced professionals and learn about the different ways social workers can make an impact in the policy space, as well as steps you can take to navigate your own path toward similar roles.

Wednesday, February 12
12:15 – 1:45 PM
Room C03

Register (live-stream link will be made available to those who register)

In-person attendance is strongly encouraged.

FEATURED SPEAKERS

ERICKA ECHAVARRIA ’08 (Moderator)
Associate Director, Field Education at Columbia School of Social Work

Ericka Echavarria is a private consultant and a mitigation specialist. Through comprehensive psychological investigations and narratives, she advocates on behalf of clients facing the death penalty in capital murder cases, as well as clients in the federal and state criminal justice system.

Her areas of focus include: criminal and family law, child welfare, school social work, addiction, trauma, mental health, and case management. She has advocated for immigrant survivors of domestic violence; families and children in the family court and child welfare systems; clients struggling with addiction; defendants in the federal and state criminal justice system; and children facing learning, emotional, behavioral, and psychological difficulties in school. She has provided technical assistance to other advocates who provide services to these clients by conducting training in mental health, self-awareness, diversity, motivation, and behavior management.

She earned her MSW from the Columbia School of Social Work in 2008, and her JD from Albany Law School in 2002.

LAURA ILOWITE ‘15
Community Engagement Director, Arthritis Foundation

Laura Ilowite, LMSW, is the Community Engagement Director at the Arthritis Foundation. She received her Master of Social Work from Columbia University where she was awarded the Mae L. Wien Prize. She specialized in AGPP with a Health, Mental Health, and Disabilities field of practice. Laura has worked at nonprofits such as Active Minds, National Eating Disorders Association, and Spence-Chapin doing advocacy, program management, community outreach, and community education. She’s passionate about healthcare, women’s issues, families and working for mission focused organization.

KASIA MALINOWSKA-SEMPRUCH
Director, Global Drug Policy Program, Open Society Foundations

Kasia Malinowska is the director of the Global Drug Policy Program at the Open Society Foundations, which promotes drug policies rooted in human rights, social justice, and public health. She previously led the Open Society’s International Harm Reduction Development program, which supports the health and human rights of people who use drugs. Before joining the Open Society Foundations, she worked for the United Nations Development Program in New York and Warsaw, leading capacity building and drug and HIV policy reform in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Kasia publishes regularly on drug policy as it relates to women, social justice, health, human rights, civil society, and governance. Her academic publications include works in the Lancet, the British Medical Journal, and the International Journal on Drug Policy. She wrote her doctoral dissertation on “HIV among Drug Users in Poland: The Paradoxes of an Epidemic.”

Kasia co-authored Poland’s first National AIDS program; helped formulate policy at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; the World Health Organization; and the Millennium Project Task Force on HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria. Kasia holds an MSW from the University of Pennsylvania and a DrPH from Columbia University.

CHRISTELLE N. ONWU ‘15
Lead Advisor for African Communities and an Equal Employment Opportunity Recruitment Strategist at the New York City Commission on Human Rights

Christelle Onwu is 2017 graduate of the Coro Immigrant Civic Leadership Program (ICLP), and serves as an Adjunct Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where she teaches a course on Justice in the Africana World in the Africana Department. She is a fierce advocate for under-served populations with a focus on African communities in New York City. In her role at the Commission, Christelle advocates and mobilizes the African community throughout the five boroughs, and has given an unprecedented voice to the fastest growing immigrant group in New York City, while also championing the causes of other communities.

Prior to the Commission, Christelle served as a Social Worker Supervisor at Sauti Yetu Center for African Women and Families. There she provided bilingual (French and English) counseling and case management to survivors of gender-based violence. She also served as a Policy Analyst at Safe Passage Project, New York Law School, where she worked with an interdisciplinary team of people to analyze quantitative and qualitative research data on immigration policies within New York City and State. Furthermore, Christelle interned at Families for Freedom as a Policy Analyst, where she drafted policy memos on how to handle diverse foreign nationals who are facing deportations with criminal convictions. She earned her Bachelor degree at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a Master of Science in Social Work Policy at Columbia University School of School Work, where her article titled “Understanding Female Genital Cutting in the United Kingdom within Immigrant Communities” was published in the Social Work Review. She is a proud New Yorker, lives in the Bronx with her family, and hails from Cameroon. She is fluent in French, pidgin, and Eton.