Success Stories

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Miranda Thompson in a blue shirt posed in front of a fence covered with green leaves
Immigrants and Refugees, Global/International Social Work
As a clinical concentration student in the Global Social Development Practice Program (GSDP), Thompson closed out summer 2021 volunteering for the International Rescue Committee helping with emergency response efforts for Afghan refugees arriving at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Thompson now works with Philadelphia nonprofit, Mindful Philanthropy, as a program and research associate where she helps funders devise strategies and educates donors about mental health issues.
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Georgia Ball Travis
Healthcare, Community Health, and Advocacy
Travis who spent most of her career as a medical social worker, founded in 1992 the Georgia Travis Day Center for Homeless Women and Children in San Jose, California.
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Edwina Uehara
Academia
Uehara serves as dean of the University of Washington's School of Social Work.
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Black and white headshot of Maria Choca Urban
Government and Politics
Urban is currently the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer at Cook County Bureau of Administration.
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Kathleen Valadez in a red blouse with UChicago campus in the background
Healthcare, Community Health, and Advocacy
Valadez focused her studies mainly on behavioral therapies and family systems work. She is currently a licensed clinical social worker with experience in medical social work with children and families.
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Hazel Vespa
Hazel Vespa, AM '68 IN MEMORIAM
Healthcare, Community Health, and Advocacy
Vespa retired as asocial worker from the Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago. Hazel Vespa helped develop a variety of programs to help patients and their families prepare for a longer life.
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Patrise Washington
Social Sector Leadership and Nonprofit Management
Washington is invested in community and mental health supports. She is an experienced case manager at Deborah's Place, a Chicago non-profit helping women experiencing homelessness.
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Kathryn West
Healthcare, Community Health, and Advocacy
Storytelling and communication have always intrigued Kathryn West, who put those interests to use at the Crown Family School. “As a child, I liked to read and was always drawn to books about health and how people deal with illness,” says West.
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Kara Whittaker Fox
Children, Adolescents, and Families
Fox was a part of the University’s BA/MA program and her senior thesis focused on Orphan Trains, a social experiment that transported homeless and orphaned children from East coast industrial cities to family homes across the country; she hopes to pursue her LSW license and to work in infant and early childhood mental health and intervention.
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Jonathan Wildt
Global/International Social Work
As he finds his place in the world of international aid, Jonathan provides a social work perspective in Darfur.
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Jerry Wolf pictured next to his wife Jan Wolf
Government and Politics
During their first quarter at SSA, Jerry Wolf and Jan Harris, took a class on the history of social welfare, an encounter that led to their marriage and a beginning for their time at SSA that has guided them in their careers.
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Jan Wolf
Healthcare, Community Health, and Advocacy
During their first quarter at SSA, Jerry Wolf and Jan Harris, took a class on the history of social welfare, an encounter that led to their marriage and a beginning for their time at SSA that has guided them in their careers.
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Woman in blue sweater vest with blue shirt outdoors smiling
Economic Mobility of Mothers, Child Welfare, Children, Adolescents, and Families
Recipient of the 2024 Milestone Achievement Award