Distinguished Alums Tell Students About Their Paths to Success

On the evening of November 19, over 150 students crowded into the Belfer Commons to hear alumnae from Wurzweiler School of Social Work talk about their transition from being students to becoming leaders in the national social work community. The evening, organized by student government (SGA), was also another opportunity for the entire Wurzweiler community to join together, for students in different programs and schedules to get know one another, faculty and administration.   

Erica Liebowitz, the current SGA president, welcomed attendees. She spoke about the many activities of the SGA, such as creating programming--including the popular Lunch 'n Learn series--lobbying, organizing and engaging in community service, and providing "a clearinghouse for concerns from students and answers from administrators."

Dean Sheldon Gelman introduced Sarah Kaplan, the Community Organiing and Policy intern at the New York chapter of the NASW, who encouraged everyone in the assembly to join the NASW!

Nancy Doniger, from Columbia University School of Social Work and Justine Freitas, from Hunter College School of Social Work, talked about the Undoing Racism Project. 

Next Mark Miller, our alumni director, introduced our distinguished guest speakers. Here are some excerpts from his introductions:

Irwin Lenefsky, a native of New York is an active duty Army Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) with over 21 years of active service. In 1985, he obtained a MSW from Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University and Rabbinical Ordination from the Theological Seminary at YU. He holds a Ph.D. from Catholic University in Washington.

Lawrence Caplan graduated from WSSW in 2006. He immediately started working at Esperanza, which (at that time) was a pilot program for the Vera Institute for Justice. Esperanza is an alternative to incarceration program for youth. He provides home-based individual and family counseling to court mandated youth and their families. In addition to his role at Esperanza, for the past year he has been a volunteer  with the National Association of Social Worker’s New Professionals Task Force Steering Committee.

Arlene Peller has had a private practice since graduating from WSSW.  She has also been a clinical supervisor and director of an alcohol and drug treatment facility for women, as well as, an adjunct teacher at Montclair State University and Bloomfield College. She is married, with three married children and seven grandchildren.  

Manoj Pardasani is a graduate of both the MSW and Ph.D. program at Wurzweiler. He began his career in social work as a teenager living Bombay, India, where he organized a group of friends to volunteer their time and resources and created a literacy program for homeless and/or orphaned children. The program expanded rapidly and in a few years they served nearly a hundred children utilizing the services of 250 volunteers. For the last 10 years, he has worked as a social work practitioner in diverse fields and settings such as senior centers, group homes for the developmentally delayed, community mental health centers and homelessness/HIV/AIDS-related social services. In 2006, he was chosen as Social Work of the Year by the Indiana State Chapter of NASW.  He is currently on the faculty at Fordham University.