OKMI BAIK (Cohort '07) has served in an
adult day health care center in Los Angeles area for the past three years as a social work.
In the field she worked with adults with physical and mental disabilities; she connected the
various minority groups' elderly to social welfare resources, provided intensive counseling to
mental and psychological patients, and operated group sessions. Her main responsibilities included
professional assessment on elders with emotional problems and establishment of individual care plan
with other health processionals such as medical doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, physical
therapists, dietitians and activity coordinators at the center. She has wide range of various
direct and indirect experiences within the social work field for the past 14 years. After
starting out as an officer at a government funded health administration organization in 1991, she
has gone on to serve as a journalist covering social issues in the local news, a research assistant
at a Christian social welfare research center and a social worker at adult day health care center
in California. During working in the Chonbuk Province Christian Social Welfare Research
Center, she gained valuable experience in program planning in related field and also had the
opportunity to participate in various researches. She has a Masters degree in social welfare
from Chonbuk National University in Korea. Her current research interests include the scope of
geriatric mental health issues.
SUZANNE (SUE) BROWN (Cohort '07) is currently clinical director of the
behavioral health division of the May Institute in Boston, MA, where she has worked for over 10
years. Her responsibilities include administrative and clinical oversight of multiple programs
including two outpatient mental health clinics, case management and day treatment services for
adults dually diagnosed with mental illness and substance abuse disorders, geriatric day services,
and an after-school program for children with serious mental illness. In 2000 Sue was awarded
the May Institute Trustees Award for excellence in service training and research. During her
tenure with the May Institute, Sue developed field placements and student training opportunities
for MSW students. She has also lectured annually to the APA approved student training program
on case management practices and clinical issues in working with the GLBT population. Sue has
been an active member of her division's research group, assisting with data collection and writing
on multiple outcome studies. Sue traveled to India in 2003 and volunteered in a Red Cross
drug/alcohol detoxification facility. This encouraged her interest in international service
delivery systems.
Sue has been an active member of the MA chapter of NASW. As co-chair of NASW's Mental
Health and Substance Abuse Committee Sue wrote and delivered testimony at the MA state house on
proposed mental health parity legislation. She also collaborated with other committee members
on a written CE program for MA NASW members regarding best practices in working with suicidal
individuals, to be published in the September 2007 issue of
FOCUS.
Sue received her BA in psychology from the University of Vermont in 1986, and her MSW from
Smith College in 1994. Her research interests include the dual disorders (mental illness and
substance abuse), evaluation of service delivery models and best practices in working with the
dually disordered, and international service delivery systems.
SEOK-JOO KIM (Cohort '07) received BA in social welfare and MSW at Chung-Ang
University (CAU), Seoul, Korea, and MSSA at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Cleveland, Ohio
which allowed him to be exposed a variety of social work issues. In the MSW program at CAU,
he focused on clinical social work issues, such as family therapy and substance abuse; at the end
of the program (2005), using a quantitative methodology, he published his master's thesis
, "Influence of Self-Efficacy and Alcohol Expectancy on Youth Drinking in Daegu,
Korea." He worked with social work undergraduates from 2002 to 2004 as a field education
coordinator and a teaching assistant of a data analysis class at CAU. In 2004 and 2005, as a
part-time data analyst, he participated in a research project for North Korean refuges' settlement
and employment at Hanvit Social Welfare Center, Seoul, Korea. During the MSSA program, as a
social work intern, he worked at the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development (CUPCD) at
CWRU from 2005 to 2007. Recently, at the CUPCD, he implemented a web-survey for Northeast Ohio
Community and Neighborhood Data for Organizing (NEO CANDO) in order to explore the usability and
the satisfaction of its users. Mr. Kim's research targets the well-being of children and
families in poor neighborhoods, and his research interests include poverty, child maltreatment,
program evaluation, and community development.
SUSAN SMALLING (Cohort '07) graduated from St. Olaf College with a degree in
psychology and women's studies in 1997. She started her career working as a counselor at an
adventure based residential treatment center in rural Minnesota. After two years of sleeping
outside in subzero Minnesota weather with 8-12 ornery adolescent girls, Susan transferred to a case
management position working with adolescent boys. During that time, she worked on her masters
degree in social work at the University of Minnesota Duluth with a focus on American Indian
studies. Susan received a Federal Child Welfare Fellowship to support her masters
studies. She moved to Duluth, MN to finish her degree full time graduating in 2004. After
receiving her MSW, Susan worked in the chemical health unit at St. Louis County Public Health and
Human Services focusing on adolescents and civilly committed clients. In addition to her
county position, she worked for the University of Minnesota Duluth researching Intergroup Dialogue
and best practices for fostering intercultural communication. Along with her research
responsibilities, Susan led learning circle discussion groups for the American Indian content
courses. Susan has also presented with UMD professors Anne Tellett and Priscilla Day on
cultural competency at various conferences. Susan's research interests include racial identity
development and fostering intercultural communication.
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