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PH.D. IN SOCIAL WELFARE

 
 

Ph.D. Student Biographies 2007


okmi-baikOKMI 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-brownSUZANNE (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-kimSEOK-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-smallingSUSAN 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.