Susan Knight
Susan Knight, A.M., LCSW, is currently the Director of Field Education at the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration where she oversees the Field Education Program for over 400 masters-level social work students. She has taught field instructor training workshops and facilitated applied learning seminars to bridge theory and practice for graduate social work students.
Prior to coming to SSA, Ms. Knight held clinical, program development, and supervisory positions in a variety of hospital-based, maternal-child health programs. Her professional interests include strengths-based approaches to field education and clinical practice; the integration of social work theory, research, and practice; fostering the professional development of social workers, and the application of family support models during early parenthood.
Ms. Knight received a B.A. with Honors in Psychology from Pitzer College, and an A.M. from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago.
Keynote Speaker
Ann McCann Oakley is currently the Assistant Dean and Director of the Office of Computing and Instructional Technology at the Columbia University School of Social Work. She received her MSW from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with an emphasis in aging and research. She has taught in the areas of research methods; computer application in human services; organizational management; and gerontological social work. Her interests lie in the area of enhancing teaching and learning through the use on innovative instructional technology.
Panelists
Anna-Marie DiPasquale is a licensed clinical social worker at School of the Arts at the South Shore High School, a Chicago Public School located on the South-side of Chicago. Prior to her work at the School of the Arts, she was an in-home family therapist with Riverbend Community Health Services in New Hampshire. Ms. DiPasquale holds a Masters Degree from the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration (SSA) and a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from New England College. While at SSA, she received the Evelyn Harris Ginsburg Memorial Prize for outstanding work, with special consideration given to one who shows great promise in the field of service to children. Prior to entering the field of social work, Ms. DiPasquale was a government affairs executive for a Fortune 100 company in Chicago and, before that, with various trade associations in the Washington, DC, area. Ms. DiPasquale also spent four years working on Capitol Hill for a Member of Congress.
Denise Hagerla, LCSW, is a 2003 graduate of SSA. She is currently the clinical supervisor and women's programming coordinator at Center on Halsted, the largest LGBT community center in the Midwest. Her previous social work experience includes inpatient psychiatric and oncologic hospital social work, clinical supervision and casework at a youth transitional living facility, and community mental health work in central Iowa with dual diagnosis adolescents and their families. Denise also maintains a private practice in Evanston and is a volunteer practitioner for cancer patients and their families.
Jason T. McVicker, LCSW, RDDP, is the Director of Mental Health Services for the Center on Halsted, the largest LGBT community center in the Midwest. He worked previously as Program Supervisor at Chicago House and Social Service Agency, Inc. While there, Jason developed programs and services to meet the evolving needs of the HIV/AIDS community. He was instrumental in creating a student program that provided practicum opportunities to bachelor and graduate level interns from the domains of social work, counseling, occupational therapy and psychology. During his time with Chicago House, Jason was responsible for mentoring over 15 social service professionals into their respective fields. He has a significant background in the community mental health arena, including child and adolescent treatment. As a psychotherapist at the Fillmore Center for Human Services, Jason was responsible for facilitating a coming out support group for older gay men-the longest running group of its kind in that agency's history. While at the Fillmore Center, Jason also served as President of Youth Network Council of Oak Park, overseeing the collaboration of more than 30 service providers to children, adolescents and their families throughout the Chicago area. He currently serves as a Master Practitioner Instructor for the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration and is a member of the Fieldwork Advisory Board for Loyola University's School of Social Work. In addition, Jason also maintains a private practice in the Lakeview area.
Barbara Smith is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice and also on the staff of the University of Chicago Counseling and Resource Center. For thirty plus years she was on the faculty of the Psychiatry Department at the University of Chicago Hospitals where she was Director of Adult Clinical Social Work Services and Director of Social Work Student Training. In private practice, she specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety and mood disorders, adjustment disorders and work with young adults. She earned her AM from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.
