Field Education Partners Recognized at 11th Field Instructor Appreciation Breakfast
The annual awards ceremony included roundtable discussions modeled on the School’s Social Justice Learning Communities
BOSTON – The 11th Annual Field Instructor Appreciation Breakfast on May 23 honored eight field instructors who go above and beyond as supervisors, teachers and role models for BUSSW students in their field placements.
The field instructors, who were selected from a large pool of nominees, were described by students and advisors as role models for ethical and socially just practice, exemplifying the social worker that students aspired to be.
2019 Field Instructor Awards winners:
- Caroline Durning, social worker at the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center
- Elisa Wilson, social worker at We CAN on the Cape
- Kelly Welch, social worker at the Ohrenberger School in Boston
- Allyson Gormley, social worker at Tufts Medical Center
- Molly Quinn, social worker at Somerville Community Schools After School Program
- Emily Levine, social worker at Massachusetts Department of Mental Health
- Deborah Riley, social worker at New Beginnings
- Angela Bailey, social worker at Shore Medical Center’s Cancer Center in Somers Point, New Jersey
The individuals who submitted nominations recognized the instructors for their knowledge and expertise in social work, their support and availability, and the many learning and professional development opportunities they created for their students. Nominators described the winning field instructors as “amazing” and “humble,” and one student remarked that their field instructor pushed them in ways they never imagined. Nominators also commented on the field instructors’ commitment to social justice and their work in underserved communities.
In addition to the individual student supervisors who receive awards, one agency is also recognized by the Field Education Department each year. This year, the agency award was given to Justice Resource Institute (JRI), an organization that provides trauma-informed care to underserved individuals, families, and communities with over 100 diverse programs. JRI, which is headed by alum Andy Pond (SSW ‘96), has partnered with the School to provide tuition support to several of its employees pursuing their MSW at BU.
The Appreciation Breakfast was hosted by Assistant Dean of Field Education Trudy Zimmerman, who called the event “one of the most joyful occasions [for] the Field Education Department.” Thanking field instructors for their critical role in students’ education, she added, “The experiences many students have with you are among the most memorable of their education.”
Zimmerman also announced multiple staff changes in the Field Education Department in the past year, including the loss of Judith Perlstein, who worked at the School for more than 25 years as a beloved lecturer and Associate Director of Field Education before passing away from cancer in 2018.
The second half of the event followed a workshop format modeled after the School’s Social Justice Learning Communities, a recent initiative to educate all BUSSW faculty and staff members on social justice issues including white supremacy, intersectionality and social inequity. Dawn Belkin Martinez and Luz Lopez, faculty members and co-leaders of the Social Justice Learning Committee, introduced the learning community’s background and methodology to attendees with the help of Lisa Owens, one of three independent facilitators who led staff and faculty cohorts in the learning communities.
This overview set the stage for roundtable discussions about the social justice implications of stigmatizing language used in professional and everyday interactions. Participants were encouraged to identify actions steps they could implement in their agencies to address language that stigmatizes, categorizes and labels people they serve. One field instructor present said “[I was] so grateful that we were included in the process of communal self-reflection” and encouraged “to be more effective agents of social justice.”
