Rochester, Minnesota, United States
In over 50 years in the field, I have experience as a supervisor, administrator, practitioner and educator. I have planned and implemented programs and a good deal of my time has been spent in program development. I am an experienced group facilitator and have extensive experience and expertise in training others in facilitation skills. I am also an experienced anti-racism and diversity trainer and consultant. I have made numerous presentations locally, statewide and nationally on the topics of disproportionality affecting African Americans, cultural competency in social work and issues impacting the "Invisible Immigrant" (African Americans from large urban centers who find themselves in the midst of a dominant culture very different from their former holding environment) I have been on a number of boards of directors. I co-founded Project Legacy, a program dedicated to helping youth of color change the trajectory of their lives and create a positive legacy for themselves and their future generations. I retired in 2022 from Olmsted County Child and Family Services as a program manager after 25 years. Since 2023, I've been on phased retirement from the County. I'm currently the DEI Coordinator for Olmsted County.
Project LEGACY is a program to meet the needs of youth of color in the Rochester community who struggle with lack of resources and supports that enable them to reach their full potential. Many of the youth lack stable housing, a viable support system, and caring adults to advocate for them. The program is targeting youth who have demonstrated resilience in the face of enormous obstacles and who are sincerely motivated to change their current lifestyle. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Project LEGACY will provide these resources when in critical need: • Education • Advocacy • Support • Housing -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Through emotional engagement and the establishment of close, caring relationships, positive partnerships will help the youth take full advantage of opportunities presented. The intent of the program is to create access points to opportunities, resources, and to new experiences that heretofore have been foreign to the life experience of these youth. In so doing, a genuine sense of hope for the future can be engendered. The experience with the program will serve as the basis for: • the achievement of professional goals • Building of personal wealth • development of personal power and prestige and • Fostering a value set of personal empowerment … Which can be passed on to the participant’s children and their children— thus, Legacy http://projectlegacymn.org
I supervise the Family Support Unit which is comprised of 5 programs. 3 of the programs are collaboratrives with Public Health. 1 program is for 1st time moms with risk factors, E.g. Abuse histories, substance use, mental health issues, etc.. Another program is for moms with more than one child with similar risk factors. The third is for pregnant and parenting teens. There are also 2 programs with a specific focus on families and children of color. 1 program is for families experiencing barriers or crises in the community, E.g. housing, unemployment, parenting concerns. The other program is for kids between 7 and 14 with school attendance or behavior issues at home, school or community. I also work in the community developing collaborations to enhance services to minorities.I work at the county and state level to develop plans to address issues of disproportionality impacting people of color, especially African-Americans.
President of the Board of Directors
Taught Social Work Methods 1 and Social Work Methods 2 courses. Advanced Practice with Diverse Populations Course.