Student and Alumni Milestones and Accomplishments
Carmen Villavicencio-Hein, DSW ’24
To help meet the critical need for well-prepared school mental health professionals, Carmen Villavicencio-Hein, DSW ’24, is bringing innovative tools and cutting-edge teaching methods to NYU Silver’s School Social Work Training Academy. With a $2,000 grant from the online learning platform Course Hero, she is embedding Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an experiential learning tool in a new course she has developed for MSW-level students on a career track toward working in urban K-12 educational settings serving diverse student and family populations.
Marina Badillo Diaz, DSW ’21
Class of 2021 DSW alum Marina Badillo Diaz, LCSW, DSW, was selected by the U.S. Department of Education as a 2022-23 School Ambassador Fellow. The only social worker selected, she is collaborating with other educators across the country to improve the development and implementation of national education policy.
Gillian O’Shea Brown, DSW ’21
Dr. O’Shea Brown’s first book, Healing Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Clinician’s Guide, was published by Springer International Publishing’s Essential Clinical Social Work Series (2021). The publisher describes the book as “a clinician’s guide to understanding, diagnosing, treating, and healing complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD),” a severe form of PTSD which will be included in the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision in 2022.
Diana Franco, DSW ’18
Dr. Franco, who is a member of the Core Faculty at Capella University School of Public Service Leadership, Department of Social Work, has been appointed to a three-year term on the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Council on Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Diversity, effective July 1, 2020. The Council initiates new activities and programs related to racial and ethnic minority groups in social work education and promotes research into issues relevant to minority educators, students, and alumni.
Steven Kuchuck, DSW ’18
Steven Kuchuck was appointed to the teaching faculty of NYU’s Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. He will be teaching the course The Psychoanalyst’s Subjectivity: Theoretical and Clinical Implications.
Lena Green, DSW ’18
Dr. Green was awarded the National Association of Social Workers, New York City Chapter’s Social Work I.M.P.A.C.T. Award, the chapter’s highest honor, which is presented to a social worker who “exemplifies the commitment to social justice, equity, empowerment, and civil rights, through their work, research, advocacy, practice, embodiment of the social work profession, and their dedication to the communities and individuals they serve.”
Meredith Ruden, DSW ’18
Upon earning her DSW in May 2018, Dr. Ruden founded The Feather Foundation, which provides online emotional, financial, and practical support for parents with cancer. Dr. Ruden also earned her MSW at NYU Silver in 2009 and was an MSW Fellow in our Zelda Foster Studies Program in Palliative and End-of-Life Care.
Nancy Murakami, DSW ’19
Dr. Murakami received NYU Silver’s 2017–2018 Global Social Work Award, which honors members of the student body who reflect the character, values, and ideals of the Global Network University. Awardees demonstrate a commitment to sharing knowledge, information, and understanding across borders; promoting diversity and social justice; and engaging in international scholarship and practice whether at home or abroad.
Kara Dean-Assael, DSW ’20
Kara Dean-Assael received the Mid-Career Exemplary Leader Award at the National Association of Social Workers New York City Chapter’s (NASW-NYC) 11th Annual Leadership Awards Dinner on December 7, 2017. The event honored outstanding social workers across the generations who have “demonstrated outstanding leadership, expertise, and dedication to the profession and to the improvement of social and human conditions in New York City.”
Samantha Fuld, DSW ’18
Dr. Fuld received the Dean’s Teaching Award for Fall 2017 from the University of Maryland School of Social Work, where she is a member of the adjunct faculty.
Jeanine Costley, DSW ’18
Jeanine Costley has been promoted to Vice President of Transitional Services at ICL where she provides oversight for five programs, including homeless veterans, at-risk homeless clients, and the single women’s shelter.
Efrat Fridman, DSW ’18
Efrat Fridman has contributed to the newest edition of Children in the Urban Environment: Linking Social Policy and Clinical Practice, by N.K. Phillips and NYU Silver Professor Dr. S. Lala Straussner. Efrat co-authored the chapter titled, “Substance Use by Urban Children” with Dr. Straussner.
David Katzenstein, DSW ’18
David Katzenstein has contributed to the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse as a co-author of the article “Twice Silenced: The Underreporting of Child Sexual Abuse in Orthodox Jewish Communities,” with Lisa Aronson Fontes.
Amy Lemen, DSW ’19
Amy Lemen has been promoted to the faculty of NYU School of Medicine. She is now a Research Assistant Professor of Neurology and Medicine.
Anna Morgan-Mullane, DSW ’18
Anna Morgan-Mullane’s dedicated work as Vice President of Mental Health Services at Children of Promise has been recognized in a BBC article in which she was quoted, “Saving Black Children from Suicide.”
Gitanjali Thadhani, DSW ’18
Dr. Thadhani has received a New Writers Fellowship from the Family Process Institute. The New Writers Fellowship supports the development of new scholars who will advance systemic theory, research, and practice grounded in a commitment to social justice. Ten fellows are selected to participate in a full-day writing workshop taught by Dr. Evan Imber-Black, former editor of Family Process and a well-published author. The purpose of the workshop is to help participants shape a developing manuscript for submission to Family Process or other journals. Participants receive both individual feedback on their work from Dr. Imber-Black and small group consultation. Fellows will also have the opportunity to meet the Family Process Institute Board of Directors.