“Grounding in Values, Growing in Care” is the theme of the Social Work Hospice & Palliative Care Network’s (SWHPN) 2025 General Assembly, being held April 28-29 at the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis. A commitment to compassionate, equitable care is foundational to NYU Silver’s Zelda Foster Studies Program in Palliative and End-of-Life Care, which will be well represented at the event.
The following schedule of sessions featuring the work of Zelda Foster Studies fellows, faculty, and mentors is based on the SWHPN 2025 online presentation schedule and is up-to-date as of April 24, 2025. All Sessions will be held at University of Minnesota. Presenters who are members of the Zelda Foster Studies community are bolded and their affiliation is listed in parentheses after their names.
Zelda Foster Studies Program Presentation Schedule
Monday, April 28, 2023
9:45–10:45am
Breakout Session 1
The Dignity of Risk: Taking Professional Leaps into the Spider Web
- Christine Beamon, LCSW, CCM, APHSW-C
- Victoria Leff, MSW, LCSW, APHSW-C (Leadership Mentor)
- Theresa A. Altilio, LCSW, APHSW-C, ACSW (Zelda Faculty)
So You're Thinking about Pursuing an Academic or Research Path in Palliative Care? Let's Talk About It
- Carina Oltmann, LCSW, MSSW
- Stephanie P. Wladkowski, PhD, LMSW, APHSW-C
- Anne Kelemen, LICSW, APHSW-C, SEP (MSW Mentor)
- Stacy Remke, MSW, LICSW, APHSW-C, FNAP
10:55am–11:55am
Breakout Session 2
Grief, Loss and Trauma: Rapid Assessment and Brief Interventions In Serious Illness
- Abigail Nathanson, DSW, LCSW (NY), APHSW-C, ACS (MSW Mentor and Zelda Faculty)
Advance Care Planning and End-of-Life Preferences of Chinese and Korean American Older Adults
- Cathy Berkman PhD, MSW (Leadership Mentor)
- Xiaofang Liu, PhD, (Leadership Fellow)
- Eunjeong Ko, PhD
Intersection of Adaptive Leadership and Palliative Social Work: An Innovative Laboratory for Change
- Susan Gerbino, PhD, LCSW (Zelda Founding Director)
- Jocelyn Walls, LCSW (Zelda Faculty)
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Symposium Topics
What is Our Lane? A Pediatric Palliative Care Workshop To Continue Defining Scope of Practice
- Allie Shukraft, MSW, MAT, APHSW-C (Leadership Mentor)
2:40 PM - 2:45 PM
Breakout Session 3
Therapeutic Interventions to Facilitate Legacy with Children and Families at End of Life | Fostering Connection in Serious Illness: How Build-A-Bears Bring Dignity Therapy and Legacy Work to the Bedside. Improving Pediatric EOL Legacy Building at Home: A Pilot Program Reflection
- Stephanie Clark, MSW, LCSW
- Alisha McGuire, MSW, LCSW, APHSW-C (Leadership Fellow)
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
8:30 AM - 8:45 AM
Welcome Plenary
Board and Committee Welcome
- Chris Onderdonk, MSW, LCSW, APHSW-C (Leadership Fellow and Mentor)
Breakout Session 4
Disability, Dignity, and Risk of Death: Who Decides?
- Lori Eckel, LCSW, APHSW-C, HEC-C (Leadership Fellow and Mentor)
- Celeste Weber, RN, BSN, HEC-C
Palliative Social Work: Have We Compromised Our Role on the Team?
- Theresa A. Altilio, LCSW, APHSW-C, ACSW (Zelda Faculty)
- Victoria Leff, MSW, LCSW, APHSW-C, (Leadership Mentor)
- Esther Hope Ammon, MSW, LCSW, APHSW-C (Leadership Fellow)
11:10 AM - 12:10 PM
Breakout Session 5
The Coalition for Social Work and Health: Leading Change, Amplifying Impact
- Shirley Otis-Green, MSW, MA, ACSW, LCSW, OSW-CE, FNAP, FAOSW (MSW and Leadership Mentor and Zelda Faculty)
Navigating Ethical Challenges in Palliative Care for Patients with Substance Use Histories and LVAD Decision-Making
- Lauren King, LMSW, APHSW-C (Leadership Fellow and Mentor)
- Benjamin Thompson, MD, FAAFP, FASAM
Identity Formation and Re-Formation Throughout the Profession
- Allie Shukraft, MSW, MAT, APHSW-C (Leadership Mentor)
1:10 PM - 2:45 PM
Breakout Session 6
Beyond the Bedside: Opportunities for Social Worker Growth in Leadership & Private Practice | Living Our Values: Advocacy and Growth in Leadership on a Hospice Board of Directors | From Outpatient Palliative Care and Beyond! Utilizing Palliative Care Social Work Skills in Private Practice
- Kimberly E. Giamportone, PhD, LMSW, (Leadership Fellow)
- Bonnie Herrmann, MSSW, LCSW, ACHP-SW
Training the Next Generation: Analyzing the Role of Palliative Care Social Work in Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Education
- Lauren LaTourette, LCSW, APHSW-C (Leadership Fellow)
- Kate Williams, MS
- Lauren King, LMSW, APHSW-C (Leadership Fellow and Mentor)
2:35 PM - 3:40 PM
Closing Session
Schwartz Rounds: Facing Uncertainty in the SocioPolitcal Climate
- Lori Eckel, LCSW, APHSW-C, HEC-C (Leadership Fellow and Mentor)
- Amy Drangines MSW, LCSW
- Chelsea Jeffers, LMSW