Sara Frohman (Class of 2015)
In the spring of 2016, Sara Frohman (class of 2015) was offered a position with Edmarc Hospice for Children as their Bereavement Program Director. Edmarc provides home health care, hospice, and social work services to children and families in the Hampton Roads area in Virginia.
As the Bereavement Program Director, Sara will provide counseling support to Edmarc families, organize and facilitate bereavement groups, and plan Edmarc’s annual summer camp, Camp M.A.G.I.C. One of the largest programs she will be involved in is the “Peace by Piece” bereavement group. This group is open to Edmarc families, as well as families within the community in which a child has experienced a significant loss.
Nicole Hughes (Class of 2015)
Three weeks after transitioning home after graduation, Nicole Hughes was offered a job at DAWN (Domestic Abuse Women’s Network) in Tukwila, Washington. Nicole works in the Community Advocacy Program (CAP), which offers a wide range of comprehensive services such as legal advocacy, immigration advocacy, community/mobile outreach, support groups, and therapy. Nicole serves on the Children’s Domestic Violence Response team in collaboration with Sound Mental Health and the YWCA. Together they provide wraparound services formed to help survivors and their children.
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In addition, Nicole is very excited to be accepted to the Peace Corps and will be serving as a Youth Development Volunteer in Swaziland beginning July 2016. The youth development team supports and enhances existing educational and support centers in Swaziland. Nicole will receive training and be assigned to a community, school or community-based organization where she will have the opportunity to improve extracurricular activities at the site to support comprehensive development for young people there.
The education system is one of Swaziland’s most important institutions, providing a protective cover for youth, who may receive their first information about HIV/AIDS, life skills or reproductive health, or one of their main meals through the food programs of these institutions. The education system also provides youth with the potential to reach their academic, vocational, and occupational goals.
The Peace Corps was established in 1961 to promote world peace and friendship through the service of American Volunteers abroad. Over the past 50 years, more than 215,000 Americans have furthered these goals through Peace Corps service in 139 countries around the world.
For more information, visit
PeaceCorps.gov.
Deanna Filkins (Class of 2010)
Deanna is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and an experienced and passionate clinician whose work includes building resiliency in at-risk youth and their families; she has been working in the community mental health field for the past seven years.
In addition, she has knowledge in collaborating with various school systems to expand mental health awareness and interventions, especially within the population of high school youth. Deanna was a contributing author to the recently published Interconnected Systems Framework Monograph:
Advancing Education Awareness: Interconnecting School Mental Health and School-Wide Positive Behavior Support and has spoken at several state and national conferences regarding the importance of her high school group work within the PBIS framework.
In 2015, she became the new executive director at Glen Ellyn Youth and Family Counseling Services. The primary mission of the agency is to promote the mental health and well-being of youth, families, and the larger Glen Ellyn community through the provision of professional counseling services and community based support and education. Deanna is committed to serving the larger Glen Ellyn community with creativity and passion to empower and strengthen youth and their families.
(Adapted from
ChicagoTribune.com.)
Dan Hula (Class of 2010)
Since graduating from the MSW program, Dan has used his knowledge and skills towards improving social justice issues he is concerned, among them homelessness in Chicago. After graduation, Dan worked as the Director of the Elam Davies Social Service Center, a nonprofit born from Fourth Presbyterian Church. During that time, he led a strategic transformation of the agency from a focus on emergency food and clothing assistance to a long-term, case management based model.
He is currently the new Executive Director of the Lincoln Park Community Shelter, an organization at which Dan Interned during his time in the DePaul MSW Program. LPCS consists of a dedicated staff, volunteers, and community partners committed to combat homelessness in Chicago. Dan’s goal is to fulfill the agency mission of bringing communities together to empower homeless men and women to make and sustain life changes.
On the subject of the program at DePaul, Dan adds: “My experience in the DePaul MSW program provided me not only the experience, but the confidence to succeed as a social worker. DePaul’s MSW Program was very empowering for its students and gave us a voice in our learning experience which was invaluable. My field placements (which were coordinated by DePaul) were unique, challenging, and inspiring.”
More details of Dan’s new position and LPCS
are available here.
Look for more alumni stories here soon.
Alumni Surveys
The MSW Program completed a survey of current alumni in November 2016. A summary of the results, which gives information on employment sectors and salary levels, is available here:
MSW Program Alumni Survey Summary
We hope to post the most recent alumni survey results soon.