2024 NASW-MD Annual SW Professional Awards

2024 Social Work Professional Awards

Tisha Edwards, MSW, JD: Social Worker of the Year

Tisha Edwards, MSW, JD, serves as the Secretary of Appointments and a trusted advisor to Maryland Governor Wes Moore. Secretary Edwards was the principal architect behind the appointments for Governor Moore’s historically diverse Cabinet. Leading the Governor’s Appointments Office, she is responsible for amplifying the administration's impact across the state – through appointments to Maryland’s 600+ boards and commissions. With core principles of excellence and equity, Secretary Edwards plays a pivotal role in realizing Governor Moore's transformative vision to leave no Marylander behind.

Before joining state service, Secretary Edwards served as Chief of Staff for the Governor’s successful gubernatorial campaign and election as Maryland’s first African American governor. Secretary Edwards is recognized for her expertise in developing purpose-driven strategies that maximize outcomes for constituents and stakeholders. With a career spanning over 20 years, she has negotiated landmark contracts benefiting Baltimore City teachers, distributed vital eviction prevention aid during the COVID-19 crisis and chaired the committee to modernize Maryland's recruitment and hiring practices.

Secretary Edwards is a C-Suite executive with extensive leadership within the private, nonprofit and government sectors. Secretary Edwards earned her Master's of Social Work and J.D. from the University of Maryland. She is a sought-after thought leader and frequent speaker on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. She serves on the boards of the United Way of Central Maryland, Baltimore’s Promise, Mariposa Education, and the University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation. She is a dedicated mother to Nicholas and Nevan, and is a native of Meridian Mississippi.

Dr. Rosalind Griffin: Social Work Lifetime Achievement Award

Dr. Rosalind “Roz" Griffin's involvement with NASW began during her matriculation at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She has maintained her membership throughout her social work career. She has been an active member with the Maryland and National Chapters. Noteworthy, she has held chapter elected positions as a board member and vice president and ongoing member of the Ethics Committee including when the committee conducted hearings pertaining to members' alleged violation of the Code of Ethics. She spearheaded the chapter train the trainer ethics initiative to encourage workshop presenters to emphasize ethical principles and dilemmas during their presentations. Her tenacity on that focus may sometimes irritate potential presenters.

Her work with ethics has been extended to becoming a member of the national cadre of consultants to complainants and social work members when violations of the code are made. Other roles at the national level have entailed participation in the delegate assembly and chairing the now defunct certification examination committee.

Roz, along with the late Jacquie Fassett, advocated for passage of the social work licensure law which was unpopular among a number of Black social workers. The Black social workers argued that licensure would deter Black social workers from entering the profession resulting fewer services for Black clients. Her thinking was competency and fairly applied criteria for practice could co-exist. Her efforts were pivotal in the law's passage.

Later she was appointed the chapter's representative to the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners during its developmental years where she served from 1984 to 1990 holding the positions of secretary and chairperson. She contributed to writing the board's code of ethics, removing family members' ability to certify LCSW-C applicants' licensure, for example spouses and to encourage licensure of public service social workers.

Roz has sustained a career of high standards for herself for practice, knowledge acquisition and intervention, for her colleagues and students achievement. Her dedication to her students' excellence was first demonstrated when she was chastised by her supervisor from the Baltimore City Public Schools for informing parents their children were unable to read their 8t" grade science textbook. The supervisor told her to stop acting like a social worker and to keep the children quiet. This was not her role model but the parents and neighbors who were a part of the Great Migration of the 1940’s and 1950’s. They preached you get educated because that cannot be taken away from you.

Roz departed that position and passed the Baltimore City DSS examination and almost immediately was encouraged by social work mentors the late Dr. Nancy Bennett and Katherine Hollander to go to graduate school and to avoid being stuck performing a bureaucratic job. They urged her to employ her intelligence, hard work and advocacy for her clients in a conscious manner. Her co-workers sometimes thought she was showing off. She took their advice and embarked on graduate studies at the University of Maryland School of Social Work.

Years after graduating from UMAB she was recruited to become a faculty member specializing in substance use disorders, clinical practice and field instruction at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. A faculty member, Leonard Press, observed how she led a team organizing residents and staff to accomplish the goals of community mental health in southwest and west Baltimore and to lobby the Maryland Department of Mental Health when service abolishment was threatened. During her 20-year tenure, she was praised for teaching excellence and being aware of cultural competence before its popularity. Students knew she would stand up for them if their field setting was inadequate.

After resigning from UMAB School of Social work, she joined the Institutes of Behavioral Research in DC where she designed and administered an experimental comprehensive narcotic substance use treatment program comprised of individual and group counseling, methadone maintenance, vocational counseling and a child daycare center. The program was abolished as too expensive to operate.

Her professional focus became broad clinical private practice consultation. Psychosocial and social systems concepts help frame her thinking and interventions as she navigates telehealth during her semi- retirement. Explaining to clients and referral sources the differences between social media and ethical clinical practice is very challenging. She rejects cutting corners to meet number quotas. Roz earned her DSW from Howard University School of Social Work, MSW from University of Maryland School of Social Work and BS in Secondary Education Science from Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA.

Her other interests are a combination of volunteer and social action in the community and the arts. She is a member of Northwest Neighbors Connecting and the Mt. Washington Improvement Association's Diversity Committees, CAHI's One Park Heights Initiative and collaborates with Jews for Justice and the Maryland Lynching activities. She is enamored with the performing arts and museums, so she subscribes to Center Stage and BSO and attends a variety film and musical attractions to enhance her mental acuity.

Dr. Sharlene Allen-Milton: Social Work Educator of the Year

Dr. Sharlene Allen-Milton, LCSW-C, is a first-generation Caribbean-American and native of New York City. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work from Morgan State University, a Master of Clinical Social Work degree from Smith College, and a Doctor of Education degree in Human and Organizational Learning from George Washington University.

Currently, Dr. Allen-Milton is an Assistant Professor and the lead for the School Social Work area of specialization at the School of Social Work. She is also the author of "Honoring the WHOLE You: Everyday Work-Life Management Strategies for Professional Moms and Caregivers" and has contributed several scholarly peer-reviewed articles. Her research focuses on remote social work and mental wellness, with a particular emphasis on work-life management.

With over 20 years of experience as a clinical social worker, Dr. Allen-Milton brings extensive expertise in addressing social-emotional challenges. As an educator, Dr. Allen-Milton is dedicated to bridging theory and practice. She achieves this by incorporating case examples from her own career into her teaching, aiming to educate, equip, and empower students to become leaders in the social work field.

Outside of her professional life, Dr. Allen-Milton is married to Carl and is a mother to Ana. She enjoys engaging in conversations over tea or coffee.

Michele Beaulieu, LCSW-C: Community Achievement Award

Michele graduated with her MSW in 1988 from the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She worked for close to 30 years in direct practice - first with Native American and Latinx individuals in the southwest and then with urban families in Seattle before returning to Maryland where she continued to provide direct clinical service in the fields of intimate partner violence and women’s health in non-profit and healthcare settings. During these years she often served as a field instructor to MSW students, feeling it was important to give back and support new social workers.

Leaving direct practice in 2013, Michele was hired by the State Department of Health Maternal & Child Health Bureau to coordinate a statewide training project for reproductive health providers across Maryland on evidence supported screening for intimate partner violence and reproductive coercion called Project Connect. She then returned to her roots at the University of Maryland School of Social Work where currently, she is a Clinical Assistant Professor and where until recently she managed four integrated behavioral health workforce development fellowships. In addition to working with colleagues to secure competitive funding awards for behavioral health workforce development, Michele and team members developed and facilitated monthly seminars in evidence-supported social work practice for selected fellows as well as mentoring fellows in their final year of graduate work and as they launch careers in behavioral health. To date, these fellowships have supported close to 600 MSW students, providing additional training and financial support from $10,000 to $16,000 per academic year.

Ms. Beaulieu’s teaching experience includes a semester course on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and a one-credit course in Interprofessional Healthcare Delivery. Additionally, she co-developed and coordinated a one-credit interprofessional course on IPV across UMB’s professional schools, which led to the development of a massively open online course or MOOC entitled, “Intimate Partner Violence: Interprofessional Strategies for Prevention and Response”. Since 2021 over 1200 learners from 106 different countries have enrolled or audited the course.

In her community, she has served as a Board member for 11 years, 7 as Chairperson, of HopeWorks of Howard County, a local comprehensive intimate partner and sexual violence non-profit organization.

Michele feels extremely fortunate for the opportunities she has been given in social work: From honoring and bearing witness to the courage and resilience of individuals, to working alongside and developing friendships with amazing social workers, to supporting the growth while also learning from the next generation of social workers - it has been an awesome ride!

Katie Showers, LCSW-C: Social Work Therapist of the Year

Katie's passion for social work began while attending the University of Maryland, College Park to achieve her bachelor's degree in psychology.  After graduation, she soon realized that although Psychology was her first love, she wanted to explore a profession that allowed her to make a greater impact on children and their families.

Katie began volunteering in 2005 for the Montgomery County Victims Assistance Program and enjoyed the work. From there she went on to obtain a Master of Social Work degree in 2007. During her field education, she was able to gain valuable experience in Child and Family Services and Adult Behavioral Health Services with Montgomery County Government; and, after becoming licensed as a social worker in the state of Maryland, she sought out a career in providing clinical services to children and families.

Katie accepted a position with the Family Services Agency in 2007 (now Sheppard Pratt) and began her career working for the Linkages to Learning Program and the Gaithersburg Outpatient Mental Health Clinic, providing therapeutic services to children and adolescents.  Along with providing outpatient and school based mental health services, she also worked for the Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Program in Montgomery County, providing consultation services to help improve the social and emotional learning of preschool age children. During that journey, she completed her Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy training and later became nationally certified. After 9 years in this position, Katie moved into the new role of a Senior Clinical Supervisor and Quality Assurance Specialist to help teach and supervise incoming social work students and newly licensed social workers and to ensure that quality services were being provided to clients of the agency.

After four years as a Senior Clinical Supervisor, Katie transitioned to the position of Director of Clinical Services; and since 2020, she has led and supported the clinical needs of various programs within the Sheppard Pratt Families and Communities Division, including school based mental health programs, the domestic violence shelter, crisis and stabilization services, community-based mental health programs, drop-in centers, family preservation services, and adolescent recovery services in Montgomery County, Frederick County, Prince George's County, and Baltimore City. This past role encompassed the oversight of all supervision and documentation requirements within the service line, internship coordination for all programs, and training and education of mental health professionals within the division. Most recently, Katie has been promoted to the position of Division Director for School Based Mental Health Services within Sheppard Pratt and has been overseeing all public school-based services, including the newly awarded Consortium for Coordinated Community Support funding to help enhance school-based services within Prince George's County.

Lisa Scherer, LCSW-C: School Social Worker of the Year

Lisa Scherer completed her undergraduate studies at Goucher College earning a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She received a Master of Arts in Experimental Psychology from Towson University and a Master of Social Work degree, with an emphasis on families and children from the University of Maryland. Lisa is a Licensed Certified Social Worker/Clinical in Maryland and has worked for almost 25 years with children and young adults with developmental disabilities. Lisa serves as the head of the behavior support services department at a non-public school in Maryland. She has dedicated her entire career to this community and in this leadership role, she serves on the school’s leadership team as well as supervises a department of BCBAs and Behavior Support Specialists who support students to maximize their success in the educational setting.

Lisa is responsible for the PBIS program in her school and takes great pride in recognizing the effort made by staff and students to create a positive climate for learning within her community. Lisa values both clinical connections and data analysis, and her position has allowed her to creatively support students by using data driven decision making to improve student outcomes. Lisa also serves on the school safety committee which afforded her the opportunity to work on the "Maryland Task Force" for school safety where she supported the development of "Especially Safe", a teaching and training guide for an inclusive approach to safety preparedness in educational settings, produced by Safe and Sound Schools. Outside of her work at school, Lisa is a founding board member of Make Studio, a non-profit progressive community-based arts organization that offers an environment where adult artists with disabilities can pursue and maintain careers as artists. She is passionate about the work of this organization.

Sandra Shephard: Macro Social Worker of the Year

Sandra was born in El Salvador and has lived in the United States since she was ten. Like many immigrant families, Sandra has experienced family reunification and cultural assimilation as she learned to navigate the educational system. Sandra became independent as a teenager, working to provide for herself. Sandra is passionate about serving vulnerable communities, she is diligent in creating spaces for all to belong. She has overcome many barriers that did not define her but only helped to fuel her drive to fight for all to have access to opportunities and resources.

Sandra’s career started as an AmeriCorps Member at the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC), working with school-aged children. Since then, her journey in service to the community has been unwavering. Sandra has been committed to providing human services to youth and families in Washington, D.C., Montgomery, and Prince George's County for over 20 years. She has played a crucial role in developing and fundraising for programs that support the well-being of our youth and families through the creation of workforce opportunities, emergency housing, volunteer and educational programs, and after-school and summer programming for over 1,000 youth annually.

During the pandemic, Sandra was recognized statewide, particularly for her tireless efforts to help vulnerable populations, including immigrant, Latino/a, and LGBTQ communities, access to the COVID-19 vaccine, food, and financial assistance. She was the first Latina appointed At-Large Board Member for Prince George's County Public Schools. She strongly supported the innovative approach to school construction that resulted in the construction of six middle schools within three years. She also contributed to the passage of the Blueprint for Maryland Future and the Build to Learn Acts.

As the Director of Community Services and Programs for the City of Hyattsville, she oversees various programs that benefit over 22,000 City residents. Sandra has played a key role in developing programs for the City of Hyattsville to address the community's needs, including seniors, wellness referral programs, cultural activities, and grants that have annually benefited over 3,000 individuals. She has successfully re-established the Youth Advisory Council to ensure that the youth's voices are heard and represented. Additionally, she serves as the Vice President of the board for Community Crisis Services, Inc., and has advocated for 988 domestic violence clients. She also serves on an advisory task force to ensure equitable housing access for non-English speakers.

She holds a bachelor's degree in Social Work with a minor in Sociology from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a master's degree in Social Work with a specialization in Community Action and Policy from the University of Maryland at the Macro/Clinical level.