Greetings AOSW Members! It is a great pleasure to showcase the following AOSW members and their accomplishments. Please take a moment to recognize these wonderful oncology social workers who have been awarded, honored, published, licensed and certified in their endeavors.
- Brie Bernhardt, MSW, LSW (New Jersey), recently authored Making It Mine: Stories of Teens Who Found Themselves in Their Parents’ Cancer. This book was published in partnership with the families of the Saint Agnes Cancer Institute and oncology social worker, Jennifer Broaddus, LCSW-C, OSW-C (Maryland). It is available on Amazon and any proceeds are used to fund support programming at Saint Agnes.
- Marsha Clarke, LCSW (New York), recently joined AOSW’s Membership Committee and led the development of AOSW’s first policy on Diversity & Inclusion.
- Jennifer Dimick, LISW-S, OSW-C (Ohio), was chosen to be the first social worker on the National Conference Program Committee for AVAHO—Association of VA Hematology/Oncology. Jennifer will remain on the committee for 2018 and advocate for psychosocial sessions as an ongoing offering at annual conferences.
- Katherine Easton, LCSW, OSW-C (Georgia), has been elected President of the Georgia Social Work Oncology Group’s Board of Directors.
- K. Siobhan Gibson, MSW (California), facilitated disaster relief and planning as Santa Rosa Hospital was evacuated for three weeks during the Tubbs/Sonoma County wildfire in October 2017. Siobhan is also the educator for cannabis use in her department; she has given several presentations within the hospital, to local government officials and numerous survivorship events.
- Diane Haley, LCSW, OSW-C (New Jersey), and Lisa Picciuti, LCSW, OSW-C, CTTS (New Jersey), recently completed training in Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Cancer Care Providers offered through Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
- Laura Karfeld, LCSW, OSW-C, ACHP-SW (Georgia), has been elected Secretary of the Georgia Social Work Oncology Group’s Board of Directors.
- Catherine Lindner, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C (Florida), recently completed a year-long certification in Sexuality Therapy and Sexuality Education at the University of Michigan School of Social Work.
- Bryan Miller, LCSW, OSW-C (Georgia), has been promoted to Director of Psychosocial Support Services at Atlanta Cancer Care, which is affiliated with Northside Hospital Cancer Institute.
- Lori A. McKown, MSW, LSW (Pennsylvania), gave a patient the dream of a lifetime by helping give a couple their “Dream Wedding.” The story will be covered by Pittsburgh local news and the New York Times.
I hope these achievements inspire and encourage you to nominate more AOSW members for the next kudos column. I look forward to highlighting their achievements!