PRACTITIONERS NEAR AND FAR
Powers of concentration
Director of Macro Initiatives, Kimberly Compton, Ph.D., is helping translate alumni’s passion and energy for macro practice into the development of future practitioners. Five graduates formed the backbone of the first Macro Fellows cohort, providing strategy for the school’s macro focus and serving as a resource for students. Other initiatives:
- Macro Coffee Chat, generating interest in the macro track by learning from current students and alumni about their experiences in the classroom and in field
- Macro Scholars Symposium featuring sessions with faculty from Hunter College's school of social work
- Careers in Macro, featuring three alumni macro practitioners and M. Alex Wagaman, Ph.D., associate professor, for discussion and Q&A
Kimberly Compton, Ph.D.
Dr. Compton is director of Macro Initiatives and an assistant professor in the VCU School of Social Work. Her work focuses on advancing macro social work through innovative teaching, community building and initiatives such as the Macro Fellowship and Macro Symposium.
Cassie DeSena-Jacobs, D.S.W.
Dr. DeSena-Jacobs is direct or Mental Health Initiatives and an assistant professor in the VCU School of Social Work. She is a clinical social worker whose expertise focuses on working with individuals who have experienced trauma, in particular sexual trauma and trauma in the family of origin, polyvagal work and neurobiology.
Putting on a clinic
Figuratively speaking, it was that kind of year for Cassie DeSena-Jacobs, D.S.W., LCSW, as she managed a host of events and opportunities for students and the broader community through the school’s Mental Health Initiative:
- Launching a new graduate certificate in mental health and an undergraduate minor in mental health
- Collaborating on a design thinking workshop with VCU’s da Vinci Center focused on how social workers can better collaborate and problem-solve for mental health challenges
- Offering multiple clinical skills labs for B.S.W. and M.S.W. students, leveraging the expertise of full-time and adjunct faculty
- Introducing a new mental health professional speaker series for students
- Leading continuing education opportunities focused on serious mental illness and training sessions for professionals who want to provide clinical supervision for social workers seeking their LCSW
Black & golden globe
Spin the globe, and you’re likely to find a VCU connection through the school’s International Social Work Collaboratory. Under the leadership of Denise Burnette, Ph.D., Wurtzel Endowed Chair for Social Work, the school has memoranda of understanding with colleagues in Australia, Ghana, India, Liberia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Portugal, South Africa and South Korea.
Those partnerships include:
- 3 study abroad programs (Ghana, India, South Africa), with plans to expand to South Korea and Portugal in 2026
- 4 semester-long block field placements in India and Malaysia
- Visiting scholars from South Korea (2025) and Australia (2026)
- Visiting speakers from Mongolia and India
- Research endeavors on end-of-life care (Australia), evaluation of a youth soccer program (India), rural health and development (India), artificial intelligence and education (Liberia), health care for immigrants and refugees (Malaysia), and disabilities (Mongolia)
Building a legacy in Ghana
Brick by brick, social work faculty and students constructed a school in the remote village of Adoteiman in the early 2000s. Two decades later, Grace Life International community school honored former faculty Randi Buerlein and the late Bob Peay.
“For me, I think the partnership between VCU and this amazing school in rural Africa is just a true honor and a testament to the possibilities that can happen when different people share a common dream and work together to make it happen,” says Buerlein, who retired in 2005.
Elevating evaluation
Launched in 2025, the school’s Evaluation Lab provides research and evaluation services to field agencies and community partners as well as nonprofit organizations, government agencies and other behavioral health-related organizations. The team includes Dean Gary Cuddeback; Rebecca Smith, Ph.D., director of analysis and evaluation; and Amy Adkins, Ph.D., director of communications and training.
Services include:
- Program evaluation
- Survey development and administration
- Grant writing
- Data analysis
- Research dissemination
Rebecca Smith, Ph.D.
Dr. Smith, the Evaluation Lab's director of analysis & evaluation, is a research instructor in the VCU School of Social Work. She is also director of undergraduate research for VCU's Institute for Research on Behavioral and Emotional Health.
Amy Adkins, Ph.D.
Dr. Adkins, the Evaluation Lab's director of communications and training, is a scientific writer in the VCU School of Social Work. She is also assistant director of undergraduate research for VCU's Institute for Research on Behavioral and Emotional Health.
