ALUMNI-DONOR EXCELLENCE
Leading with VCU pride
Renata Hedrington-Jones (M.S.W.’87), president of the National Association of Black Social Workers, can’t stop praising her alma mater. Especially when her organization’s national conference came to her hometown of Richmond.
“I was absolutely ecstatic – I was so happy that we were here,” she says of the April event that drew 700+ attendees to RVA. It’s no surprise to colleagues and friends who know her well.
“I always talk about my school, my alma mater. And so one of the girls said, ‘Damn, we have to hear about you and that VCU for another whole year?’ And I said, ‘Yes, you’re going to hear it. You’re going to hear everything I have to say about VCU.’”
Top 10 + 5-star rating + Difference-maker
VCU Alumni Relations recognized two social work graduates in Fall 2024: Katelynn Jarrells (B.S.W.’16, M.S.W’17) as one of VCU’s 10 Under 10 Awards recipients and Viola Vaughan-Eden (Ph.D.’03) with the Alumni Stars Award. And the School of Social Work’s doctoral program honored David McLeod (Ph.D.’13) with its Making a Difference Alumni Award.
Katelynn Jarrells
Viola Vaughan-Eden
David McLeod
Jarrells is the program head and associate professor of human services and mental health at Brightpoint Community College: “My biggest motivation and passion is around social justice, and particularly racial justice.”
Vaughan-Eden is a professor and the Ph.D. program director in social work at Norfolk State University, as well as a longtime forensic and clinical social worker and trainer focused on upstream child abuse solutions: “This recognition from VCU represents a profound full-circle moment in my career.”
McLeod is director and professor of social work at the University of Oklahoma: “An honor like this feels, to me, as if my work lives up to the value of the gifts I was given by so many during my time at VCU.”
Fielding a winning team
The success of students’ field experiences relies in large part on the Office of Field Education’s extended team of partner agencies – and the instructors, task supervisors and liaisons who keep it all on track. OFE’s annual community partner awards in May honored the following for excellence:
- Kim Close-Jensen (M.S.W.’97), Fairfax County Public Schools: Outstanding New Field Instructor Award
- Brandon Foster, Virginia Wesleyan University: Outstanding Field Instructor Award
- Grace Dowdy (B.S.W.’21, M.S.W.’23), OAR of Richmond, Outstanding Task Supervisor Award
- Madison Woodroof (B.S.’14, M.S.W.’17), VCU Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success, Amy Rosenblum Field Instructor Award
- Glenda Blake, SSW adjunct faculty member, Field Liaison of the Year
- Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation, Outstanding Community Partner
Brandon Foster
Madison Woodroof
From left, Melissa Weaver; Becky Massey, advisory board chair; Judy Pearson, keynote speaker; and Robert A. Winn, M.D., Massey director.
'Massey saved my life'
Melissa Weaver (B.S.W.’99, M.S.W.’06) served as volunteer chair of the VCU Massey Comprehensive Care Center’s 30th Annual Women and Wellness Luncheon in February 2025, supporting an institution she says "saved my life" with treatments for breast cancer.
“The care I have received at Massey provided hope when I could not rise from bed," she told the Richmond Free Press. “Being a part of Women and Wellness has provided a way to use my voice to inspire others to continue to connect, educate, and advocate."
Macro passion, micro skills
Jackie B. Robinson Brock (B.S.W.’10; M.S.W.’12) has turned a fateful internship with VCU's Partnership for People with Disabilities into a full-time position and a leadership role with Virginia LEND (Leadership in Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities).
“My training as a social worker has allowed me to address oppressive systems and prevent folks from being victimized,” says Brock, who leads PPD's Early Childhood initiative as program specialist. “It has also allowed me to stay connected to the community so that the community and their needs drive the programs created.
“People are at the heart of social work, not only from a social justice lens but also in how we are trained to engage with people on a micro level. Relationships are key to all work, regardless of whether you work in the nonprofit or for-profit field. The skills in building relationships and empathy as part of the clinical and direct practice field of social work are something I pull on daily as a macro practitioner.”
On your mark, get set, mentor!
A March speed mentoring event for the School of Social Work connected mental health-focused alumni with students, who cycled through short sessions to meet and ask questions of the professionals. Nearly 30 alumni and students, almost evenly split, participated, laying the groundwork for strong student-alumni networks and future events.
Alumni mentors Rebekah Conrad (M.S.W.'25), left, and Emma Haberman (M.S.W.'25), right
Alumni mentor Tiffany Olds (M.S.W.'20)
Transformative policymaking
The school's annual Social Work, Policy and Politics event in March featured four alumni as panelists and moderator on the topic of "Futuring for Transformative Approaches to Policymaking in Richmond, Virginia."
- Moderator: Marc Cheatham (B.S.W.’05),director of constituent services and casework, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine
- Jackie Lawrence (M.S.W.’17, B.S.W.’16), CEO and founder, The Light Work
- Abbey Philips (M.S.W.’12), policy director, Legal Aid Justice Center
- Helen Rai (M.S.W.’17, B.S.W.’16), director of client engagement, ReEstablish Richmond; and program director, Circles RVA
New scholarship will support public mental health
Rosemary Farmer (Ph.D.'93) and her husband, David Farmer, Ph.D., have established a new scholarship for the school focused on public mental health. Rosemary is a former social work faculty member (1993-2014), and David was a longtime faculty member at the Wilder School.
“This is where we can equal the playing field for those with limited incomes,” she says. “Additionally, the M.S.W. Program uniquely provides social workers with the skills needed to work effectively with persons who struggle with serious mental illnesses and other psychosocial problems that make it difficult for them to live successfully in society.
“To me, social work is a core discipline; social workers bring an unusual blend of knowledge, human development, social policy and social justice. It is just a unique blend.”
More than 300 donors helped the school push past $1 million in donations for the academic year, including more than $27,000 for VCU Giving Day in April. Contributions like this helped us fund over 50 scholarships for social work students this past year.