Class Notes

Marian Roffman, MSW ’71, BSW ’69, retired after working 45 years in gerontology and mental health. She enjoys throwing pots, crafting and spending time with her grandchildren in Fair Lawn, N.J.

Sandra A. Austin, MSW ’72, BSW ’70, retired from Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD., as an associate professor in the School of Social Work.

Myra Green, MSW ’75, worked in social work for over 30 years and is now a self-employed fitness instructor and studio owner in Woburn, Mass.

Jesse Grossman, MSW ’75, is retired and volunteering with the New York State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program in Buffalo.

Dennis Sajdak, MSW ’77, has been retired for 10 years and lives in Arizona following a rewarding career in health care, in which he worked to improve patient care while advancing from volunteer positions to the C-suite.

Ellen Fink-Samnick, MSW ’83, was inducted as a 2023 Case Management Fellow by the Case Management Society of America. She is the first social worker to receive this prestigious acknowledgment.

Mary Kay Diakite, MSW ’96, coordinates the Student Assistance Program at SUNY Corning Community College, a partnership with Clinical Associates of the Southern Tier that provides free short-term mental health counseling to students and their families.

Elizabeth R. Wright, JD/MSW ’97, is associate vice president for academic relations at Daemen University in Buffalo, focusing on creating new academic partnerships and risk management.

Roberta M. Bruni, MSW ’00, was promoted to executive director at Tranquil Shores in Madeira Beach, Fla.

Laurie M. Belanger, MSW ’01, is a trauma therapist in private practice, specializing in complex developmental trauma, as well as a keynote speaker and trauma educator who provides workshops and consultation services for mental health providers in East Amherst, N.Y.

Jolie R. Giardino, MSW ’01, is in private practice with Family Counseling Associates in Tonawanda, N.Y.

Carolyn Hilarski, PhD ’01, MSW ’93, professor emeritus at SUNY Buffalo State University, presented on “The Status of the Field Education Director’s Position in Academia: Time for Courageous Action,” at the New York State Social Work Education Association’s annual conference in 2023.

Yvonne James-Corley, MSW ’01, BSW ’75, retired in 2016 from the City of Buffalo as director of substance abuse. She came out of retirement in 2020 to work with New York State’s Project Hope through the Urban League, counseling people struggling with COVID, mental health and addiction for two more years.

Nancy Deborah Chu, MSW ’02, is a juvenile division probation officer investigator with Erie County Probation Department in Buffalo.

Kelly Dumas, MSW ’03, chief operating officer of BestSelf, volunteers as executive director at the Healing Hub of WNY in Buffalo.

Jennifer Strackick, MSW ’03, is a doctoral student expecting to graduate in 2024 and has been the executive director at ALPHA House of Pinellas County for 17 years in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Jennifer Anderson-Judkins, BA/MSW ’04, was promoted to federal revenue program manager at the District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency in Washington, D.C.

Kristin L. Dust, MSW ’04, is director of training and development at McKinley Children’s Center in San Dimas, Calif.

Monica Reeves, MSW ’04, is a licensed clinical social worker at Suburban Psychiatric Associates in Amherst, N.Y.

Amber Ash, MSW ’05, is a pediatric social worker at Hospice of the Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio. Ash co-chairs the agency’s trauma-informed care committee and recently presented for the Hospice Foundation of America on trauma-informed care at the end of life.

Katherine Courtney, JD/MSW ’06, is the 2024 recipient of the Crennel-Branch Award presented by the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys, of which she’s a member and past president. The award honors a member's untiring and exemplary dedication to the organization.

Stacie Arnts, MSW ’08, is a social work care manager at Great Lakes Integrated Network in Buffalo.

Heidi Raynor, MSW ’08, is a licensed medical social worker at Chautauqua Hospice and Palliative Care in New York. Additionally, she started her own business, H & H Publishing and Crafts.

Jennifer R. Dunning, MSW ’09, is the deputy director of government relations for the New York State Department of State in Buffalo.

Elaine S. Rinfrette, PhD ’10, retired in 2022 and is a docent at the Buffalo Zoo, volunteer for Hearts and Hands and division director for the NASW-NYS Western Division.

Caryn Domzalski, MSW ’10, was promoted to director of clinical services at Berkshire Farm Center & Services for Youth, overseeing the behavioral health clinical program for the western and southern regions of New York State.

JoAnna S. Stergion, MSW ’10, is a psychiatric forensic social worker at Tompkins County Mental Health Clinic in Ithaca, N.Y.

Shirley L. Wright, MSW ’11, is a behavioral health therapist and clinical supervisor at Oak Orchard Health in Perry, N.Y., and runs a part-time private practice specializing in trauma and couples therapy.

Bradley Hamm, MSW ’14, opened his own therapy practice, A Peace of My Mind, in Snyder, N.Y., and works with adults focusing on depression, anxiety, trauma, grief and loss, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues.

Benjamin P. Hilligas, MSW ’14, was named executive director of the University at Buffalo’s Educational Opportunity Center.

Chelsea Manning, MSW ’14, is a school social worker at Greece Central School District in Greece, N.Y.

Ashley Petito, MSW ’14, opened her own private practice in Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.

Rebecca Aliseo-Arras, PhD ’16, MSW ’08, was promoted to associate professor at SUNY Empire State University and is the academic coordinator for the Department of Child & Family Studies in the School of Human Services.

Dawn St. John, MSW ’16, is a medical social worker at Guthrie Cortland Medical Center in New York.

Sara Alpert, MSW ’17, is the director of strategic initiatives at Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison in New York.

Miranda Hirschman, MSW ’17, is a school social worker at Gowanda Central School District in New York.

Rebecca Wedgewood, MSW ’17, LMSW, is the director of behavioral health services at His Branches Inc., a primary care clinic in Rochester, N.Y.

Wayne N. Brown, MSW ’18, opened a new behavioral health group therapy practice, Willow Grove Counseling, to provide the Buffalo community with high-quality mental health care and group therapy services.

Jola Dzierzynska, MSW ’18, is a psychiatric social worker for Erie County Medical Center’s Partial Hospitalization Program in Buffalo.

Michelle V. Scott, MSW ’18, is the contact center operations manager at 211 WNY in Buffalo. Additionally, she is a member of Buffalo’s Clean Sweep program, WNY Coalition for the Homeless and the Cattaraugus Housing Consortium.

Erin Bascug, MSW ’19, a PhD candidate in the UB School of Social Work, joined Harmonia Collaborative Care in Hamburg, N.Y., as a mental health counselor. She specializes in trauma-informed care and is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Seeking Safety, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Koru Mindfulness approaches.

Madison Thie, MSW ’19, is an RTF mental health therapist at Child and Family Services in Buffalo and a Doctor of Social Work student in the UB School of Social Work.

Jenna Rouse, MSW ’20, is a hospital social worker at Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo.

Barbara “Bobbi” Hjelmhaug, MSW ’21, is a Wake County public school social worker and a district court liaison in North Carolina.

Cameron McLeod, MSW ’21, is a social worker at the Pines Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Machias, N.Y.

Carlisle Pinter, MSW ’21, is a mental health therapist at KidStuff Counseling in Loveland, Colo.

Richard J. Planavsky, MSW ’21, is a probation officer at Erie County Probation Department in Buffalo.

Laurie A. Ackles, DSW ’22, MSW ’06, is executive director at Washington Neurodiversity Project in Seattle, Wash., a foundation that focuses on improving employment outcomes for autistic and neurodivergent individuals.

Michelle Fortunado-Kewin, DSW ’22, was accepted into the School Crisis Recovery and Renewal Project’s inaugural Leadership Fellowship. It is an 8-month program that provides intensive training, coaching and peer consultation to school crisis leaders nationwide committed to recovery and renewal.

Elizabeth D. Quinlan, MSW ’22, is a health steps specialist at Jericho Road Community Health Center in Buffalo.

Alicia Christine Scott, MSW ’22, is a mental health clinician at Gateway-Longview in Buffalo.

Josal Diebold, PhD ’23, MSW ’18, is an assistant professor of social work at SUNY Fredonia in Fredonia, N.Y.

Melissa Tanner, MSW ’23, is a school social worker at Tonawanda Middle School in Tonawanda, N.Y., a position she earned after completing her field placement at an elementary school in the district.

Leysha E. Velez, MSW ’23, is a mental health clinician at Gateway Longview in Buffalo.