What is your background?

I have a Master’s degree in social work. I worked nine years at McNabb Center, a regional mental health agency. I worked in staff training for three years and on the compliance and quality team for six years. I have worked at the UT College of Social Work since 2016. I serve on the board of the Mental Health Association of East Tennessee and on the Maryville College Alumni Associates Board.

What is your role in OCEP?

I serve in a community outreach capacity, predominantly for the College of Social Work, but overlapping the efforts for the College of Education whenever possible.

What is your community outreach interest?

The Clifton Strengths Assessment lists “input” as one of my top strengths. In my understanding, “input” is where one gathers information and stores it away and later connects the dots to hopefully make an impact. That’s my community outreach interest – finding the connections between needs and resources. I’m also very passionate about social justice. As a Maryville College alum, I am called to “do good on the largest possible scale.” And that is very important to me!

What is your why?

I often joke that I aim to be the Robin Hood of this college, but it’s partly true. I want to leverage the resources of the university for the good of our entire community. Along the way, I want to make sure that our interactions are mutually beneficial. It’s very important to me that our community partners see the benefit of their partnership with us.