BRYN MAWR

Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research

Alumnae/i in the News

Amy Scheuren, MSS '05 Investing in Children's Education

The year she graduated, a desire to learn Spanish drew Amy Scheuren, M.S.S. ’05, to Guatemala. Centro de Estudios Pop Wuj, a Spanish language and social work/volunteer program, introduced Scheuren to several indigenous Mayan communities. She regularly volunteered at La Guarderia, which provides child care, after-school and pre-school programs in a rural Mayan village near Xela (Quetzaltenango). She then signed on to be the La Guarderia coordinator, as well as to create a youth development program in Llano del Pinal.

During her tenure as coordinator, Scheuren co-founded Jovenes Juntos, a curriculum component that arranged for basic health care and led field trips to the natural history museum and the library. Curriculum highlights included environmental education and participation in the reforestation/ greenhouse project, and a language conference which included K’iche’, a local native language. Soccer, dance, and Capoeira classes were only surpassed in popularity by the computer classes.

Scheuren is the new treasurer of the Foundation Todos Juntos (todos-juntos.org), which funds various social, medical, and educational projects in western Guatemala.

Jovenes Juntos write in their journals about their experiences following a tour of the Xela volunteer firefighters station, Xela, Guatemala.

Mariah Fenton Glais MSS '72 receives business award

Mariah Fenton Gladis MSS ’72 won an international Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in the 2006 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, at a March 2 awards ceremony at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor women executives, entrepreneurs, and the companies they run – worldwide.  The Stevie Awards have been hailed as “the business world’s own Oscars.”  (New York Post, April 27, 2005). Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word “crowned,” more than 165 nominated women executives and entrepreneurs from the U.S. and several other countries attended. Awards were presented in 27 categories including Best Entrepreneur, Best Executive, Lifetime Achievement, and Women Helping Women. The trophy was designed by R. S. Owens, the same company that makes the Oscar® and the Emmy.

Mariah Fenton Gladis, M.S.S., L.S.W., is the Founder and Clinical Director of the Pennsylvania Gestalt Center for Psychotherapy and Training. She has over 35 years experience as a psychotherapist and Gestalt Trainer.  Mariah, a 25-year survivor of Lou Gehrig’s Disease, carries a full caseload of weekly individual clients and 3 bi-weekly psychotherapy groups. She has trained hundreds of professionals in Gestalt therapy and conducted workshops throughout the United States, Europe, the West Indies and South America. She conducts four psychotherapy weekends a year locally, two ten-day workshops at Esalen Institute in California, and offers weekend and weeklong workshops and seminars in the U.S. and overseas.

Mariah Fenton Gladis was presented the Stevie by Carolyn Kepcher, CEO of the newly formed Carolyn and Co., an enterprise created for and by a career woman. Carolyn was formerly Executive Vice-President of the Trump Organization and is known for her role in the first four seasons of “The Apprentice.” In accepting the Stevie, Mariah said, "I’m honored to be recognized among a group of such remarkable women. We, as women leaders in the emerging global community, have the responsibility and the privilege of instilling both passion and compassion in the workplace and the world.”

posted 3/7/07

Doris and Carl Schnee honored by Delaware's "Children & Families First"

Doris Schnee MSS ’83 / MLSP ’84, and her husband Carl Schnee, Esq., will receive the J. Thompson Award for their efforts to strengthen family life in Delaware from Children & Families First on Saturday, March 3, 2007.  The gala, at Wilmington Country Club, will benefit the agency’s Child’s Play program, a professional traveling theater group for young audiences that performs stories written for children, transforming students' manuscripts into plays, songs and dances.

Doris Schnee, LCSW was the second social worker in the Delaware Department of Justice Victim Assistance Program. She assisted the prosecutor with interviewing child victims. Prior to the founding of the Children’s Advocacy Center, Doris advocated for joint investigations so that victims only had to tell their story once prior to a pending trial. She continues to be a wonderful role model for others, nurturing children and reassuring their parents. Her dedication has helped Deputy Attorneys General prosecute their cases because they had the support of the victims and their families.

Doris completed her Bachelors Degree at the University of Delaware and went on to receive a Master of Social Services and Master of Law and Social Policy from Bryn Mawr College while her own children were still at home.  Since 1980 she has focused her considerable skill and compassion on women and children who have been victims of rape. Doris has also been a professional trainer for Child Protective Services (now Division of Family Services), Contact Delaware, and the University of Delaware. For sixteen years she had a private psychotherapeutic practice with couples and adults. Doris worked on a variety of articles about sexual abuse, served on professional committees and received awards including the State of Delaware Award for Excellence and Commitment in State Service. She has served on the Boards of SOAR and Planned Parenthood, but maintains her focus on client services.

Carl Schnee, Esq. is with the Wilmington law office of Bifferato, Gentilotti, Biden and Balick where he specializes in alternative dispute resolution and consultation. Mr. Schnee has been a member of the Delaware Bar since1962 and served as U.S. Attorney for Delaware from1999-2001. Prior to his appointment as U.S. Attorney, Carl was a partner with the law firm of Prickett, Jones, Elliot, Kristol & Schnee for 18 years where he practiced general litigation, personal injury, professional malpractice and criminal law. After leaving the U.S. Attorney Office, he joined the Wilmington office of Duane Morris until January 2003.

Carl received his BA degree from Muhlenberg College and his law degree from Villanova University School of Law. In 2000, he received a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from the University of Delaware.

His long-term involvement in the community reflects his determination to promote justice through effective policy and leadership. Carl has served as Chair of the: Delaware Criminal Justice Council, Delaware Art Museum, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Delaware, Inc., the New Castle County Juvenile Detention Center Committee and the Wilmington Youth Rowing Association among others. He currently serves as Board Chair of the YMCA Resource Center and Co-Convener of the Delaware Children’s Campaign, which will raise awareness of the needs of youth in the juvenile justice system.

He is a recipient of the Outstanding Service Award in Criminal Justice from the Delaware Council on Crime and Justice, Inc. (1987), the Herbert Harley Award from the American Judicature Society (1992) and most recently, the 18th Annual Gerald K. Kandler Memorial Award from the American Civil Liberties Foundation of Delaware.

These two wonderful advocates for children are the proud parents of two sons and one daughter.

Children & Families First (www.cffde.org) is a private, non-profit social service agency in Wilmington, Delaware that strengthens families and communities by providing quality social, educational and mental health services. It was formed with the merger of four long-standing organizations:

• The Children's Bureau of Delaware
• Family Service Delaware
• Turnabout Counseling and Community Services
• The Perinatal Association of Delaware.

Additional information about the March 3 gala is available at http://www.cffde.org/ .

Hurricane Rita: A personal story 

  Luci Tony Gutman, MSS '63 shares her experiences during and after Hurricane Rita in 2005.

Shapiro receives Maud Booth Correctional Services Award

Carol Shapiro, MSS '78, Executive Director of Family Justice in New York City, received the 2006 Maud Booth Correctional Services Award from Volunteers of America in recognition of her organization's work in addressing reentry of incarcerated individuals into society.  This prestigious award is named for one of America's pioneer prison reformers, Maud Booth, and is given to a professional who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the field of Corrections. The award was presented on August 14, 2006 at the American Correctional Association's Congress of Correction in Charlotte , NC .

Family Justice draws on the unique strengths of families and neighborhoods to break cycles of involvement with the criminal justice system.  In pursuing this mission, Family Justice assists government and communities by providing direct services, testing new methodology that promotes change, delivering training and consulting to encourage use of its methods, and serving as a resource for both the criminal justice field and the general public. A critical element of Family Justice is the direct service storefront, La Bodega de la Familia , which in conjunction with its work nationally, enables the organization to inspire and refine its family case management method, the Bodega Model , for national, state and local applications.

Liz Werthan MSS '73 honored by S.O.W.N.

Liz Werthan, a 1973 MSS graduate and member of the School's Board of Advisors, was honored on May 31, 2006 by the Supportive Older Women's Network (SOWN) with the inaugural Lois R. Fogg Memorial Award. Over 150 friends and supporters of SOWN gathered at PNC Bank's Philadelphia headquarters for a reception, silent auction, and the Fogg Award ceremony.

In presenting the award, event co-chair Susan Jaffe described how for more than three decades, Liz has dedicated herself to improving the lives of women and their families. Her efforts have benefited countless women in the Delaware Valley . Liz served as the Executive Director of CHOICE, worked on the staff of Congressman Chaka Fattah, and provided support to a number of political campaigns locally and statewide. Today, Liz continues to fight for the rights of women by advocating for an increase in state funding to enable uninsured women to receive cervical cancer screening and treatment.

SOWN's Executive Director, Merle Drake MSS '82, noted the strong presence of the GSSWSR at the reception and described how her vision for SOWN grew and took form when she was a student in the MSS management track. The organizing committee for the event, along with SOWN's Board and staff, included a number of GSSWSR graduates, and they were joined at the reception by many other alumnae/i and the School's Co-Deans to celebrate SOWN's record of excellence and to honor Liz.

Susan Jaffe, the event co-chair, Honoree Liz Werthan, and Merle Drake , Executive Director of SOWN

SOWN was founded in 1982, and is dedicated to helping women over the age of sixty cope with the complex issues associated with aging. As a leading provider of support group services for older women in the Greater Philadelphia area, SOWN offers communities and social service providers extensive expertise in establishing and maintaining support groups. They also offer consultation services, training programs, and workshops tailored to address specific concerns of older women, their families, and the professionals who serve them.

Article: The Ruth W. Mayden Scholars

Created by her friends and colleagues to honor former Dean Ruth W. Mayden, MSS '70, the Mayden Scholarship is now three years old and has graduated its first scholar.

Nina Huizinga, MSS '90, MLSP '91 was one of the many voices belonging to a group of women at a protest in Philadelphia organized by Philadelphia Grannies for Peace, an offshoot of the nonprofit Grandmothers for Peace International, which sought to involved older women in political activism since the early '80s. Grannies for Peace trademark is its consistent attempt to enlist its members in the military. Nina was among the 11 grannies who attempted to enlist.

A Remembrance of Sister Mary Phyllis McCarthy

               by her friend, William W. Vosburgh, PhD