Christopher Cassels (MSW ’94) on making connections and serving the disenfranchised through Child Welfare Services
Christopher Cassels uses a surfing analogy to describe working in the child welfare system.
“You have to have some talent to get out there in the waves,” says Cassels, who is the social services supervisor of Child Welfare Services for Solano County. “But there is also a spot on the wave where you can harness the power and not get clobbered. It is the same in child welfare work. You need to be adept, but you also need to position yourself to be effective.”
As a...
Loyalty Award 
For Aaron Cadore (MSW ’12), making an impact in the social-work field doesn’t necessarily mean following a single, pre-determined path. His interests in the profession lie precisely at the intersections of direct practice and administration, as well as the nonprofit and for-profit sectors.
Berkeley Social Welfare alumna Eve Ekman (MSW ’06, PhD ’14) describes her research as focusing on the application of “emotion regulation and basic mindfulness and meditation techniques” — techniques that she is currently teaching to both medical-resident trainees and the general public as...
Since he was seven years old, Ronald D. Maloney (MSW ’80) has been aware of social services and the role of social workers.
When Javier de Paz (BA '12) moved to the United States at the age of 13, he had very limited knowledge of the English language, and – even more challenging – was separated from his mother, who stayed behind in their native El Salvador. Joining his father, who had arrived stateside before him, de...
Julie Miller (MSW '12) first decided to enter the field of social work to help improve the quality of life for vulnerable individuals by linking them with resources, services and opportunities as well as to promote social justice through advocacy and community organization. She also retains...
