alumni

Alumni in Action: Laura Abrams (MSW '92/PhD '00)

Laura Abrams (MSW '92, PhD '00) takes an intimate look at the juvenile corrections system in her book Compasionate Confinement

Berkeley Social Welfare alumna Laura Abrams (MSW ’92, PHD ’00) currently serves as an associate professor and doctoral program chair of social welfare at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. She has a long-standing interest in incarcerated youth and identity formations and transitions among young adults with histories of incarceration. Her research interests are reflected in her latest publication, Compassionate Confinement: A...

Alumni in Action: Xiulan Zhang (PhD '99)

Xiulan Zhang (PhD '99) focuses on social services policy in China

Xiulan Zhang

Dean and Professor Xiulan Zhang recalls the support she found as the first PhD student at the School of Social Welfare from mainland China. “Even with the language barrier, I felt a lot of support from both students and faculty. I also enjoyed the class discussions and individual studies we engaged in at the School,” says Zhang, now a...

Alumni in Action: David Kears (MSW '70)

David KearsDavid Kears (MSW ’70), who has been serving as the Special Assistant to the County Administrator for Alameda County since his official retirement from the government office in 2009, compares the healthcare system to the old Johnny Cash song, “One Piece at a Time.”

“It was about a person who wanted a Cadillac but couldn’t afford it, so he...

Alumni in Action: Fernando Cheung (PhD '91)

Fernando CheungFrom Immigrants' Rights in Oakland to Pro-Democratic Protests in Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution, Fernando Cheung (PhD '91) Champions Justice

Fernando Cheung earned his doctoral degree at Berkeley Social Welfare in 1991 while serving as the executive director of the Oakland Chinese Community Council. His advocacy work on behalf of immigrant communities was so...

Begonia Herbert-Ramirez: Finding a Home in Haviland Hall

May 24, 2019

Begonia Herbert RamirezThe journey to success is rarely a smooth and linear path. For UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare undergraduate Begonia Herbert-Ramirez, the path to becoming a University Medal nominee with a 4.0 GPA was particularly trying. Through the ups and downs, however, were two things that kept her going.

The first was her intellectual curiosity. "...