Alumni Profiles

Roxana Sobie Tetenbaum, MSW, '06

Geriatric Mental Health Social Worker

Roxana is a mental health social worker at Henry Street Settlement Supportive Services for Seniors, working with the Hispanic elderly. She assists seniors across a range of issues, from housing and social isolation to navigating new Medicaid rules. "The most rewarding aspects are the appreciative words I receive every day from my clients when I get to offer advice and counsel about their pressing problems," she said. "It is extremely gratifying to observe that my recommendations and actions result in real benefits." Roxana credits her education at NYU with giving her the training that made her success possible: "The classroom and the internship programs provided the key foundation for my current work. Once we succeed in providing assistance - even small things - the closed door opens, and we can do wonderful, helpful things for our clients and improve their lives."

Rick Steinhaus, MSW, '06

Social Worker, Adult Caregiver Support

Rick is a social worker at the Mount Sinai Care Givers Resource Center, helping to provide services, support, respite, education, and counseling to caregivers of people 18 years or older in upper Manhattan. Rick's interest in social work was inspired by the desire to make a difference in the wake of 9/11, combined with his personal life experiences. He is enthusiastic about his work: "What could possibly be better than advocating and being proactive for people who are overwhelmed by the system?" He looks back on his education at NYU for present-day insights: "I can reflect upon certain courses and professors I had at NYU.when I reach a fork in the road, I try to recall what they may have encouraged me to do." In addition to his social work career, Rick has been a successful disc jockey and stage performer in NYC.

Jasmine Thomas, MSW '06

Program Officer, New York Community Trust

Jasmine Thomas is a Program Officer at The New York Community Trust. Her responsibilities include crafting and funding grants to non-profit organizations in areas of HIV/AIDS, local environment, Native Americans, Appalachia, and the Gulf Coast. She describes working in philanthropy as "a dream come true," adding, "One of the most rewarding aspects of my position is the ability to provide grant support to organizations that serve the needs of underserved, often disenfranchised clients. I get to see how philanthropy makes a positive impact on complex social issues." Although her job is not typical of most MSWs, Jasmine states, "I am still a social worker even if I do not provide direct services. I'm more than content with the fact that my job is to enable and support my peers/colleagues in organizing communities." Jasmine was raised in the Maryland suburbs, and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland.

Amber Kline, MSW '06

Psychiatric Social Worker

Amber Kline is a psychiatric social worker at the Capitol District Psychiatric Center in Albany, NY. Amber is part of a team (including a psychiatrist and a nurse) that provides comprehensive evaluations of patients brought into the facility, to determine whether the patient is in need of hospitalization or can be released with a referral for follow-up care. In this position, she works with a wide range of patients "across the socioeconomic spectrum," she notes, including children and the homeless mentally ill. Right after graduating NYU, she was a crisis worker at the Albany County Children's Mental Health Center. "I always knew that I wanted to go into social work," she said, "and I knew I wanted to be in a clinical program in Manhattan. NYU was a perfect match."

Nathan Thomas, LMSW, MSW '06

Coordinator, GLBT Youth in Foster Care

Nathan Thomas, originally from Los Gatos, California, is the Independent Living Skills Coordinator for Green Chimneys Children's Services at the Gramercy Residence in Manhattan. He works with gay, bisexual, and transgender youth in foster care, one of only a handful of programs nationally that works specifically with this foster care population. According to Nathan, "The most rewarding aspect of this job is most definitely the youth that I have the opportunity to work with on a day-to-day basis." He notes that his NYU education has helped him "become a much stronger social worker with regards to clinical skills. I have noticed that NYU graduates that I work with in the field generally have a strong clinical sense and better self-awareness." Why did he choose social work? "Ever since I was a very young child I have had a deep appreciation for human behavior, and I never grew out of that."

Drena Fagen, MSW, '06

Counselor and Art Therapist

Drena Fagen grew up in Florida, studied graphic design, and had a career in advertising in Los Angeles . until a solo journey around the world changed her perspective, becoming "the catalyst for a career change." After earning a masters degree in Art Therapy, she became increasingly interested in the clinical aspect of her work. She enrolled in NYU and earned her MSW. Currently, she puts her social work training to use in several capacities: she works at a clinic with child survivors of sexual abuse, and she is developing an arts-based wellness center in Brooklyn (NY). Reflecting on her decision to pursue social work, Drena stated, "I wanted the credentials and knowledge to expand the clinical skills I had acquired working as an art therapist, so that I could focus my work more on social causes and issues that were important to me."

Michelle Bagan, MSW '06

Pediatric Social Worker

Michelle Bagan, 24, works at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell Weill Medical Center as a Pediatric Social Worker, counseling children and their families. Michelle is the social worker for the majority of the hospital's ambulatory pediatric clinics, including general pediatrics as well a multiple specialty clinics. She also works in the general pediatric inpatient unit.

Michelle has found her experience as a pediatric social worker in a medical setting to be rewarding and exciting. She writes, "Although it sounds like a cliché, I really do wake up every morning excited to go work and, more importantly, proud of my title as a Social Worker. I have the opportunity to work with diverse populations in an environment that I find to be supportive and intellectually stimulating." Much of her work is with disadvantaged families with children who have chronic or multiple medical problems. She works closely with those families, and has gained valuable experience in crisis intervention. Describing her path into social work, she said, "For as long as I can remember, I have had a desire to better the lives of others. Earning a master's in social work has allowed me the opportunity to truly fulfill a lifelong goal."

Ilana Horowitz, MSW '06

Assisted Outpatient Treatment Coordinator

Ilana Horowitz, a native New Yorker, works at Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center (Brooklyn, NY). Ilana coordinates court-ordered mental health treatment for patients in compliance with The Assisted Outpatient Treatment Act, or "Kendra's Law," a New York law ensuring that individuals diagnosed with mental illness . in particular, those who present a danger to themselves or others . follow their prescribed treatment. Ilana interacts with a broad range of people, including psychiatrists, lawyers, case managers, medical personnel, and patients, to help provide services to patients in need. Ilana credits the School of Social Work with providing the training and knowledge enabling her to work with chronically mentally ill patients and their caregivers: "NYU definitely trained me in engagement, in working with people, and to reflect on the ways illness is approached."