Social Work Career Pathways Alumni Panel Discussion

We are excited to present a panel discussion of School of Social Work alumni that will provide opportunities for our alumni in attendance, as well as current School of Social Work students, to learn more about the many different career pathways available to social workers. We are grateful for all the panelists who are volunteering their time to speak about their experiences and answer questions.

Join us on Friday, September 13, at 2:30PM – 4:00PM in Room 2015 of the School of Social Work Building (1010 W Nevada St, Urbana) for this insightful and informative panel.

Check out the full line up of SSW Homecoming Events

Martha Cooper serves as Senior Assistant Director at the Big Ten Academic Alliance. Her portfolio includes the Senior International Officers and Liberal Arts and Sciences Deans to support and advance their strategic directions and programs. Martha also works on building and implementing Provosts’ projects such as the Student Success Initiative and the Race Conscious Decisions in Admissions Initiative that involves multiples key stakeholder groups such as the Advising Administrators, Chief Enrollment Officers, Chief Undergraduate Education Officers, General Counsels, Graduate Deans, Senior Diversity Officers, and Senior Student Affairs Officers.

Additional roles at the Big Ten Academic Alliance include the management and coordination of the Big Ten – Ivy League Traumatic Brain Injury Research Collaboration, which was an effort between the two conferences to study the cause and effect of sport-related concussion. This 10-year initiative was successful in bringing together the top researchers and clinicians in the nation whose collaborative work has ultimately lead to ground breaking policies and practices that have improved the health and safety of athletes.

Prior to her work at the Big Ten Academic Alliance, Martha served in Assistant Dean positions at the University of Illinois School of Social Work and the Dean of Students Office. Before entering higher education, Martha was a medical social worker specializing in Hospice and end-of-life care, and was a national speaker on grief, loss, and palliative. She earned her BSW from the University of Kansas and her MSW from the University of Illinois.

Glen Forneris is currently a school social worker, working for Champaign Unit 4 schools at South Side Elementary and Edison Middle School.  With nearly 15 years in the field, he has a variety of experiences in social services, including directing a homeless shelter and soup kitchen, providing mental health and substance use disorder counseling as an outpatient therapist, and working with older adults and their families as the director of social services in a skilled nursing facility.

Mr. Forneris loves working with students, colleagues, and families to problem-solve difficult situations and to empower others to accomplish whatever goals they hope to achieve.  Everyone deserves to feel welcome, accepted, and successful as they navigate the educational environment.

Outside of work, he enjoys cooking, homebrewing, game nights, trivia, listening to live music, finding new restaurants, taking walks, and spending time with his wife and son.

Brynn Howard, LCSW, serves as a Senior Provider Recruiter with Carle Health and has been with Carle since completing her MSW field placement in 2011.  She has been in her current role in Provider Services and Human Resources since 2020 where she recruits physicians to Carle’s Behavioral Health, Women’s Health and Pediatric service lines.  In 2015, she was the recipient of the first Annual “Way to Be” award, Carle’s peer to peer program that recognizes team members from all parts of the healthcare system who live the Carle Health Values.

Brynn spent the first three years of her career as the Neonatal/Obstetrics Social Worker where she was on the task force for planning the inaugural Shining Light Infant Memorial Service, a topic close to Brynn’s heart.  Brynn then spent the next six years in Hospice and Oncology where she was active in the planning of Carle’s Camp Healing Heart, a camp for grieving children.

Brynn holds two undergraduate degrees from Millikin University in Decatur, IL (BA in Communication and BA in Human Services) and received her MSW from the University of Illinois.

Maddy Jefson is the school social worker at Maroa-Forsyth Grade School. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University and a Master’s degree from University of Illinois, specializing in school social work. Maddy has experience in both alternative education placement programs and the general education programs for ages pre-k-12th grade. She currently serves on the Macon-Piatt Special Education team to help social workers and educators develop and create successful FBA/BIPs to help students become successful in the classroom. She also has a passion for educating teachers and staff members creating a positive and welcoming environment for all students. Outside of work, Maddy enjoys watching the Chicago Cubs, playing sports, and spending time with her family.

Jessie is a kidney transplant social worker at Loyola Medicine in Chicago. Jessie has 9 years of experience as a medical social worker. Jessie holds BSW and MSW degrees from University of Illinois of Champaign Urbana. Jessie is passionate in advocating for underserved patients to access appropriate healthcare, especially for undocumented patients. She enjoys providing supervision to graduate students during their field placement. Outside of work, Jessie enjoys reading and spending time with her family.

Sarah Salisbury is a 2019 graduate of the University of Illinois iMSW program. Sarah currently works as an Outpatient Behavioral Health Therapist for North Central Behavioral Health Systems. She has been working in the field of social work for 9 years, starting as a Child Welfare Specialist for a non-profit DCFS contractor prior to completing her Masters program and then transitioning to providing clinical services. She also works as part of the crisis team at NCBHS, working as both a SASS (Screening, Assessment, and Support Services) and Emergency Response Services screener in her region. Sarah’s focus is in providing mental health services to primarily lower income populations, as well as clients referred through the Illinois DCFS and the criminal justice system. Sarah focuses on trauma-informed care, as well as helping clients understand the connection between their physical health and their mental health, and ensuring clients have access to community resources and support services to fully address their symptoms and attain not only improvements in their mental wellness, but also stability in all aspects of their life. Outside of work, she enjoys travelling, creative endeavors, and gardening.

Linda is an executive, therapist, and educator with extensive experience in child welfare, mental health services, and clinical supervision. She currently serves as the Executive Director for the National Cooperative of Health Networks, a Disruptive Event Management Consultant with R3 Continuum, and a therapist for TalkSpace. A former network director, Linda played a key role in creating a 24-hour mental health crisis service system and has delivered presentations on topics such as leadership development and crisis intervention. She also volunteered at the World Trade Center site after 9/11 and has taught for 20 years as adjunct faculty at the School of Social Work. Linda holds degrees from Augustana College and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and completed the Johnson & Johnson/UCLA Health Care Executive Program.

Traci Wilt is a school social worker at Vermilion Association for Special Education (VASE), with over 25 years of experience in social work. She holds degrees from Illinois Wesleyan University and the University of Illinois, specializing in mental health services for teens in the public school system. Traci is passionate about advocating for student mental health care, special education access, and the impact of social media on executive functioning. Traci enjoys mentoring and supervising new school social workers. Outside of work, she enjoys strength training at the gym, live theater and concerts, and spending all the time possible with her 4 children and 3 grandchildren.