Anne Bradey (2007) passed the licensing exam in May and since June has been working in Columbus for an outreach counseling program at Directions for Youth and Families (www.dfyf.org). She works with youth, ages 7-18, building social skills, academic performance, coping skills, positive behavior, etc. in a 6 month community based program. She has found the work to be very challenging, but overall, she says, "I could not have asked for a better first professional job." She is anticipating graduate school in the near future to get her MSW degree.
Marianne Daniel (2006) has accepted a position with the Area Agency on 
Aging - PSA 2. She is a case manager offering services to senior citizens in three counties surrounding Dayton, Ohio. She will be commuting for a period of time and then will relocate. Marianne is seen here with Ann Knoderer, LISW, her field instructor at St. Rita's Medical Center.
Jami Reeves (2006) is credentialed as an LBSW in the state of Kansas and is working in Hutchinson as an Adoption Social Worker for the Kansas Children's Service League. She is hoping to enter an MSW program soon. (Fall 2007)
Krista (Sharp 2006) Rinker is a social worker for New Hope Hospice in Marion, Indiana. She meets with families and signs them onto hospice, and then visits with the patient and family members twice a month after they are admitted. She follows up with the families a few months after their loved one has died to provide support. She loves her job, saying it is a very hard but extremely rewarding job.
Ashley McKinney (2006) has been accepted into the YWAM missions program and is undergoing three months of training in Wisconsin. She will then go overseas for two months of mission outreach.
Cheryl Doty (2005) works at Settlement House in Austin Texas as a Youth Care Counselor in a residential treatment center. She does a lot of redirecting negative behaviors, teaching the girls positive social skills, serving as a role model, representing three of the girls when their treatment plan is under review, reporting serious incidents, engaging in one-on-one discussions with the girls, and helping with group therapy. Her Texas practice credentials are LBSW.
Amanda Fogle (2005) is working as the Programme Associate for the World Vision International United Nations Office. She is currently working on A
sian Issues, specifically the Tsunami Anniversary. She is working on advocacy points to share with UNICEF, OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) and WFP (World Food Program). Once the Tsunami Anniversary is over she will be focusing more on Children As Peacebuilders, and advocating for more recongition of the peace process as well as more "child friendly language" in various UN documents. She finds the position to be really amazing and states, "I am blessed to have the experience." She is seen here with her field instructor.
Tiffanie Hahn (2005) is an ongoing caseworker with Allen County Children Services in Lima Ohio. She works with parents to establish and monitor the case plans that are set up for the family. She works with the family until the case is closed or until the services are no longer needed. She also helps transport individuals to appointments and visitations. She loves her job, and finds the action and stimulation to be exiting.
Rebecca (Leatherman) Jacobs (2005) is now working as an Aging Care Manager at the Columbia-Montour Aging Office (PSA 15) in Pennsylvania. She reports that it helped so much that she had done her internship at PSA3: Agency on Aging in Lima. Her supervisor was thrilled that the computer program that both PSA's use were the same. She also knew the basic services that Aging Offices provide, so it was very easy to pick up the little policy/procedure differences between the agencies. She loves her job, and particularly enjoys the variety of activities that this job provides.
Cynthia Sawmiller (2005) has been hired by the MR/DD Board of Allen County to work as a Service Coordinator for the Help Me Grow program. She will be going from home to home to screen children ages birth to three to see if they are developing properly. (Pictured here on the left)
Keisha Durr (2004) works as a mental health case manager with Lutheran Social Services in Lima.
Amanda Egley (2004) is a social worker with Heritage Manor South Nursing Home in Bossier City, La. She loves working with this elderly population.
Alisha Fought (2004) is employed with Head Start as a health and family service coordinator in Kenton, Ohio.
Sarah Masek (2004) has spent a year in the SALT program (Service And Learning Together) sponsored by the Mennonite Central Committee, working in Viet Nam as an English editor for the Gioi Publishers. She also worked as an assistant at Frienship Village, a treatment facility for Vietnamese veterans and children affected by agent orange chemicals. Sarah has returned from Viet Nam and is planning eventually to get into graduate school. She would love to talk with anyone about her experience in Viet Nam.
Sara Parker (2004) has worked with Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth (SAFY) from the Lima office.
Kim (Tanner) Stamm (2004) is working for Family Services of Northwest Ohio, a mental health agency serving children of four counties. She recently took training in wrap-around services.
Melissa VanAusdal (2004) continues to work for Premble County Children Services as a children services worker. Although the job can be stressful, she feels it is the right place for her to be. Her supervisor is supportive and affirming.
Melissa Alexander (2003) works at the Dayton 
office of Beacon Foster Care, a private foster care agency. Missy is pictured here with her field instructor, Beth Desenberg, LISW from Family Resource Center.
Jamie Burke (2003) is employed in Social Services/Admissions at Kingston of Ashland, a nursing home in Ashland, Ohio.
Rachael Chapman (2003) has been selected as a finalist for the Jefferson Awards, honoring volunteers in the Allen County area for outstanding contributions. Racael was nominated for her efforts in organizing a T-ball league for children with disabilities. (She started this project during her field work at the Children's Developmental Center, and continues to give leadership to this summer program. She is a case manager for the Allen County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
Kim Ernst (2003) has been employed by Crime Victim Services in Lima, working on juvenile court cases and matters related to stalking.
Paula Fry (2003) is employed at the Sidney office of Beacon Foster Care.
Jamie Hardwick (2003) is working for the Appleseed Ridge Girlscout Council in Lima, using her groupwork skills to set up groups for special needs girls. She is involved in grant writing and outcomes research, and is responsible for recruitment and training of adult and college volunteers. She is actively engaged with other community organizations to address local social problems relating to youth. She comments that she loves her work and could not see herself doing anything else.
Angel Lombardo (2003) has taken additional training to become certified as a "sexual offender treatment specialist" within her job as a case manager in Lima for Community Connection, a community based program of services for Ohio offenders. In January 2006 she was a presenter in training others to work with sexual offenders at a workshop sponsored by Ohio University.
John Risner (2003) is working for Hardin County Board of MRDD as a Habilitation Specialist.
Chris Strong (2003) is a resident director at Hesston College in Kansas.
Rebeca (Amstutz) Strong (2003) works at Prairie View Mental Health Center as a Drug and Alcohol Community Casemanager in Newton, Kansas. She does drug and alcohol assessments on clients that have Medicaid or no insurance and need financial assistance for treatment. She also leads a monthly drug and alcohol school for first DUI people in both English and Spanish.
Dawn Thompson (2003) is living and working in Fort Wayne, Indiana and working at SCAN (Stop Child Abuse and Neglect) as a Family Restoration Social Worker. it is a private non-profit organization that is contracted through Child Protective Services.
Chasity Tietje (2003) is Director of Social Services at Northcrest Nursing Home in Napoleon, Ohio.
Amanda Willis (2003) has begun working for Logan County Children's Services as an In-home Protective Services Caseworker.
Erica (Jellison) Petrie (2002) is excited about her job with PASSPORT, serving the region's elderly to help maintain their placement in their own homes.
Kerri Smallwood (2002) has completed work on a Masters degree at Coventry University, England in the Centre for the Study of Forgiveness and Reconciliation. She was previously in Warrington, England serving as a volunteer for The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Trust, a peace and reconciliation organization working with children and youth. Kerri brought to this setting her social work practice skills, and knowledge and experience gained from her participation in Bluffton's Northern Ireland Peace Studies Program.
Jennifer (Yetter) Wagner (2002) is a caseworker for Family Resource Center in Findlay where she had done her internship. This agency will benefit from Jen's enthusiasm and leadership skills in organizing projects and programs. Jen is shown here with Precia Stuby, her former field instructor.
Steve Evans (2001) has completed his MSW degree at Ohio State, and is now a therapist at Fireland Mental Health and Recovery in Sandusky, OH. He had previously worked at Erie County Children Services Board.
Julie Krupp (2001) is working for Boys' Hope/Girls' Hope, a Catholic organization in Pennsylvania that works with at-risk youth in small residential settings. She is working in a girl's home near Pittsburgh, serving as a houseparent to five teenage girls. She plans to eventually to to grad school for her MSW.
Karen McCullough (2001) is a social worker with Allen County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Lima, OH.
Beth Walter (2001) is employed at Family Resource Centers in Lima, working in the aftercare program for Allen County Juvenile Court. She helped to plan the program, and carries her own caseload. She has entered the Lima branch OSU MSW program.
Malissa Takacs (2001) has completed a masters degree in social work at Case Western University, and is now working as an admissions counselor at Bluffton University. After graduating from Bluffton, she worked in a school social work program near Sarasota, FL, with special needs children in a fifth grade classroom.
Melissa (Baer) Day (2001) is a social worker at Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Arlington, OH. She is seen here on the right with her former field instructor, Jenny Schreiner, MSW at Lima Memorial Hospital.
Tracey Armstrong (2001) is employed at Allen County Children Services.
Steve Evans (2000) received his MSW from Ohio State University and is now employed as a therapist for Firelands Regional Medical Center in Huron County.
Megan Murphy (2000) is a social worker at Otterbein Nursing Home.
Richard Siniff (2000) is a recent graduate of the University of South Florida graduate school of social work. So he adds an MSW to his BA in social work and his RN degrees. He had been working in a psychiatric care unit in a hospital in Bradenton, FL.
Jonathan Vickery (2000) was a student at Jagiellonian University, Master program Centre for European Studies. He is focusing his studies on European Union issues. His thesis will focus on the Polish approach to Pension Reform. Prior to going to Poland, Jonathan was a social worker for a Jewish Community Center in Cleveland working with persons with chronic mental illnesses.
Joy Schumann (2000) has completed a year of voluntary service in Pittsburg. She is working in Lima for the Allen County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
John Melton (2000) works for Beacon, a foster care agency in the state of Ohio.
Jeff Steen (2000), has completed an MSW degree at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and has been working in the mental health field in Chicago. He is currently doing program planning for homeless mentally ill persons.
Evelyn Smith (1999) is a social worker at St. Rita's Medical Center, Lima, OH.
Cari Carter (1998) has completed graduate studies at University of Connecticut School of Social Work and is interested in international social work. She is working for a law firm that specializes in immigration law.
Jacqueline (Monnin) Swabb (1998) is now working as a social worker at Koester Pavilion, a skilled nursing facility, in Troy. She monitors mood and behavior, provides interventions, and does discharge planning. She and her husband recently adopted a five-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy. Jackie was formerly Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami County in Troy, Ohio.
Heather (Sparks) Koontz (1997) MSW, is director of We Care Regional Crisis Center, a mental health crisis service for Allen, Auglaize, and Hardin counties, located in St. Rita's Medical Center, Lima, OH. Heather was the presenter for the February ('05) Allen County NASW meeting in Lima, reporting on this new service.
Jared Lehman (1997) is the Director of Good Samaritan Nursing Home, Arlington, Ohio. He had been the director of social services at the home. He recently completed his master's degree in organizational management from Bluffton College.
Jeanne (Fisher) Wynn(1997) is treatment coordinator at Ohio Youth Advocate Program, Norwalk, Ohio.
Chris (Zimmerman) Shafer (1994) served during Spring semester ('05) as Pathways Scholar in Residence at Bluffton University, delivering the Forum address, Chapel sermon, and speaking in many classes. Chris directs the Christian Education Program for a large Catholic parish in Grand Rapids, MI.
If you have information to share with us, please drop us a line. (brubakerd@bluffton.edu)
