Lee Suszycki was the founder and first president of our Society. She was passionate about many things, including education, writing, publication, social work and transplantation. The Society for Transplant Social Workers is a direct outgrowth of her vision for social workers practicing in transplantation.
Judy Midelfort was a founding member of the Society, one of the first to publish on psychosocial issues in transplantation and a strong supporter of professional growth and education. In honor of both Lee and Judy and their dedication to our Society, two memorial awards have been established.
These are presented at each annual conference to two members of the Society who have made significant contributions to the field of social work in transplantation. Contributions include, but are not limited to, publishing, public speaking, research projects or developing new tools or programs. Nominations should be forwarded to the President and should include a brief statement describing the nominee’s contributions to the field.
Recent Award Winners2024 Award WinnersGloria Chen – winner of the Judy Midelfort Award. This phenomenal social worker gives her entire heart and given her short employment in the Transplant World she has surpassed many colleagues in her desire to make a change in the Social Work Transplant stage for not only our patients but for the Transplant Community. Gloria Chen is a stunning example of how one can excel at both a clinical career and a research career simultaneously. She is described by a peer as “one of the pioneers for this generation of social workers. She is dedicated to the advancement of social work, as evidenced by her passion for research. She understands the importance of social work but also the nature of science with its desire for data. She joined the two together while encouraging others to get involved as well.”
Samicca Berry, winner of this year’s Lee Suszycki Award, is a credentialed CCTSW, currently the only one in the state of South Carolina. Her interest in Transplant started prior to her position as Transplant Social Worker when she was hired during the newly developed Medical University of SC- Mid Carolina program in 2021. Prior to this role, she worked with DaVita Dialysis for 10 years. She became interested in Transplant after a mishap at her dialysis center (a faulty system in place for HLA labs) led to a patient missing his opportunity for kidney transplant. She took the initiative to create a program to prevent those errors which led to zero issues in the years following her involvement. During this time, she became more involved with referral and helping patients with their journey to transplant, leading to more patients being active on the list.
2023 Award WinnersBeth Piotrowicz - Suszycki Award
Kathy Daley - Suszycki Award
Emily Walz - Midelfort Award Emily serves as a transplant social worker at UPMC in Pittsburgh, as well as the Outreach Coordinator for the National Living Donor Assistance Center (NLDAC). Emily’s passion for living donation and advocacy led her to spearhead an “NLDAC Process” that resulted in every potential living donor candidate being screened for NLDAC assistance, and for those who are eligible, helping those donors apply as part of their living donor work-up. Since implementing this process applications have doubled, and in 2022, $285,937 in assistance was provided to living donors. The system has also proved to be sustainable and replicable. So far in 2023, over 101 applications have been submitted! Emily now trains other transplant centers on the UPMC NLDAC Process, which will result in other centers offering this assistance in a more organized way to all their eligible donors. Emily exemplifies excellence in transplant care, both to her patients and her transplant center. In 2020, Emily saw the need for a dedicated position to care for the living donors at UPMC, and began advocating for a dedicated living donor social work position. She researched, advocated, and developed a plan that was implemented. The position was approved and continues today. Emily continues this important work by actively serving on the STSW Living Donor committee. She treats every person with the utmost kindness, compassion and respect. 2022 Award WinnersKristin Malaer - Suszycki Award Kristin has been a transplant social worker for 7+ years. She has worked in Heart and Lung Transplant and MCS. Her forte is MCS social work for which she has become a national leader. Kristin is described as a strong clinician who is skilled in all aspects of social work and a strong advocate for her patients and their families. Kristin is the lead social worker for the transplant education program at the Memorial Hermann TMC Heart and Lung Transplant Center. Kristin has been instrumental in organizing and facilitating both live as well as on-line transplant classes. She has worked diligently with the Memorial Hermann Marketing and Education Teams to update and re-film the current classes. Kristin joined the STSW Board Member as the MCS Chair in 2019. She has brought energy to the MCS Committee that has resulted in an increase in participation and a vitality. Kristin has presented at our conference multiple times and spearheaded the efforts for members to obtain transplant-specific contact hours when participating in MCS Committee meetings Additionally,
Kristin is a strong supporter of professional growth and education for our MCS
social work colleagues through her leadership as the MCS Committee
Chair. Kristin is a passionate social worker who has been a leader
in our Heart Transplant and MCS Program, and in the national/International
arena through her work with STSW, Abbott, and ICCAC. Kristin is a
respected member of the Heart Transplant and MCS Team. Her expertise and
advice is sought by not only our Team but also by MCS social workers across the
country. Kristin is representative of all that is excellent in the field
of transplant and MCS social work. Her work locally and nationally has
advanced the role of the MCS social worker and STSW. Chrissi White - Midelfort Award The conference was to be held in Orlando in the fall of 2020, but because of the pandemic, the conference was held in a virtual format. Chrissi continued to work with the conference in 2020, 2021, when once again we were virtual and again this year as we plan a "Live" conference. Chrissi could have decided to not continue to work with conference planning--she did not. In the 37 years of the conference only Chrissi and her colleague, Jessica Perry have been involved with planning for more than one year. Chrissi joined monthly conference planning calls. She volunteered to take on additional responsibilities. If contacted with a question or a request to complete a conference-planning task, we would hear from her promptly--typically the same day. Her responses were thorough, detailed and reflected extra effort she made to be well informed. During the pandemic, Chrissi's transplant responsibilities were increased because of high patient needs and she also became a first time mom. These extra responsibilities did not interfere with her commitment to conference planning. We were especially impressed with her eagerness to learn new AV skills during our virtual conferences and was a great asset to our team and those presenting. Chrissi continues to be an active STSW member and she is now a STSW board member, adding this responsibility in the last year. Chrissi displays commitment to STSW goals and an eagerness to learn and professionally grow as she takes on new responsibilities. 2021 Award WinnersKatie Newton, MSW LICSW CCTSW - Suszycki Award
Katie has been instrumental in building and implementing STSW’s new website on Wild Apricot, which has greatly streamlined the work that the Board does behind the scenes, and made Forum communication, Conference registration, payments, and general user ability much more friendly and accessible. Her knowledge, positive "can do" attitude, enthusiasm, patience, helpfulness, and kindness made working with her throughout this process easy and a joy. When we faced a “conference crisis” during Covid in 2020, she took the lead in identifying an AV company and managing many of the tasks involved in developing a conference webpage. Her ability to collaborate and problem-solve was evident and appreciated by the entire committee. At home in Massachusetts, she created a process with a local mental health/substance abuse provider to help patients meet the substance abuse goals established for them to meet transplant listing requirements. This process has increased the numbers of patients getting listed and transplanted. Katie presented a poster on this topic at the 2021 STSW Virtual Conference. An STSW colleague says of Katie, “Katie appears to approach her work with the same energy, professionalism and innovative spirit as she does her work with STSW.” STSW has proudly awarded her this award. Rebecca Bathon, MSW LCSW CCTSW- Midelfort Award
Rebecca is passionate about education, and she demonstrates that by acting as a field instructor for MSW students, providing supervision for colleagues pursing their LCSW and mentoring for THE ALLIANCE for many years. Since joining STSW she has worked with the 2020 conference committee, been a member of the STSW Lung Committee, and presented at the September Lung Committee meeting. She is a wonderfully collaborative team member at her hospital. To this point, a colleague notes that she impacts her colleagues in deep and meaningful ways, assisting them with national presentations and projects, and always willing to consult on difficult cases, offering gentle guidance while also pushing them to think outside of the box. STSW is so pleased to be able to honor Rebecca with this award. 2020 Award Winners
2019 Award Winners
Colleen Satarino LMSW, CCTSW - Suszycki Award Colleen Satarino was awarded the Lee Suszycki Award at the 2019 STSW Conference in Denver, CO. Colleen has been a transplant social worker for over a decade and a CCTSW since 2013. She is a strong clinician and leader with an interest in research and program development. She has presented on transplant-related issues to several organizations, including at STSW and the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Conference. A kidney/pancreas transplant social worker, she has done dialysis outreach, providing transplant education to clinic staff and strengthening relationships with dialysis social workers. She has done outstanding work over the past two years as co-chair of our research committee, reviewing research proposals and vetting surveys to be sure they are meaningful and worthy of our time. She has bee has been part of the Michigan Medicine Transplant Team for 14 years. Colleen, thanks for your service and your strong commitment to advancing our field in the world of research. We are excited to see what you will continue to bring in the future. Nancy Edgington LCSW, CCTSW - Midelfort Award Nancy Edgington was awarded the Judy Midelfort Award at the 2019 STSW Conference in Denver. Nancy has been a member of the STSW since 2004. She was in the first class of CCTSWs, and continues to hold that credential. She has helped organize a national conference, which anyone on the Denver committee can tell you is a ton of work! She joined the Board in her current capacity in 2016. She always has a smile on her face and an open attitude when tackling the task of keeping our largest group updated on what is important in the field of transplantation. She is our Kidney/Pancreas Board Member at Large and works at Yale New Haven Hospital. The winner of the 2019 Judy Midelfort award is Nancy Edgington. Nancy, we appreciate the work you have done over the past three years and look forward to your guidance and support in the coming years. 2018 Award Winners
Tony Lee - Suszycki Award The 2018 Lee Suszycki Award went to Tony Lee. Tony is a transplant social worker for Tufts Medical Center and has worked with patients with VAD, heart, kidney, and pediatric kidney transplants. Tony has been a leader in the field since he was hired to be transplant social worker. He was on the conference committee for the 2014 STSW conference in Boston. Tony stepped in to lead the Membership Committee for STSW as soon as he was nominated. With his exceptional organizational skills, he has developed processes to connect to each member individually and coordinated the transition of new members to mentorship. Membership has grown by more than 25% in his two years of leadership. Tony has shared his creativity, developed communication and coordinated a liaison role between tech and membership to help quickly resolve activation issues. The Society of Transplant Social Workers’ foundation has been strengthened through Tony’s powerful work. Jenifer Espinoza, LMSW MPA - Midelfort Award Jenifer Espinoza, LMSW, MPA was awarded the Judy Midelfort Award at the 2018 conference in Oklahoma City. Jenifer received her master’s degree 6 years ago. She has worked at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital for the last 4 ½ years and she is also a supervisor in her department. Jenifer was the site chair for the 2017 STSW conference that was held in Scottsdale. It was an excellent conference and Jenifer displayed strong leadership skills as she led the planning activities. Later that year, Jenifer became the Treasurer for STSW, a very time-consuming executive board position and one with great responsibilities. Jenifer has made some helpful changes since she began her role in this position. She collaborates with other team board members and she also offered guidance to the 2018 conference planning committee. Jenifer has helped with the development and workings of the STSW website and she has provided assistance to our technology team. She displays a commitment to STSW, and she has been willing to take on tasks for the betterment of our Society. Congratulations, Jenifer! 2017 Award Winners
Gracie Moore Greene, Suszycki Award Gracie Moore Greene, DrPH, LCSW-C, CCTSW is a retired Clinical Team Leader for Transplant Social Work. She currently provides part time clinical intervention for Independent Dialysis Foundation and is a Transplant/Medical Facility Surveyor for Healthcare Management Solutions, LLC. Gracie has been a social work clinician and health care manager for more than 40 years. She has developed and implemented clinical social work programs to improve service quality in community and hospital settings with a focus on psychosocial and environmental factors that impact health. Gracie also developed, implemented and published an evidence-based practice initiative to standardize the psychosocial evaluation process for kidney, heart / VAD, lung, and liver transplant recipients. She is currently engaged in a multicenter pilot research study partially sponsored by the STSW that examines the use of Symptom Targeted Intervention to Improve Psychosocial Outcomes of Solid Organ Transplant Patients. Pat Dennis, Midelfort Award Pat Dennis is an LCSW, CCTSW and CCSW-MCS. She has been a social worker since 2001 and prior to that was a college and university Controller. She has worked in transplant since 2013 and has been a STSW member since 2014. She played a role in the creation of the social work portion of the new Cardiac Transplant & VAD program at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, FL. | Award HistoryLee Syszycki Award Winners
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