I was introduced to the field of transplant when I was hired as the Dialysis Social Worker here at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in October of 2011. I worked closely with our transplant social workers in that role and transitioned to the Heart Transplant/Advance Heart Failure Social Worker in September of 2013.
I joined the STSW in October of 2013 while attending the STSW conference in Dallas. I had been a social worker for over 20 years before attending this conference and was overwhelmed with how great it felt to be among so many colleagues and like-minded people at one time. I later joined the Board as the Pediatric Board Member at Large in January of 2015. During my time in this role, I led a team of pediatric social workers across the U.S. in the development of the Pediatric Psychosocial Assessment Tool and shared this tool at the STSW conference in Columbus in October of 2015. I later became the Vice President in January of 2017 and took over as the Credentialing Chair at that time. I have presented at the conference twice and have represented the Society by exhibiting at the Transplant Financial Coordinators Conference in 9/2016 and at the Transplant Management Forum in 4/2017. As Vice President, I have helped create a Credential Rack Card to distribute to members who are interested in our two credentials. I have also helped in creating updated exhibit items to increase our visibility when at other national conferences. I am honored to be a part of such an amazing group of social workers who have shaped and formed the role of transplant social workers in our country over the past 31 years.
I am an avid college football fan. On any given fall weekend, you can find me in front of my television supporting my two favorite teams (Notre Dame and the University of Georgia)! I actively participate in transplant related camps for our kiddos and help plan these camp opportunities each year. I love to walk my dog in our neighborhood and spend as much time with my nieces and nephews as they will allow as teenagers now! I enjoy playing trivia, but am not very good at it. Strangely enough, I have acquired a lot of science-related knowledge that seems to come in handy at trivia. That’s one good thing about attending so many hours of rounds!